Building a Private Practice

So, you’ve qualified and you’re wondering where to go next. Do you apply for paid work or start up your own private practice? You’ve trained hard to get here and you’re desperate to enter a career you’re passionate about. Where do you start?

You’ll likely have noticed there isn’t a wealth of opportunities for counsellors that aren’t accredited. You’re limited already. You must have the required amount of client contact hours and experience to even be able to apply for accreditation. So how will you reach your target?

There are lots of opportunities for voluntary counsellors but perhaps you’re working full-time, you’ve a house to maintain and a family to care for and haven’t got many hours to give. And you’re not thrilled about giving away your skills for free.

There are therapists out there that are fighting for better paid posts, refusing to work for nothing and protesting the low wages offered by some companies for the work expected. Some organisations will additionally expect you to pay for your own supervision and insurance and there’s a long way to go before we can hope to see any change.

So private practice seems sensible. Set yourself up, get paid a good hourly rate, and put as many hours as you like into it. Why wouldn’t you? Well, maybe you’re worried about the cost of setting up in case you don’t earn enough money to warrant it, the competition in your area may be high, you’re lacking confidence in running your own business, you don’t have a lot of time to invest? Ask yourself, is it time to take a risk?

I’ve hit a point in my private practice that I can’t imagine working for anyone else, compromising on income when there are plenty of people in need of therapy that are prepared to pay the full fee for private counselling. I don’t need to undertake EAP work and I’ve never undertaken my accreditation (something I feel generally opposed to). I’ve been in private practice for 12 years and for a long time it was simply ticking over, barely worth the time and energy I was putting in, for a couple of years I paid out more than I made but I persevered because I loved it and didn’t want to see my training go to waste.

I remember, during my training, attending a small networking/supervision group and finding it so soul destroying that I never returned. The conversation revolved around there being no work available and how the training should be more honest about how hard it is to earn a living from a counselling career. I didn’t need to hear it whilst I was so far into my training but I think the message stayed with me and, although I immediately set up my private practice upon qualifying, I settled for bits of private work here and there and gave my valuable time to charities for free. And don’t get me wrong, I loved it and the work was worth giving up my time but I was stuck in the belief that this was as good as it was going to get. 

I carried on like this for many years, disappointed each time I tallied up my annual income and expenditure, wondering whether I should just give it all up. I came to a point where I knew I had to give myself a shake and put everything I had into making a success of my private practice, I couldn’t let it go without knowing I’d given it my all. I considered my finances and how much I might put aside to invest in marketing my business, I joined online groups, I accessed free social media training, and I read books.

I took a small financial risk and joined as many advertising directories as I could to increase my chances of being found. I set up business pages on social media and put time into getting myself visible there too.

I used what I’d learned from online courses to build solid profiles across the directories to increase the likelihood of enquiries. My client case load did increase and for the first time I was making a good enough income that I felt it was worth investing my time. This gave me more motivation to continue to build it up.

I used the extra money to invest further in a professional logo and website and paid for a subscription to an online business support network. I found my niche and began creating content that built my profile as knowledgeable in my specific field (though I’m still a long way from being the go-to therapist, I’ve seen a huge increase in clients needing my specialism coming through which has increased my enjoyment of my work). 

I invested much more of my time, working evenings and weekends, writing blogs for my website, creating social media accounts and posting regularly, accessing more training, joining business development groups and networking. Within 12 months, my client caseload had quadrupled and I’d taken on a team of therapists to support me with the work! My private practice had become a business rather than a job I’d created for myself for some extra income.

In a nutshell, what I’m saying is, if you want to be in a position to decide how your business will work for you rather than considering what other people have to offer you, you need to invest in it. There’s no need for EAP work, there’s no need to take on work that doesn’t fulfil you, there’s no need to be employed by someone else, you simply need to create a vision and work for it. If you put the time into what you have to offer, the right people will approach you.

And do not undersell yourself! It took me 11 years to increase my fees and I found this resulted in more enquiries. If you’re cheaper than other therapists, clients will consider you inferior, they would rather pay more money for good quality therapy.

If you think this is all too much and you haven’t got time and you’ll never build a successful business, let me also add that I only see clients part-time and earn a healthy income that I could happily live off. I actually work full-time in a paid role in a different sector in addition to running my business. You have got time, you simply need to organise it.

I earn as much from my part-time client hours as I do in my full-time paid post in a managerial role and as my business goes from strength to strength, I’ll prioritise my time further and likely move away from my paid employment entirely. I’m taking things bit by bit but I’m working towards bigger and better things and getting there much faster than I ever imagined I could.

If you want it enough, make it a priority and invest in it. You CAN succeed.

You may find this previous article useful if you’re considering how you might find the time to work on you and your business.