What’s the Best Way to Grow Your Therapy Practice?


I was asked at a recent meeting of therapists what’s the best way to grow your practice. It’s a straightforward question, but unfortunately the answer is not so simple. Oh, I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who will tell you THE best way of growing your practice, and for them, no doubt they have found that to be the best way. But then, you are not them, and they are not you. Because the thing is, in my view, there is no best or right way, no one way that works for everyone, in all circumstances.

photo  (11)I’ve often written about ways of getting more clients, increasing your income or building the practice you want. There are lots of strategies, and lots of ways of putting yourself out there, and all of them work, but not all will work for everyone, all of the time. We are each different and for each of us, some things will work better than others.

So, how do you decide what’s the next best thing for you to do? Here are a few ideas to help you to narrow down the field a little:

Listen to your inner knowing: Some things will appeal to you more than others, probably those things that are closest to your comfort zone. Learn to listen to that voice, even when it seems to make no sense. You might be surprised. For example, when I first heard about EFT my reaction was “That couldn’t possibly work.” But EFT has been an important tool for me in all sorts of ways, not least in helping me to identify and soften limiting beliefs and fears about what I can and can’t do.

Show willing, and keep an open mind when it comes to new things: I think it was Einstein that said that a definition of insanity was to keep doing the same thing and expect different results. In order for something to change, something needs to change, whether it’s our circumstances or our attitude, whether it’s ourselves or someone else. So if you are unhappy with how things are, if you want different results, you may need either to look at your situation differently, feel differently about it, or do something different. I find it useful to play around with things that aren’t critical, just to get used to the idea of things changing.

Play to your strengths: Yes, by all means expand your repertoire. By all means broaden your skill set. But while doing so, play to your strengths. If writing is your thing, offer to write an occasional article for your local advertising magazine or newspaper. Many are happy to receive unsolicited articles, it means they have one less page of content to fill. If making presentations or teaching comes easily to you, perhaps you could give a free talk at your local community centre.

If you have an affinity with a particular group of people, because of your own life experience, you might use that as a basis for growing your practice. One practitioner I know who has suffered a great deal of loss in her life, and is also interested in art, helps bereaved clients to create books to honour the relationship with dead loved ones, and cloth dolls as transitional objects to help them through the grieving process.

Do more of what works: Often when thinking about expanding we assume that we have to do something different, and sometimes that’s true. However, sometimes it’s not and the simple strategy of finding out what works and doing more of it, can often reap benefits. If advertising in a particular publication or forum has brought rewards in the past, continue it, and also consider whether there are other similar channels that might also work for you.

If you have people who regularly refer clients to you, let them know that you appreciate the referrals, and also that you are available for more. They may not know what your capacity or availability is like. Think about where you might expand the range of people who refer to you, by finding others who are similar. If you get work from local doctors, maybe spread the net wider, and get to know some doctors a little further away. Or make contact with other health practitioners.

Don’t give up at the first hurdle: It takes time to learn new things but we can be easily put off if it doesn’t work out first time. footpath closed againWe’ve stuck our neck out and look what happened, so we may give up. You didn’t learn to walk without falling down a few times. We need to give whatever it is a decent chance before we decide it hasn’t worked. Okay, so maybe the first doctor wasn’t interested in talking to you. Or maybe the first advertisement didn’t bring in any calls. Try again.

Find out what gets in the way – doing your own inner work: Don’t forget to look at what gets in the way for you. If you have been trying to grow your practice for a while and not getting great results, chances are you have some unconscious resistance to being successful. The resistance may be to taking the necessary action, or the resistance may be to what might happen if you got what you wanted. You may be fearful of failure, or continuing some old pattern of rebellion against a parent.

Finally, don’t think you have to do it all on your own: Whatever is getting in your way, you may need some support in getting to the bottom of it. Work with a colleague or friend who can be an accountability buddy to keep you on track, and who can encourage you when things get tough. Consider working with me one on one to identify and soften your fears and blocks. I’d love to help!

If you’re struggling to find what works best for you in growing your practice, or if anything here has sparked your interest, I’d love to hear from you. Contact me here for your free 20 minute consultation or to make an appointment.