- Costs & Time Investment: - Initial: $40,000+ and 3.5 years (15-25 hrs/ week) minimum (degree + clinical hours) - Ongoing: $4,000 and 50 hours annually for maintenance - State Expansion: $500 and 50 hours per additional state - Can't bill insurance during clinical hours, and max insurance reimbursement (~$100) is below your target rate - Key Limitations: - Practice restrictions `limit innovation` (no asynchronous therapy, required session formats) - Must maintain `clinical boundaries` vs. your preferred coaching relationship style - State-by-state `regulation constrains` nationwide scalability - Required real-time sessions conflict with your tech-enabled vision While the ability to help people in crisis through therapy and accept insurance payments is appealing, both the practical and personal barriers make it the wrong path for me. Beyond the substantial investment ($40,000+ and 3.5 years minimum) and ongoing maintenance ($4,000 and 50 hours annually), my ADHD, grandiose thinking, and direct communication style fundamentally clash with traditional therapeutic approaches. The clinical boundaries and bureaucratic requirements would not only restrict the warm, familiar relationships I aim to build, but would likely clash with my natural tendency to think big and move fast. While therapy would enable me to address deeper trauma and mental health concerns, my more direct, innovative approach simply doesn't fit within the careful, non-directive framework that therapy requires. Through coaching, I can leverage my natural strengths - including my bold thinking and straightforward style - to facilitate significant personal growth and healing, without forcing myself to conform to a clinical model that goes against my grain. I can better serve clients by being authentically myself in a coaching role than by trying to reshape my personality to fit the therapeutic mold.