Libsyn Directory

Jessica Tappana | Life Balance and SEO Tips for Private Practice | TPOT 177

The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer

Release Date: 05/10/2021

Gary Katz | Build a Group Practice on Connection, Not Chaos | TPOT 388

The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer

🎧 Ready to Grow Your Practice Without Losing Your Soul? This Episode’s for You. In this episode, Gordon sits down with Gary Katz—psychotherapist, group practice owner, and intimacy expert—who’s scaling his business across state lines without sacrificing connection, clinical quality, or his sanity. Gary opens up about what it really takes to grow a group practice that feels good, not just on paper, but in your body, your calendar, and your team culture. From building tight-knit pods of therapists to letting go of perfection and people-pleasing, this conversation is packed with honest...

Edy Nathan | Supporting Clients Through Complex Grief in Private Practice | TPOT 387

The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer

Let’s talk about grief. (I know—what a fun little opener, right?) But hang in there, because Edy Nathan doesn’t talk about grief the way most people do. There’s no clinical detachment or textbook jargon here. Edy speaks from the kind of deep, personal knowing that only comes from living it. She lost her partner at 27—a heartbreak that didn’t just shatter her world, but reshaped it completely. Instead of stuffing it down or soldiering through, Edy got curious. She studied grief, sat with it, wrote about it, and eventually made it her life’s work. Today, she helps others see grief...

Kerry Thomas | Mood, Food, and Medicine in Private Practice | TPOT 386

The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer

What if your private practice could be a place where people stop trying to fix themselves—and start actually feeling what’s going on inside? In this powerful episode, Kerry Thomas pulls back the curtain on her 25-year journey in mental health, sharing how a personal wake-up call challenged everything she thought she knew about therapy, medication, and what it really means to heal. We talk about the connection between nutrition and mood, why numbing emotions isn’t the answer, and how private practice therapists can stop pathologizing normal human experiences. This one’s...

Julie Herres | Private Practice Tax Changes Ahead | TPOT 385

The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer

Let’s be honest: when someone says “Let’s talk tax law,” most of us want to fake a Wi-Fi outage and run for cover. But when Julie Herres joins The Practice of Therapy Podcast, you actually want to lean in. Somehow, she manages to make the ever-shifting sands of tax policy sound (dare we say it?) friendly — like a conversation over coffee with a really smart friend who also color-codes her spreadsheets. So, what’s happening with taxes in 2025? Buckle up, practice owners, because there’s a whole lot of “maybe” in the air. But Julie’s here to help us wade through the...

Dori Lewis | Should you Consider Integrating Psychedelics into Trauma Work in Private Practice? | TPOT 384

The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer

What if the path to healing trauma isn’t just through talk therapy, but through carefully guided psychedelic experiences? In this episode of The Practice of Therapy Podcast, I sit down with Dori, an experienced therapist and psychedelic facilitator, who shares her deeply informed perspective on the nuanced, responsible, and transformational use of medicines like ketamine, MDMA, and psilocybin mushrooms. Dori doesn’t just follow trends—she’s been on the frontlines, participating in research, working underground before legalization, and now helping clients access inner healing...

Tamar Blue | Creating a Safer Space for Peer Support and Digital Therapy | TPOT 383

The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer

Are you ready to discover a powerful new way to support your clients—and yourself? In this episode of The Practice of Therapy Podcast, Gordon sits down with Tamar Blue, founder of , a revolutionary platform that empowers therapists, coaches, and mental health advocates to create secure, community-driven support groups online. Whether you're a provider looking to scale your services or someone seeking a safe space to heal and connect, this conversation is packed with insight, innovation, and heart. Don’t miss this inspiring story of how one woman turned a passion for peer support into a...

Steve Bisson | Let the Work Find You: Niching with First Responders Through Podcasting | TPOT 382

The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer

What Happens When the Work Finds You? Steve Bisson didn’t plan to become a go-to therapist for first responders—but sometimes, purpose arrives without a roadmap. In this episode, Steve shares how a chance encounter on a crisis team back in 1999 set off a chain of events that led to a passionate, purpose-filled career. From riding along in police cruisers to launching a podcast that speaks directly to the hearts of firefighters, paramedics, and law enforcement officers, Steve’s story is a powerful reminder that when you say yes to the work that moves you, incredible things happen. Whether...

Jeremy Zug | Private Pay, Insurance, or Hybrid? Decide For Your Private Practice | TPOT 381

The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer

What if the two most important questions in your practice— 'Is this financially viable?' and 'Am I doing the work I love?' — didn’t have to compete? In this eye-opening episode, Jeremy dives deep into the strategic crossroads every private practice owner faces, especially when considering whether to take insurance, stay private pay, or explore a hybrid model. He breaks down the real numbers, state-by-state reimbursement differences, and the often-overlooked red flags in insurance relationships—like sneaky non-quantitative treatment limitations and the true cost of claim denials....

James Marland | Stop Trading Hours for Income: Scalable Growth in Private Practice | TPOT 380

The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer

Are you tired of the “time for dollars” trap—where every vacation, sick day, or even slow week hits your bottom line? In this episode, James Marland gets real about the burnout that comes from trading hours for income and why the solution isn’t just slapping together an online course. He dives into what it really takes to build something scalable and sustainable—without losing yourself or your sanity in the process. Whether you’ve toyed with the idea of creating a course or you’re just craving more freedom in your practice, this conversation is a must-listen. It's honest,...

