What Are the Best Side Hustles for Therapists?
Ah yes.
Therapist side hustles.
The thing you start Googling when you realize your options for making more money seem to be:
See another client.
See another client.
Have you considered seeing another fucking client?
😂
So you start looking for other ways therapists can make money.
And the internet gives you a giant list:
Start a blog!
Write an ebook!
Become a consultant!
Create a course!
Start a podcast!
Sell worksheets!
Do affiliate marketing!
And now you have 37 possible side hustles and absolutely no fucking idea which one you should actually do.
So yes, I'm going to give you ideas.
But I think "What is the best side hustle for therapists?" is actually the wrong question.
Because the best additional income stream for you depends on your expertise, your goals, what people need from you, how much time you have, what kind of work you enjoy, and what you ultimately want your career to look like.
Why Are So Many Therapists Looking for Side Hustles?
Sometimes it's burnout.
You want to reduce your caseload but can't afford the income loss.
Sometimes it's money.
You're perfectly happy with your caseload and would simply like to make more fucking money.
Valid.
Sometimes it's flexibility.
You don't want every dollar you make dependent on whether you're sitting across from a client at that exact moment.
Sometimes it's curiosity.
You've spent years developing expertise and you're starting to realize:
Wait. Therapy isn't the only thing I know how to do.
And sometimes you just want to do something different.
Therapy can be emotionally intensive.
Even if you love clinical work, doing one thing all day every day can get fucking exhausting.
Adding another kind of work can create variety without requiring you to leave therapy entirely.
Side Hustle vs. Diversified Income
I personally prefer thinking about this as diversified income rather than a side hustle.
Because "side hustle" can make it sound like:
Great! I already work full-time and now apparently I'm supposed to DoorDash until midnight!
No thank you.
😂
The goal isn't necessarily to add more work to an already overwhelming schedule.
The goal is to build additional ways of generating revenue so your income becomes less dependent on one thing.
For therapists, that one thing is usually client sessions.
And eventually, an additional revenue stream might allow you to replace some clinical hours rather than simply stacking more work on top of them.
1. Consulting
Consulting can be an incredible option for therapists with specialized expertise.
Maybe you know a ridiculous amount about:
Clinical documentation.
Private practice operations.
A particular population.
Program development.
Compliance.
Trauma-informed systems.
Clinical workflows.
Healthcare.
Leadership.
A specific treatment area.
Somebody else has a problem.
You have expertise that helps solve it.
They pay you for that expertise.
That's the basic model.
And consulting can be especially appealing if you want to continue doing high-value professional work without spending all of your time providing therapy.
2. Clinical Supervision
Depending on your credentials, experience, state requirements, and applicable regulations, supervision can be another way to diversify your income.
Yes, you're still exchanging time for money.
That's okay.
Diversified income does not have to mean passive income.
Maybe you'd rather see:
15 therapy clients + 5 supervisees
than:
20 therapy clients.
Same number of appointments.
Different kind of work.
And that variety alone may make your week substantially more enjoyable.
3. Trainings and Workshops
Therapists spend years developing expertise that other professionals want to learn.
You could potentially provide:
Professional trainings.
Clinical workshops.
Continuing education.
Organizational trainings.
Practice trainings.
Community education.
Recorded trainings.
Maybe you're teaching other therapists.
Maybe healthcare organizations.
Maybe schools.
Maybe companies.
Maybe another audience entirely.
One of the beautiful things about training is that you can teach multiple people at once.
That's a very different model from individual therapy.
4. Speaking
Speaking can be another way to monetize specialized knowledge.
Conferences.
Professional organizations.
Companies.
Schools.
Healthcare organizations.
Events.
And no, you do not need to be Brené fucking Brown before someone is allowed to pay you to speak.
😂
You need relevant expertise, something valuable to say, and visibility with the people who might want to hear it.
Which is why building visibility around what you know can create opportunities that go significantly beyond social media revenue.
5. Digital Products
Here she is.
The internet's favorite side hustle.
😂
Digital products can include things like:
Templates.
Workbooks.
Guides.
Educational resources.
Recorded trainings.
Professional tools.
