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)
Click here to read my post blog titled How Long Does It Take To Get A Full Caseload?
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.