This Business of Therapy

Category: Earning a Living

  • Help! I Need A Room, Fast

    Help! I have no where to see my client. I need a room, and fast! This was the dilemma my friend found herself in when first started her practice. She had a willing client, but no therapy room. Here are a couple of ideas we came up with:

  • The Buck Stops Here

    Many therapists setting out in practice for the first time have closed their doors and gone back to working for someone else within three years. Not because they’re not good therapists, not because they aren’t helping their clients, but because they had no idea what it takes to run a business. I learnt this lesson…

  • What Does a Successful Practice Look Like For You?

    The first step in establishing a therapy or counselling practice (or indeed any other kind of venture) is to envisage it. Since most people who set out to do something do so with an attitude of wanting it to go well, I am assuming that you want your practice to be successful. What would tell…

  • RELATIONSHIPS WITH LOCAL DOCTORS

    Doctors and other medical professionals are a good source of work. They see people who are vulnerable, and at times of crisis in their lives, when counselling or therapy may be one of a range of possible solutions. It’s a good idea therefore to establish a connection with them, and let them know how your…

  • Creating a Website

    Do you need a website? Many therapists do not use one, and seem to get on okay without. So if this is a huge deal for you, don’t scare yourself with it at the first instance. Much can be done without one. Hold it as a possibility for the future, when other options have bedded…

  • What Should I Charge?

    This is an interesting question, not only for newly qualified therapists starting out, but also those in practice for a while. And there’s no right answer. You are free to charge what you want. I personally believe that it is important that some fee changes hands, even if it is a nominal one, but it…

  • What Do You Think of the Competition?

    What comes to mind when you hear the word “competition”? For many people, it conjures up a sense of threat. But I wonder if you have ever thought of the competition as an asset? A common topic of discussion among therapists is the challenge of isolation. Perhaps surprisingly, this is not just a feature of…

  • Limiting Beliefs

    One of the ways in which we can limit ourselves, whether in the context of our practice, or in life generally, is through our unconscious beliefs about money. Most people are unaware that these beliefs can be running in the background, subtly influencing how we live our lives. Therapists will probably be more aware than…

  • A Business Plan for a Therapy Practice? You must be kidding!

    If you are setting up a therapy business, you’re going to need a private practice counselling business plan. It seems over the top doesn’t it? You just want to help people, and don’t want to be bothered with all this business stuff. I get it. But before you close this post down in disgust, bear…

  • Spending Time ON Your Practice

    A reader of one of my newsletters wrote to tell me of her struggle to find time to work on her accounts. It reminded me of how often we can forget that running a practice is more than just seeing the clients. There are lots of little tasks that need to be done to keep…