Episode #641: Ask Allison Live - Abundant Practice Podcast

Summary

Abundant Practice Podcast: Episode #641 – Ask Allison Live

Release Date: April 21, 2025

In Episode #641 of the Abundant Practice Podcast, host Allison Puryear engages with listeners in a dynamic live Q&A session, addressing pressing questions and providing actionable insights for therapists navigating the challenges of building and sustaining a successful private practice. The episode delves into topics ranging from overcoming imposter syndrome to strategic marketing and financial considerations, offering a wealth of knowledge for both new and seasoned practitioners.

1. Overcoming Imposter Syndrome and Building Confidence in Marketing

Listener: Holly

Holly initiates the discussion by referencing a previous podcast episode about the dilemma of accepting insurance versus maintaining a private pay model. She highlights the struggle with confidence in self-marketing as a barrier to practice growth.

Allison emphasizes the universality of imposter syndrome, especially when venturing into new aspects of practice-building. At [02:42], she states:

“It's the imposter syndrome for what it is, which in my mind is like, it's you doing something new, period.”
Strategies to Mitigate Fear of Being Seen: Allison advises therapists to consistently engage in activities that feel least intimidating, such as networking with familiar and supportive individuals. She underscores the importance of clarity in defining one’s niche to streamline marketing efforts.

“Do the thing that feels least scary consistently... find the least scary people to network with.” ([04:10])
Building Positive Reinforcement: By taking actionable steps despite fears, therapists open themselves to positive client interactions that reinforce their confidence.

“If we keep holding ourselves back and we don't just do the damn thing, then we don't get the opportunity to have that positive reinforcement for it.” ([05:00])

2. Refining Your Niche and Marketing Approach

Listener: Evelyn

Evelyn discusses the evolution of her ideal client profile, noting a shift towards clients grappling with self-worth issues rooted in religious upbringing. She seeks guidance on integrating this nuanced layer into her existing marketing strategy without overhauling her website.

Integrating Sub-Niches: Allison advises maintaining the core focus while subtly incorporating the new layer of specificity. She suggests adding descriptive paragraphs that address the unique challenges of clients with religious backgrounds affecting their self-worth.

“You could either do one paragraph or you could do like a couple sentences... that some of their self worth is rooted in this idea that they were supposed to play these specific roles which don't feel aligned for them.” ([10:16])
Creating Specialty Pages: If the ideal clients are already aware of their specific issues, Allison recommends establishing dedicated specialty pages to enhance searchability and provide targeted support.

“If your ideal client has a clear perspective, I want you to market to that clear perspective.” ([11:42])
SEO and Interlinking: She emphasizes the importance of linking related specialty pages within the website to improve SEO and create a comprehensive resource network for visitors.

“Make it a little spider web makes Google happy.” ([12:32])

3. Transitioning from Group Practice to Independent Private Practice

Listener: Sarah

Sarah expresses her dilemma about leaving a group private practice where she’s currently a contractor to start her own independent practice. She’s concerned about financial constraints and potential conflicts of interest.

Legal Considerations: Allison reassures Sarah that as a contractor, she generally has the freedom to start another practice without legal repercussions, especially if she hasn’t signed any restrictive agreements.

“As a contractor, you're supposed to be able to have another job... you don't legally owe that to her.” ([14:22])
Starting on a Budget: Allison provides practical advice on launching a practice with minimal investment by prioritizing essential expenses and utilizing cost-effective tools like Squarespace for website creation.

“You can start off and get to a point where you can afford to do that... being a sole proprietor, that's going to be a lot less expensive than if you were an LLC.” ([16:48])
Maintaining Dual Roles: She suggests maintaining the group practice role while gradually building the independent practice, ensuring financial stability during the transition.

“Start your own practice on the side while maintaining your group practice.” ([14:36])
Financial Strategy: Allison recommends that any revenue generated from the new practice be strictly allocated towards overhead and savings to facilitate a smooth transition.

