Abundant Practice Podcast — Episode #733:

"Why Does Building A Practice Feel So Hard Right Now?"

Released: February 18, 2026 | Host: Allison Puryear | Guest: Tiffany McClure (from The Money Sessions)

Episode Overview

This candid, insightful episode explores why building and filling a private therapy practice feels distinctly challenging in 2026 compared to years past. Host Allison Puryear—a veteran therapist and private practice consultant—joins Tiffany McClure to take their behind-the-scenes, unfiltered discussions public. Together, they examine industry shifts, the impact of “big therapy tech," changing marketing dynamics, resilience and mindset blocks for therapists, and the seductive myths of passive income and group practice. They share stories, practical advice, and memorable stories for therapists eager to navigate today’s new reality.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Major Industry Changes & The Rise of Big Therapy Tech

• Shifting Landscape:

  • Before 2020, building up a caseload was hard but more straightforward, mostly involving local, community-based marketing ([04:22]).
  • The pandemic “boom” made client acquisition temporarily easy, leading many to believe it was the new normal for private practice ([07:21]).
  • Since late 2023, “things started getting hinky... started getting really hinky when I would say late 2023 through 2024. And certainly 2025 has been a weird year for private practice.” (Allison, [04:22]).

• Big Therapy Tech Impact:

  • Large, venture-capital-backed therapy platforms have entered the scene, dominating online search and creating new levels of competition ([04:22]).
  • “Big Therapy tech has a giant influence... They have taken out a lot of the friction of starting a private practice, but it’s just kind of a different exploitive system than, you know, an agency might be.” (Allison, [04:22]).
  • These platforms make marketing much harder for individual, private practitioners due to their massive resources.

• Marketing Evolution:

  • Pre-pandemic: Focused on local networking and community relationships.
  • Now: Therapists must be more intentional and consistent with their marketing, but often feel overwhelmed or discouraged by the online competition ([07:58], [09:56]).
  • “We can't compete with Big Therapy tech online. We cannot. So I find myself steering people back to that more grassroots, community-based, relationship-based [marketing].” (Allison, [09:56])

Mindset, Resilience & Therapist Experience

• Comparison & Discouragement:

  • New entrants into private practice compare themselves to peers who started during the pandemic and quickly filled up, leading to frustration and self-doubt ([10:45]).
  • “People get discouraged much quicker...they’re comparing it to their friends who started a few years ago. And so they're like, 'What's wrong with me?'” (Allison, [10:45])

• Resilience Gap:

  • “There's something around resilience that seems to have decreased because people are comparing it to the good old days.” (Tiffany, [12:29])
  • Allison counters: “I don’t even know that it decreased. It might not have never have been there... If you’re like, I’m going to start a practice, it's September 2020. Oh, look, it’s four weeks and I’m full, then you didn’t have to walk through the fire to get there.” ([13:06])

• The Realities of Modern Practice-Building:

  • The “fill fast” era is over. Now, success requires sustained, intentional, and sometimes uncomfortable action ([13:06]).
  • “I want somebody who’s like, I’m marching. Just like, I just need you to point me where to march and I'll point you, but... nobody's gonna fill as fast as they want to right now.” (Allison, [13:06])

The Passive Income Fantasy & Group Practice Myths

• Escape Hatch Mentality:

  • Many therapists seek “passive income” or group practice as an escape from difficult solo practice-building ([14:05]).
  • “It’s so funny because when you first said it, I had to hold back a groan. And I get it. I’ve felt it at different points in my life too… Oh, I would love this get rich quick scheme. That’d be fantastic.” (Allison, [15:01])

• Reality Check on Passive Income:

  • “If the reason you want this 'passive income stream'… is just because of money, then you’re going to make way more money in an optimized private practice and your life is going to be a lot simpler.” (Allison, [15:01])
  • Running an online course or group practice is not “passive”—it requires significant ongoing marketing and often doubles your workload with less return than premium solo practice ([15:01–18:57]).

• Comparison of Real Numbers:

  • “If you're making a million dollars [in online business] you usually are taking home 20% of that, so that's $200,000, folks... How many clients do you need to see at a premium rate to make $200k?” (Allison, [15:01])
  • “What if you just saw 12 clients a week and made $200,000 or $250,000 and then had all the rest of your week to write and dream and pick up your kids?” (Tiffany, [18:57])

The Challenge of Spaciousness & Therapist Over-Working

• Spaciousness as a Challenge:
  • Many therapists unconsciously avoid downtime by overworking or under-earning, fearing the life reflection that comes with space ([22:02]).
  • “I think so often therapists keep themselves under earning and overworked unconsciously to not have space. Because in space one usually is forced to come to terms with our early attachment wounds, the parts of our lives that aren't working.” (Tiffany, [22:02])
  • “There’s always some squirminess in [white space], and...how much more discomfort am I going to try to add? ...Which discomfort am I trading in or out, because it’s all like, life’s hard.” (Allison, [22:45])

Fees, Niche Shifts, & Serving the Truly Resourced

• Who Can Pay Premium Fees?:

  • Many therapists’ mindsets limit them from serving clients who truly can pay well, stuck in old identity or “social class” dynamics ([27:35–34:24]).
  • “You have to work with people who are resourced...they have the resources to pay us week after week, month after month, without fear or real money scarcity.” (Tiffany, [26:58])
  • “I stopped being intimidated by these richer people... I’m not going to be taken seriously or be chosen by somebody who has a $50 million business if I’m charging $150.” (Allison, [31:06])

