Life as a provider
How much do therapists make in Georgia?
Whether you’re considering becoming a therapist or are already in practice, you may be curious about the average salary of providers here.
February 12, 2026
4 min read
From license type and years of experience to location and whether you accept insurance, many factors quietly shape how much a therapist makes. Understanding how all these pieces fit together can help you make the best possible decisions about your business, allowing you to better support your clients’ mental and behavioral health over time.
Below, learn more about how much therapists can make in Georgia, and how Headway helps providers earn higher salaries without administrative stress.
Key insights
1
Therapists in Georgia can earn anywhere from $29,000 to nearly $80,000 a year, depending on license type.
2
Psychiatrists in Georgia can earn anywhere from $96,000 to $229,000 a year.
3
Factors such as license type, specialties, location, and work setting all play a role in determining a mental health provider’s income.
4
Headway can help therapists earn more by negotiating better insurance rates, ensuring regular, bi-weekly payment, and taking the administrative burden so providers can focus more on seeing clients.
How much you can make in New Jersey depends on your license type and other factors
License type has a strong impact on mental healthcare providers’ salaries. Along with the amount of education, license type influences how and where a provider can practice (which then affects salary). Overall, though, income varies based on where you’re working, the services you’re providing, and how many years of experience you have — not just license type.
Below, find some of the most common license types and potentially salary ranges in Georgia, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
- Licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT): $28,910–$76,970
- Licensed professional counselor: $39,020–$71,980
- Clinical social worker: $31,670–$61,920
- Psychologist: $18,970–$101,750
- Psychiatrist: $96,700–$229,190
How much do therapists make per hour in Georgia?
Like salary, a therapist’s hourly rate depends on several factors, including exact geographic location, work setting, and whether or not insurance is billed. And as with overall salary, license type tends to play the most important role in hourly rate. On average, LMFTs, counselors, and social workers who take insurance typically earn $25 to $35 an hour in Georgia. Psychologists can make around $35 an hour, and psychiatrists can make more than $100 an hour. These differences reflect variations in training, scope of practice, and clinical responsibility across license types.
While most providers may not calculate their earnings in an hourly way, these hourly rates are based on mathematical averages across the board for a simpler comparison.
When it comes to hourly rates or reimbursement rates, the dollar amount refers to what providers receive when they get individually credentialed with certain insurance plans. Headway makes credentialing with a range of plans easy, allowing you to focus on your clients instead of paperwork.
How much do therapists make in Atlanta?
Therapists in urban settings like Atlanta can often earn more than therapists in suburban or rural areas due to demand for services. The average salary for a licensed counselor in Atlanta is $64,030, and the average salary for a psychiatrist in Atlanta is $259,270.
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What influences how much therapists make in Georgia?
In Georgia, therapists can earn similar salaries and hourly rates compared to the national average. In addition to level of education and the ability to prescribe medication, several other factors influence how much therapists earn in Georgia. Experience plays a meaningful role, with clinicians who have spent more years in practice often able to command higher rates than those earlier in their careers. Specialization also matters. Therapists with advanced training in areas such as trauma, substance-use disorders, or niche modalities like art or play therapy may see higher earning potential due to increased demand for their expertise.
Location is another key driver, as compensation tends to be higher in large metropolitan areas with higher costs of living. Finally, practice setting can significantly affect income. Community mental health and hospital-based roles often offer lower salaries but provide stability and benefits, while group practices and private practice models typically offer greater earning potential. Therapists who operate their own private practices, in particular, may earn more if they build a strong local reputation and maintain consistent client demand.
How much can therapists make with Headway?
As we’ve established, a therapist’s salary depends on numerous factors. One of the most important elements is whether or not a therapist bills insurance. Along with making it easy for therapists of all backgrounds and license types to get credentialed with insurance payers, Headway negotiates competitive rates and ensures consistent, bi-weekly payment for all providers.
By doing the legwork to develop partnerships with insurance companies, Headway allows providers to access negotiated reimbursement rates without sacrificing a portion of their earnings or taking on additional administrative burden.
How Headway helps you build a profitable practice
Building a sustainable therapy practice isn’t just about filling your calendar — it’s about being paid fairly for your work without taking on unnecessary administrative stress. Headway helps therapists build profitable practices by negotiating competitive insurance reimbursement rates and handling time-consuming tasks like credentialing, billing, and claims management. Providers receive reliable, bi-weekly payments, so income is more predictable and easier to plan around. By reducing overhead costs and eliminating many back-office responsibilities, Headway allows you to focus more of your time on client care — not paperwork — while keeping more of what you earn as your practice grows.
This content is for general informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute clinical, legal, financial, or professional advice. All decisions should be made at the discretion of the individual or organization, in consultation with qualified clinical, legal, or other appropriate professionals.
© 2025 Therapymatch, Inc. dba Headway. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission.
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