#70 How to Start a Private Therapy Practice (Without Burning Out or Going Broke)
Love, Happiness and Success for Therapists
Release Date: 05/28/2025
#77 AI, Ethics, and Therapy: What Every Clinician Needs to Know Right Now
Love, Happiness and Success for Therapists
Is your therapy practice future-ready… or are your AI tools quietly writing your client notes — and maybe rewriting your ethics policy, too? If you’re a therapist trying to make sense of what the heck is going on with AI in our field right now, this episode is for you. Whether you’re using AI daily, avoiding it like a bad EHR platform, or somewhere in between, you need to hear this conversation. In today’s episode of Love, Happiness & Success for Therapists, I sit down with cyberpsychologist and licensed counselor Dr. Rachel Wood to talk about — and why we, as ethical...
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#54 Subpoenaed as a Therapist: How to Stay Legal, Ethical, and Sane
Love, Happiness and Success for Therapists
This one is SO important... we're doing it again. After originally posting this episode earlier in the year, I've had so many messages from therapist colleagues about how helpful and important this info was, I wanted to put it back at the top. Additionally, I have created a free cheat sheet with the changes that I made to my own disclosure statement after recording this interview (because I too, learned a lot) and I'm happy to share this with you. DM me on Linkedin or just shoot me an email (). xo, Lisa = There's something none of us want to deal with, but absolutely need to be prepared...
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#76 - Why Coaches Can Charge More Than Therapists
Love, Happiness and Success for Therapists
Ever wondered how a coach with zero credentials is charging triple what you make—and people are lining up to pay them?! It's enough to make any seasoned, licensed, ethics-loving therapist want to throw their DSM across the room. In this juicy episode of Love, Happiness & Success for Therapists, I’m pulling back the curtain on why so often leaves therapist rates in the dust. Coaches are NOT more skilled or more capable of change work. They’re just playing an entirely different game. A game that rewards confidence, clarity, marketing savvy, and outcomes over credentials and...
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#75 - “Do You Take Insurance?” How to Talk to Clients About Self Pay Therapy
Love, Happiness and Success for Therapists
Ever had a dream client vanish the second you said, “I don’t take insurance”? In this episode of Love, Happiness, and Success for Therapists, I’m breaking down one of the most frustrating, deflating, and pivotal conversations we have in private practice: and self-pay therapy (without spiraling, apologizing, or selling yourself short). I walk you through exactly how to handle that record-scratch moment with clarity, confidence, and integrity—so you can stop losing ideal clients and start owning your value. We’ll explore why the insurance model was never built for growth work,...
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#74 - Can Therapists Give Advice? How to Empower Clients While Staying Ethical
Love, Happiness and Success for Therapists
Ever had a client look at you, desperate for help, and ask, “What should I do?” Today, I’m pulling back the curtain on a dilemma that I hear from therapists all the time: “My clients are stuck, they need direction, and they’re asking me for advice. But I’m supposed to stay neutral, right?” On one hand, we want to help, but on the other, we’ve been trained to stay neutral and let the client find their own answers. So What’s the right move when your client is stuck and clearly craving direction? In this episode of Love, Happiness and Success For Therapists, we're diving...
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#73 Fake Therapy: How 7 Cups Stole Real Therapists’ Identities to Scam Clients
Love, Happiness and Success for Therapists
Therapists, what if I told you your photo, credentials, and carefully crafted bio might be sitting on a website you never signed up for—used to funnel therapy-seeking clients into ? I know you might be thinking, “That could never happen to me…” But it’s a rapidly increasing issue that’s affecting therapists across the country right this second. And it could happen to you too. In this episode of Love, Happiness and Success for Therapists, I’m digging into the disturbing world of fake therapy platforms, profile scraping, and the deceptive tactics being used by some online...
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#72 - Ethical Dilemmas: When Therapy Clients Refer Their Friends!
Love, Happiness and Success for Therapists
Have you ever gotten that really sweet message from a client saying, “Hey, I told my friend about you—they’re reaching out!” and felt… conflicted? On the one hand, it’s a huge compliment. On the other? It throws you right into the middle of an ethical tightrope walk. , it can feel like walking a fine line between appreciation and professional chaos. In this episode of Love, Happiness, and Success for Therapists, I’ll share a behind-the-scenes story from my own practice where a client referred a friend—who happened to be their business partner—and how things unraveled when...
