The Abundant Practice Podcast & Blog Spot!

What I Learned While Growing my Successful Private Practice

Guys, I’m excited to introduce you to Lauren Woodard, LCSW for a couple reasons. I know, guest posts are usually the last week of the month, but we’re doing ‘em back to back because Lauren is a badass and she's sharing some lessons learned. Lauren is an Abundance Practice-Building Group Grad. In the last year she has built exactly the private practice she wants despite some hurdles and, within the first year of her practice, was voted “Best of Western North Carolina” in the Psychologist/Counsel…

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What To Expect Your First Year: Part 2

Last week we talked about what to expect in your first year of practice. I left you hanging. Sorry about that! While I think it’s great to spend some time acknowledging that you aren’t a weirdo and that what you’re feeling is normal, sometimes it helps to have an answer to “Ok, so this is typical, now what?” Below are some suggestions for you that have helped me and those I’ve worked with along the way.

What To Do About Those First Year Experiences

Impostor Syndrome

Rest in what’s true. Even…

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What To Expect Your First Year, Part 1

When I first started working with folks who’d experienced trauma I used a handout. A you’re-not-crazy-these-reactions-are-normal-for-this-circumstance list of symptoms with brief descriptions of why. One of the members of the Abundance Facebook Group (jump in!) said it would be helpful to have a list of normative experiences in the early days of your practice. A brilliant suggestion and I’m happy to flesh it out like that list I used back in the day. I’m not going to pretend like there’s ONE…

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Safety in Your Private Practice: Wendy Williams Guest Post

A few months ago when I wrote Healing From Client-Related Trauma, Wendy Williams reached out and proposed a post about how to stay safe in private practice. As an avid fan of safety, I agreed that it would be really helpful to the Abundance community. Wendy breaks it down into what may seem like obvious steps to some, but I’m pretty sure I’ve personally broken at least half of these in the past week, lulled by my assumption that I’m safe. Interesting given that not long before I wrote that blog …

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The Myth of the Saturated Market

Market Perspective

When my family moved to Seattle this phrase “saturated market” kept coming up. I worried that in a city with more than 1,200 therapists listed on Psychology Today, I wouldn’t have a place.

Because I didn’t really have the option to fail, I tried my best not to pay attention to it. I held on to my business mantra and did what I had to in order to build. I came at my business with the same plan I was using in my life: a smaller community within a much bigger system. It all wor…

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Boundaries and Passing The Buck

Boundaries

So we’ve talked about saying no in our practice. We’ve talked about making sure you’re fitting your practice into your life (rather than vice versa), working when you want, marketing the right way for you, upholding your no show and late cancellation policy… I could go back over alllll the blogs and I’m guessing 90% of them mention at least something boundary-related. It’s not that I’m obsessed with boundaries. Not really. It’s just that those boundaries are the difference between w…

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Two Days To Build Your Practice

I haven’t written for the sake of promotion since last August when I went on my launch/promotional blitz and hated it. Those of you who hung in there with me through that, thanks! Last week I talked about how one of the company values is that we are ambitious and not afraid to sell. Then I sat down to write this post and found that I was, in fact, stupidly squeamish about telling you about what I truly consider an opportunity. If we were having coffee I wouldn’t feel that way. Like if you said…

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Mission Statements are Hammer Pants

I was at a business conference not long ago when someone asked about Mission Statements. The facilitator said something about them being so 1990’s. Almost everyone in the room laughed a little and nodded. “Oops”, I thought. I’m less business-y in a lot of ways than these folks and thought they were a staple. Timeless like a nice white button down. Apparently, Mission Statements are Hammer Pants.

The New Mission Statements

So what can we use to guide us in business? The facilitators next words …

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A Partner's Perspective

After publishing When Partners Have Concerns, a counselor requested a post from the perspective of a partner to share with his wife. I thought this was a pretty brilliant suggestion and immediately knew who I wanted to ask. 

I'd like to introduce you guys to my good friend, Jeff Hardesty. When my husband and I moved to Seattle, Jeff and his wife Allison were among the first people we met (you first met Allison in my maternity leave blog post). They invited us to a party a couple days later that…

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9 Tips for Private Practice Marketing

You know how I preach stockpiling your blog posts so you never have one breathing down your neck? Here’s a confession: I used my blogging time to house hunt for all of June and July. Totally one of those “do as I say, not as I do” things. Eek! The good news is that we’re under contract on a house we love (or rather, whose potential we love… helloooooo renovations) so my blogging time will be restored. The other good news is that I happened to do a webinar on 9 Tips for Private Practice Marketing…

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