Private Practice Isn’t Your Only Option: Rethinking Financial Security as a Therapist
Send us Fan Mail There’s a lot of safety in following the traditional private practice model: see 1:1 clients, charge per session, fill your caseload and, when you reach capacity, hire more therapists or open another practice. But what happens when that model no longer fits the way you want to work or you have zero interest in managing people? In this episode, I’m exploring why so many therapists and health professionals feel trapped in private practice (even when they still love the work itself) and how we can start questioning some of the assumptions we’ve inherited about what a successful therapy career or health business is supposed to look like. Because building a portfolio business doesn’t have to mean walking away from private practice, taking a huge financial risk or suddenly creating five new income streams. I share the concept of anchor income and why I believe financial security should come before experimentation. We’ll look at how to work out your own “healthy minimum” the amount of predictable income you need to feel financially secure enough to explore different ways of using your expertise. In this episode, I cover: Why the traditional private practice model can feel both safe and restrictive The conventional pathway from therapist → full caseload → practice owner → people manager Why becoming a bigger practice owner isn't the only way to grow your career How we accidentally turn industry norms into rules about what we have to do The difference between your financial bare minimum and your “healthy minimum” How anchor income can create a stable foundation for building additional income streams Why diversifying your work doesn't have to mean risking everything you've already built How to start experimenting with a portfolio career while maintaining financial security If you still love being a therapist, practitioner or health professional but can't imagine working in exactly the same way for another ten years, this episode is an invitation to consider that there may be more options available to you than you think. You don't necessarily need to leave private practice. You might just need to stop treating the traditional private practice model as the only option.
