How to Build a $10K Month without Doubling Your Caseload

If you’re a therapist, you probably know the familiar grind: 25–40 sessions a week, back-to-back clients, endless notes, insurance battles, and the kind of exhaustion that leaves you running on fumes. It’s no wonder so many in our field are burned out.

Traditional caseload models might keep the calendar full, but they don’t always keep the bills paid… or your heart in the work. More sessions often mean more stress, not more income. So what’s the alternative?

That’s where intensives come in.

Why Intensives Change the Game

An intensive is a concentrated block of therapy—often two to three days—designed to create faster breakthroughs and lasting change. Instead of months (or years) of one-hour weekly sessions, you and your client spend 15–20 hours together in a focused, distraction-free environment.

For your clients, this means accelerated progress, deeper insights, and a more transformative experience. For you, it means fewer clients, less burnout, and more predictable income.

The Math Behind a $10K Month

Here’s how the math works out when you run an intensive:

• A 3-day intensive = 18 clinical hours
• Add in 2 days of aftercare = 12 clinical hours
• Total per client = 30 clinical hours
  

Instead of seeing 25+ clients a week, imagine serving just 2–3 high-paying clients per month in this intensive format.

For example:

• Charge $5,000 for each intensive package (a very achievable rate depending on your training and niche)
• Serve just 2 clients a month = $10,000
• Or, 3 clients a month = $15,000

That’s a full-time income with a fraction of the caseload.

Beyond the Numbers: The Real Benefits

Obviously, none of us in helping professions entered into this business to make beaucoup bucks… but we also never planned on burning out under the burden of our client caseload. After years of offering intensives exclusively, I’ve seen my own work-life balance transform and I’ve witnessed real, lasting change in my clients’ lives. Here’s what that looks like, beyond payday:

• Fewer Clients, More Focus
  Instead of scattering your energy across dozens of sessions, you go deep with a handful of clients each month.
• Better Outcomes
  Clients experience accelerated growth when they’re immersed in therapy without the week-to-week disruptions of daily life.
• More Time for You
  With only a few intensives per month, you reclaim your evenings, weekends, and creative energy.
• Flexibility to Grow
  You can layer on group intensives, retreats, or aftercare packages for additional revenue streams without stretching yourself thin.

How to Get Started

I go into a lot more detail about how to build intensive packages, price them confidently, and even write promotional copy that will connect with your ideal clients in Module 5, Lesson 5 of The Intensive Method. In this lesson alone, you’ll learn how to:

• Create compelling program descriptions that highlight transformation
• Package your services in ways that reflect your expertise and value
• Offer add-ons like extended days, retreats, or aftercare for additional revenue
• Confidently set prices that help you reach your income goals

You don’t need to reinvent your practice—you just need a different delivery method.

How Much Could You Earn?

Therapist burnout doesn’t have to be the norm. By shifting from the traditional caseload grind to an intensive-based model, you can work with fewer clients, help them achieve deeper breakthroughs, and build a practice that’s financially sustainable.

A $10K month doesn’t require doubling your caseload—it just requires reimagining the way you work.

If you’re ready to see what this could look like in your own practice, download our Fee Questionnaire and Calculator, or learn more about intensives in The Intensive Method Handbook.