Episode #663: Niche Hopping

Summary

Abundant Practice Podcast Summary: Episode #663 - Niche Hopping

Host: Allison Puryear
Release Date: July 2, 2025
Episode Title: Niche Hopping

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Introduction to Niche Hopping

In Episode #663 of the Abundant Practice Podcast, host Allison Puryear delves into the concept of "Niche Hopping"—the process therapists undertake when redefining or changing their specialized focus within private practice. This episode is particularly insightful for therapists who find themselves stagnant or seeking growth by targeting a new client demographic or therapeutic focus.

Case Study: Therapist's Journey with Niche Hopping

Allison introduces Kate, a therapist who has recently undertaken the challenge of redefining her niche to better align with her passion and client needs. Kate shares her journey, highlighting the struggles and uncertainties involved in transitioning to a more specialized area of practice.

Key Points from Kate's Experience:

• Starting Point:
  Kate began her private practice a year ago, transitioning from a group practice where she could retain some existing clients. Initially, her niche focused on adult women dealing with people-pleasing behaviors, anxiety, and utilizing EMDR therapy. (02:01)

• Challenges Faced:
  Over the past few months, Kate observed a significant drop in client referrals and conversion rates. She mentioned, “since January, it's been like, scary slow” (03:04, expressing concern over not meeting her financial breathing room of 15 clients per week, with a goal of 20 to thrive.

• Niche Evolution:
  Kate experimented with various niches, including recent event traumas and grief and loss, before settling on helping women who experienced traumatic birth experiences. This shift aimed to create a more defined and impactful practice area. (04:15)

Strategies for Effective Niche Hopping

Allison and Kate discuss practical strategies for successfully transitioning to a new niche, focusing on clarity, targeted marketing, and leveraging professional relationships.

Key Strategies Discussed:

1. Specificity in Niche Definition:
   Allison advises Kate to refine her niche further by possibly subdividing services, such as creating separate service pages for different aspects of traumatic birth experiences. She suggests, “It could just be simple, like therapy for traumatic birth. You know, clear is powerful” (21:20).

2. Optimizing Online Presence:
   Kate expressed concerns about her Google rankings and the specificity of keywords related to her new niche. Allison recommends identifying and using precise keywords such as “therapy for birth trauma” or “traumatic birth therapy near me” to improve search visibility.

3. Networking with Related Professionals:
   Building relationships with OB-GYNs, midwives, doulas, and other perinatal providers is crucial. Kate noted her efforts in networking with various professionals but faces challenges in establishing ongoing connections. Allison emphasizes the importance of consistent and quality networking, suggesting, “The more relationships you develop with these perinatal therapists, because I think they're going to be your bread and butter” (25:34).

4. Collaborative Referrals:
   Encouraging collaboration rather than competition with other therapists, especially those specializing in perinatal mood disorders, can lead to mutual referrals and a supportive professional community.

Importance of Networking and Building Professional Relationships

A significant portion of the episode focuses on the necessity of nurturing professional relationships to ensure a steady flow of client referrals. Kate shares her experiences with various networking attempts, including in-person meetings and virtual consultations, and the mixed results she has encountered.

Insights on Networking:

• Quality Over Quantity:
  It's not just about reaching out to numerous professionals but building meaningful connections that can lead to reliable referrals.

• Tailored Communication:
  When interacting with potential referral sources, clearly communicate your specialized services and how they complement the referring professional’s offerings. For instance, detailing how EMDR therapy specifically aids in traumatic birth experiences can make referrals more likely.

• Follow-Up and Consistency:
  Regular follow-ups with contacts and maintaining consistent communication are essential for sustaining professional relationships and keeping your services top-of-mind.

Effective Marketing in a New Niche

Transitioning to a new niche requires a strategic approach to marketing to ensure that the target audience can find and relate to the services offered.

