Abundant Practice Podcast: Episode #691

Transitioning From Academia To Private Practice

Featuring: Dr. Sumi Raghava
Host: Allison Puryear
Date: October 1, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Allison Puryear sits down with Dr. Sumi Raghava to explore her journey from a tenure-track academic position to running a full-time private psychotherapy practice. They delve into the motivations, fears, logistics, and emotional complexities of leaving academia, while offering actionable insights for therapists considering a similar leap. Sumi shares her authentic decision-making process, discusses how her clinical practice enriched her teaching, the realities of "niching," and offers practical advice on preparing for private practice—especially for clinicians currently straddling both worlds.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins of the Move: Why Start a Private Practice on the Side?

[02:20–04:14]

• Sumi shares her initial reasons for launching a part-time practice while in academia:
  • A desire for her teaching to be grounded in current clinical experience (“If I were like in music school, I would want my music teacher to actually play their instrument.” – Sumi, 02:40)
  • Academic job insecurity made private practice a smart backup in case her tenure-track path became unstable
  • Supplementary income from clinical work

2. How Clinical Practice Changes Teaching

[04:14–05:31]

• Sumi describes how active clinical work gave her credibility and deeper rapport with students
  • Students took her clinical advice more seriously, as it was informed by real-life experience
  • “It gave me a lot of credibility as someone who ran my own practice, which many of them ultimately wanted to do.” – Sumi, 04:46

3. The Tipping Point: Choosing Between Academia and Private Practice

[06:02–11:15]

• The COVID-19 crisis upended professional and personal routines; Sumi grapples with her career trajectory while pregnant and raising young children in a cramped NYC apartment
• Surge in demand for mental health services prompts her to question where she’s needed most
• Institutional changes and increasing expectations with tenure push Sumi to reconsider if academia aligns with her values and well-being
  • “Knowing that it was a one way door felt really scary.” – Sumi, 09:18
• Experiences professional burnout and recognizes parallel struggles in her high-achieving clientele
  • “I work a lot with burnout in my practice... and I think I felt a bit of that with tenure.” – Sumi, 09:54
• Sees private practice as an opportunity to serve needed populations and achieve personal balance

4. Facing Uncertainty & Emotional Fallout

[10:35–12:08]

• Despite clarity in retrospect, Sumi highlights how agonizing and risky the decision felt amid pandemic uncertainty
  • “As I describe it retrospectively, it feels like a neat narrative. But at the time, it felt risky.” – Sumi, 11:12
• No regrets, but acknowledges emotional loss from leaving teaching: “There’s certainly a sense of loss, but there’s not a sense of regret.” – Sumi, 11:56

5. Financial Planning and Privilege

[12:50–15:21]

• Sumi stresses the importance of financial clarity and honest conversation before quitting academia
  • Stable financial support from her partner played a key role in her ability to take the risk
  • “We sort of gamed it out, money-wise, of like, how many clients do you need for this to work for us?” – Sumi, 13:01
• Emphasizes that private practitioners are business owners and can’t ignore the business and marketing side

6. The Reality of Building a Caseload & Infrastructure

[15:53–18:25]

• Success in private practice isn’t automatic—requires sustained, intentional marketing and business planning
  • “You cannot just like, hope it works out.” – Sumi, 16:20
• Simple but essential infrastructure matters: having a website, a Psychology Today profile, and an office made expansion possible
  • Even a “small practice” (just 1 day/week, 4 clients) can be scaled if the basics are in place

7. Referral Streams & Transition Logistics

[17:32–18:25]

• Sumi did not receive referrals from her university job (due to role separation and ethics), so she needed independent community referral sources
  • Reinforces the need to build non-workplace referral streams before leaving academia

8. The “Niching” Dilemma: Both/And Approach

[18:33–26:45]

