Libsyn Directory

David Sturgess | Strategies for Success in Private Practice | TPOT 333

The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer

Release Date: 06/03/2024

Beyond the Diagnosis: The Stories That Shape Our Clients | Dr. Travis Heath | TPOT 454

The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer

What do we miss when a diagnosis becomes the whole story? Dr. Travis Heath joins Gordon Brewer to explore how narrative therapy helps us understand the stories clients tell about themselves—and the stories their families, communities, and culture tell about them. Together, they discuss how labels can both offer clarity and limit understanding, why slowing down matters in therapy, and how curiosity can open up new possibilities. Travis also shares ways therapists can reflect on their sessions, question familiar assumptions, and move beyond simply listing a client’s strengths to hearing the...

What Growing a Group Practice Really Takes | Whitney Owens | TPOT 453

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...

How Therapists Can Practice What We Preach About Mindfulness | Debi Trent Brown | TPOT 452

The 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...

How to Make More Impact Without Adding More Clients | James Marland | TPOT 451

The 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...

Supporting Postpartum Moms Through Private Practice | Hannah Short | TPOT 450

The 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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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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David Sturgess is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Marietta, Georgia. He owns Foundry Counseling, LLC, just off the Marietta Square.

For over a decade, he worked as a therapist in two of Georgia’s short- to long-term Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTFs). During the last two years of working in the hospital setting, he operated his private practice part-time. In the Spring of 2019, he left the treatment facility environment to do private practice full-time.

In this episode of The Practice of Therapy Podcast, David Sturgess dives into the essentials of balancing the desire to help others with the practical need to sustain a business. He breaks down critical decisions like choosing the right billing model and navigating insurance and tax implications. David highlights the shift from clinician to business owner, stressing the importance of ROI and strategic outsourcing. He shares three key mindset shifts: seeking help, rethinking money and time, and targeting niche markets. He advocates for proper pricing and overcoming imposter syndrome by addressing common solo practice pitfalls. David also tackles the nuances of effective marketing, emphasizing the need for cultural competency and creative strategies. Tune in for a wealth of practical advice to transform your therapy business!

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

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