The Therapist Experience Podcast by Brighter Vision: Marketing & Business Lessons for Therapists, Counselors, Psychologists & Coaches in Private Practice

On the Therapist Experience, we've often heard about clinicians that choose to enter the mental health field out of a desire to help others face challenges similar to their own. Trish McLean is one of these clinicians. When she opened her private practice, it was the result of personal struggles with mental wellness, as well as the challenges of caring for a family member with mental health issues of their own. By understanding her clients and connecting with them on a personal level, Trish was able to grow her business from a solo practice to a thriving group practice with multiple offices within a year.

In this episode of the Therapist Experience, we switch things up to chat with Emmy-nominated editor and director Roger Nygard. Roger has worked on a wide array of productions including "The Office", "Curb Your Enthusiasm", and "VEEP". In his newest documentary, "The Truth About Marriage" Roger interviews everyday couples around the world as well as renowned experts like John and Julie Gottman. Listen to the episode to hear his insights about Hollywood, marriage, and why he believes we're doing relationships all wrong.

When Lisa Savage started her practice in 2007, she had already begun to understand her target market. By having a plan in place for how she was going to attract clients, Lisa was able to see explosive growth - going from just herself and one other clinician to a current staff of 47. This mindset of preparedness has continued to pay off for her practice. As businesses shut down and schools began to close with the onset of COVID-19, Lisa's practice made a near-seamless transition to Telehealth without seeing any significant drop in revenue. Listen to the episode to find out exactly how she did it.

Now that most of the country is multiple weeks into adjusting to the changes brought about by COVID-19, some things are starting to get easier. However, as schools let out for the rest of the year, and offices close indefinitely, challenges remain. While almost every Private Practice has transitioned to working from home and conducting sessions over Telehealth, finding long-term solutions that allow for a secure and effective way to see clients is more important than ever. On this episode of The Therapist Experience Podcast, we're joined by Katie Lemieux of the Private Practice Startup to discuss how you can adapt to the challenges of Telehealth.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has pushed businesses from physical locations to online environments in a rapid and unprecedented way. Every company, regardless of the industry, is now effectively a tech company. While it may feel like the sky is falling, there are significant opportunities to adapt to your business to this new environment, emerging on the other side of the economic downturn stronger and more versatile than ever before. But what, exactly, does this mean for Therapists in Private Practice? On today's episode, we're joined by Joe Sanok of Practice of the Practice to discuss new and creative ways you can serve your clients and support your business.

With recent events surrounding COVID-19, there have been big changes within behavioral health. While the industry rapidly shifts to telehealth, some practices are finding their daily calendars less full of appointments. Because of this, there has never been a better time to create alternative ways to support your community and provide additional streams of revenue for your practice. On today's episode, we're joined by Annie Schuessler of Rebel Therapist to discuss exactly how you can do this.

Kym Tolson operated a brick and mortar private practice for 12 years, and during this time found billing to insurance one of the most complicated aspects of her job. While outsourcing her insurance billing to an agency made things a bit easier, she frequently ran into issues that made her ask the question "can I do this myself?" By studying the myriad aspects of insurance billing, Kym was able to teach herself how to do it on her own. Now, in addition to running her own 100% online-based practice, Kym helps other clinicians navigate the waters of Telehealth insurance billing.

Nikissia Craig started her career in journalism, but quickly realized her path was playing a direct role in the lives of people who needed help as opposed to just listening to their stories. After becoming licensed, Nikissia noticed there were clients she had whom she wasn’t able to help, but who could benefit tremendously from a whole body, integrative health approach.  While she had never seen this type of business model before, something told her she could create it.  Listen to today’s episode to learn exactly how she did it. 

When starting a business, it’s easy to come up with reasons why you shouldn’t. It can be so easy, in fact, that you can overlook all of the reasons why you should. When Anna Marcolin was considering making the move to a full-time private practice she thought she didn’t have enough experience, and that the Chicago area was too flooded with Psychotherapists already. By finding a mentor to tell her not only that she could do it, but all of the reasons why she should do it, Anna was able to find the success she envisioned. 

Prior to 2018, Natalie Mica had a private practice in a small, rural community in Texas.  During this time, she was a general clinician but started to realize that most of the clients she worked with were teen girls and women. When she opened an office in the Houston area in 2018, it seemed like the obvious choice to niche down and go after this demographic.  However, figuring out how to market to her new niche didn't come without its challenges. Listen to the episode to find out more.

Mary Mannhardt was on her way to the Olympics. Her struggles with mental illness changed that. This is Mary's therapist experience.

In a special re-release of one of our most popular episodes ever, Eddie Reece joins us to take a dive deep into the nuts and bolts of transitioning away from insurance and becoming a fully cash-pay private practice. At the time this episode was recorded Eddie's ideas were extremely controversial. Since then, the idea of transitioning to private pay has become much more mainstream, but the motivation remains the same: If you take money from an insurance company, the insurance company is paying you. And who pays you, is who you work for. You do not work for that client. You work for that insurance company and you are now working for somebody who underpays you, under-respects you, and does not really have any good feelings about what it is you're doing because you're costing them money. If you take insurance, you're not a business owner. You're a sub-contractor. Listen to the full episode for more tips and information.

One of the great marketing tips we’ve discussed on The Therapist Experience is to network with your hairdresser. The reason for this is that hairstylists often listen and give advice while they are working “behind the chair” and may be able to provide referrals. On today’s episode, this advice comes full circle as we follow Tami Vienn Allen’s entrepreneurial journey from hairstylist to private practice owner.

After a few years of working for agencies, Rachel Gracia decided to open a private practice when she moved back to the Fort Worth, Texas area. When growing her private practice beyond the first couple of clients proved challenging, she sought out advice. Rachel went on to work with a business coach that taught her how to market, network, and present herself as a therapist. Furthermore, the guidance she received helped her evolve from a general clinician to a specialist by finding her niche.

When Keisha Langolf and Meghan Farr first met working for a group practice, they could not have guessed they would soon have a practice of their very own together. After opening SHE Counseling & Coaching in 2016, Keisha and Meghan quickly found success. However, when the day-to-day management of the business coupled with the requirements of a client base primarily using insurance became overwhelming, they knew it was time for a change. Listen to the episode to find out how Meghan and Keisha have pivoted over time to create the practice of their dreams.