“All I want you to sock away. Like, don't spend it on anything except overhead and then saving so that you can eventually make that shift over.” ([17:00])

4. Marketing to a Specialized Clientele in Eating Disorders

Listener: Adam

Adam, a relatively new private practitioner specializing in eating disorders, seeks advice on marketing to clients who have extensively engaged in treatment but still struggle, alongside managing a sustainable financial model.

Targeted Networking: Allison advises Adam to network with treatment centers to connect with clients who are frequent visitors and may need ongoing support, positioning himself as the therapist who understands their persistent challenges.

“Talk to all the treatment centers because they have their frequent flyers.” ([20:56])
Website Messaging: She recommends that Adam’s website copy should confidently communicate his expertise and commitment to helping clients who have not found success through previous treatments.

“You've been to therapy, you've been to treatment, you could teach me how to do therapy... I know how to help you get where you want to go.” ([21:06])
Financial Models: Addressing the financial aspect, Allison introduces the “Green Bottle Model” for sliding scale payments, helping clients assess their ability to afford therapy without compromising their financial stability.

“The green bottle model... helps them realize they can pay your fee by making sacrifices.” ([22:00])
Balancing Affordability and Sustainability: She emphasizes maintaining a private pay model to ensure financial viability while accommodating clients who are invested in continuing their therapy journey.

“Residential is way more expensive than you are.” ([22:30])

5. Implementing Rate Increases Amid Economic Uncertainty

Listener: Unknown

A listener contemplates raising therapy rates from $160 to $175 amidst a challenging economic climate, apprehensive about potential client pushback.

Justifying Rate Increases: Allison supports the decision to raise rates, highlighting that clients who prioritize therapy are likely capable of accommodating a modest increase.

“People who can afford 160 out of pocket can afford 175.” ([24:55])
Flexible Adjustments: She suggests offering a conversation-based approach for clients who may experience financial hardship due to the rate increase, ensuring transparency and maintaining client relationships.

“We're raising our rates to 175. If this creates significant financial hardship for you, let's set up a time to talk.” ([25:34])
Client Communication: Allison recommends proactive communication, where clients can discuss their ability to continue therapy, reducing assumptions and fostering trust.

“The people who were like, well, it'd be nice to not have my rate changed, aren't going to hop on the phone with you. They'll just pay the 175.” ([26:00])
Protecting Financial Well-being: She underscores the importance of not sacrificing the financial health of both the therapist and the practice, especially during economically volatile times.

“Don't sacrifice your therapist's financial well being and your financial well being because things are crazy economically.” ([25:00])

Key Takeaways

Embrace Vulnerability: Acknowledge and address imposter syndrome to build confidence in self-promotion and networking.
Niche Refinement: Continuously evaluate and refine your niche to ensure your marketing strategies resonate with your ideal clients.
Strategic Transitioning: When moving from group to independent practice, leverage existing roles to maintain financial stability while gradually establishing your own client base.
Targeted Marketing: Focus on specialized populations by networking with relevant institutions and clearly communicating your unique value proposition.
Financial Adaptability: Implement thoughtful rate adjustments and flexible payment models to balance client affordability with practice sustainability.

Notable Quotes:

"It's you doing something new, period." – Allison ([02:42])
"Do the thing that feels least scary consistently." – Allison ([04:10])
"If you keep holding ourselves back and we don't just do the damn thing, then we don't get the opportunity to have that positive reinforcement for it." – Allison ([05:00])
"You're going to keep them from having to go back into residential, ideally, like, that's the goal." – Allison ([21:58])
"Don't sacrifice your therapist's financial well being and your financial well being because things are crazy economically." – Allison ([25:00])

For therapists seeking further support in building their private practice, Allison invites listeners to join the Abundance Party, her comprehensive membership program offering step-by-step guidance. Additional resources, including free checklists and worksheets, are available at www.abundancepracticebuilding.com. To participate in future live Ask Allison sessions, contact the team at help@abundancepracticebuilding.com.

