When to Take the Leap: Going Full Time into Private Practice

One of the greatest things about belonging to a private practice community is hearing the stories from therapists about their journey into private practice.

Hello, my name is Sean Boyd, MA, LPC. I took the leap into full time private practice in the fall of 2011. I refer to this as the single most insane and simultaneously incredibly rewarding times in my professional career. My hope is that by sharing my story, others will find hope and normalcy when contemplating making the same decision for themselves. For those who have already made the leap, we hope you share with us how it went. What went well? What didn’t? If you were to do it all over, what would you have done differently? Please consider engaging this conversation with us in our free online community

Here we go — So, prior to submitting my notice at the agency I had worked at for seven years I decided to prepare a check list — things I had to have in place, things that would be nice to have in place, and questions I needed answers to. The one thing I found myself focusing on more than anything else was the number of clients I was seeing, how many I wanted to have in place before resigning, and what would happen if some or all of my clients disappeared?

At the time, I was seeing 10 clients per week in my private practice on top of the 12 clients I was seeing for more than one modality not to mention the case management responsibilities (individual, family, in home, staffings, etc). It was simply not possible to see any more than this while working a more than full time clinical position at a very demanding agency. For those of you who have worked at an agency — you know what I mean. 2–3 private practice clients at the end of the day, several times per week nearly broke me. I was exhausted which was not good for me or my clients.

More than ever before, the fork in the road was staring directly at me. Do I scale back and try again at another time or do I officially take the leap?

I submitted my resignation and jumped. Within a couple of weeks my caseload dipped, the agency offered the position to someone else, and there were no signs that I had made the right decision. Trust me, I was looking. I would have taken an inquiry and no show — anything.

My last day had come and gone, money was burning, clients were feeling better and approaching termination, but then it happened. The phone began to ring. By ring I mean several new clients per week for weeks at a time. I went from seeing 3–4 people per week to seeing more than 20 in under 4 months. All of the hard work was paying off.

The thing I attribute most of my success to during this time was developing an ability to ask for help. By help, I am not talking about handouts, loans, or favors. I’m talking about embracing my vulnerabilities and putting myself out there. Networking came natural to me, I can talk to just about anyone, but was very different and awkward was asking people to think about someone they knew who may benefit from what I had to offer. Perhaps a loved one, neighbor, or friend. I especially had luck with the specific question, “do you have someone you can introduce me to who has contact with a lot of people? For example, a school teacher, physician, lawyer who works with divorce cases, etc?”

It worked! People helped me with connections and referrals started to come. All cash paying clients.

Why is it that often times, it’s after you take the leap that things start to work out? One of life’s mysteries I suppose.

The thing that I am most grateful for during this transition, loss, and rebirth was having a loving professional community surrounding me. I wasn’t the only one who had gone through this and am certainly not the last. In fact, there’s some irony to the fact that the value of having that community is also why I eventually shut down my private practice to help others make the leap — but that’s a story for another time.

When do you plan to make the leap? For those of you who have already made the leap, we would love to hear your story! If you’re looking for help please know that SonderCenters is here to help with community and help building your practice.