For first-line marketing strategies.…

If you're brand new to private practice and you're trying to build a premium-fee business, there are a few marketing strategies that are actually worth focusing on right now.

One of the things I appreciated about Felicia from The Bad Therapist Show is that she gives really practical advice. And honestly, some of it surprised me. For example, she strongly recommends having an in-person office going into 2026. The landscape is shifting quickly, and I think staying current on what actually works for premium-fee practices is more important than ever.

I don’t fully agree with that across the board. Psychologists with unique specializations and PsyPACT authorization don’t always need a full-time in-person office in the same way.

That said, if I were starting from scratch, I would probably still want at least some access to in-person space, even if it were a short-term sublet, just to test whether it actually impacts demand in your market.

She also talks about leaning into either networking or SEO. Personally, I lean very heavily into both. But I also run a seven-figure group practice, and at that level, you don’t really get to pick just one. The volume of leads you need changes the equation.

That said, if you're earlier in your practice, you do have to choose.

And that’s probably the most helpful part of this conversation.

There are so many ways to invest in your business, and it’s really easy to dilute your efforts by trying to do everything at once. Thinking more strategically about where your money goes first, and what is actually going to give you the biggest return, is a much more effective approach.

If you're just getting started and trying to build a premium practice, this episode is worth a listen.

For learning what it really takes to run a solo practice ...

This episode of Practice of the Practice is a little different. Instead of Joe Sanok, it’s hosted by group practice owner Melissa Schneider, and it brings in a guest from Heard, a company that helps therapists with finances. The conversation focuses on what solo therapists actually make, what their biggest expenses are, and the finances tha get in the way of running a successful solo practice.

Honestly, this is the kind of episode that every group practice owner wishes their clinicians would listen to.

I think there’s often this assumption that if you leave a group practice, your financial situation will automatically improve. Clinicians look at the session fee and assume they’ll be able to keep all of it if they go out on their own. What’s missing from that equation is the reality of expenses and how much it takes to actually run a business.

One of the takeaways from this episode is that expenses can easily take up around 40% of your revenue, and it can take time to fully build your caseload. When you factor those things in, there are situations where working in a group practice may actually be the stronger financial option, especially if your group practice is able to fill your caseload with premium-fee clients easily and that’s something you would struggle to do on your own. In that case, you'll make a similar or higher amount after expenses, without dealing with the stressors or the marketing headaches.

That said, I did have some questions about the data in this episode. But maybe that’s because I was a psychologist with a specific niche, a strong reputation, and able to fill my caseload with ideal clients very quickly. If I were brand new, an associate, or someone without a strong network, that could have been very different.

What did feel reliable and helpful was the emphasis on being realistic about expenses and thinking about them in advance.

I also found it interesting that the suggestions in this episode seemed to conflict with the suggestions from the earlier episode from The Bad Therapist podcast. In that episode, there was a strong recommendation to have an in-person office, partly for positioning and visibility. In this one, it seemed like virtual therapists might be doing better.

But this also felt like a different sample. This episode seemed much more focused on insurance-based practices, whereas the Bad Therapist conversation leaned more toward premium-fee models.

If you're interested in learning more about how solo practices are doing financially or what to watch out for, this episode is worth a listen.

For when being a CEO makes you question the kind of parent you are…

There are many times when business ownership and leadership seem to conflict with parenting. Both require a lot of effort and energy, and sometimes those demands happen at the exact same time.

The obvious example is something like an important meeting conflicting with your child’s performance at school. (Side note: Why does the school always schedule random parties with no warning?!)

But sometimes it’s more subtle than that.

In this week’s episode, I talk about a real-life situation where my daughter was home sick… and I still worked.

And I didn’t feel guilty about it.

That’s not how we’re taught to think.

We’re taught that if you’re working in those moments, you’re doing something wrong. That there’s always a “right” choice, and it’s not usually the one that involves your own goals.

But I’ve started to question that.

What if those roles aren’t actually in opposition? What if the way you show up in your work is part of what your child is learning from you?

If you’ve ever felt pulled between your work and your parenting, this episode is worth a listen.