The Confident Private Practice: Why Confidence Matters
What happens when your clients make real, deep change? What does it look like? What does it feel like? For me, when a client was nearing the end of therapy and things were “flowing” it was this energy around them that was sometimes hard to quantify… But, probably one of the words that best describes it was “confident.”
What is confidence?
There are several definitions of confidence- but a few of my favorite descriptions of confidence are at ease, assertive, and self-assured. What does it look like when our clients are “at ease” in their lives? How does it impact their daily stress level? How different are they in their close relationships? How does it impact their work? Confidence is life changing. In therapy, while that wasn't often the focus, it was a sign that the “junk” had been worked through in a deep enough way that people could access more of their true self, and even allow more confidence into their lives.
Why does confidence mean in private practice?
We talk about having a Full Practice and a Happy Life… Truly we wanted our tag line to be a Full Life and a Happy Practice- but we know that would confuse people. Ultimately we want your life and your practice to be full and happy! Like in therapy, a deep sense of ease, of being self-assured, of confidence lets us know that our clients are “in the zone” and creating just that.
What happens when we aren't confident in private practice?
You may not know what confidence would look like or feel like in your private practice, but you might know what it feels like not to be confident. Here are just a few symptoms of not feeling confident in your private practice:
You file your taxes late.
You aren't prepped for paying taxes.
You don't have savings in your business.
You start to panic if your phone doesn't ring for a week.
You start to panic when clients get better and graduate.
You hide the financial situation from your spouse or partner.
You avoid everything business related that isn't face to face with clients.
You are behind on your notes.
You are stressed about your treatment plans.
You feel ill when you think about opening your bank account.
You feel ill when you think about your website.
You don't feel confident setting or holding to your fee.
You accept fees from insurance companies that don't work for you..
You don't make time to move and sweat regularly.
You feel absolutely exhausted at the end of the day.
And on and on…
An easeful, assured private practice allows you to enjoy all aspects of being a business owner. My favorite part of building confidence in therapists is that the confidence ALWAYS spills over into the clinical work. You may think that these fears and areas to work on don't impact your work with clients-but they do.
Are You Ready to Get Confident?
Over the next several weeks we are going to be digging deep into how to build confidence as a business owner, and as a therapist in private practice. We are going to be digging into real steps you can take to start making a shift in this area- so mark some time off in your calendar to read and implement!
If you aren't on the newsletter yet, be sure to jump on so we can send you each article in the series. And, if you are looking for click-by-click videos on all aspects of managing finances, developing clear policies and procedures, nailing down your marketing, and more- check out our next round of Business School Bootcamp for Therapists.