Dr. Robyn Miller | Preparing For The Worst: Professional Wills in Private Practice | TPOT 379

The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer

What happens to our clients when we’re suddenly not there to care for them? In this powerful and eye-opening episode, Dr. Robyn Miller dives into the difficult but essential topic most therapists avoid: what happens when a therapist dies or becomes incapacitated. With compassion, clarity, and deep professional insight, Dr. Miller reveals the ethical, legal, and emotional chaos that can follow when we don’t have a solid closure plan in place—and how TheraClosure offers a dignified, comprehensive solution. If you’re a mental health professional who’s ever told yourself, “I’ll...

More Episodes

In this episode, Jessica from Simplified SEO Consulting joins the show. First, Jessica explains how she has learned to accept her imperfections when it comes to time management. Remember, therapists can't be all things to all people all of the time! Plus, Jessica tells us what she has done to make her email inbox so much more manageable. Tune in as Jessica gives loads of tips on SEO and how to get your counseling website to rank higher on Google.

Meet Jessica Tappana

Jessica Tappana started her private practice on her maternity leave about 20 months ago. After filling up in only a matter of months, she decided to bring on other therapists as 1099s and transitioned Aspire Counseling into a group practice. Worried about how she would fill the caseloads of these new therapists, Jessica tried several different marketing strategies. Ultimately, she decided to focus on getting her website to the first page of Google and began teaching herself SEO at nights after her kids were in bed. Slowly after gathering a couple of tips here and there, she got her website to the first page for nearly every keyword she targets. Aspire Counseling has grown to now include five therapists and a virtual assistant! In fact, all of the therapists are nearly full, and Jessica hopes to find a few more quality team members in the months to come.

Meanwhile, Jessica has discovered a passion for teaching other private practice owners what she has learned about website Search Engine Optimization. As a private practice SEO Consultant, she has had the opportunity to work with therapists from around the country sharing her SEO secrets. She’s both optimized websites for private practices AND has taught therapists how to do the SEO work themselves through Zoom meetings and enjoyed watching their sites begin to climb to the first page of Google even in larger metropolitan areas like Atlanta or Houston. Recently Jessica released a FREE 7-day e-mail series that teaches therapists all the necessary information they need to know and has received positive feedback across the board from other practice owners who are raving about the vast amount of information covered in only seven e-mails.

Accepting Imperfections Around Time Management

Accepting your imperfections and accepting your reality will be critical when it comes to time management. Some people always think they can see one more client during the day. However, you’ll start to realize that’s not always practical. In reality, you can do better if you accept your limitations as a private practice owner and as a therapist. Drawing boundaries will help you stay more present in everything that you do. Remember, you can’t be everything to everyone all of the time. When you have healthy boundaries between work and your personal life, you will be a better therapist because of it.

Managing Your Email Inbox

Jessica has started getting some help with managing her email inbox. Many people find that they put incredible pressure on themselves to respond to emails immediately or within twenty-four hours. Depending on how full your inbox is, that can be impossible. That’s why Jessica is outsourcing help for her email work. Of course, there are emails that she needs to respond to personally. However, those go into a particular folder for her to check periodically. In fact, Jessica is getting help from Uriah Guilford, who made an appearance on The Practice of Therapy Podcast episode 176. His 7-Day Email Transformation Challenge has been a total game-changer for Jessica and how she runs her inbox.

Outsourcing Your SEO

Jessica outsources a lot of her private practice SEO. Even though Jessica is knowledgeable in SEO, she has trained all her staff to do it. Jessica realized that she doesn’t need to be the one to optimize all of her blog posts. When Jessica first started her website, absolutely no one was clicking on it. However, Jessica learned everything she needed to know about SEO and applied it to her counseling website. Now, Jessica has a full practice and a thriving business. At Simplified SEO Consulting, Jessica helps her clients get to the top of search engines. That way, therapists can fill their caseloads and reach their ideal clients. If you’re looking to learn more about SEO, Jessica has Online SEO Courses for DIY Practice Owners.

SEO Tip: Content Is Key

Content will be your best asset when it comes to SEO for your private practice website. Therapists are always worried about writing the right thing. When you write a lot on your website, therapists often think that their potential clients aren’t going to read the content. Well, Jessica says a great way to improve readability is by creating subheadings for your content. That way, if someone is scanning the page, they can find exactly what they are looking for when reading the subheadings. You need enough information on your website for Google to know what your content is all about. If you don’t have enough content, Google won’t pull your website up when someone is making a search.

Having A Niche Is Critical For Your SEO

When you have a niche, SEO content will be a breeze. Instead of having fifty different specialties, you can narrow it down to a select few. When you narrow it down, you can write all sorts of things about those niches. If you niche down and write a whole page about depression, that’s a great start. Then, write blog posts on how to combat depression, tips for dealing with depression, what to know about depression. That way, Google starts to see that this website knows a lot about depression. When people search for help with depression, your website will pop up.

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