Abundant Practice Podcast

Episode #711: Tips For Private Practice Organization For Therapists With ADHD

Host: Allison Puryear
Date: December 6, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of the Abundant Practice Podcast centers on practical, compassionate advice for therapists with ADHD (or anyone who struggles with organization) as they start and run their private practice. Allison responds directly to a listener's question about overcoming overwhelm and difficulty breaking down goals, offering actionable strategies, mindset shifts, and tool suggestions tailored for neurodivergent brains.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Understanding the Challenge for ADHD Brains

• Traditional systems aren’t always compatible: Allison emphasizes that difficulties with organization are common, especially for neurodivergent therapists, and that standard organizational systems weren't designed for ADHD brains.
• Validation: "Not because you're not capable, but because the traditional, like, organized therapist mold wasn't made for brains like yours." (03:09)

2. Getting Started: The Power of Checklists

• Downloadable Worksheet: Allison references her “Getting Started Checklist,” a step-by-step, non-overwhelming guide for foundational private practice tasks (e.g., getting an EIN, applying for a business license, choosing an EHR).
  • "It lays out all the essential tasks you need to handle in the earlier stages of your practice. Step by step, no overthinking necessary." (04:02)
• Acknowledgement of Boring Tasks: These administrative details are rarely fun, but necessary—breaking them down and externalizing them makes them more manageable.

3. Leveraging ADHD Strengths and Prior Strategies

• Tap into Historical Success: Allison urges listeners to recall the strategies that got them through other “boring but important” life milestones—licensing exams, grad school papers, etc.—and repurpose those tools for practice-building. (05:12)

4. Actionable Strategies for Getting Things Done

• Body Doubling: Do tasks in the presence of another (virtually or in-person) for motivation, even if you aren’t interacting.

• Timeboxing: "Set a timer for 20 or 30 minutes, and tell yourself you only have to focus for that long, and then reward yourself when it's done." (05:32)

• Accountability: Notify a friend or group when you complete a task to get a dopamine boost from social acknowledgment.

• Quote: “The important part is I don’t want you to wait to feel organized to get started. Start with one task at a time. Whether you feel like it or not, you’re building momentum, not perfection.” (06:01)

5. Systems for Ongoing Practice Management

• Create Personalized Systems: Routines work best when tailored to what genuinely interests you or aligns with previous successes.
• Student Example (Erin):
  • Created tracking spreadsheets on topics she found stimulating (like referral sources).
  • Developed routines for disliked tasks and built in structure (e.g., "I get my notes done before I can get up and pee between sessions." - 07:03)
  • Used templates and automation for emails and notes, shifting repetitive work to “copy-paste” tasks.
  • Outsourced early and strategically—tasks she disliked or delayed were delegated (e.g., uploading blog posts, formatting newsletters).
  • "It’s not about whether you can do these things, it’s about whether you need to be the one doing them." (07:46)

6. Smart Delegation

• Delegate! Assign out tasks that continually get procrastinated—without guilt.

• Example: Allison outsources opening her mail.

  • "I’m absolutely capable of opening an envelope, but for whatever reason my brain will let a letter sit unopened on my desk for weeks." (08:08)

• Warning on Delegation: Don’t delegate core therapist content (like website copy) to non-specialists. It wastes money and usually misses the mark.

• Find Marketing That Works for You: "If you hate social media, cool. Don’t use it. Pick a marketing method that works with your brain and your strengths." (08:36)

7. Choosing and Using Technology Wisely

• All-in-One EHRs: Use a comprehensive EHR (like TherapyNotes) that handles all admin, billing, scheduling, reminders, and credit card processing in one place.
  • "Will you save 0.5% using a different credit card processor? Maybe. But will you forget to bill sessions because it's not integrated?...That lost revenue will be way more than whatever you saved." (08:54)
• Automation is Your Friend: Make use of templates, recurring appointments, and available AI features in EHRs.

8. Small, High-Impact Rituals

• Set Recurring Appointments: Always make sessions recurring to reduce client and therapist scheduling fatigue.
• Never Schedule Without a Calendar: Avoid double-booking mistakes by always scheduling with your calendar in front of you. (09:24)
• Batch Tasks: Handle similar tasks (notes, emails, billing) in batches to reduce decision fatigue and context-switching.
  • "Ask Allison’s—I do the entire month’s Ask Allison’s in one shot. That’s why I’m always wearing the same thing." (09:36)

9. Core Mindset: Progress Over Perfection

• "Your ADHD will not keep you from running an amazing, organized, profitable private practice. You just have to find the right systems for your brain..." (09:45)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Validation and Motivation:
  • "Not because you're not capable, but because the traditional, like, organized therapist mold wasn't made for brains like yours." (03:09)
  • "The important part is I don’t want you to wait to feel organized to get started... you’re building momentum, not perfection." (06:01)
  • "It's not about whether you can do these things, it’s about whether you need to be the one doing them." (07:46)
  • "Your ADHD will not keep you from running an amazing, organized, profitable private practice." (09:45)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:36] Listener Question: Struggling with ADHD and organization in private practice
• [04:02] Getting Started Checklist: Intro to free worksheet and step-by-step breakdown
• [05:32] Body Doubling, Timeboxing, Accountability mechanics
• [07:03] Building routines and student example (Erin)
• [07:46] Delegating vs. doing it all yourself
• [08:36] Marketing and delegation warnings
• [08:54] Choosing tech and why all-in-one EHRs matter
• [09:24] Scheduling best practices, batching tasks
• [09:45] Key mindset reminder and encouragement

Conclusion & Takeaways

• Start small using checklists and break tasks into manageable chunks.
• Leverage strategies (body doubling, timeboxing, accountability) proven to work for ADHD minds.
• Build and refine systems—choose tech wisely, automate, outsource, and personalize routines.
• Don’t let ADHD—or fear of chaos—stop you from having a thriving, organized private practice.
• Action: Get the free Getting Started checklist via the website, DM “sheets” for links, or see the show notes for resources.

This summary captures Allison’s compassionate, no-shame, highly pragmatic tone and aims to equip overwhelmed therapists with ADHD with clear, actionable tools for business success.