This Business of Therapy

Category: Earning a Living

  • Where to Practice From? Location, location, location!

    One of the key decisions in starting to practice is where to base yourself. It may seem like you have lots of options, or very few. Here are some ideas to consider, and help you choose:

  • Can the Client Pay?

    Twice recently, while discussing with therapists who might be their ideal clients, the question of clients’ ability to pay came up. Or rather, it didn’t come up. Neither of the therapists in question mentioned ability to pay as a criteria they would consider in forming an idea of their ideal client. And yet, both of…

  • What’s in a Name?

    How do you decide what to call your counselling or therapy practice? Do you use your own name, or do you opt for a name that conjures an image in the mind of potential clients or referrers? Do you choose something that captures the essence of the service you’re hoping to provide? Here are some…

  • Five Ways to Make your Marketing More Effective

    A therapist client asked me recently to help her create marketing material that would bring in more clients. This otherwise articulate professional found it difficult to put words together into promotional material, in a way that sounded authentic without being sleazy. If you’re going to invest money in getting a brochure or flyer designed and…

  • Summertime and the Living is Easy…or maybe not! Coping With Seasonality

    It’s been a glorious summer, sunshine all the way. But for some practitioners, any summer, and a fine one in particular, is not the good news it might be. For many reasons, the holiday season can result in a fall off of work for counsellors and therapists. Clients feel better, they go on holidays, or…

  • Have You Enough Support for Your Business?

    I was a bit taken aback when a colleague suggested to me during the week that what I was really looking for was support. After all, I teach this stuff, don’t I? As a therapist, I provide support for my clients, usually emotional support, and sometimes the more practical support of looking at resourcing or…