• Shifting Niche & Charging Premium:

  • Allison shares her mindset transformation—her journey from working-class roots to befriending multimillionaires and shifting her clinical niche to business owners ([28:30–34:24]).
  • Memorable moment: Charging $15,000 for a 3-day intensive, and the prospective client responding:
    • Allison: “It’s $15,000 for the three days.”
    • Client: “‘Okay, that’s reasonable.’ Same word. I said ‘unreasonable.’ He said ‘reasonable.’” ([33:21])

• How Many Clients Do You Really Need?:

  • “When we come at it from this perspective...I need as many people as can fit in this room. That’s not a lot.” (Allison, [35:14])
  • For highly-resourced clients and high-fee services, volume is no longer the priority.

Marketing vs. Mindset: Diagnosing What’s Holding You Back

• Most Practice Struggles Are Mindset, Not Methods:

  • “Vast majority of it is mindset... the marketing is not hard... If you can message to [your ideal client] and you can help them find you, that’s not rocket science.” (Allison, [36:43])
  • Therapists are great at learning, but “struggle most with implementing. They’re really great learners... but when it comes to doing the things and being seen and putting themselves out there, it's terrifying for them.” ([36:43])

• How To Diagnose:

  • “If you know what best marketing practices are, and you’re not doing them—it’s mindset, period.” (Allison, [38:17])
  • Avoiding raising fees or niche changes, despite listening and learning, is rarely about lack of technique and almost always about internal blocks.

• Illustrative Story:

  • Client “doing everything right” wasn’t getting clients:
    • Allison: “Can I just ask you if there’s anything in your relationship that might be hindering this?”
    • Client (couples therapist): “Oh, well, I mean, like, we’re actually on the brink of divorce.” ([39:36])
  • The state of one’s personal life or mindset directly impacts marketing energy and outcomes.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the post-pandemic shift:

  “They’re not finding private practice therapists as easily as they did back in 2020 through, I would say, mid 2023. Things started getting real hinky... Things started getting really hinky when I would say late 2023 through 2024.”
  — Allison, [04:22]

• On comparison culture:

  “They’re talking to their friends who did it a few years ago who were like, ‘What’s the problem? Why don’t you just throw a blog post up or something? That’s how I got clients. I did four blogs and filled right up.’ And that is not the case anymore.”
  — Allison, [04:22]

• On passive income myths:

  “Literally, your whole job with online, like, any sort of online business is marketing... If you’re just doing it for money, you're not going to have the resilience to have an entire second full-time job.”
  — Allison, [15:01]

• On overworking to avoid inner work:

  “So often, therapists keep themselves under earning and overworked unconsciously to not have space. Because in space, one usually is forced to come to terms with our early attachment wounds, the parts of our lives that aren't working...”
  — Tiffany, [22:02]

• On high-fee acceptability:

  “He said, ‘How much is it again?’ And I said, ‘Oh, it’s $15,000 for the three days.’ And he didn’t miss a beat. He goes, ‘Okay, that’s reasonable.’ Same word. I said ‘unreasonable.’ He said ‘reasonable.’”
  — Allison, [33:21]

• On diagnosing marketing vs. mindset:

  “If you know so much, you listen to all these podcasts...and you're not raising your fees, that is mindset. It’s not a timing issue. Stop telling yourself it’s a timing issue.”
  — Allison, [38:17]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [04:22] — Then vs. Now: Industry evolution since 2014, the impact of virtual practice, Big Therapy Tech, and marketing
• [07:58] — Pre-pandemic community marketing vs. today’s landscape
• [10:45] — Impact of “pandemic boom” on therapist mindset, resilience, and expectations
• [14:05] — Therapist escape hatches: group practice, online courses, and the reality of “passive income”
• [18:57] — Real numbers: comparing optimized solo practice to dreams of scaling
• [22:02] — The challenge and value of spaciousness for therapists (avoiding inner work by overworking)
• [26:58] — Choosing a niche: working with resourced clients, and the psychological barriers for therapists
• [28:30] — Allison’s story: moving into high-fee, high-resource clinical work, overcoming class and money mindset
• [33:21] — Charging (and receiving) a $15,000 fee for an intensive
• [36:43] — Is it marketing or mindset holding you back? Practical signs and a client case study

Closing

This episode offers an unvarnished view of what it takes to build a thriving private practice in 2026. The landscape is more complex, the easy wins are gone, and intentional action rooted in a clear, resilient mindset is critical. Both Allison and Tiffany emphasize returning to community-based relationship building, challenging money and “worthiness” stories, and choosing simplicity and true alignment over shiny distractions.

Connect with Allison:

• Abundance Practice Building
• Abundance Party Membership for new/plateaued practitioners
• Limitless Practice for the “full and ready to optimize” (waitlist opens January, starts February)
• Instagram: @abundance_practice_building

Takeaway:
“You can still be successful. Therapists still are being successful. You just have to be thoughtful and play a different game and not be thinking about, ‘Oh, it's so easy five years ago. I regret that,’ and that keep you from actually solving for what's happening right now.”
— Tiffany, [43:05]