Build Your Private Practice

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in almost 10 years of private practice, it’s this: Private practice can feel lonely. We’re often working behind closed doors. Making business decisions quietly. Wondering if we’re doing it “right.” And in that isolation, it can be easy to slip into comparison. Who’s charging what. Who’s fully booked. Who’s scaling. Who’s staying small. Who’s offering something new. But comparison can turn into judgement and build walls between us which increases the sense of isolation. On the other hand, community builds resilience. Competition says: “There’s only room for a few of us.” And community says: “There’s room for all of us to build sustainable practices.” Competition whispers: “If they succeed, I lose.” But community knows: “When one therapist builds a strong, sustainable practice, it strengthens the profession.” We don’t need to agree on everything to respect each other. We don’t need identical practice models to support one another. We can refer to each other. Collaborate. Celebrate each other’s wins. Normalize struggles. Share what’s working. We can build practices rooted in integrity and cheer for the therapist doing it differently. Private practice doesn’t have to be isolating. It can be collaborative. Supportive. Steady. And that starts with how we speak about each other. If this series of posts has resonated with you, I’d like to encourage you to share this post with a colleague you’re grateful for, or drop a 🤍 if you believe community will always be stronger than competition.

A lot of that comes from something we don’t talk about enough: how comparison quietly turns into competition. And how that competition creates distance. In this week’s episode of The Build Your Private Practice Podcast, I’m exploring what this actually looks like for therapists and why it matters more than we think. Because it’s often subtle. It sounds like questioning your fees. Wondering if you’re behind. Or trying to figure out what everyone else is doing without a place to ask. This conversation is about shifting out of isolation and into something more sustainable: community. Inside the episode, we talk about: • Why private practice can feel isolating (even when you're growing) • How comparison turns into competition • The fear underneath “professional guardedness” • Why competition creates disconnection • How collaboration actually strengthens your practice 🎧 Listen here: https://lnkd.in/gEx6Juv9 #PrivatePractice #TherapistBusiness #TherapistMarketing #BuildYourPrivatePractice #TherapistCommunity #CanadianTherapists

Since 2016, Build Your Private Practice has been helping Canadian therapists turn their passion for helping others into thriving, sustainable businesses. BYPP provides courses, coaching, and community to support therapists at every stage, from launching their first practice to scaling into group practice, supervision, or digital income streams. As Liane, our CEO, says, “We’re not just building practices, we’re shaping the future of mental health care in Canada.”

Most therapists think the end of a private practice looks like quietly closing the doors one day. But what if you built your practice like an asset instead? I recently joined a conversation about what it really means to build a sellable therapy practice—not because you have to sell, but because thinking this way can completely change how sustainable, profitable, and freeing your practice feels right now. We talk about the emotional side therapists rarely discuss (identity, guilt around money, fear of stepping back) and the practical side that makes a business transferable—systems, branding, diversified income, and CEO-level money habits. One of my favourite moments from the conversation: “You can be a compassionate, heart-centered therapist and a strategic practice owner at the same time.” Even if selling your practice has never crossed your mind, this episode will shift how you think about ownership, freedom, and the long-term value of the work you’re building. 🎧 Listen to the episode and let me know what resonated most with you.

I believe one of the most beautiful things about private practice is, that there isn’t just one way to do it. Some therapists love direct billing. Some don’t and choose private pay only. Some build group practices. While some intentionally stay solo for decades. Some offer therapy intensives. Some run groups. Some offer supervision. Some create courses. Some write books. Some want to scale. Some want simplicity. And NONE of those paths are superior. They’re just different. Different personalities. Different goals. Different life seasons. Different capacities. Different values. The therapist who wants a small, steady caseload and lots of family time? That’s valid. The therapist who wants to build a multidisciplinary clinic and expand access? Also valid. The therapist who wants to create multiple revenue streams so she isn’t trading time for money forever? Still valid. Our differences don’t weaken the profession. They strengthen it. Because when we build practices that align with who we actually are, I believe we show up better for our clients. Alignment creates sustainability. Sustainability prevents burnout. And sustainable therapists serve their communities longer. There isn’t one “right” version of success in private practice. There is only alignment. If this resonates, share it with a colleague whose path looks different from yours — or drop a 🤍 if you’re committed to building a practice that reflects your values, not someone else’s blueprint.