Key Marketing Tips:

• Clear and Concise Taglines:
  Allison advises keeping website taglines straightforward and impactful. Instead of lengthy descriptions, a simple and clear statement like “Therapy for Traumatic Birth” can effectively capture the essence of the services offered.

• Content Marketing and SEO:
  Regular blogging using specific keywords related to traumatic birth experiences can enhance online visibility. Kate mentioned struggling with keyword optimization in her new niche, highlighting the need for targeted SEO strategies.

• Showcasing Success Stories:
  Sharing client success stories and testimonials can build credibility and attract new clients by demonstrating the effectiveness of specialized services.

Overcoming Common Obstacles

The episode addresses several obstacles therapists may face when niche hopping, including fear of losing existing clients, uncertainty about new marketing strategies, and managing financial stability during the transition.

Common Challenges and Solutions:

• Financial Concerns:
  Maintaining some level of financial stability by retaining existing clients while gradually building the new niche client base is crucial. Kate’s hesitation to drop insurance coverage until she secures enough private pay clients exemplifies this concern.

• Imposter Syndrome:
  Therapists may feel inadequate if they lack personal experience or formal training in the new niche. Kate voiced her struggle with imposter syndrome, not having personal experience with motherhood or formal training in perinatal therapy. Allison encourages embracing continuous learning and training to build confidence and expertise.

• Market Saturation:
  Navigating competitive markets, especially in areas with high demand for private pay services, requires unique value propositions and exceptional service delivery to stand out.

Conclusion and Final Insights

Allison concludes the episode by reinforcing the importance of patience, persistence, and strategic planning in niche hopping. Kate’s journey exemplifies the challenges and rewards of redefining one’s practice focus to better serve a specific client population.

Notable Quotes:

• Kate on Financial Struggles:
  “I'm seeing like 8 to 12 a week basically since February. And I need to be at like 15 a week to even like, breathe financially.” (02:01)

• Allison on Niche Specificity:
  “It could just be simple, like therapy for traumatic birth. You know, clear is powerful.” (21:20)

• Kate on Networking Efforts:
  “I've met with a hypnobirthing place. I've talked to someone that does like infant massages. Yeah. So a lot of like, outside the box, you know, that I feel like would be good to reach out to.” (16:05)

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Resources Mentioned:

• Abundance Party Membership Program:
  A step-by-step guide to working half the hours, making three times the income, and attracting ideal clients. www.abundanceparty.com

• Free Private Practice Checklist and Worksheets:
  Accessible at www.abundancepracticebuilding.com

• Contact for Support:
  Email [e-mail]

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Timestamp Guide:

• 02:01: Kate discusses her initial client base and the slow period starting January.
• 04:15: Kate explains her shift to specializing in traumatic birth experiences.
• 21:20: Allison advises on refining website taglines for clarity.
• 25:34: Allison emphasizes building relationships with perinatal therapists.
• 16:05: Kate details her broader networking efforts with various professionals.

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This episode offers valuable insights for therapists considering niche hopping, highlighting the importance of strategic marketing, targeted networking, and maintaining financial stability during transitions. By learning from Kate’s experiences and Allison’s expert advice, therapists can navigate the complexities of niche redefinition to build a more fulfilling and prosperous private practice.

Transcript

[Kate]

Foreign.

[Alison]

Hi, welcome to the Abundant Practice Podcast. I'm Alison from Abundance Practice Building. I have a nearly diagnosable obsession with helping therapists build sustainable, joy filled private practices. Just like I've done for tens of thousands of therapists across the world. I'm excited to help you too. If you want to fill your practice with ideal clients, we have loads of free resources and paid support. Go to abundance practice building.com Links all right, onto the show.

[Kate]

So I've talked about therapy notes 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 therapy notes 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.

[Alison]

Why should you care about that?

[Kate]

Because as soon as venture capital becomes involved, the focus shifts from making customers happy to making investors happy.

[Alison]

Prices go way up.

[Kate]

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 [e-mail] with the coupon code Abundant.