• Sumi dislikes the concept of niching; identifies as a generalist and resists boxed-in marketing
  • “I hate niching. I hate the concept of it... I think it does a disservice to the range of our skills and abilities.” – Sumi, 18:47
• Recognizes that clear, specific marketing helps clients connect, and carves out a compromise:
  • Highlights three broader clinical focuses: trauma, burnout (especially in high-demand professions), and culture/cross-cultural work
  • Carves out an ultra-specific niche: trauma-exposed journalists and media professionals, with specialized training from the Global Center for Journalism and Trauma
  • “If someone were to ask me, how did you niche down without niching down? I would say I have this super niche down area—trauma-exposed journalists... and then three very broad areas.” – Sumi, 24:23
• Her approach makes her stand out to specific populations while still allowing her to see a diverse caseload

9. The Power and Pitfalls of Niching

[25:15–27:08]

• Ultra-specific niches, like journalists exposed to trauma, create reliable referral pipelines but aren't enough to fill a caseload alone
• Marketing broad topics like burnout can be effective—depends on social media algorithms and needs of the community
• Both Sumi and Allison acknowledge seeing clients outside their stated niches, and discuss the illusion that niching is an exclusion rather than amplification of expertise:
  • “The hope is that people see that expertise speaks to high levels of competence across the board.” – Sumi, 26:57

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If I were in music school, I would want my music teacher to actually play their instrument.” – Sumi Raghava, [02:40]
• “It gave me a lot of credibility as someone who ran my own practice, which many of them ultimately wanted to do.” – Sumi Raghava, [04:46]
• “I work a lot with burnout in my practice...and I think I felt a bit of that with tenure.” – Sumi Raghava, [09:54]
• “Knowing that it was a one way door felt really scary.” – Sumi Raghava, [09:18]
• “We sort of gamed it out, money-wise, of like, how many clients do you need for this to work for us?” – Sumi Raghava, [13:01]
• “To be a successful solo practitioner, you cannot reject engaging with some aspects of business.” – Sumi Raghava, [15:17]
• “You cannot just like, hope it works out [marketing-wise].” – Sumi Raghava, [16:20]
• “I hate niching. I hate the concept of it... I think it does a disservice to the range of our skills and abilities.” – Sumi Raghava, [18:47]
• “Burnout is by design in a culture that equates worth with work...” – Sumi Raghava, [25:52]

Practical Advice for Clinicians Considering the Leap

• Get financially clear: do the math on what you need for your household to be sustainable
• Don’t depend on referrals from academic or agency settings—build independent referral sources before you leave
• Even a very small practice can be scaled with the right infrastructure (website, office or telehealth setup, directory listings)
• Expect and plan for periods with fewer inquiries or slow caseload growth—marketing requires ongoing investment
• If niching feels restrictive, consider Sumi’s “both/and” model: promote what is specific and what feels authentic
• Recognize the broader transferable skills: business sense and marketing are essential, regardless of clinical excellence

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:20] – Sumi’s rationale for starting a side practice in academia
• [04:14] – Impact of clinical work on teaching
• [06:02] – COVID, parenting, burnout, and the decision point
• [11:15] – Weighing regret/loss after leaving academia
• [12:50] – Financial preparation and privilege
• [15:53] – The business side and marketing truths
• [17:32] – Referral source realities for transitioning clinicians
• [18:33] – Resistance to niching and creating a workable marketing plan
• [24:23] – Ultra-specific and broad niching strategies
• [25:52] – Systemic causes of burnout in American culture
• [27:38] – Final reflections and encouragement to others

Tone & Style

The conversation is candid, validating, and practical, weaving personal anecdotes with systemic observations. Both Sumi and Allison demystify private practice realities, emphasizing both the challenges and freedoms that come with the transition out of academia. There’s warmth, respect for nuance, and a clear invitation for clinicians to design lives and practices that actually work for them.

For further support on building your own private practice, visit abundancepracticebuilding.com or join Allison’s Abundance Party membership.