John Clarke | Why Knowing Your "Why" Is Important In Your Practice | TPOT 125
The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
Release Date: 04/20/2020
Treating Neuroplastic Pain in Therapy and Private Practice | Dr. Melissa Tiessen | TPOT 419
The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
What if chronic pain isn’t a sign that your body is broken—but that your nervous system is trying to protect you? In this episode, Dr. Melissa Tiessen, a clinical psychologist and neuroplastic pain specialist, joins the show to unpack a paradigm-shifting way of understanding chronic pain and persistent physical symptoms. Drawing on neuroscience, trauma-informed therapy, and real-world clinical experience, Melissa explains how pain can exist without tissue damage—and why that realization can actually be good news. You’ll learn how neuroplastic pain develops, why symptoms can move,...
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Diversifying a Private Practice Through Couples Work | Erin Valente | TPOT 418
The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
What if couples therapy isn’t about fixing the other person at all? In this episode, Gordon sits down with Erin Valente, a couples therapist based in Los Angeles, to talk about one of the most common mistakes couples make when they come to therapy—and why real change doesn’t live with one partner, but in the relationship itself. They explore why couples work can feel intimidating for therapists, how regulation and co-regulation shape meaningful conversations, and what it really takes to help couples move out of blame and into connection. Erin also shares how she’s structured her...
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Free Continuing Education for Therapists | Tobin Richardson | TPOT 417
The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
In today’s episode, I’m excited to introduce you to Tobin Richardson, the founder of a platform called Save the Therapist. When I first learned about what Tobin is building, I knew this was something many of you would want to hear about. Continuing education is a requirement for all of us, but let’s be honest. It can be expensive, time-consuming, and sometimes hard to fit into an already full schedule. Tobin saw that problem firsthand and decided to do something about it. He created a platform that offers high-quality, accredited continuing education for therapists that is completely...
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Preventing Burnout in Private Practice | Dr. Julie Merriman | TPOT 416
The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
There are some conversations you record where you know right away that they’re going to land differently. In today’s episode, I sit down with Dr. Julie Merriman, a therapist, professor, and longtime advocate for helpers who are quietly burning out. We talk about something that hits close to home for many of us in this profession: what happens when we’re really good at helping everyone else, but don’t know how to receive ourselves. Julie shares how so many therapists become what she calls “floating heads of competence.” We’re full of knowledge, skill, and clinical insight, yet...
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When Narcissism Walks Into Your Therapy Office | Dr. Anthony Mazzella | TPOT 415
The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
If you’ve ever found yourself thinking, “Why is this client so hard to reach?” or “Why does every conversation turn into a power struggle?” this episode is for you. Today, I’m joined by Dr. Anthony Mazzella, a psychoanalyst who specializes in working with narcissistic dynamics. We go far beyond surface-level conversations about narcissism. This isn’t about labels, buzzwords, or quick fixes. It’s about what’s actually happening underneath the behavior and what truly helps. We talk about why arguing over “reality” never works, why confrontation often backfires, and how...
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The Unconventional Path: Why Your Practice Doesn’t Need Another Resolution | TPOT 414
The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
As we step into a new year, many of us feel it—that quiet but persistent pressure to do more, fix more, and somehow have everything figured out right now. New goals, new systems, bigger numbers—and for practice owners, that pressure can feel especially heavy and often pretty lonely. In today’s episode, I want to invite you to think about January differently—not as a month for pushing harder or becoming more efficient, but as a chance to slow down and get honest about what you can actually hold. Drawing on Barbara Brown Taylor’s Home by Another Way and Oliver Burkeman’s 4,000 Weeks,...
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How AI Can Transform Private Practice Marketing | Greg Goodman | TPOT 413
The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
I am so excited for today’s episode because we’re diving into one of the most transformative tools in private practice right now: AI. And joining me is someone who has been living at the intersection of mental health, creativity, and digital marketing for nearly two decades—Greg Goodman of Goodman Creatives. Greg isn’t a therapist, but his story is rooted deeply in the world of mental health. Inspired by his father’s work as a clinician, he built a career helping therapists share their voice, grow their practices, and create meaningful impact through smart, authentic marketing....
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Why Private Practice Owners Feel Overwhelmed (and How to Fix It) | Samantha Parrinello | TPOT 412
The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
If you’ve ever ended a workday wondering, “Where did all my time go?”—this episode is going to change the way you run your business. In today’s conversation, I sit down with executive coach Samantha Perinello, a powerhouse in helping business owners reclaim their time, streamline their operations, and finally build the kind of practice that doesn’t rely on them for every little task. Samantha has a remarkable track record—her clients regularly get back 10 to 14 hours every single week—and she’s here to break down exactly how that happens. We dive into the real reasons so many...
