Question: I’m a therapist for a charity and would like to make the transition to private practice, where to start?
First things first, I would ask yourself, ‘Why do I want to be in private practice?’. The second important question to ask is ‘Am I comfortable with the idea of running a business? That’s what private practice is, you are your own business. Not everyone is comfortable with this and I often think private practice is touted as the pinnacle of being a successful therapist when in all honestly, its really not for everyone and that’s okay!
In my Instagram post on this topic I proposed 12 questions to ask yourself before going into private practice. I’ve mentioned 2 above so the next 10 are as follows:
1. Do you have a website? It is important to have a means of attracting clients, and often the best way to do this is to have a clear and informative website which illustrates how you work, where you work, what you can offer and your fees. There are some websites such as Psychology Today and the Counselling Directory where you can create a profile where clients can find you. Remember you are not going to be suited to every type of client, so it is important to create a profile or a website that will help you attract the type of clients that you will be able to help. Do you have a niche? This may also help you attract clients. Include a photo, research suggests the clients are more likely to contact someone when they can see a photo beforehand.
2. Do you know how much you will need to make each month to cover bills as well as other business costs? It is important to have a rough idea of how much money you will need to make each month to cover not only your living costs, but also the cost of running a business. This will help inform you how much you need to charge for sessions, and how many clients you will need to see in a week to cover these costs. Also, in private practice you will not have sick pay, or holiday pay, and you will need to cover these costs with your fees.
3. Do you have a confidential space in which you can practice or do you know of where you can rent one? Are you willing to see clients in your home or do you need to find and rent out a private space? It is important to consider this before going into private practice so that you know where to advertise, and to work out costs. If you're going to be working from home there are things to consider such as ‘Will there be other people in the home as you work? Are you comfortable with clients being in your living space?
4. Are you having regular and good supervision? This is an important question to ask yourself even if you are not thinking about private practice! It can be especially important to have a supportive supervisor as you make the transition. I’ve found having a supervisor who also runs their own private practice and is willing to help with my professional development, as well as my therapeutic one, has been infinitely helpful.
5. Are you insured? Often when we work for a company we are under their general insurance. When you are in private practice you need to have your own insurance. There are many different insurance companies out there so shop around and find out what's best for you and your needs.
6. If working with children do you have a current DBS? This is good practice to have if you are working with children, but that can be a bit trickier to get if you are in private practice. However, it is something many parents will ask for and you can sign up for the immediate check so that if somebody asked for your DBS reference you can give them the details and they can check right away.
7. Do you have a professional will? If something were to happen to you, how would your clients be alerted? This something to consider when you are in private practice. If you worked for a company and died or was injured, the likelihood is they would be able to contact your clients. Although this may see morbid it is good practice to have a contingency plan if anything were to happen to you so your clients would not be left in limbo. Typically this will be another therapist that would have your client details, to use only in the circumstances mentioned above.
8. Do you have a contract/policies to use with your clients? When working in private practice it is important to have a set of policies and a contract to help create a frame with your client. Policies to consider will be late or cancellation fees, confidentiality, the sharing of information, your professional development, and terminations, to name a few.
9. Do you have other therapists you can go to for support and/or networking? Being in private practice has the potential to be isolating and lonely. You won't have the benefits of a team around you so it is important that you create moments of connection with other therapists or professionals. The way I have mitigated this is by setting up a study group, a peer supervision group and being part of several therapeutic forums. This means that in the middle of the day if I need some support and it's a while until I have supervision, I have somebody that I can lean on or get advice from.
10. Are you having regular CPD? Continuous professional development is hugely important in our profession regardless if you are in private practice or not. However, if you are not working as part of the company you will be solely responsible for paying and organising your own training opportunities. These will also be a good way of meeting other professionals in the field, sharing ideas and making connections, as well as hopefully learning something useful!
Seeing this list of questions might be daunting, but they are a good place to start when thinking about branching out into private practice. You might not be able to answer all of the questions now. For example, if you've haven’t run a business before, you might not know what it's going to feel like and if you're going to enjoy it. It is important to think about it seriously. Don't jump into it, and by asking this question in the first place, you are already starting to think about it before leaping in. Running your own private practice is really different from working for a charity. There isn't a higher management team to rely on, you don't have a boss, you are responsible for managing your own time and for generating clients. One of the hardest parts is getting over the mental block of believing you can actually do it.
That being said, private practice can be absolutely wonderful! You are your own boss! You are responsible for your time. You can work it around your family, or how you like to spend your days, and often you can make more money in the long run working for yourself.
P.S. One thing I haven't mentioned and which I personally find quite stressful, is the amount of admin you have to do! But I'll leave it there as I don't want to put you off completely! I hope it goes well for you and whatever you choose to do.
Lesley.
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