[Unknown]

Hey. Hi.

[Kate]

What would be most helpful today?

[Unknown]

Yeah, yeah, I kind of just. You're probably getting this a lot, but just want to know that I'm on the right track right now. I just, I don't know if the lack in referrals or inquiries converting to actual clients is because of something on my end or just like the time right now, you know. So yeah, yeah, so just some of that. So I started my practice on my own last April, a year ago. Before that I was in a group practice and I got to bring some of those clients with me. So I did not start from scratch. But yeah, started my own practice then and my niche then was like women and adult women with people pleasing and anxiety and doing emdr with that. And, you know, it was kind of a slow summer last summer, building up a little bit. But I didn't start from scratch, thankfully, having those clients with me. The fall was really busy. And then like December was little less busy and I took time off for the holidays. And then since January, it's been like, scary slow. So a lot of clients graduated and met their goals, and that's great in like January, February, but no one has been coming to replace them, so. Or maybe like some consultations, but they haven't, you know, converted or been a good fit, so. And I have. So I'm seeing like 8 to 12 a week basically since February. And I need to be at like 15 a week to even like, breathe financially. And 20 is my goal to thrive.

[Kate]

Okay.

[Unknown]

I'm on one insurance and it pays pretty well, honestly. But I'm terrified of clawbacks and audits that hasn't really happened yet, but really scared of that. So I'd love to be off that eventually, but not getting any private pay people right now. I mean, I have like two or three out of the eight to 12, and they came to me because I thought. They thought I took like an off branch of their insurance, and I didn't, and they stuck around anyways. So, yeah, I don't really want to leave insurance until my marketing's where it needs to be to be able to get in private pay clients. So for some reason, I'm only bringing in people that happen to take that one insurance I have. And then it's like, would they have reached out if I hadn't been taking the insurance? You know, so I'm always wondering that, but. And I've also changed my niche a couple of times this year, and I feel like I've finally fallen on what I want it to be. But I realized earlier this year that I wanted to do, like, recent event traumas with emdr. Felt like that was too broad. So then I dove in more to recent traumatic grief and loss. Again, felt like that was a little bit too broad. I've had clients come in with both of those things, recent loss or traumatic event, and I've loved working with it, so. But both of those things I felt like were kind of too broad. So recently I've been network networking with because of those niches, a lot of, like, perinatal providers and postpartum and all of that. And it kind of has, like, made me realize I want to do a lot with the, like, perinatal postpartum like that because it's a It's a mix of grief and loss and recent trauma. So my new niche right now is women who've experienced a traumatic birth experience.

[Kate]

Got it.

[Unknown]

So I feel like that's pretty niche down. I mean I don't go further into like just miscarriages, just the birth experience itself or you know, but in general, yeah, just traumatic birth is what I'm at now. And I do have a kind of like a sub niche on my website under services page of like just a traumatic perinatal experience, whether that's the miss, you know, a loss during the perinatal time. But my homepage is mainly just traumatic birth experience, traumatic labor and delivery and all that. So that's where I'm at now. So I have only been with that niche for like three weeks. So I guess it is pretty new. But all this year though, as I've been doing, whether it's recent events or grief and loss, a lot of networking, a lot of all of that stuff and I still am, but I am at a new niche right now just in the past couple weeks. So either way though, I, it has not really brought in anyone any of those niches or networking that I've been doing very much. So I guess I'm just, I mean I, I'm doing a lot of the. Trying to make sure I follow up with people, like not just reaching out one and done, you know.

[Kate]

Right, right.