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#50 How Internal Family Systems (IFS) Can Revolutionize Your Therapy Practice with Dr. Dick Schwartz
Love, Happiness and Success for Therapists
Ever felt like you’re missing that one tool in your therapy toolkit that could help your clients truly heal and reconnect with their best selves? Well, in today’s episode of Love, Happiness and Success for Therapists, I’m chatting with Dr. Dick Schwartz, founder of the , about the power of IFS and how it can be a game-changer for your clients. IFS is more than just a therapy model—it's a transformative approach that helps clients access their own core Self, heal their internal wounds, and lead their lives with compassion, confidence, and calm. It's about connecting with the...
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#71: Helping Therapy Clients (and YOU!) Find Career Clarity and Purpose ft. Suzy Welch
Love, Happiness and Success for Therapists
You’re a therapist, not a career strategist, right? That’s what I told myself for years—until the zillionth client sat across from me, looked me dead in the eye, and asked, “What should I do with my life?” Cue the record scratch. Let’s be real: we’re trained to hold emotional space, diagnose, treat, and heal — but when it comes to career development and professional identity? Most of us are flying blind. In this episode, I sit down with the brilliant Suzy Welch — NYU professor, bestselling author, and creator of the Becoming You methodology — to talk about how therapists...
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#40: Dr. Dan Siegel's New Approach to Attachment Therapy
Love, Happiness and Success for Therapists
Ever wonder how to truly help your clients build more secure attachment styles? This episode of Love, Happiness, and Success for Therapists is for you! I’m sitting down with the brilliant Dr. Daniel Siegel—one of the world’s leading experts in attachment science and childhood development. Together, we’re unpacking the latest research and ideas you can take straight into your practice. Dr. Siegel’s approach goes beyond the basics of attachment theory, blending personality, temperament, and attachment into a powerful framework that creates truly personalized client experiences. This...
info_outlineYou’re craving more freedom, better clients, and real income... but is private practice actually the dream you think it is?
In this episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on what it really takes to start a successful private therapy practice—and trust me, it’s not what most therapists expect.
Whether you're yearning for more freedom, higher income, or a deeper impact, going solo can be amazing... if you make intentional, informed decisions from day one. I’ll walk you through the crucial questions every therapist needs to answer before jumping into private practice, share the pros and cons of insurance vs. private pay, and unpack the coaching-vs-therapy conversation that so many clinicians miss (at their own risk).
This is the conversation I wish someone had with me before I started Growing Self. So consider this your honest, heartfelt, experienced guide to launching a practice that truly supports your life, your energy, and your goals.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Do You Want a Private Practice or a Business?
02:15 – What Private Practice Really Involves
12:38 – Door #1: Insurance-Based Practice
17:59 – Door #2: Self-Pay Private Practice
25:10 – Marketing Mistakes Therapists Make
27:05 – Therapy vs. Coaching: Know the Difference
30:35 – What to Do Before You Launch
41:44 – How to Find Your Niche As a Therapist
If you’re seriously thinking about starting a private practice, please don’t wing it. Join me in my free CEU training: 4 Steps to Discovering Your Niche as a Therapist. I created it to help you get crystal clear on who you are as a practitioner, who you want to serve, and how to attract your dream clients. It's everything I wish I’d known when I started my private practice. You’ll also receive one CEU credit for completing the training and acing the knowledge check.
👉 Access the Free CEU Training: 4 Steps to Finding Your Niche as a Therapist
Also, if you’re in the messy middle of your professional evolution, or if you're just craving more real-talk conversations about the behind-the-scenes of life as a therapist—let’s stay connected.
I hang out on LinkedIn more than I probably should (hey, it's where the smart, soulful professionals are). That’s where I share exclusive content for therapists, updates on my latest free CEU trainings, insights into private practice success, and the occasional nerdy deep dive into clinical ethics, coaching, or how to market yourself without selling your soul. I’d love to hear from you!
👉 Come find me on LinkedIn!
Xoxo
Dr. Lisa Marie Bobby
www.growingself.com
P.S. If you found this episode helpful, please share it with a colleague, your supervision group, or anyone else dreaming of going solo. Let’s raise the bar together.