SPECIAL EPISODE: Racism, Fear And Caring In Private Practice | TPOT 132
The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
Release Date: 06/08/2020
The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
Growing a private practice takes more than adding clients and hiring therapists. It also means learning to delegate, trust your team, and let go of doing everything yourself. In this episode, Gordon Brewer welcomes back Whitney Owens, founder of Water’s Edge Counseling and Wise Practice Consulting. Whitney shares her journey from solo therapist to group practice owner, including the challenges of building a leadership team, navigating staff turnover, and creating systems that support growth. Gordon and Whitney explore how confidence develops through experience, why clear values matter in...
info_outlineThe Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
Therapists spend a lot of time encouraging clients to slow down, practice mindfulness, and become more aware of what they need—but practicing those same things in our own lives can be much harder. In this episode, Gordon talks with Debi Trent Brown about mindfulness beyond meditation, the importance of creating small moments of joy, and what it means to live more authentically. They explore how the “rules” we pick up from family, culture, and society can quietly shape our choices, why pausing before we respond can help us better understand ourselves, and how consistency—not...
info_outlineThe Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
What happens when being “successful” in private practice starts to look a lot like burnout? In this episode, Gordon talks with James Marland about the three traps that can keep therapists stuck in one-on-one work: the clock trap, calendar trap, and couch trap. They unpack why being fully booked isn’t always the same as being free, and how tying your income, time, and impact entirely to client hours can eventually become exhausting. James also shares practical ways therapists can begin thinking beyond traditional one-on-one work through workshops, courses, trainings, and other resources...
info_outlineThe Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
One of the things I’ve learned over the years is that the work we feel most drawn to often has some connection to our own experiences. That doesn’t mean our story becomes the center of the therapy room, but it can absolutely shape the populations we care about, the problems we notice, and the kind of practice we want to build. In this episode, I talk with Hannah Short about how her own experiences with eating disorder recovery and postpartum helped shape her clinical niche. We also get into thoughtful self-disclosure, creating a practice where clients feel genuinely understood, moving from...
info_outlineThe Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
When therapists think about branding, it’s easy to immediately think about logos, fonts, colors, and websites. But your brand is so much more than what your practice looks like online. It is also the feeling people get when they encounter you, the story they associate with you, and ultimately, whether they feel like they can trust you. In this episode of The Practice of Therapy Podcast, I had the pleasure of talking with Ritu Riedweg about personal branding, marketing, and what therapists can do to make their practices easier to find and easier to connect with. Ritu brings an interesting...
info_outlineThe Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
Working with high-risk teens can feel overwhelming, especially when self-harm, suicidal thoughts, emotional dysregulation, or repeated hospitalizations are part of the picture. So how can therapists provide both compassion and structure without letting fear drive the treatment? In this episode, Gordon talks with Katie K. May about working effectively with high-risk teens and their families. Katie shares why validation matters, how therapists can provide strong clinical leadership, and why caregiver involvement is such an important part of the process. They also discuss proactive safety...
info_outlineThe Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
Building rapport isn’t just about helping clients feel comfortable. It can play a major role in whether they trust you, open up, and keep coming back. In this episode, I sit down with Nora Anger, LPC, to talk about building stronger therapeutic relationships in private practice. We discuss what clients really want from their therapists, common reasons they leave therapy, thoughtful self-disclosure, creating safety and trust, and how to balance compassion with challenging clients when they need it. Resources Mentioned In This Episode Meet Nora Anger Nora Anger, MS, LPC, is a...
info_outlineThe Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
What happens to your private practice when you step away? In this episode, Gordon talks with TaVona Denise about what her Private Practice Vitality Report revealed about owner dependency, burnout, delegation, and the systems that keep a practice running. They explore why hiring more staff doesn’t always create more freedom, how to tell if your practice still depends too heavily on you, and the simple 30-day question that can uncover exactly where your systems need work. If you want to build a practice that can grow without requiring you to be involved in every decision, this conversation is...
info_outlineThe Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
A private practice can look successful on the outside and still feel exhausting behind the scenes. Clients are showing up, revenue is coming in, and everything appears to be working, but the owner may still be answering every question, fixing every exception, following up on loose ends, and carrying far too much of the practice in their own head. In this episode, Gordon talks with Lisa Permar about the small, repeated friction points that quietly drain a practice owner’s time, attention, and energy. They explore how everyday tasks around intake, scheduling, billing, documentation, and team...
info_outlineThe Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
Your private practice may look profitable on paper, but does the money actually feel available? In this episode, Gordon talks with Margo Masri, founder of Heartfelt CFO and Tax Services, about the financial decisions that can quietly create cash flow problems for private practice owners. They explore the risks of over-hiring, ignoring taxes, taking on office space too soon, and trying to grow without fully understanding the costs involved. Margo also shares why practice owners need to know what they personally need to live on, build financial systems that can grow with the business, and...
info_outlineIn this episode, Gordon dives deep and speaks out about racism, white privilege, and fear and how we can do a better job about speaking truth, reaching out, and genuinely helping one another through this time. Gordon explains how we can speak loudest at the ballot box. Plus, he talks about how we can use free speech responsibly and the importance of emotional intelligence. It’s time that Gordon no longer keeps silent about racism, bigotry, and white privilege. Let’s end racism together.
We Need To Speak Truth
We need to speak truth to what is going on around us – this has been happening for centuries. Our country needs to do what we need to do to change things. Gordon is still learning about how his prejudices have affected himself and others.
As white people, we do not know what it’s like to go into a place and be automatically self-conscious. Gordon hasn’t done enough to reach out to people in this situation and help them feel comfortable. We need to let people know that we are safe people. Have the power to speak out against other people’s injustices, prejudices, and racism. It’s time for us to speak out.
We Need To Speak Out
We can speak out loudest at the ballot box. The rhetoric and talk that we have heard from our political leaders over the last four years need to stop. This speech is doing nothing but creating more division within our country. The rhetoric has got to end. We need to use free speech responsibly – words do count.
We have an opportunity to use our knowledge with psychology and emotions to teach people emotional intelligence. Racism is rooted in fear – it’s fear of someone that looks and speaks differently than us. There is no “they” or “them.” It’s all of US. We need to get away from separating ourselves based on economic status, what we look like, and how we speak.
We Need To Stand Together
We need to go above and beyond and reach out to our clients of color. We need to let them know that we are aware of what’s going on and how it may be affecting them. Gordon is feeling a lot of grief and guilt around this as a white person. It is time to be very aware and be there for others. Be present with people and stand with them. Reach out to each other and understand how racism is affecting those around us.
Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links!
Resources
Racism Resources
The Session Note Helper System
Free Google G-Suite Hacks Sheet you can get here.
Join the G-Suite for Therapists Users Group
Money Matters in Private Practice | The Course
G Suite for Therapists | The E-Course
Cool Resources
Be a Podcast Guest
Follow @TPOTpodcast on Instagram
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