[Unknown]

I've created a couple of my own consultation groups I was already into. I mean they all only meet, meet like once a month. I was in two already of the other people invited me to a while ago. And then I created an in person one with four other therapists or four of us total. And they're all in like the beginning stages of our practice. So that's been really nice. And I made another one with a couple other therapists who are a bit further along in their practices than I am. So that's been really great. And I, I'm fully virtual so I really like the connection. Like I've genuinely enjoyed like I make sure I reach back out to people that I actually enjoy talking to and could be friends with. So that's been great. So yeah, that's been good. But. And I've been meeting with people kind of, you know, outside the box of just other therapists or psychiatrists I've met with when I was doing grief and loss more. So I was, I met with like some funeral home directors. I've gone into some concierge doctor's offices in person, dropped off like coffee and my info only got to talk to the front desk staff and never heard back from the actual, actual doctors. But I've met with yoga and reiki instructors recently, some doulas. I'm. I reached out to some birth centers and they're getting back to me. So lots of that with the perinatal stuff. A lot of psychiatrists that work with the perinatal population. A lot of in person stuff though thankfully I'm able to do. I feel like in person just it's a lot, but I feel like I connect better with the providers when I see them compared to virtual. So yeah, I've been doing a lot of that. Still. Some other places to reach out to but Facebook groups like Mom Facebook groups. I feel like I got a couple consultation requests a few weeks ago from there. They haven't panned out, but I, I'm still researching more of those. There's a couple that you have to like pay to advertise on. So I'm doing, doing some of that. But yeah. So I don't know if there's, if there's other ideas that you would have or if it's one of those things where I'm doing the right stuff. I just have to wait. It's just hard to know like, you know, what if I'm not doing the right things? I won't know until six months from now and then I'll be wasting all my time that I've been doing these things and maybe they're not the right things to do. I don't know.

[Kate]

Yeah. Well, I think part of it is when you change your niche. If you're not already established when you change your niche, it's like hitting reset.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Kate]

So you've got a three week old practice right now and that's like, you know, you do have some clients, so that's good. It's just getting the word out with this very different niche than where you've been in. And your niche starting out in private practice was the kind of niche where a therapist who has room in their practice will take that person.

[Unknown]

Right.

[Kate]

I would take the person in your initial, your initial niche, but I would not take the person in your current niche. I'd be like, you need a specialist. So I think that there's a really beautiful specificity to your niche. Now the other niche is great. It's just people are going to gobble them up too.

[Unknown]

Right.

[Kate]

So I would say also networking with just other therapists.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Kate]

Who are not perinatal therapists. I would also your website has it been completely retooled?

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Kate]

Okay, good, good. And how were people finding you before? Like, in the fall when things were busy and new people were coming in. How are people finding you?

[Unknown]

Yeah, so online directory. I was with Psychology Today for a while, so I had gotten a lot through there, but it dried up, like, again, late fall, and just like, it's not. I. So I canceled it recently and I went with therapy then and therapist tribe instead. Just recently. So it used to be that. But again, that dried up really quick and then other therapists were finding me. So, like someone who had a talk therapist or art therapist or therapist for OCD was finding me so that their client could do EMDR with a specific trauma. So it wasn't based in, like, whether it was a recent trauma or birth trauma, just like kind of a general, you know, whatever it may be a specific trauma. And they found me. But I think everyone who. That's happened a lot. But every therapist who's done that and referred a client to me, they've been like, oh, yeah, I saw you took Blue Cross Blue Shield. So it was because I take the. So it's like, how would they have referred to me if I didn't? I don't know.

[Kate]

Yeah. And right now you want to get your feet under you marketing wise anyway, so it wouldn't. If things are slow like this, now is not the best time to get off insurance.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Kate]

So let's. Let's leave that as like a little safety net. And then once you feel like, okay, things are like, people are coming in at a regular reliable clip, then is a good time really to consider getting off insurance. And are you. Do you live in a place where Blue Cross Blue Shield is, like, very common?

[Unknown]

Yeah. Okay, good. Yeah.

[Kate]

So then that probably also means there are lots of other therapists who take it. And so it's like being found probably. Like all of that sounds like it's about being found. And you're doing a lot of good networking that helps with that.