Resource libraries.
And yes, digital products can become a highly scalable income stream because you aren't necessarily required to personally deliver the product every time someone buys it.
But there is an important catch:
People have to actually fucking buy it.
Creating the product is not the hard part.
Creating the right product and building a strategy that consistently generates sales is where the work is.
6. Writing
Therapists can also use their expertise through writing.
That might include:
Articles.
Professional content.
Educational content.
Books.
Curriculum.
Training materials.
Mental health content.
Healthcare content.
Resources for clinicians or consumers.
And depending on what you're doing, writing could be freelance work, contracted work, royalties, your own products, or simply another component of a larger professional career.
7. Teaching
Depending on your education and experience, you may be able to explore teaching opportunities through:
Universities.
Training institutes.
Professional organizations.
Community education.
Online education.
Guest lectures.
Workshops.
Again, this may still be active income.
That's fine.
If your goal is to create more variety in your week, not necessarily passive income, teaching may be significantly more appealing than adding another five therapy clients.
8. Nonclinical Mental Health or Healthcare Work
Maybe you want to use your clinical experience without providing therapy at all.
Depending on your qualifications and experience, therapists may find opportunities in:
Clinical operations.
Program development.
Healthcare administration.
Utilization management.
Care management.
Quality improvement.
Clinical training.
Implementation.
Clinical strategy.
Mental health technology.
There are plenty of roles where actually understanding clinical care is an asset.
Your experience does not become useless simply because you're no longer providing weekly therapy.
9. Something Completely Unrelated to Therapy
I need this on the list.
Because sometimes therapists feel like every dollar they make for the rest of their lives must somehow be connected to mental health.
It does not.
😂
Maybe you have another interest.
Another skill.
Another business idea.
Something creative.
Something technical.
Something you've always wanted to try.
You are allowed to build an income stream that has absolutely fucking nothing to do with your clinical license.
Your therapist identity does not own you.
So Which Side Hustle Makes the Most Money for Therapists?
This is usually the question hiding underneath the original question.
And unfortunately:
It depends.
A therapist could make $500 from a digital product.
Another could make $50,000.
Someone could charge $100 an hour for consulting.
Someone else could charge $500.
A training could make a few hundred dollars.
Or several thousand.
The format itself doesn't determine the income.
Demand matters.
Pricing matters.
Audience matters.
Positioning matters.
Expertise matters.
Marketing matters.
Your business plan fucking matters.
That's why I don't want you choosing an income stream based exclusively on someone's revenue screenshot.
The Best Therapist Side Hustle Starts With a Problem
Instead of asking:
What should I sell?
Ask:
What problem can I solve?
This is one of the biggest distinctions in how I teach diversified income.
"Workbook" isn't an idea.
"Course" isn't an idea.
"Consulting" isn't really an idea either.
They're ways of delivering a solution.
The actual opportunity is:
A specific group of people has a problem that your expertise can help solve.
THAT is what we're looking for.
Start by Looking at Your Existing Expertise
Before deciding you need to learn some entirely new skill, inventory what you already know.
What do people ask you about?
What do colleagues want your opinion on?
What do you explain repeatedly?
What have you created systems for?
What are you disproportionately good at?
What part of your work makes you think:
How does everyone not fucking know this already?
😂
That last one can be particularly useful.
Because the thing that feels obvious to you may only feel obvious because you've spent years becoming an expert in it.
Then Look for Evidence That People Care
This is where I become annoying.
You have an idea.
Great.
You still don't get to make it yet.
😂
Before you spend weeks or months creating something, look at the data.
What questions are people repeatedly asking?
What problems consistently show up?
What content gets saved?
What gets shared?
What are people already trying to solve?
What are your clients or colleagues repeatedly struggling with?
What does your audience respond to?
And I want patterns.
One person asking one question isn't enough.
One viral video isn't enough.
We're looking for repeated signals that tell us:
People care about this problem.
The Best Income Stream Also Has to Be Something You Don't Hate
THIS gets ignored constantly.
Let's say the data tells you people desperately want live consulting from you.
Except you hate meetings.
You hate being on Zoom.
