Reflections From My Private Practice Journey | TPOT 199
The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
Release Date: 10/11/2021
Branding Your Private Practice: How to Stand Out and Get Found | Ritu Riedweg | TPOT 449
The 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...
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Working With High-Risk Teens in Private Practice | Katie K. May | TPOT 448
The 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...
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Why Rapport Matters More Than Ever in Private Practice | Nora Anger | TPOT 447
The 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...
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Is Your Private Practice Too Dependent on You? | TaVona Denise | TPOT 446
The 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...
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The Systems Your Private Practice Needs to Run Smoothly | Lisa Permar | TPOT 445
The 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...
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Private Practice Money Mistakes That Could Be Costing You | Margo Masri | TPOT 444
The 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...
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The Neurodivergent Therapist’s Guide to Private Practice | Martin Altman | TPOT 443
The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
Have you ever wondered how much easier private practice could feel if you stopped fighting the way your brain works? In this episode, I’m talking with Martin Altman, LPC, about his experience as a therapist with ADHD and how understanding his own neurodivergence helped him find a niche that genuinely fit. We get into the strengths and challenges that can come with ADHD, how Martin stays present with clients, and why building the right systems can make private practice feel a whole lot more sustainable. Martin also shares a really helpful perspective on emotional hijacking and why distraction...
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The Emotional Weight of Private Practice | Lindsay Benson | TPOT 442
The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
Therapists are great at taking care of everyone else, but we are not always so good at noticing what the work is doing to us. In this episode, I’m talking with Lindsay Benson about the hidden toll private practice can take on our nervous systems. We get into therapist burnout, the stress that builds up from sitting with difficult stories all day, and the small practices that can help us reset between sessions. Lindsay also shares her experience moving from insurance to private pay, offering therapy intensives, and building a practice that feels more sustainable. This is a great conversation...
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The Mindset Shifts That Make Private Practice Feel More Sustainable | Tyana Tavakol | TPOT 441
The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
What if the biggest thing holding your private practice back isn't your marketing strategy but your mindset? In this episode, I'm joined by Tyana Tavakol to talk about the beliefs that shape the way we build our practices. We explore scarcity versus abundance, the value of finding your niche, and why trying to appeal to everyone often keeps you from connecting with the clients who need you most. We also dive into building an online practice, creating meaningful professional relationships, and learning to trust your own expertise instead of comparing yourself to everyone else. If you've ever...
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Private Practice Stress: What’s Filling Your Bucket? | Kristin Oja | TPOT 440
The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
Are you burning out in private practice without realizing it? In this episode of The Practice of Therapy Podcast, Gordon talks with Kristin Oja, DNP, founder of STAT Wellness, about optimizing stress resilience and preventing burnout. Kristin shares a functional medicine perspective on why burnout is not always caused by work alone. Often, it is the buildup of stressors outside of work, including sleep, caffeine, exercise, relationships, technology, self-talk, and lack of recovery. Kristin explains the idea of the “stress bucket” and how even good things, like exercise, intermittent...
info_outlineI learned a lot of things about starting a private practice the hard way. I'm grateful to share the lessons that I learned from my journey and help you not make the same mistakes that I did. First, I speak about the importance of knowing your 'why' on starting a private practice. Once you know your 'why,' other aspects of your business will begin to fall into place. Tune in as I dive deep into lessons learned around finances, marketing, outsourcing, and systems. Plus, I direct you to all sorts of resources that will help you on your journey. Thanks for being with me!
Knowing Your 'Why' For Private Practice
Why did you want to go into this profession, to begin with? Why did you want to go into clinical work, become a therapist, a social worker, psychologist, marriage and family therapist, licensed professional counselor, or whatever you are within this particular profession? Your 'why' is an important piece to keep in mind as you build your private practice. So, I invite you to think about your inspiration. When we get busy with business, we can lose sight of our inspiration, and eventually, we will feel a little burnt out. Private practice is hard work! We have experienced a lot of struggles because of Covid, so knowing your why is more important than ever.
