Pathological Continuing Ed and Other Roadblocks

“Pathological” may sound strong. Learning is vital to what we do, after all. Occasionally I work with someone who is using learning to feel good enough. To try to beat back the imposter syndrome. It may start as a desire to feel more competent in order to better serve clients but for some it evolves into a worthiness chasm that they can’t fill. Four degrees and six certifications later, they’re still looking for the next thing to learn in order to be enough. I see it in practice building, too. I…

Read more…

Parenting and Private Practice

I’ve been asked numerous times to write about balancing parenting and starting a practice. I kept nodding my head and put check marks next to it on my “Blog Post Ideas” doc and skipping over it every time it came time to write.

I've been avoiding this post hard core.

Know why? Shame. Honestly, I was letting my perfectionism dwell in the realm of parenting and feeling completely inadequate all the time. I’d read too much conflicting advice that all seemed to make logical sense. And the “follow …

Read more…

Sample Private Practice Schedules

Whether you’re on the front end of starting a private practice or you’re managing a busy caseload, your schedule is a make or break situation. It’s not what you think; your schedule is a make or break for your longevity and happiness, not whether or not clients will come. Clients who really want to see you will make things work. A part of what we do in the very first meeting of the Abundance Practice-Building Group is talk about what each person wants their schedule to look like. I’m a proponen…

Read more…

Full Practice, New Problems

When I was in my early 20’s I overheard a strikingly beautiful woman complain about being gorgeous. I had absolutely zero empathy for her (or myself for like, anything). Her statements stuck in my head though and I now feel not just empathy, but awe at her vulnerability. From a more secure, mature perspective, I can totally see how being bikini-model-hot at 20 would make it hard to meet someone who gave a shit about who you were on the inside. It wasn’t a humble brag; she was just stating a fact…

Read more…

You Don't Need A Consultant

In a facebook group I watched the unfolding of one of variations of the “consultants aren’t helpful and are out for your money” conversation. I watch these with interest and a tinge of fear. Is it me they’re talking about? Do they think I’m one of the money-grubbers who takes advantage? So, let me be 100% totally clear: You don’t need a consultant. You can build your practice without one just fine. I don’t want anyone to get the impression that they’re going to crash and burn without the …

Read more…

Turning Work Off

Remember when you were in school and there was this sense that you could never fully relax until you’d either completed all assignments or it was winter or summer break? Yeah, welcome to entrepreneurship. If you’re like me, your “to do” list is like a mogwai sprayed with water. These seemingly innocent tasks have become multiplying gremlins that interrupt your life. Mid-chew at dinner with the family and BOOM “OMG, I didn’t return that email!.” In that really sweet spot on the cusp of sleep and…

Read more…

You May Be Working Too Hard

I started out 2016 with a blog post called 2016: The Year of Not Hustling. At the time I wrote that I was in therapy and working really hard to divorce my self-worth from my “achievements”. Like my clients with Anorexia, every time I hit a goal I set another, more intense one. And because I was hitting my mark I was getting positively reinforced for it. Workaholism is real. Obsessive drive is about more than wanting to do what I love, provide for my family, fear of failure. Like most addictive b…

Read more…

Signs You’re Building The Wrong Practice (and What to Do About It)

Signs You’re Building The Wrong Practice (and What to Do About It)

For those of you who have worked in toxic agencies, do you remember the “Sunday Scaries*?” Laying in bed, dreading the work week. Maybe you didn’t go to brunch or get together with friends on Sundays in order to have enough downtime to bear the next 5 days. It’s places like that that led me to private practice. In my last job, I never knew if I’d be therapizing my clients or my coworker-friends more on any given day. Or if I’d be…

Read more…

Work/Life Balance?

My tender-hearted, sweet, funny three year old doesn’t sleep. I mean she DOES, but it’s an all night struggle that involves 3 of the 4 humans in our house and sometime the dog. My 7 month old sleeps a little better; typical for a kid her age who has been sleep-crutched for her entire life. Like many parents of young kids, I haven’t slept through the night in over 8 months except one blissful night. I have an amazing husband. He’s funny and smart and hot and will absolutely hate this paragrap…

Read more…

How You Do Life Is How You Do Business

If you’ve been on my email list for more than 2 days, you’ve seen that on the first of every month there’s an opportunity for free consulting. Usually 30-40 spots open up and are claimed within minutes (which totally makes me feel like Bono, or whoever the kids are listening to these days).   Let me tell you about the hate-mail I get about this: Every month, without fail, at least one person sends me an email along the lines of “there’s nothing available and you should have more open for …

Read more…

Due to a website migration, historic links pre-fall 2022 may be broken; please get in touch for new links. Please also note that historic podcast episodes may contain out-of-date information and highlight sponsors that we no longer work with.