You specifically want income that isn't connected to appointments.
Well...
Maybe building an entire consulting practice isn't our fucking answer.
😂
Your income stream needs to sit somewhere at the intersection of:
What you're good at.
What people need.
What the data supports.
What can generate meaningful revenue.
What you actually want to do.
Because the entire point is to build a better career.
Not construct a new prison with prettier branding.
Think About Scalability Too
Different income streams scale differently.
Therapy is typically one-to-one.
Consulting may also be one-to-one, but perhaps at a higher rate.
A live training could be one-to-many.
A digital resource could potentially be sold repeatedly.
A recorded training could potentially serve hundreds of people without requiring you to teach it live every time.
None is inherently better.
But if your goal is specifically to make your income less dependent on your hours, scalability matters.
Ask:
Does making another dollar require another unit of my time?
The less tightly those two things are connected, the more potential you have to increase revenue without increasing workload at the exact same rate.
Start Small
Once you've identified an idea that has actual evidence behind it, don't immediately create the largest possible version.
Please.
Therapists are overachievers.
I know what you're going to do.
😂
You are going to decide people need education about something and suddenly you've created:
A 12-module course.
A 160-page workbook.
A private Facebook group.
Weekly office hours.
Seven bonuses.
A certificate.
STOP.
Start with the Minimum Viable Offer.
What's the smallest useful version of this idea that lets you test whether someone will actually pay for it?
One workshop.
One training.
One resource.
One consulting offer.
Sell the small thing.
Collect actual purchasing data.
THEN decide whether it deserves to become bigger.
Don't Forget Visibility
You can have the best side hustle idea in the world.
Nobody can buy from you if nobody knows you exist.
This is why the first piece of my VIB framework is Visibility.
And visibility does not mean you need to become an influencer.
It means the right people need to repeatedly see:
Who you are.
What you know.
What problems you understand.
What expertise you have.
Visibility creates the audience.
The audience gives you data.
The data helps you choose the idea.
And THEN you build the business plan around turning that idea into revenue.
Visibility → Idea → Business Plan.
Not:
Idea → spend six months making shit → pray.
😂
Your Side Hustle Needs a Business Plan
This is where so many potentially great ideas die.
Someone creates a resource.
Uploads it to their website.
Posts:
MY WORKBOOK IS AVAILABLE!!!
And waits.
That's not a marketing strategy.
People need to discover you.
Build trust.
Understand your expertise.
Recognize their problem.
Understand your solution.
Know that your offer exists.
And eventually decide that buying it makes sense.
Your business plan is what connects:
I made something
to:
This thing consistently generates revenue.
Those are not the same fucking thing.
Don't Try to Build Seven Side Hustles
You do not need a giant collection of income streams.
In fact, trying to build six things at once is a fantastic way to make approximately none of them work.
Start with one.
Build visibility.
Gather data.
Choose something strategically.
Test it.
Build the business plan.
Generate revenue.
Then decide whether you even need another income stream.
One additional reliable source of income can completely change your financial options.
So, What Is the Best Side Hustle for Therapists?
There isn't one.
The best option for you is the one that:
Uses expertise or skills you actually have.
Solves a problem people genuinely care about.
Has evidence of demand.
Fits the way you want to work.
Has the financial potential you're looking for.
And doesn't make you fucking miserable.
Maybe that's consulting.
Maybe it's supervision.
Maybe it's training.
Maybe it's digital products.
Maybe it's speaking.
Maybe it's something entirely different.
Don't choose your next income stream because someone gave you a list of 25 side hustles for therapists.
Use the list for ideas.
Then use data to make the decision.
Because you're not looking for another random thing to do after work.
You're trying to build a career where your income isn't entirely dependent on how many therapy clients you can fit into your calendar.
And that's a much bigger fucking opportunity.
Ready to Diversify Your Income as a Therapist?
I help therapists build income beyond the therapy chair through visibility, idea development, marketing strategy, passive income education, and more.
I've created resources for therapists at different stages of the process, whether you're figuring out what the hell else you could do with your expertise or you're trying to turn something you've already created into actual income.
Check out all of my resources for therapists who want to diversify their income here!