[Unknown]

Yeah. I'm in an area where. I'm in Northern Virginia, just outside D.C. so I'm in an area where private pay is pretty popular. But if someone's with an insurance, Blue Cross Blue Shield's a big one here, so. And a year ago, I knew I wasn't. I didn't move here till August, but I knew I'd be moving here when I started my practice last April. So I was looking around at therapists here and what they charged, private pay, and it was like 250 at least. So I was like, oh, okay. You know, so I didn't start with that. I very much. I've gone back and forth a lot with the private pay rate. The. Anyone. The high, highest rate I'm charging right now for private pay people, I have a couple like 190, but this January I upped it. I. Yeah, up the new. For new people coming in that are private pay to 250.

[Kate]

Good.

[Unknown]

But I don't have anyone at that yet. But I will say when I was looking around in like earlier this year, again, at what therapists were charging, everyone is charging like under 200. And I don't know if people lowered their prices or if I'm just finding different people than I saw a year ago when I looked. Because a year ago it was like super up there. And now when I look around it's under 200. So I don't, I don't know what that means.

[Kate]

But yeah, I doubt that it's people lowering their prices because it's like once you have a caseload of people paying, it feel really weird to lower it for newbies. So I think it's probably like so many more people have gone into private practice and like on Psychology Today, for instance, like the timing of it kind of tanking for you makes sense to me because that's when yeah, the other like the big therapy tech started creating all these Psychology Today profiles and, and bumping other people out. So that makes sense. And it isn't anything you did right. Big therapy texts trying to take over and we're not going to let them. So. Because, so like, our clients don't want to go there. They're not going to them. So.

[Unknown]

Yeah, okay.

[Kate]

So it's. I'm hearing good networking doulas are great for your current niche. I would definitely get in with some OB GYNs, some midwives. And honestly, some of them may want to see you because it would be extremely traumatic.

[Unknown]

Right.

[Kate]

As a provider, even when you've lived through many of them, there are still some that are going to get stuck, you know?

[Unknown]

Yeah. Yeah. And I've wondered if I could make that. I mean, I don't want it to do any harm to me with my niche and whatever it may be. I wonder if I can make that a sub thing, like a service page under my service pages. Like people who work with birth trauma. Someone did ask me, they haven't reached out for services, but they said something like, do you work with people who work with birth drama? And I was like, yeah, sure. So.

[Alison]

Hey, therapist Quick interruption before we dive back in. If your practice has been quieter than usual lately or it feels like what used to work just isn't anymore, I've got something for you. I'm hosting a free live training called filling your practice in a challenging economy. The title kind of explains it. We'll cover why the landscape has shifted, how big therapy tech is changing the game, and most importantly, what still works to get great, fit clients. Right now, I'd love for you to join me live on July 14th at One Eastern. Bring your questions. I'm leaving some time for Q and a. Again. That's July 14th at 1 Eastern. You can save your spot by hitting the link in the show notes. It's free, it's live. I can't wait to see. See there?

[Kate]

Yeah. And I. So I think having that sub niche, like having a page devoted to that would be really powerful. When they ask, you can be like, absolutely. Here's a link to my page that talks about how I work with folks. And then it's like, oh, you're not just saying.

[Unknown]

Sure.

[Kate]

You're. You're like, absolutely. I specialize in what you're struggling with.

[Unknown]

Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. Yeah. I still need to do the obgyns and midwives. I thought about doing like, and I have a few people who have an in with the hospitals around, so that could be helpful. But it's so hard to get in with. I even figured social workers that were. I know they're social workers for like the NICUs and getting with them. I tried to call the other day and got disconnected and, you know, so I. I don't know. But I, I mean, that might be a good one too. So.

[Kate]

Yeah. And it depends on what services they have in house because they're not going to refer out if they have any in house services.

[Unknown]

Right. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, it's. It's like, is that a waste of time or not? I don't know. But first centers, there's a couple around psychiatrists I've met with that work specifically with postpartum perinatal. That group pelvic floor therapists, I haven't reached out to yet, but I've heard those are, those are good ones to, to reach out to people.

