This Business of Therapy

Shrink back or take a risk?

Is that a bogey man or an invitation to take a risk
Sometimes a gift comes in a funny looking package!

The Joy of Owning Your Own Business

Self-Employment is really living the high life, isn’t it? We take the risk of having our own business, and the rewards are bountiful. The power to create the income you want in the way you want it. The freedom to forge your own course, to shape your practice the way you’d like, no more deferring to managers and bosses. What’s not to like about it?

Of course, the reality can be a bit different.

Last year, I conducted a survey to find out what support you need for your practice. The results were very interesting, but not remotely surprising to me. They confirmed my suspicions.

I am the problem!

When I asked about the single biggest problem keeping you from helping more people, and getting paid well for it? The answers had a dominant theme which can be summarised as I AM THE PROBLEM. You expressed it different ways of course. You said…

  • I don’t do what I need to do…
  • I’m not doing enough…
  • I can’t do what I need to do…
  • When I charge more, I feel conflict, or guilt…
  • I lack confidence…

By the way, you might be mistaken!

How it feels

And far from it being a walk in the park, I heard a lot of negative feelings:

  • Discouraged
  • Ashamed
  • Doubting myself
  • Lonely
  • Frustrated
  • Disheartened
  • Fearful
  • Burned out
  • Inadequate
  • Disappointed
  • And many more

It becomes a self-defeating circle, doesn’t it? We don’t feel good about our practices, so that discourages us from taking the action we know we need to take or asking for the support that might help us to get past this challenge. And then we feel worse about it, and about ourselves.

Bogey Men Under The Bed

Remember when you were a small child, and thinking there was a bogey man under the bed? Well, there definitely was, you could hear him, and maybe even feel the bed moving. But with support, you were able to look under the bed, and lo and behold, it wasn’t nearly as scary as you thought. Just the cat tossing around some ball of fluff.

There comes a time, when we need to look the bogey man in the eye. Face him down for the pussy cat he really is.

When something is unfamiliar it can be scary. Remember how scary it was when you first practised your therapy or helping skills, perhaps with another trainee, or when you had your first ‘real’ client? But you decided to take the risk anyway.

Could you take one small risk?

I’m not trying to minimise the challenge of being in private practice. I know it only too well. But I also know that the difference between staying stuck in our fears, and moving forward to confront and overcome them is support. There is plenty of support out there if we’re willing to open ourselves to it. Maybe one small risk could take you closer to the practice you’d like to have?

Here are a few suggestions:

Let me know how you get on!

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