Fertility Specialization and Professional Women: Dr. Wiyatta’s Guide to Counseling Niches
So, you want to start or grow your private practice. Maybe you want to build a life you actually like, one filled with coffee breaks, the clients who light you up, and, dare we say it, the ability to take Mondays off just because you want to. If that’s even remotely you, then settle in and grab a cozy seat, because Dr. Wiyatta’s story is about to become required listening (and reading) for every therapist craving more freedom and fulfillment on their private practice journey.
In a lively conversation, Dr. Wiyatta (she/her), forensic psychologist, women’s advocate, fertility support trailblazer, bi-coastal entrepreneur, pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to build a business that’s not just profitable, but deeply satisfying. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t look like what you think it has to. Nor does it require becoming an insurance-billing robot or burning out for your badge of ‘caring professional’.
Below, we’ll walk through the top takeaways, mindset shifts, and practical strategies Wiyatta shared to help you design your own thriving, authentic private practice. (We include her best quotes, exactly as she said them. Because honestly? You can’t improve on this level of honest wisdom.)
Ready to break the ‘shoulds’ and build a business that feels like yours? Let’s dive in!
Why Private Practice? It’s About Autonomy (and a Little Bit of Rebellion)
If you’ve ever felt uneasy asking for time off, or squirmed under micromanagement, consider yourself in good company.
“I am not the best employee. I’m a great employee… But I hate asking people for time off. I hate having other people dictating what my time, what my day is supposed to look like,” Wiyatta shares. For her, the appeal of private practice was the ability to do things her way, and for the record, “not needing to micromanage” anyone else either. It’s the freedom to set the tone not only for your work, but also your life.
She’s clear about the perks: “Financial freedom and having my own time.” If you’re teetering between wanting autonomy and worrying you’re not cut out for solo practice, start here: what would it feel like if you called the shots every day?
Start Strong (But Not Necessarily Early): Timing Your Leap
Not everyone opens for business the moment the ink dries on their degree. Wiyatta did her time, literally - in correctional and federal systems, building that ‘generalist’ foundation and figuring out what she didn’t want. “It’s good for anyone in the beginning of the career to get that experience… But I wanted to specialize. I wanted my day to not feel like I was at a job.” Oh yes.
Ultimately, it was the pandemic and the rising toll of institutional politics that forced her hand. “It just became emotionally draining for me… I was always on edge. It just didn’t feel good… I didn’t enjoy the politics.” When organizations wanted her back in person mid-pandemic, “I knew I didn’t want to go into a facility, not vaccinated… I need to work from home... I think now is the time to do it. So I just put in my resignation.”
Takeaway: There’s no right moment. But sometimes outside circumstances (or your inner no-more-nonsense alarm) will show you when the timing is right. Listen to that nudge.
The Leap: Smooth Landings Don’t Happen By Accident
Okay, so you resign. Now what? Wiyatta didn’t wing it when she left government work. She set herself up with training and a financial runway.
“I don’t know if it was because I had gone to, I did business school bootcamp with you guys… the foundation that I got from bootcamp really helped me understand what I wanted my practice to look like. I wasn’t winging anything. So even though it was scary to take that leap, I believed in what I was doing.”
“I knew there would be challenges because you’re starting a new business,” she admits. But she had mapped out her client niche, workflow, and, most crucially, her finances.
Lesson? You don’t need to rely on wishful thinking or panic hustling. Spend the time to ground yourself in training, business basics, and support. Don’t be shy about seeking expert guidance: “Have some sort of foundation… get a mentor… do training with someone who has done this before.”
The Myth of “Just See Clients” (and the Magic of Multiple Income Streams)
It’s easy to believe that private practice = seeing therapy clients, end of story. Dr. Wiyatta’s business approach? Permission to think bigger.
“My practice is interesting because in addition to seeing clients, I actually subcontract with other companies. So what I did was I landed a subcontract, which I saw as like a steady form of income… Now there was a hit to me financially because the steady income was great, but I took a financial hit, but I had to wait. Like, even now, like a few weeks ago, a friend of mine was visiting… And I’m like, wow, the steady paycheck and all of this. But she was like, but look at this, your time… You can change your schedule as you want.”
