If you’re a therapist who carries the weight of being the primary breadwinner while also wanting more presence, more ease, and more time with your family, this episode is for you. This isn’t a conversation about hustling harder or squeezing more productivity out of already-full days. It’s about slowing down enough to make values-based decisions—so your money, time, and energy actually support the life you want to be living.

In this coaching-style episode, I sit down with Colleen Barrows, a perinatal mental health therapist, mom of two young children, and graduate of Money Skills for Therapists. Together, we walk through the very real tension Colleen is feeling between maintaining financial stability as the primary breadwinner, managing most of the household responsibilities, and wanting more meaningful one-on-one time with her kids—while also nurturing a creative passion project, which will help therapists and postpartum women, that she hopes may one day provide her with passive income.

Choosing Time, Family, and Financial Stability as a Breadwinning Therapist

Like so many breadwinning therapist moms, Colleen’s “math brain” keeps telling her that the solution is to see more clients. She’s currently carrying a heavy client load while also functioning as the household manager and emotional anchor at home. In this conversation, I gently guide Colleen through a reflective exercise—imagining herself years from now, looking back on this fleeting season of early parenthood—and we explore what choices she would feel most proud of when it comes to time, money, and energy.

A Coaching Conversation for Breadwinning Therapist Parents

(00:03:39) Balancing Passion, Time, and Family

(00:12:99) Juggling Work and Household Finances

(00:16:57) Balancing Careers and Relationship Equity

(00:22:41) Quality vs. Quantity in Parenting

(00:24:20) Seeking Balance and Intentionality

(00:27:08) Household Roles and Compatibility

(00:31:52) Balancing Breadwinning and Family

(00:33:21) Money Clarity for Therapists

Exploring Choices Around Time, Energy, and Income

This episode offers an honest look at the tension many therapist parents feel—between financial responsibility, private practice demands, and the desire to be fully present during a fleeting season of early parenthood. If you’ve ever felt pulled between money decisions and your deeper values, this conversation is for you.

Key takeaways to reflect on:

1. Balance isn’t just math: Financial choices should support your well-being, not override it.
2. Quality over quantity: Small, protected moments of connection matter more than constant presence.
3. Revisit roles regularly: Sharing household labor and support can ease resentment and restore energy.

Being the breadwinner often means carrying more than just the paycheck. This season of parenting young children is intense—but it’s not permanent. With thoughtful, values-led choices, you can build a life you’ll look back on with pride, not regret.

Ready to Improve your Business Money Skills?

Are you a Solo Private Practice Owner?

I made this course just for you: Money Skills for Therapists. My signature course has been carefully designed to take therapists from money confusion, shame, and uncertainty – to calm and confidence. In this course I give you everything you need to create financial peace of mind as a therapist in solo private practice.

Want to learn more? Click here to register for my free masterclass, “The 4 Step Framework to Get Your Business Finances Totally in Order.”

This masterclass is your way to get a feel for my approach, learn exactly what I teach inside Money Skills for Therapists, and get your invite to join us in the course.

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Get to Know Colleen Barrows:

Colleen Barrows is a therapist with over 15 years of experience, specializing in perinatal mental health and supporting moms through pregnancy, postpartum, and early parenthood. She lives in Ohio with her husband and two young children and brings a creative, human-centered lens to her work, shaped by her background as an artist and yoga instructor. Colleen is currently building a blog for postpartum moms that blends clinical insight with personal storytelling, and as a graduate of Money Skills for Therapists, she’s continuing to explore how to balance breadwinning, creativity, family life, and financial stability with more ease.

Follow Colleen Barrows:

Email: [email protected]

Website & Free Guides: https://www.allthemamatherapy.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allthemamatherapy

Mentioned in this episode:

Start Feeling Calm and Confident About Your Group Practice Finances

Feeling overworked and underpaid in your group practice? You’re not alone.

Running a group practice can feel like carrying the weight of everyone’s paychecks — including your own — and wondering if it’s all really worth it.

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