Websites for Therapists: Aligning Your Private Practice with Your Value as a Clinician

Being new to private practice and uncertain about how you’re going to build a sustainable business can be an anxiety-provoking scenario…but your present fears DON’T have to determine the goals you pursue and the level of success you achieve.

Lisa, an MA, LPCC, BC-DMT specializing with anxiety therapy in San Francisco, moved from a lack of confidence and control to a full-time practice owner who knows her value and is part of a supportive community of mental health clinicians.

Aligning Your Values with Your Private Practice

She now works in a niche that’s aligned with her interests and values, isn’t experiencing the burden of burnout, and feels capable in handling all aspects of business she was previously afraid to approach. Here are three ways you can start aligning your private practice with your value as a mental health clinician and gain access to some of the same benefits as Lisa:

1. Pursue the work and clients that make you come alive.

Dedicating yourself to a niche you love and excel within can be the difference between a functioning business and a thriving practice. If you’re running a business you’re genuinely interested in, you’re more likely to go “all in” and get excellent outcomes for clients.

This same concept also applies if you’ve been in one niche for a while and have noticed that it’s time for a change. You’re never limited to one area — if you feel you’ve outgrown your niche or need to expand it beyond your current services and client base, it’s time for you to take action!

2. Commit to the process of growing your private practice.

You may love the work you’re doing, but are you really committing to it? No matter how passionate you are about your practice, if you’re unwilling to make time to grow and improve it over the months and years ahead, your potential to evolve and expand will be limited.

Take a look at your schedule to determine when you have free time. Once you’ve identified the times when you can work on your business (or adjusted your schedule to make some room for your practice), then you’ll have the means to increase your commitment and get more done.

3. Approach business fears with a solution-oriented mindset.

It’s okay to have fears, and you’re certainly not alone in them — what’s important is that you acknowledge and move through them to reach your goals. And one of the best ways to conquer your fears is by focusing on what you can specifically do to make it through to the other side.

Marketing, for example, is something that scares a lot of new business owners. But rather than ignore that fear or conclude you’re not good enough, you can identify how to address it and stop letting it hold you back. This might look like attending a free Marketing Masterclass or simply testing out some ways you can better reach your clients — whatever works best for you!

As a quick recap of how you can align your practice with your value as a clinician

1. Focus on the kind of work and clients that make you excited to be in practice.

2. Go “all in” on being a part- or full-time business owner by making time in your schedule.

3. Identify ways to address your fears that work best for your life and business.

P.S. We’re here to support you if you need a little bit of extra guidance and community.

Even when you have the tools to succeed, being a private practice owner is not always something you want to do alone. Check out our Business School for Therapists program to learn how we can better support you throughout your private practice journey.

P.P.S. Watch (or listen) to Lisa’s journey into private practice here!