She’s honest: “All my subcontracts are evaluations. I do evaluations for Social Security or one that is niche specific to me. I do sperm donor evaluations or egg donor evaluations. And I subcontract with different companies. That’s a way that I’ve been able to maintain my practice.”
Takeaway: Your private practice can include therapy clients AND non-therapy contracts. Diversify your income, stay flexible, and don’t limit yourself to just therapy hours.
Design Your Days (and Banish the Sunday Scaries)
It’s not just about what you do, it’s about how you want to live. “You get to design what your practice looks like. And that was one of the things when you guys were like, what do you want your day to day to look like? And I really took that question… Like, for me, I don’t like seeing clients on Mondays. So Mondays are blocked off… unless it’s an emergency. I don’t see clients on Mondays.”
And if you want to experiment? “Some weeks I’ll do Saturdays. Cause I’m like, okay, I’ll work today if you like it.” That’s radical autonomy.
Tip: Map out your ideal week. What days (or times) do you want off? What actually energizes you? Build this in from the start, not as an afterthought.
Go Niche and Never Look Back
If niching down makes your stomach twist, here’s what happens when you find (or are found by) your people.
Wiyatta didn’t set out to be a champion for women’s reproductive mental health. In fact: “First of all, I never thought I would work with women… and now my whole practice has changed. I work with mostly women by choice.”
But her lived experience with fertility treatments, and the ongoing draw to support other women, re-wrote her business blueprint. “Throughout my years in psychology, the women always found me and they always came to talk to me… I realized, like, there’s something about this that is really special, that I really enjoy connecting with women.”
Her aha moment came from personal experience: “I went through fertility challenges, and during the treatments, that was the time I was the most anxious in my life… I wonder what it’s like for the average woman who doesn’t have the tools. And while I was going through the treatment, my reproductive endocrinologist at the time said, why don’t you talk to a reproductive psychologist? I was like, what, they have people who do that?”
Takeaway: Your niche might choose you. And if you build your brand clearly, “the people who contact me are the clients that… my niche that I want to work with… That’s clear. Is very clear in my marketing language.”
Expert Status (and How to Live in It)
Not sure about the power of a reputation for real expertise? “It’s so funny when people say, oh, you’re an expert, I’m like, yeah, you are. You know, that’s the thing. I’m like, I’m an expert.” Dr. Wiyatta now speaks at conferences, trains organizations, and gets invitations for “speaking at a corporate environment or healthcare… International.”
Niching has “opened the door in a way that I, I don’t know if it would have happened if I was a journalist. Yeah. Because people really respect that.”
Your expertise is a launchpad, not a limitation.
Practice Moves and the Beauty of Flexibility
Did we mention Wiyatta moved her whole operation across the country? And the practice kept humming.
“It hasn’t really shifted anything for me. Just like the time zone… But the move, again, having that flexibility, I was able to take off like maybe a week and a half or two weeks… to drive across country and another week to recoup from the drive. So it’s been just the flexibility… having that flexibility has just been amazing.”
The big vision? More speaking, more training, sharing her knowledge at scale, and (fair warning) maybe even writing a book. All because she gave herself permission to design a business on her terms.
What Dr. Wiyatta Wants Every Therapist to Know
What’s her golden advice for anyone starting out? “Don’t wing it. Like, get some sort of foundation… You’re constantly going to be learning things, things you’re going to do and be like, oh, I think I need to go and redo that, but don’t wing it from the beginning. Have some sort of foundation… Be specific, be specific with what you want to do, who you want to work with, and what type of practice you want to have? That’s really important.”
And above all? Own your worth. “When I can say, this is my rate… And those who want to come on, come on. But like anything else, I’m… I know, like, everyone’s not my client.”
Top Takeaways for Your Private Practice Adventure
Autonomy is everything. Build a practice (and life) that works for you.
Don’t wing it. Invest in your education, mentorship, and learn the business side.
You can niche deeply and thrive. The right clients will find you.
Flexibility is priceless. Multiple income streams and a clear vision give you freedom.
You’re not just a therapist, you’re a business owner. Own it, and watch the doors open.
Tell Us:
What lesson from this episode will you carry forward? Drop a comment, share with a friend, or just take that first brave step!