[Kate]

Absolutely.

[Unknown]

Yeah. So I need to do that.

[Kate]

Lactation consultants. Did you ask them?

[Unknown]

Yes, I've talked to a hypnobirthing place. I've talked to someone that does like infant massages. Yeah. So a lot of like, outside the box, you know, that I feel like would be good to to reach out to. So, again, it's only been, like, two weeks, and I know it takes time. I just want to make sure I'm doing the right stuff.

[Kate]

So another good one would be cranial sacral therapy for babies.

[Unknown]

Okay.

[Kate]

And, yeah, I think it's also the quality of these conversations. Like, how are these conversations typically going? Because this is not, you know, this isn't the therapist on.

[Unknown]

Yes.

[Kate]

How are you communicating your value to them?

[Unknown]

Yeah, it's been great, because I feel like they've been asking and really interested before I even say too much. Typically, they know what EMDR therapy is, the other providers, but they would say, like, how does that work with the birth trauma? What's the session look like? Or what are, you know, clients to see you? What are they looking for? So, yeah, I feel like I'm able to give really good info, and that's how I got into this niche, too, is because I've just had people randomly with either, you know, the perinatal birth traumas reach out, and I've liked it. So I'm able to. I. I have worked with a couple people, and this is what it's like. So, yeah, I feel like it's been good.

[Kate]

So I think about the docs that are following those patients, like, using the doc. I'm seeing your patient template that's in the what to say when course, because that keeps you top of mind. If you send every month, you send the letter of, like, I'm working with so and so. Here's their diagnosis. Here's how they're progressing. Here's what we're still working on. They see, like, okay, progress is being made. This person specializes in this. And you can say at the end, like, happy to serve any more of your. Your patients who experience birth trauma.

[Unknown]

Yeah. Mm. Yeah. I have not reached out to the doctors, but I have reached out to, again, most of those people on my caseload. They're like, talk. Therapist has referred them to me for the emdr. So I reach out to them. Like, all they have another therapist or psychiatrist, I reach out to them. And it was cool because one of the client's therapists was, you know, she was, like, so amazed after one session how the client was reacting afterwards. So they wanted to meet and talk about it. And. Yeah.

[Kate]

Awesome.

[Unknown]

That was great.

[Kate]

So you're getting great results with people, and that matters a ton also. And I think, like, you know, if somebody's on an antidepressant or if somebody is depending on the potential injury, if they're being followed by an OB guide, then it would make sense to have them sign a release of information so you can communicate with that person because you know, mind and body's not divorced, they're not separate. So.

[Unknown]

Yes, yeah, definitely. I should look up into the. That's a good way to get in with the obs. And I was curious too. Like with, with my other. When I was doing like recent traumas and ptsd, like acute stuff and emdr with that I was ranking pretty high on Google. Like I would do like the incognito search and like I was on the first page for my area and I was not really seeing results from it. But it was easy to know like in my opinion what to. What keywords to use with all of that. But now with this I feel like there's so much like I don't know what people would be searching like postpartum support or help. And again, I'm not really necessarily. That's the other thing is the imposter syndrome of like I don't have kids myself and I don't have any training in perinatal stuff and I'm getting some. I'm planning to, but I don't yet. So I'm not the person that's going to do long term. Like I'm just struggling with postpartum, like the depression or even anxiety. Like I want them to see someone else for that. I'm doing the recent, even if it's not recent, but the one time event of the birth trauma itself.

[Kate]

Right.

[Unknown]

I'm just curious what people are even searching for that. Like.

[Kate]

Yeah, I mean I think they know the term birth trauma.

[Unknown]

Okay.

[Kate]

Or traumatic birth. Or you could go into some of the birth traumas, you know, like. Yeah, I've blanked on all of them now. I could have told you at least some of them go yeah, yeah.

