Abundant Practice Podcast

Episode #699: What Am I Doing Wrong
Host: Allison Puryear
Date: October 25, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Allison Puryear answers a question common to therapists in private practice: “I thought getting clients would be easier than this. What am I doing wrong?” Allison breaks down why client acquisition often feels so challenging, explores the most frequent stumbling blocks for new private practice owners, and offers practical solutions for therapists feeling stuck. Her approach is both compassionate and actionable, emphasizing that feelings of struggle are normal and usually not the therapist’s fault.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. You’re Not Alone – The Private Practice Struggle

• Timestamp: 03:10
• Allison empathizes with therapists who feel defeated after opening their private practices only to find clients aren’t lining up.
• Quote:

  "If that's you, please know that you're not alone. I know how discouraging it can feel to put your heart and your soul and your student loan debt into becoming a therapist and then open the doors and not see referrals roll in." (04:11)

2. Top Three Reasons Therapists Struggle to Get Clients

A. Not Truly Niching

• Timestamp: 04:30
• Allison identifies three types of non-nichers:
  1. Those Who Don’t Want to Niche:
     • Fear of getting bored or limiting themselves is common, but not usually grounded in reality.
     • Quote:

       "Most of the reasons I hear for not wanting to niche are honestly myths." (06:01)

  2. Those Who Can’t Choose:
     • Having too many niches confuses potential clients.
     • Quote:

       "If I'm newly past postpartum... and I land on one that says specializing in substance abuse, perinatal mental health, and recovery from narcissistic abuse, I'm clicking away." (07:02)

  3. Those Who Think They’ve Niched But Haven’t:
     • Overly broad terms like "women in transition" don't resonate with real client experiences.
     • Quote:

       "When you zoom out too far, people stop recognizing themselves in your message. But when you zoom in and you use their exact words, that's when they're like, oh, this therapist gets me." (08:23)

B. Not Knowing How to Market

• Timestamp: 09:19
• Most graduate programs overlook marketing—or even frame it as unethical.
• Allison reassures listeners: Learning marketing is much easier than learning therapy skills and therapists are naturally skilled at understanding their audience.
• Using empathy and client language is advantageous but should never become fear-based marketing.
• Quote:

  "Marketing is learnable. In fact, it is way, way easier to learn how to market than it was to learn how to do therapy." (10:10)
  "What I don't want you to do ever is use fear based marketing... Good therapy is about offering clarity and connection. It's about making it easier for the right clients to find the right therapist, which might be you, might not. And that's okay." (12:05)

C. Trying to Do Too Much at Once

• Timestamp: 13:17
• Many therapists, especially “type A folks and shiny object chasers,” try every marketing strategy they hear about, but more is not better.
• Allison recommends focusing on no more than five marketing strategies:
  • Two must-haves: A great website and some form of networking.
  • The other three can be flexible (e.g., social media, blogging, directories).
• Analogy: Doing too many marketing strategies at once is like trying to use all therapy modalities in a single session—ineffective and overwhelming.
• Quote:

  "For 99% of us, no one strategy is going to fill your practice. But... More isn’t better. In fact, doing more marketing can make it less effective." (15:02)
  "You're a therapist. You're not a full time marketer. Your time and your energy should go to the clinical work you love, not endlessly spinning your wheels trying 14 marketing platforms." (16:33)

3. Normalizing the Learning Curve

• Timestamp: 17:45
• It’s not the therapist’s fault—they were never taught this in school.
• Support and resources are available, including Allison's affordable courses and community.
• Quote:

  "None of it is your fault. You are not supposed to know this stuff. It wasn't taught. That's why it feels hard." (18:01)

4. Actionable Resources & Next Steps

• Timestamp: 19:02
• Allison promotes specific offerings:
  • Know Your Niche course ($27)
  • Marketing Fundamentals course (part of the Abundance Party, $69/month)
  • Free worksheet on niching (can be requested via DM or found in show notes)
• Emphasis on community, not going through the struggle alone.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• "I've rarely had more than 60% of my practice be my niche in the last 20 years of work. So you aren't being pigeonholed or pigeonholing yourself the way that you're imagining now." (06:43)
• “When you approach it this way, marketing becomes less like selling and way more like serving.” (12:51)
• "A great website is non-negotiable. You gotta have a great website. So that's one of the five. Some form of networking is another non-negotiable." (14:45)
• "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." (20:15)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:10 – Addressing discouragement and feeling alone in private practice
• 04:30 – The three most common obstacles: Niching, Marketing, Doing too much
• 06:01–08:23 – Deep dive into niching: Myths, mistakes, and real-world impact
• 09:19–12:00 – Therapy and marketing: Overcoming the discomfort, ethical marketing tips
• 13:17–16:45 – “More isn’t better” in marketing; limiting to five strategies
• 17:45 – Addressing shame and normalizing the knowledge gap for new therapists
• 19:02–20:15 – Resources, courses, and community for private practice success

By the end of the episode, Allison leaves listeners with reassurance, tactical advice, and actionable resources, calling on the therapist community to support one another in building thriving, fulfilling practices.