Remember to share this episode with fellow therapists to empower your community in building the practices they envision.

Transcript

Allison (0:00)

Foreign. Hey, our live Ask Allisons are an opportunity for you to get free live conversational support from me. You're hearing an excerpt from one we did recently. I'll give you details on how you can join our next live Ask Allison at the end of the episode. So, I've talked about therapynotes on here for years. I could talk about the features and the benefits in my sleep. But there are a couple things I want you to know about therapynotes that doesn't typically make it into an ad script. First is that they actually care if you like their platform. They don't only make themselves available on the phone to troubleshoot so you don't pull your hair out when you get stuck. They also take member suggestions and implement those that there's client demand for, like Therapy Search, an included listing service that helps clients find you. Internal and external secure messaging. Clinical outcome measures to keep an eye on how your clients are progressing. A super smooth, super bill process, real time eligibility to check on your client's insurance. In my conversations with the employees there at all levels, they all really believe in their product and they want you to love it, too. Second, they are proudly independently owned. Why should you care about that? Because as soon as venture capital becomes involved, the focus shifts from making customers happy to making investors happy. Prices go way up. Innovation plateaus. Making more money with as little output as possible becomes the number one focus. With over 100,000 therapists using their platform, they've been able to stay incredibly successful. And they don't have to sacrifice your experience to stay there. You can try two months free@therapynotes.com with the coupon code Abundant. Well, hi y'all. Today is just like full, open Q and A, whatever you need. Like, we can go all over the map, from mindset to scaling to how to get your first client to whatever. So who would like to start us off? I can. Okay, great. We'll go you and then we'll go Holly. Okay.

Holly (2:07)

So I was just listening to the podcast you recently did about whether to take insurance or not or. Or keep taking insurance. But it felt a little motivational interviewing, like a little bit, you know what I mean?

Allison (2:23)

Like, it's okay.

Holly (2:24)

Keep taking insurance. And you had mentioned something about the confidence to market yourself and how it's important for therapists to be able to work through that if that's a little bit of a stumbling block or holding us back. And I was wondering some advice about that.

Allison (2:42)

Yeah. So this fear of being seen is pretty. It's a pretty big deal. And when we're starting our practices, we often feel like the imposter syndrome is really strong. And so then it makes it really hard to feel like, great, let me put myself out there. When I've got both these things going on, I'm not sure I even know how to do therapy or have ever helped anybody. Anyway. We can get really insecure when we're starting our practice or when it's plateaued and we need to build. And so part of it is acknowledging the imposter syndrome for what it is, which in my mind is like, it's you doing something new, period. Like, every time I do something new, I get imposter syndrome every single time. At this point, because I like doing lots of new things. I'm like, oh, here it is. It's just because I'm doing something new instead of letting it take me down with it. The fear of being seen is sometimes rooted in that, and sometimes it's rooted in, like, what if what I say I think is right, but it's not right? And everybody tells me how wrong it is, and I am, and that's less imposter syndrome and more like, what if I'm actually wrong, which is scary and hard? And that could. That can be anything. That can be the way you do therapy, but it could also be like, the way you look. What if I do videos and everybody tells me you look stupid in some way? You know, and all of our insecurities are going to come up. They're just going to. When we're doing this hard thing. So part of the thing that makes putting ourselves out there feel worth it is when it works and we get clients. But if we keep holding ourselves back and we don't just do the damn thing, then we don't get the opportunity to have that positive reinforcement for it. Yeah. So, long story short, the advice is do the thing that feels least scary consistently. So, like, if that's networking, it's like, find the least scary people to network with. Like, old co workers that you got along with. You don't need to go to, like, the scary psychiatrist or the scary pcp. Go to the people that feel like, oh, I can have an easy conversation with these people. And that's most therapists, really. Not everybody's going to be a great fit. But I would say, too, there's clarity, gets in the way of marketing. So if you don't have an extremely clear niche, then it's really hard to create content. So of those things, like, which one are you struggling with the most or something else?