[Unknown]

And, and I've, I've googled like I've seen what could come up by just googling like birth trauma. And I'm like, well then what birth trauma experience? Therapy for birth trauma near me. Maybe just a mix of them.

[Kate]

Yeah, well. And yeah, like fourth degree tear, things like that. My friend had the one. Why am I blinking on what it's called preeclampsia.

[Unknown]

Yep, yep.

[Kate]

So just like therapy for preeclampsia or therapy for, you know, there's also also all the traumatic births where the mom was fine but the baby was not.

[Unknown]

Yep, yep. Or just to make you stay afterwards and. Yeah, yeah, okay. Yeah, I can definitely get more specific. I mean I'm Bl. I'm blogging every week too, like, consistent. So I use those words in there too. And. Yeah, all of that. So, yeah. Okay. And my petting or the main tagline on my website, like, the first thing people see is therapy for women wanting to process and heal from a traumatic birth so they can enjoy time with their baby in the present moment without being dragged back into the powerlessness of the hospital room. And I didn't. I was curious if that sounded good or could be refined.

[Kate]

It's a lot of words. I want to cut back down on the words and make it really clear. I like every bit of imagery that you put in there. But not as a tagline.

[Unknown]

Okay.

[Kate]

It could just be simple, like therapy for traumatic birthday. You know, like, clear is powerful.

[Unknown]

Yeah. Yeah. I think I overthink it a lot. And I try to be like, well, what's the thing to catch them? You know? But I think that's niche enough that it doesn't even have to be a huge thing to catch them. They're going to see that and just.

[Kate]

Right. Because what catches them is the tagline of like, oh, that's me. And then the way you describe it afterwards. And you could have it kind of broken down of like. Like NICU stays of your own. Physical healing as a mom, concern about your baby's survival. There's just so many different things in that day to day experience that's such hell for people that when you can talk about that clearly helps them. Like really helps them.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Kate]

Feel seen and known and like, you know what you're doing.

[Unknown]

Yeah, no, that's good. I can definitely, like break it down and. Yeah. Make it less wordy. I was reading it off to myself earlier and I was like, it's kind of long. Just say, yeah, yeah, that makes sense.

[Kate]

And I would love for you to network with every single perinatal mood disorder therapist out there and saying, like, I end up collaborating with a lot of perinatal mood disorder therapists. I don't treat perinatal mood disorders, but I do basically time limited EMDR for birth trauma. And that way they know you're not trying to take their client.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Kate]

That you're just there to collude with them and help.

[Unknown]

Yes. Yeah. And I'm trying. I haven't really done this on my web. I have. I do have a separate. My service pages are like. One thing I learned was to take off EMDR from like the main tagline because I, like, that's not what people are necessarily looking for, but that's what I offer for the birth trauma. I think that's been helpful. So like services are traumatic birth and then perinatal grief and loss and then EMDR therapy, AD and then adjunct EMDR therapy. So like one page explains EMDR and one page explains like what EMDR therapy is. Because I, I really do feel like the work I'm doing is very adjunct. I'm having a ton of people or not ton of people, the caseloads low. But from what I have, people are being referred to me and they're seeing another therapist at the same time for time to work with me. And I really like that because I am wanting to do the very specific and usually it's only like a few months when they're with me if it's a one thing we're working on. So I'm trying to see how to like if that should be added into my homepage or how to add that in to be like this is a, I don't know, like in an adjunct way. Like I'm working, you know, it's very time specific and I even offer 90 minutes that I have in in person office one day a week to do the 90 minutes. I don't have anyone signed up for that yet, but I'd love for people to advertise it in a way to be like this can be especially if you do 90 minutes quicker thing and it's, you know, and I don't know how to, if I should even worry about that right now, like adding that into my website or not. I don't know.

[Kate]

I don't know that I'd worry about that right now. Unless that's the only way you want to do it. Because the whole a confused mind says no.

[Unknown]

Right.

