Am I Ready For Private Practice?

  • Assess your strengths and areas you thrive/your gifts

  • Assess your areas of growth, continued challenges, and weaknesses

  • Working on and refining areas of growth, continued challenges, and weaknesses

  • Awareness and active exploration and management of scarcity, anxiety, worthiness, shame, guilt, and money mindset issues/core beliefs you hold

  • Understands and is comfortable with the reality of opening and building a private practice. Takes anywhere from 10-16 months to have a full caseload (depends on what you consider a full weekly caseload is)

  • Is okay making limited income in the beginning stages of business (0-9 months)

  • Comfortable with making variable income based on the seasons of the year (e.g. summer is slower so take vacation then, fall is busier so working more) and/or due to client cancelations

  • Has a partner/spouse, savings fund, and/or disposable income in the beginning stages or is okay working part-time or per diem to supplement income in the beginning stages when you are building a caseload

  • Comfortable with consistent and ongoing networking with other colleagues (talking about themselves and reciprocal building relationships)

  • Comfortable with consistent and ongoing professional marketing with whatever method that they prefer and works for them and their ideal client such as : Google ads, Google My Business, SEO, blogging, social media, networking, a good website, writing a book, presenting workshops, going on podcasts, etc.

  • The traits and skills needed to be in private practice include, but not are limited to:

    • Identification of values and goals of your business (Why do you want to open a private practice. Who will you serve? What are your business values? What are your personal values?)

    • Go getter, self motivated and proactive

    • Active learner

    • Problem solver

    • Financial literacy

    • Strong clinical skills and judgement

    • Evidence based practice

    • Strong foundation of basic counseling skills

    • Customer service

    • Marketing and advertising

    • Adaptable

    • Okay with taking risks

    • Patience

    • Organized

    • Communication skills

    • Self awareness and insight

    • Okay with taking risks

    • Self confidence

  • Assessing your comfort with being a business owner and everything related to owning a business.

    • This can include: marketing, advertising, having your income directly related to bringing in new clients consistently, paying for your own health insurance, paying your own and taking out your own federal taxes.

  • Assessing your comfort working with clients long term vs. short-term (e.g. crisis work)

  • Finding a good fit supervisor who can help you with both clinical and business related issues and meeting with them weekly

  • Continually learning, researching, studying, etc. due to being isolated in a private practice setting vs. working for an agency which has support and training embedded already in it such as grand rounds, case consult, group supervision, etc.

  • Referring clients out if supervision, consultation, studying, researching, and ongoing learning is not helping you

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Those Who Tend To Thrive & Be Attracted To Private Practice

  • Valuing freedom and autonomy to make their own choices such as setting your fee, scheduling, time off, etc.

  • Valuing flexibility of working for yourself such as modifying your schedule, modifying your fee, taking as much time off as you want, working overseas, being 100% telehealth, being 100% in person, hybrid scheduling, etc.

  • Wants to work less and see less clients per week

  • Wants to make a desired income that is not offered in group practice or agency (e.g. six figures)

  • Does not like working for others

  • Embraces the challenges of being a small business owner

  • Enjoy the nitty gritty parts of business such as taxes, renewing licenses, etc.

  • Are confident in who they are

  • Are congruent (inside matches the outside)

  • Are authentic to who they are

  • Practice assertive communication vs. passive, passive aggressive, or aggressive communication

  • Have a beginner’s mind vs. believing they know everything and are an expert

  • Are comfortable making mistakes

  • Are comfortable taking risks

  • Can repair and negotiate relationships after disagreements/ruptures/conflicts

  • And more

Click here to read my blog post titled Private Practice Is Not For Everyone.

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The Basics of Therapy & Counseling For Associate/New Therapists

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Can Associate Therapists (LMCHAs, LMFTAs, LSWAICs) Operate A Private Practice In Washington State?