Podcast Summary: Abundant Practice Podcast

Episode #687: Marketing ADHD

Host: Allison Puryear
Guest: Ashley
Date: September 17, 2025

Main Theme

This episode dives into the challenges and strategies of growing and marketing a private therapy practice for adults with ADHD, especially from the perspective of providers who have ADHD themselves. Allison coaches Ashley, an early-career therapist in Tampa, Florida, who is experiencing rapid practice growth but is struggling with burnout, fee insecurity, and the transition from insurance-heavy clients to more sustainable, higher-fee, cash-pay clients.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Navigating Burnout & Caseload Overload

• Ashley’s Situation: About 50 active clients, averaging 32 sessions a week, feeling overwhelmed by admin and session prep.
  • “This week is heavy. And this is like 32 sessions a week… I do feel the burnout part of it too.” (04:39)
• Root Cause: Low fees ($70–$80/session, mostly insurance), high local cost of living.
• Ideal Caseload: Ashley would prefer 5 sessions a day, 5 days a week (25 per week).

2. Fee Structure, Self-Worth, and Money Mindset

• Struggles with Raising Rates:
  • “I probably set my fees a little bit low… I don’t really want to put them in a…I don’t want to raise them in their fees anymore until like next year.” (05:01)
  • Ashley feels discomfort announcing $125/session to new clients but is slowly building confidence.
  • Allison reassures: “125 is still below average for income for a therapist per session.” (11:39)
  • When rates increased from $70 to $80, no clients objected: “No one blinked an eye. Like they just signed the form and that was it.” (12:41)
• Strategies for Raising Fees:
  • Gradual, stair-stepping increases for existing clients.
  • Practice fee conversations to build comfort.
  • Use local median income as a reference point—Tampa’s is higher than Asheville, where Allison charges $300/session.

3. Maximizing Income Without Burning Out

• Move Away from Unsustainable Models:
  • “You’re making low cost of living income for a therapy practice while seeing a ton of people.” (07:36)
• Possible Solutions:
  • Switch some clients to biweekly/monthly or group therapy, which can be more profitable per hour.
  • Shift marketing focus to attract more full-fee, private-pay clients.
• Insurance Realities:
  • Most insurance pays only $70–$80/session ($120 for select policies).
  • Predominance of insurance-client referrals via sites like Grow Therapy.

4. Niche & Clinical Focus: Adult ADHD

• Ashley’s Niche: Adults with ADHD (also some adolescents), with a desire to explore both strategy/coaching aspects and deeper emotional/core belief work.
  • “I do much better as a therapist on the emotional side…should I really drill it down to adult ADHD and just like internal core beliefs or is it OK to leave it as broad as the internal core beliefs and the coaching strategies that kind of go along with it?” (14:22)
• Allison’s Guidance:
  • It’s holistic to offer both: “If you enjoy both…because it’s more holistic, right?” (14:34)
  • Marketing should focus on what brings clients in (ADHD skills/strategies)—the deeper work can unfold later.

5. Marketing Strategies for Attracting Private-Pay Clients

• Ashley’s Goal: Reduce reliance on insurance panels and referral sites.
• Recommended Tactics:
  • Website: Get it finished and ensure messaging reflects the lived experience of ideal clients.
    • “Your copy needs to be really specific…talking about their daily lived experience.” (16:43)
  • Networking: Build relationships with testing psychologists, psychiatrists, and prescribing professionals (including those whose clients are medication resistant).
    • “Become one of their chosen resources for the adults with ADHD and also prescribers… become a preferred referral person for them.” (19:38)
  • Fundamentals: Allison points to their “Marketing Fundamentals” courses for detailed strategy.
  • Other Channels: Direct outreach to physicians and leveraging search visibility.

6. Niche Refinement & Clinical Modalities

• Focus on Adults vs. Teens:
  • Ashley prefers adults; Allison advises to focus on the group you most enjoy.
• EMDR Training:
  • Not necessary to market EMDR as part of niche but useful as a supplementary tool for clients needing trauma work.
  • “You have this great tool you can use when you get underneath some of that trauma.” (20:27)
• Normalizing ‘Mission Creep’:
  • It’s common for adult ADHD therapy to branch into trauma/anxiety; keep the marketing focused on skills, let the deeper work emerge in session.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Session Volume and Burnout:
  • Ashley: “Today, for example, I have seven. And it’s like, that’s where it gets overwhelming. Or I’m waking up and I’m like, oh my God. Sessions, session after session after session today.” (06:12)
• On Raising Session Fees:
  • Allison: “We always get squeamish when we raise it. Everybody does. Even… when I raised it to 300, I was like, me! So, like, it’s normal to feel some anxiety about it, but I don’t want you to feel like you’re asking too much at 125.” (11:45)
• On Marketing and Networking:
  • Allison: “Everybody’s going to check out your website before they call you. Like, nobody’s just—in this day and age, everybody’s checking you out. So that’s why your website needs to be really on point.” (16:33)
• On Client Motivations:
  • Allison: “People are like, this explains everything, you know?” (13:23)
  • Ashley: “That’s what they say when they come to me is, ‘Oh my God, now that I got this diagnosis, this explains everything.’” (13:26)
• On Therapy Focus Slipping into Deeper Work:
  • Allison: “It is about…if most people are coming in because they want, and if your ideal client…is coming in because they want skills, manage their ADHD, then that’s where I want most of your marketing to focus.” (22:41)
• On Therapist Self-Perception:
  • Allison: “Developmentally kind of a part of the process of being in private practice…I could definitely not have charged 300 when I first started. Not because of my clinical skills, but just because of my money mindset.” (12:27)

Important Timestamps

• 02:52 — Start of Ashley's coaching conversation
• 04:35 — Ashley’s current caseload and feelings of burnout
• 06:04 — Ideal client load and fee discussions
• 08:23 — Considering group therapy as a higher-earning option
• 09:35 — Fee confidence and sliding scale habits
• 10:01 — Tampa income stats; market supports higher session fees
• 13:14 — Challenges in niche focus & client presenting problems
• 16:43 — Importance of focused website messaging and marketing
• 19:38 — Networking with testing and prescription professionals
• 20:27 — Integrating EMDR skills without diluting niche
• 22:41 — Balancing focus between ADHD skills and deeper trauma work in marketing

Action Steps for Therapists (Based on Episode)

• Reduce Burnout: Gradually decrease client volume; explore less time-intensive therapy offerings (e.g., groups); prioritize fee increases.
• Grow Revenue: Incrementally raise fees for existing clients and establish higher rates for new clients with confidence.
• Market Effectively:
  • Finish and refine your website to speak directly to ideal client pain points.
  • Network strategically with local diagnosticians and prescribers.
  • Use targeted messaging—focus on what draws clients in, not just what happens in the therapy room.
• Niche Sustainability: Don’t fear ‘drifting’ from strict ADHD work into trauma or deeper therapy; let marketing be focused, while therapy remains comprehensive.

Closing Tone & Takeaways

This episode balances practical guidance on fee setting, marketing, and burnout prevention with normalization of the growth pains common in building a private practice—especially for therapists with ADHD working with neurodivergent clients. Allison brings encouragement, humor, and concrete steps while validating Ashley’s anxieties and successes.

“I would just stay on that messaging, go through that Marketing Fundamentals course... find who your ideal clients find before they find you so that you can get in touch with them and they can refer to you and make it smooth and easy for your people.” (23:35)