[Kate]

We want to make it as clean and crisp and I think about like the typical client who's going to land on your website. She's not looking for you while having a therapist. So I wouldn't put it on your homepage. But I do like having a specialty page that you can send other therapists.

[Unknown]

Okay. Yes. So I do have that like as adjunct. So. Okay. Yeah. I feel like the other just mainly like just the, the worried about the fact that anyone who does reach out happens to be on the one insurance that I take. And it's just like would they reached out if I didn't take that? And some of them throughout the past year of my having my practice, my private pay clients are people who like thought I took their insurance. That's why they reached out. But then we're okay that I didn't. It's kind of like, well, I don't want to, you know, get off insurance because that's how I've gotten some of my private pay clients.

[Kate]

Right.

[Unknown]

It's just interesting. I don't know how to go about like, I don't know.

[Kate]

Yeah. It's one of those things where your current clients, most of them would probably stay with you.

[Unknown]

Yeah, I think they would. And I've, I've taught very much that I, most of them would, but I, I'm not getting new ones.

[Kate]

Yeah. That's why I want to make sure you've got some consistency and referrals before you make that leap. Because then it's just so much less stressful.

[Unknown]

Right.

[Kate]

I don't want you to be stressed.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Kate]

And I think the more relationships you develop with these perinatal therapists, because I think they're going to be your bread and butter.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Kate]

The more relationships you form with them, their clients, like, you know, more therapists have that reaction like that one of like, whoa, what did you do?

[Unknown]

This is amazing. Yeah. Yeah.

[Kate]

That's just going to be where so many referrals come from.

[Unknown]

Yes. Yes. And I've done really good at continuing to reach out and nurture relationships like with other therapists. I'm, I feel kind of stuck on how to do that with like someone who runs a birthing center or doulas. Like how do I continually grow that.

[Kate]

Would you be willing to go in and do a talk?

[Unknown]

Yeah. And I think one person said I could even sit in on a class, just like observe, which I would love to do anyways. And I, I know I can tour some of the centers which I'm, I'm planning to reach out and ask to do. Yeah. So any of those things. But it feels kind of weird to just be like, hey, do you want to meet again for coffee later? I mean, it's not that weird, but I don't know. So.

[Kate]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

Like what would we talk about again? So I don't know.

[Kate]

Yeah, well, I think that's in the first networking. If you're like establishing non work connection, then it's like you're just like, you're inviting them out again because you're like them.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Kate]

And you can chat about whatever.

[Unknown]

Yes.

[Kate]

And I think about the people that have known you for other things in the past. You can say like, oh, I've really sub niched into this specialty so it gives you an excuse to follow back up with them as well.

[Unknown]

Right. That's True. Yeah.

[Kate]

Awesome.

[Unknown]

Yeah. I'll just have to continue that and keep.

[Kate]

Yeah. I mean, it sounds like you're absolutely on the right track. It's a weird, weird year for referrals. I've never seen anything like it. It's not just you.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Kate]

And I think it's going to be like that first month after Covid hit where, like, it was dead silent.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Kate]

And then all of a sudden, everybody got walloped.

[Unknown]

Yeah. So, yep. Yep.

[Kate]

I think there's going to be an exhale at some point.

[Unknown]

Yeah. And I'm in an area that's very kind of for my. The private pay rate.

[Kate]

So, yeah.

[Unknown]

Kind of curious, you know. So, yeah, we'll see.

[Kate]

Awesome. Amazing. Well, thank you, Kate. I'll see you later.

[Unknown]

Bye.

[Kate]

Bye.

[Alison]

If you're ready for a much easier practice, Therapy Notes is the way to go. Go to therapynotes.com and use the promo code abundant for two months.

[Kate]

Free.

[Alison]

If you're listening, you probably need some support building your practice. If you're a super newbie, grab our free checklist using the link in the show Notes. I'd love for you to follow rate and review, but I really want you to share this episode with a therapist friend. Let's help all our colleagues build what they want.