(updated January 10, 2025)

Each week, I talk to therapists who no longer see clients in person, or have very few in-person clients. Yet they still pay hundreds of dollars in monthly rent for a full-time office. Many of us have been doing this since the beginning of the pandemic, more than four and a half years ago.

On the surface, it may seem irrational. But what I’m learning is that despite the cost, letting go of an office is a very difficult emotional hurdle for many of us. We may be very attached to our offices. It may be our “safe space.” It may be the place we feel most professional and confident. It may be the place where we have great memories and where we built our career. Some of us still keep our office just to go there for telehealth sessions, to get away from the distractions of home and into a more private and professional atmosphere.

But it is time to face the facts. Let’s say you are paying $600 – $1,000 in rent each month. That means $7,200 – $12,000 per year paid just for rent, plus any additional expenses you may pay for utilities, bottled water, coffee, wireless, etc.  Just over the span of 4 years, we’re talking over $28,800 to $48,000 that could have gone in your pocket.

I’m sure you can think of a lot of things you could do right now with an extra $7,200 – $12,000 in your pocket. Help paying your bills? A down payment on a new car? A trip to Paris?

So, if you are paying for more office time than you are using, I urge you to consider whether it is time to let go of your office.

Questions to consider:

• How much money are you currently spending on office rent?
• How much have you spent for office rent in the last few years?
• When was the last time you saw an in-person client?
• How many in-person clients do you see in a month?
• Think about why you hold on to your office. Can you think of how you could handle this if you didn’t have your own office?
• Do you really need a full-time office? If not, perhaps rent your office out to another therapist for the days you aren’t there to offset your rental expense. Or give up your lease totally, and rent from someone else for  a few hours or one day a week.
• If you use your office only for telehealth, perhaps instead you could put a few dollars into fixing up and making a more confidential and cozy space in your home where you could do telehealth sessions?
• Do you work with insurance plans that require you to have a Service Location that is not your home and not a P.O. Box? You may want to contact the plans you work with to find out, as some plans require this. This may be another benefit of keeping at least a one-day rental, even if you don’t use it. Or you may want to sign a mailing address agreement with someone who has a lease
•  But as I said, this is not all about dollar signs.  Would you feel a loss related to the lack of in-person connection with your clients?  While I love the convenience of telehealth, I admit that it isn’t the same as in-person sessions.
• Read more about mailing address options and a deeper dive into things to consider before giving up your office – click here