Abundant Practice Podcast — Episode #714: Marketing Intensives

Host: Allison Puryear
Date: December 17, 2025
Theme: Clarifying Your Niche and Message for Therapy Intensives

Episode Overview

In this episode, host Allison Puryear works directly with a therapist (Guest A) seeking clarity around their private practice niche, specifically for therapy intensives. The conversation covers how to identify and clearly articulate your ideal client, navigate the nuances of niche messaging, and authentically market intensive therapy offerings to high-achieving women grappling with deep-rooted challenges. The episode is conversational, supportive, and rich with practical advice on making your private practice both fulfilling and marketable.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Revisiting and Refining Your Niche

• [02:14] Guest A expresses the need for help clarifying their niche and translating their expertise (“trauma therapist language”) into client-accessible messaging.
• [02:54] They share their clear, clinical understanding but want to ensure potential clients immediately recognize themselves in their messaging.

Defining the Ideal Client

• [03:06] Guest A describes their ideal client as:
  • Smart, high-powered, driven women
  • Awareness of “stuff from the past”—not always named as trauma
  • Interested in deep healing (preferably through intensives using EMDR, IFS, SE)
• [03:42] Preference for intensive sessions (minimum two hours), aiming for transformative results in a few days.

Unpacking Client Struggles and Daily Experience

• [04:56] Allison encourages specificity—what are presenting problems?
• [05:14] Panic attacks at work & inability to function as a “crisis” entry point—though not the only reason for seeking therapy.

Language and Framing for Accessibility

• [06:03] Discussion about the right terminology:
  • Some clients are in crisis, others are experiencing persistent self-doubt, imposter syndrome, anxiety spirals, or feeling “held back.”
• [08:28] Debate over including “intensive” wording in marketing messaging—how it may sound intimidating or overwhelming to potential clients.

Connecting Client Values to the Intensive Model

• [08:49] Allison highlights that efficiency and an action-oriented approach resonate with driven, ambitious women:
  • “These are people that value efficiency. They want to get shit done.” [08:28]
• [11:10] Suggests reframing intensives as a powerful, efficient path to change: “We can get a year’s worth of work done in three days.”

Narrowing the Message Without Alienating

• [09:38] Discussion on client self-identification: many don’t see themselves as having “panic attacks,” sometimes describing experiences as “episodes.”
• [10:10] Common denominator: women “hitting a wall” in performing at their typical level—a disruption they’re unaccustomed to.

Crafting Effective Copy & Messaging

• [10:45] Allison advises painting a picture in marketing copy:
  • “Throughout your life, you have been able to make yourself do hard things... Now, all of a sudden, you can’t seem to perform the way you used to.” [10:45]
• [11:59] Addressing potential client rebuttals in advance (e.g., concerns about time commitment or therapy being overwhelming):
  • “All my clients are busy. Taking three days out… is a pretty radical act in and of itself.” [12:00]

Naming the Core Pain and Its Roots

• [12:59] Exploring “not good enough” as a universal pain point among high-achieving women—often rooted in childhood experiences.
• [14:04] Clear, empathetic phrasing:
  • “I work with driven, very accomplished women who deep down still don’t feel good enough. You’ve gotten the accolades… most of these accomplishments have always been in an effort to finally reach good enough.” [14:04]

Marketing Intensives Versus Weekly Therapy

• [20:29] Elevator pitch suggestion for networking:
  • “I do intensive therapy over three days to get a year’s worth of work done with women who are having panic attacks at work or… this thing stopping them.” [20:29]
• [21:02] The intensive model appeals to clients who prefer “really intense and really hard for a few days… rather than weekly therapy for a year.” [21:02]
• [21:44] Observation: ambitious people gravitate toward intensives due to their efficiency.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Messaging Clarity:
  • “I need help translating it into the other people language… so my ideal person hears it and they’re just like, oh, yeah, that’s what I want.”
    — Guest A [03:06]
• On Client Values:
  • “They are women who you can always count on. They’re dependable. They’re not wilting flowers.”
    — Allison [08:49]
• On Universal Pain Points:
  • “Every woman feels not good enough that I’ve ever met… most of these accomplishments have always been in an effort to finally reach ‘good enough’.”
    — Allison [14:04]
• On Intensive Therapy Benefits:
  • “We can get a year’s worth of work done sometimes in three days.”
    — Allison [11:15]
• On Addressing Rebuttals:
  • “Speak like… to the rebuttals that your ideal client might have and address them. Just address them in your copy.”
    — Allison [11:45]
• On Quick Pitching:
  • “I do intensive therapy over three days to get like a year’s worth of work done with women who are having panic attacks at work or… there’s this thing stopping them.”
    — Allison [20:29]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:14 — The importance of revisiting and tightening up your niche
• 03:06 — Defining your ideal client in everyday language
• 04:56 — Presenting concerns: panic attacks, feeling held back, self-doubt
• 08:28 — Messaging: should you call out “intensives” up front?
• 10:03 — Describing “hitting a wall” for potential clients
• 11:07 — Framing intensives as efficient and appealing to busy women
• 14:04 — Painting a relatable picture of client pain
• 20:29 — Delivering your elevator pitch for intensives
• 21:44 — Why intensives attract ambitious, driven clients
• 22:40 — Pairing “not good enough” with ambition for specific messaging

Actionable Takeaways

• Focus your core message on the combination of ambition and deep-seated self-doubt.
• Use specific, empathetic language that mirrors the client’s lived experience (“hitting a wall,” “not good enough,” “can’t perform the way you used to”).
• Reassure clients about the intensive model by highlighting efficiency and transformative results.
• Address potential objections (time, overwhelm) directly in your copy.
• Don’t overload the headline—grab attention with the pain point, then elaborate in detail further down.
• Tailor your elevator pitch to networking situations, including both the who and the value of intensives.

Episode Tone and Style

Supportive, validating, and conversational. Allison brings humor and warmth, encouraging Guest A (and listeners) to embrace clarity and specificity, while reassuring them that universal pain points, when paired with concrete values (like drive and ambition), do create a strong, clear niche.

This summary encapsulates the insightful, real-world coaching from Allison Puryear about honing your private practice niche, especially when marketing therapy intensives to high-achieving women, with practical guidance on effective messaging and authentic client connection.