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How Personal Calling Shapes Your Private Practice | Derrick Boger | TPOT 411
The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
In today’s episode of The Practice of Therapy Podcast, I’m excited to introduce you to someone who made a big impact on me at the Wise Practice Conference—Derrick Boger. Derrick is a licensed clinical mental health counselor, military veteran, former firefighter, and the founder of Transformation Christian Counseling in Greensboro, North Carolina. His journey into the therapy world is rooted in a lifelong commitment to serving others, and you’ll hear that passion come through in every part of our conversation. In this episode, Derrick and I dive deep into what it really looks like to...
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The Exit Plan Every Therapist Should Have (But Most Don’t) | Carla Titus | TPOT 410
The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
Welcome back to the Practice of Therapy Podcast! I’m Gordon Brewer, and I am so glad you’re here today because we’re diving into a topic that every private practice owner needs to be thinking about—whether you’re brand new or decades into the work. I’m thrilled to welcome back my friend and financial powerhouse, Carla Titus. Every time Carla joins us, she brings clarity, strategy, and a whole lot of honesty about what it really takes to run a profitable, sustainable practice. And today, we’re talking about something most of us don’t think about until we’re exhausted, burned...
info_outlineJohn Clarke joins the show; he helps private practice owners build a practice that they love. In this episode, John gives tips on how to do private practice made human. First, start with your “why”. Why are you considering private practice, or why did you get into private practice in the first place? Later, John gives more tips on establishing your endpoint, creating company values, and knowing your ideal income.
Meet John Clarke
John Clarke is a licensed psychotherapist and a private practice expert at PrivatePracticeWorkshop. After learning a lot of things the hard way while building his first practice in San Francisco, he started a blog to share with others the lessons he had learned. Private Practice Workshop was born, and this blog eventually evolved into so much more: a thriving Facebook community, a successful podcast, online courses, and coaching/consulting. Some therapists want to learn how to use digital marketing to grow their audience and get more clients, but the majority just want to leave it to the pros. John founded Unconditional Media, the digital marketing team for therapists, to meet the biggest need of private practitioners: getting more clients! When he’s not nerding out over all things private practice, he’s playing jazz drums, practicing Muay Thai martial arts, and talking to his pets like they’re humans.
Having Fuel in the Tank
Start with your why. You are crafting your purpose statement. Why do any of this in the first place? Why does this matter? Knowing your why will be your fuel source. So especially on days where it’s tough to get out of bed in the morning like in a crisis, you need enough fuel in the tank to make this worth it. There are more risks associated with being a business owner than being an employee. There are more risks; there’s more stress. You are going to take work home more often; you’re liable to different things that you’re not as responsible for if you’re the employee of a company. So for John, it has to be worth that. The bumps in the road have to be worth it.
Why Private Practice?
Many therapists feel like they were born to do this. They were born to help people. Take that one step further and write down why private practice? If your purpose in life is to help people, then why private practice? It’s not the most effective place for you to help people. Do you have other ideas behind your purpose? Whether it’s owning your schedule or increasing income. Try to get honest with yourself.
Establish Your Endpoint
The endpoint is a mission statement. You should think big! You should think of the ripple effects of your work. Your mission statement is this high-level impact that your business could have on the world. Start to sketch out how are you going to get there? If you don’t know where you’re going, than any place will do—reverse engineer your big tasks. So if you want to get 50 fully booked students in this launch, you can start to work backward and go, then what do you need to do in these next one to three months to build your email list for that? What do you need to do this week to create more lead magnets to make your email list? So it helps if you trace back what actions you are taking today and what they should lead to.
Establish Company Values
Establishing your company values will help you make decisions. Even if you’re a solo practitioner, John highly recommends doing this. Create the kind of practice that you want to have for yourself. Put some thought into that and get out a piece of paper to write stuff down. When we write, we get clarity and can see the big picture.
Set Your Ideal Income and Ideal Schedule
Get in there, create that income target and make it sure it’s based on something. What are you going to need to get that money, and how are you going to use it? Then, you can reverse engineer that around your schedule. If you want to make a certain amount, how many hours will you have to work to get there? What kind of schedule do you need? Start sketching out your days, weeks, months, and years and make sure when you look at your calendar that it seems right to you. It looks good. It looks like, yes, this is worth it.
John’s Resources
Private Practice Workshop
Listen to John’s Podcast
PODCAST| Grace and Gratitude with Gordon Brewer of the Practice of Therapy
John’s Free Online Training
Apply For 1-1 Consulting
Other Resources
Financial Tips for Surviving The COVID-19 Crisis
The Practice of Therapy Teachable Courses (use code SPRING2020)
Money Matters in Private Practice | The Course
G Suite for Therapists | The E-Course
Session Note Helper
Cool Resources
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Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT
Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn and Pinterest “Like” us on Facebook