There’s often an unspoken belief in private practice that there’s a right way to do things. The right way to structure your practice. The right way to grow. The right way to make decisions. But what if that belief is actually creating more pressure than clarity? If you’ve ever found yourself questioning whether your practice “looks right” compared to others—you’re not alone. Many therapists quietly carry this tension, especially in a field where there are so many different ways to work. In this week’s episode of The Build Your Private Practice Podcast, I explore why the idea of a “right way” to build a private practice can be misleading—and how it can lead to comparison, doubt, and burnout. This conversation is about stepping out of those expectations and coming back to alignment. Inside the episode, we talk about: • Why the belief in a “right way” can create unnecessary pressure • How different practice models are all valid • The role your season of life plays in your decisions • Why building from “shoulds” often leads to burnout • How alignment—not scale—is what creates sustainability 🎧 Listen here: https://lnkd.in/gEx6Juv9 #PrivatePractice #TherapistBusiness #BuildYourPrivatePractice #TherapistSupport #SustainablePractice #CanadianTherapists

One of the most underrated parts of running a private practice? Working on yourself. As therapists, we spend so much time supporting the growth of others but building a sustainable practice also requires us to grow as leaders, decision-makers, and business owners. The way we think about money, productivity, confidence, and possibility directly shapes the kind of practice we create. These are 7 books that have deeply influenced how I think about business, mindset, and personal growth, and I recommend them to therapists who want to build practices that are both impactful and sustainable: 📚 Profit First for Therapists – Jamie Herrs 📚 Worthy – Jamie Kern Lima 📚 All In – Mike Michalowicz 📚 Relentless – Tim S. Grover 📚 101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think – Brianna Wiest 📚 The Big Leap – Gay Hendricks 📚 The Productive Practice – Uriah Guilford Because the truth is: the most sustainable practices are built by therapists who are willing to grow alongside their businesses. Which book has changed the way you think about your work or your life? I’m always looking for new recommendations. 📖

Bringing on a new clinician? You don’t need to figure it all out from scratch. The Clinician Onboarding & Visibility Planner is a free resource to help group practice owners create a clear, thoughtful process for welcoming new team members. It focuses on alignment, visibility, and systems that support both the clinician and your practice as a whole. If you want a copy, comment the word onboarding below and I’ll send it your way. #PrivatePractice #GroupPracticeSupport #TherapistResources #BuildYourPrivatePractice #CanadianTherapists #PracticeGrowth

I’ve been thinking about something. What if some of the judgment in our profession isn’t really about ethics… What if it’s about scarcity? Scarcity sounds like: “There aren’t enough clients.” “If they grow their practice, I lose.” “If someone charges more, it makes the rest of us look bad.” “If someone scales, they’re taking something from the profession.” But here’s what I know after almost 10 years in private practice: There are more people needing support than any one of us could ever serve. Different private practice models don’t shrink access to support. They expand it. When one therapist offers direct billing and another offers private pay… When one stays solo and another builds a group practice… When one focuses on 1:1 therapy and another offers supervision, groups, or courses… More people get help. Different private practice models serve different populations. Different price points meet different needs. Different structures create different kinds of sustainability. Scarcity makes us compare. Whereas, abundance lets us collaborate. Scarcity makes us critique. And, abundance lets us stay in our lane. There is room for you. And there is room for the therapist who is doing it differently than you. We don’t need to shrink each other to succeed. We can build strong, sustainable practices without competing for moral high ground. If this resonates, share it with a colleague who believes there is room for all of us, or drop a 🤍 if you’re choosing collaboration over comparison.

There is something that doesn’t get talked about very often in private practice. The quiet moments of comparison that can show up when we see another therapist’s practice growing. In a profession built around care, feelings like jealousy or scarcity can feel uncomfortable to admit. But they are more common than we think. Sometimes what we interpret as competition is actually something else: a gap in clarity, confidence, or business skills that we simply haven’t learned yet. In this week’s episode of The Build Your Private Practice Podcast, I share a story from early in my own practice and how shifting from comparison to curiosity changed how I approached growth. Inside the episode, we talk about: • Why comparison can show up in private practice • The difference between scarcity thinking and skill development • How curiosity can turn comparison into growth • Why clarity and visibility matter when attracting clients 🎧 Listen here: https://lnkd.in/gEx6Juv9 #PrivatePractice #TherapistBusiness #TherapistMarketing #BuildYourPrivatePractice #CanadianTherapists