Picking the best option: Independent Contracting vs Employing
According to the Internal Revenue Service, there are only two employment types: independent contractors (1099-employees) and regular employees (W-2 employees). Who pays which taxes is determined by this legal distinction. […]
Why create another mental health practice?
Why would one set out to create a mental health practice? My story may shed some useful light. I did not start out thinking I was going to own a […]
How to grow consistent community marketing: Community Connection Plan
For the first 20 years of my practice, we struggled with our marketing our mental health practice. We needed to find a community marketing system that we all could embrace […]
How to calculate a psychotherapist’s private practice pay
Calculating psychotherapist pay means considering many factors. Unfortunately, the complexity leaves lots of room for some wild estimates regarding how much a therapist makes in private practice. But here I […]
Eight steps to adding the right office space
Adding office space may seem like a no brainer. It isn’t. There is much at stake and many factors to consider. In fact, I get more requests for consultation on […]
Grow, hire, run out of space, repeat…forever
If we do things right, we will run out of space. Why? Because growing requires hiring staff. And then when we add to our team, we eventually run out of […]
Reflections on therapy office design
A client comes to your therapy office for the first time. What impressions does your office design suggest? What does my therapy office design say about who I am and […]
Financial rewards for owners of private practices
A practice owner I was consulting with said, “I am not tasting a lot of financial rewards as the owner of a practice.” His comment transported me back to the […]
How to increase therapist pay in private practice
Everyone who is in private practice wants to know how to increase therapist pay. Of course, our first goal is to fill our schedule with clients. But once that is […]
3 Steps to Starting a Private Practice
Many think about starting a private practice but are unsure how to go about it. This post lays out 3 steps to starting a private practice and points you toward […]
From nothing to something: The beginning of my practice
The following summarizes the beginning of my practice. My goal is to use my early experiences as a case example. I reflect on some lessons that may be of more […]
Growing pains: Outgrowing your brand and how to fix it
Over the years of growing our practice, we found ourselves outgrowing our brand. My practice started as a partnership–until my partner took a university job. Then it was just me–until […]
Starting a new business? The start-up blues
Every one underestimates the challenges of starting a new business. Starting a new business is hard. It is hard even after you read everything you can find and done tons […]
5 best marketing favorites in psychotherapy practice
I presented a workshop at a hospital on practice development. I had just gone over our marketing favorites when a participant raised her hand. She said, “Yes, I get that […]
Follow the money: Therapist pay in private practice
Private practice therapist pay is rarely based on a salary. Instead, there is a series of steps for determining psychotherapist pay. Firstly, every private practice sells a service, usually psychotherapy […]
Wealth in Mental Health – Where are the good paying jobs?
Mental health is a small margin business. But there are some jobs that pay better than others. Where are they and why do they pay better?
From nothing to something: Beginning of an organization
The beginning of an organization is a story worth considering. Each has its own history. No two are alike. This is the story of the early history of Centennial Counseling […]
Why don’t my clients change the way they’re “supposed to”?
Early in my career, I had lots of questions about how clients change. Why didn’t my clients change as rapidly or as profoundly as my grad school texts seemed to […]
Wealth in mental health–Why isn’t there more?
Perhaps one of the more shocking secrets in our mental health field is how little profit is in the profession. There is not much wealth in mental health. The whole […]
Push and pull marketing for mental health
Professional marketers talk about two types of marketing, push and pull marketing. Let’s start with some definitions. Push marketing A push strategy involves promoting your services directly to the customer […]
Connecting therapists with each other: An interview with David Klow
David Klow, the founder of Skylight Counseling Center, has a unique way of connecting therapists with each other. I first heard about his “Therapist on Tap” events via his email […]
Social media builds practices: An interview with Dr. Kelly Flanagan
There are questions about whether using social media builds practices. I weigh in on the topic here. Following is an email interview with Dr. Kelly Flanagan, a friend and practice […]
Types of mental health organizations
There are several types of mental health organizations employing psychotherapists. Many of these organizations are built by, managed, or owned by mental health providers. In this article, I will look […]
Selling a practice: How they become assets and how to maximize their value
When a practice owner plans on selling a practice, there may be a bit of a shock. Practice owners are often surprised at how accountants and potential purchasers determine a monetary […]
Avoiding these partnership issues saves you down the line
When people form a partnership, there are always issues to work through. We have all heard the saying, “taking a business partner is like taking a marriage partner” and it […]