Private Practice Isn't For Everyone
One of the things that you need is a sense of wanting to feed the creative side of yourself. We can all feed our creative selves differently, but is a private practice adding to your creative side? One of the things that you need to be successful in private practice is an entrepreneurial spirit. In other words, you need to accept challenges along the way on your private practice journey. I love to learn about the business side of things; it's what inspired me to start The Practice of Therapy back in 2016. I started this podcast so I could share lessons learned around the business aspects of private practice.
Learning About The Financial Side of Private Practice
One of the first things you have to learn about private practice is the money side of the business. I put together a course on teaching people about the financial side of private practice. When you go into business, you need to have some money to kind of back that up. A lot of traditional companies do it through investors. In other words, they get people to give them money for some return on that investment. When we go into private practice, we want to be self-sufficient. If you're interested in learning more about managing the financial side of your practice, check out my course Money Matters In Private Practice.
Have Money Saved Before Starting Your Private Practice
So, I started in private practice, doing it part-time and working for an agency. The extra income took the pressure off of me when I built my private practice. I wouldn't recommend diving into private practice unless you have enough money to back yourself up. I spent a year saving money, so I had a reserve. That way, if something happened, I had a buffer to protect me through emergencies. You need at least three to six months of income and expenses saved away before you jump into full-time. It will take a tremendous amount of pressure off of yourself.
There Is More Than Enough Business For All of Us
One thing that I've learned during the pandemic is that there is more than enough business for all of us. It's a matter of being able to put yourself out there and market your practice in a way that people can find you. That's all marketing is, is just making sure that you've got a website that is performing well and you are networking with the right people. If you are insurance-based, you need to be on the right insurance panels. I have a Facebook Live where I give all sorts of marketing ideas. You can watch the replay HERE.
Keep It Simple
When I first started my practice, I made my systems and processes much more complicated than they needed to be. So one of the things I would recommend is to keep it simple and don't make it overly difficult for yourself. People start getting worried about regulations such as HIPAA, state requirements, and all that. You don't want to do anything illegal and unethical. However, these fears can hold us back. You don't need to make things overly complicated. The bottom line to HIPAA is that we protect client information; that's something we do anyway in our profession. Make sure that you encrypt your equipment, and you encrypt your storage of documents. Please read my blog about HIPAA Anxiety In Private Practice.
Outsource Your Administrative Functions In Private Practice
People are reluctant to invest in things that are going to be a better use of their time. When initially starting a practice, therapists do too much of the work that isn't a good return on their time. For instance, if you're still returning phone calls to your clients and scheduling your clients, then you might want to outsource. Whenever I do consult therapists, that's the first place I start. The more you can outsource your administrative functions, the easier it will be for your practice. You can bootstrap and do these things yourself when you don't have a lot of clients. However, at some point, you will have to outsource it. I recommend outsourcing if you have ten or more clients per week.
Think About Ways To Diversify Your Income
There are only so many clients you can see in one day. There are only so many clients you can see in a week. One of the things that you will want to think about doing is diversifying your income. If you're going to increase your revenue within your business, many people believe they need more clients. However, it might not be a good return on the investment of your time. So, the next logical step for a lot of people is starting a group practice. A group practice might not be for everyone. You need leadership skills, and you need to enjoy working with other people. Check out my free webinar Solo to Group Practice: Adding More Therapists to Grow Your Time & Income.
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
Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free.
Blueprint Health: First month free with promo code TPOTPODCAST
Using Google Workspace As A Practice Platform Course
Solo to Group Practice: Adding More Therapists to Grow Your Time & Income
HIPAA Anxiety In Private Practice
Money Matters In Private Practice
Marketing and Diversifying Income
Killin'It Camp
Get Your Copy of The Full Focus Planner
Join the Google Workspace for Therapists Users Group
Follow @PracticeofTherapy 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 wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.