Written by Dr. Nicole Nasr, Founder & CEO of Journey
Dr. Nicole Nasr is the founder of Journey, a matching platform between clients and practitioners. After qualifying as a psychologist, she began her career working for two practices, but as time went on, yearned for greater flexibility and autonomy.
Are you thinking of opening your own private practice? Or you’ve just started and feel overwhelmed? You're certainly not alone. Opening a private practice in 2024 can be both exciting and highly intimidating. While it allows us as practitioners to truly help the people who confide in us, it also requires us to take on the role of a business owner, something that might be completely new to us. In this article, we’ll explore the five common challenges of starting a private practice and provide practical tips on how to overcome them.
1. The business side of therapy
As practitioners, when setting our practice, we need to think of it as a business venture, despite its deeply personal nature. This said, it is important to draw clear professional boundaries. This includes navigating missed appointments and setting fair, private rates, which can be particularly challenging.
What to do?
As practitioners, we need to develop policies for handling no-shows, late cancellations and assessment fees. It is also important to review our client intake processes and ensure they align with our professional goals, session outcomes and job satisfaction based on our strengths and preferred approach.
2. Navigating marketing and online presence
Transitioning into private practice requires a strategic approach to marketing, something we might not necessarily have confidence in. Let’s face it, it's no longer enough to open the doors to our office and expect clients to find us. Instead, we need to take steps to increase our visibility and attract our ideal client base. We may find ourselves challenged to think like an entrepreneur and develop effective marketing strategies while staying true to our therapeutic values.
What to do?
We need to consider investing in an SEO-optimised website that increases visibility in online searches. Social media platforms might have to become an engaging way to keep up with our audience while we share insights based on our practice and expertise. Joining matchmaking platforms such as Journey can also be another way to improve our online presence and reassure our clients that they have made the right choice. These small steps can effectively make us stand out while staying true to our professional identity.
3. Maintaining professional confidence
Moving from structured support to the autonomy of private practice can challenge our confidence. We may feel pressured to achieve results without the safety net of people and may be reluctant to seek out support from colleagues. Truth is at different points in our life or career, our confidence will likely waver. It is like when we first started practising we might have lacked confidence and experienced that nagging feeling known as 'imposter syndrome'. For us practitioners, imposter syndrome is not an unfamiliar topic. And even if we are aware of it and have helped our clients with it time and time again, we are not immune to it.
What to do?
Building a supportive network by connecting with colleagues and mentors is critical for thriving in our private practice. We need to engage in continuing education through workshops, courses, or certifications to enhance our skills and knowledge. Seek supervision or consultation from experienced colleagues to discuss cases, explore approaches, and receive guidance. Practising reflective techniques by reviewing our interactions and outcomes. Joining professional platforms can also help us expand our network and support ongoing learning and professional development, providing access to a community.
4. Authenticity in your private practice
Discovering and embodying authenticity is critical to building trust, maintaining strong client relationships and fostering professional fulfilment in our private practice. The challenges often lie in overcoming personal and professional boundaries, ensuring that our work remains authentic.
What to do:
We shall begin by looking at our core values, our approach and our unique strengths as a practitioner. Aligning our practice closely with these aspects and communicating them openly with our clients to cultivate trust and authenticity. By sustaining authenticity, we can improve the work we do, strengthen professional relationships and enrich our overall professional journey.
5. Balancing workload and self-care
Learning how to balance the demands of a private practice is a major challenge. These include client care, administrative tasks, financial and business obligations and most importantly our well-being. The cumulative workload and emotional demands can lead to burnout if self-care is neglected.
What to do:
Prioritising self-care by scheduling time for activities that help us mentally, emotionally and physically. Remember that planning our regular supervision sessions provides an opportunity to gain valuable insight and feedback on our work. It is also important that we set clear boundaries in terms of working hours and availability. In addition, assigning non-work tasks will streamline our workload efficiently, giving us more time to focus on client care and personal development.
In the field of private practice, we may encounter certain challenges, from compatibility to building an online presence to maintaining our professional confidence. However, if we define our ideal client base, use strategic marketing tools, build a supportive network and prioritise authenticity and self-care, we will be able to overcome these obstacles. Perhaps as practitioners, we should embrace these challenges and see them as opportunities for personal and professional growth.
Dr. Nicole Nasr, Founder & CEO of Journey
Dr. Nicole Nasr is the founder of Journey, a matching platform between clients and practitioners. After qualifying as a psychologist, she began her career working for two practices, but as time went on, yearned for greater flexibility and autonomy. She turned to Instagram which brought her 36 clients in just nine months, but soon discovered that filming herself, managing her account, and creating content was overwhelming and didn't align with her passion. Driven by the belief that she couldn't be the only one facing these hurdles, the concept of Journey was born. Dr. Nicole envisioned a platform that would free practitioners from the burdens of self-advertising, so they could wholeheartedly focus on their clients.
