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 Please also note that historic podcast episodes may contain out-of-date information and highlight sponsors that we no longer work with.
Supporting Suicide Survivors With Nate Wagner
When Nate Wagner and I first spoke in 2015 I was struck by his passion for his practice and supporting those who have lost loved ones to suicide. His memoir, Sibling Suicide: Journey from Despair to Hope, tells his story from his perspective as a brother and as a clinician. He is very generously offering the first two chapters for free here (though I suggest you buy the whole thing).
Suicide is one of those issues that most of us therapists are very uncomfortable with. With the holiday season, i…
Suicide is one of those issues that most of us therapists are very uncomfortable with. With the holiday season, i…
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…
Why We're All Gryffindors
Harry Potter has been there for me in a way few fictional characters have. When life gets tough and I need a break from the toughness, I need something all consuming to distract me and Harry and crew provide that.
Also, in that whole “which 3 fictional characters are you” thing that went around social media a while back, I’m like 25% Hermione and 75% Leslie Knope. (I never posted that because is says “which THREE” and I’m a rule follower, obvi.) Anyway, that’s to say it’s not just Harry and what…
Also, in that whole “which 3 fictional characters are you” thing that went around social media a while back, I’m like 25% Hermione and 75% Leslie Knope. (I never posted that because is says “which THREE” and I’m a rule follower, obvi.) Anyway, that’s to say it’s not just Harry and what…
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 paragraph if…
I have an amazing husband. He’s funny and smart and hot and will absolutely hate this paragraph if…
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 people” …
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 people” …
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 if…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 exp…
I’m not going to pretend like there’s ONE exp…
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 …
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 worke…
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 wor…
Categories
- Mindset (90)
- Practice-Building (35)
- Self-care (42)
- Blogging (31)
- Marketing (44)
- Uncategorized (27)
- Ask Allison (6)
- Getting Started (21)
- fee (3)
- raising rates (1)
- rates (4)
- cash pay (4)
- private pay (17)
- self pay (4)
- Referrals (4)
- Websites (21)
- Fees (9)
- Money (26)
- Insurance (10)
- intake paperwork (1)
- new client (2)
- paperwork (1)
- first steps (1)
- burned out (1)
- exhausted (1)
- scared (1)
- marketing 2 niches (1)
- niche (20)
- two niches (1)
- abundance (1)
- resources (1)
- scarcity mindset (4)
- Getting Referrals (24)
- SEO (8)
- Nuts & Bolts (46)
- Private Practice (71)
- Work-Life Balance (18)
- Business (16)
- money mistakes (5)
- private practice money mistakes (4)
- Social Media (19)
- counselors (19)
- ethical treatment (2)
- social workers (12)
- therapists (30)
- victims (5)
- comparison (4)
- counseling (39)
- how long to build (3)
- Group Practice (8)
- grad school (2)
- counseling niche (7)
- private practice niche (5)
- therapy niche (3)
- balance (25)
- entrepreneur (32)
- therapy (29)
- Brew Your Practice (25)
- Jane Carter (5)
- Joe Sanok (5)
- counselor (21)
- hustle (2)
- jeff walker (2)
- launch (1)
- launching (3)
- psychologist (19)
- psychology (16)
- social work (13)
- husband (2)
- partners (3)
- spouse (2)
- wife (3)
- multiple streams of income (2)
- passive income (2)
- Client-related Trauma (1)
- client trauma (3)
- healing (1)
- past experiences (14)
- Abundance Practice Building (22)
- Allison Puryear (19)
- blog (16)
- jeff hardesty (1)
- Mission Statements (1)
- Wendy Williams LCSW (1)
- Bloom Counseling and Counsulting (1)
- Lauren Woodward LCSW (1)
- Melvin Varghese (1)
- podcasting (1)
- Selling the Couch Podcast (1)
- The Healthcasters (1)
- Jeff Guenther (1)
- suicide (1)
- money mindset (2)
- Malpractice Insurance (1)
- Business-Building (4)
- Strategizing (7)
- conscious entrepreneurship (1)
- fear (1)
- online marketing (2)
- Building a Support System (7)
- Guest Post (6)
- Abundance Mind-Set (7)
- HIPAA (1)
- Home Life (2)
- Content (4)
- imposter (1)
- website (4)
- grouppractice (1)
- privatepay (1)
- policy (1)
- diversity (1)
- inclusion (1)
- grief (1)
- processing (1)
- clients (1)
- content creation (2)
- businesspartners (1)
- LPC (1)
- books (1)
- finances (6)
- get started (2)
- influencer (1)
- socialmedia (1)
- therapist (2)
- tiktok (1)
- askallison (3)
- privatepracticeprep (1)
- AAPI (1)
- advocacy (1)
- community (1)
- allisonpuryear (1)
- converting (2)
- gettingclients (1)
- newclients (1)
- client paperwork (1)
- onboarding (1)
- supervision (4)
- supervisor (2)
- next steps (3)
- burnout (7)
- burnoutprevention (1)
- motivation (2)
- stayingmotivated (1)
- pre-license (1)
- prep (1)
- life coach (1)
- scarcity (1)
- copywriting (2)
- instagram (2)
- network (1)
- referral (2)
- clinical outcomes (1)
- agency (4)
- transition (2)
- ableism (1)
- gaslighting (1)
- medical neglect (1)
- broke (1)
- new year (1)
- elliott connie (1)
- sfbt (1)
- website copy (1)
- culture (1)
- getting clients (3)
- transitioning (2)
- raising your rates (1)
- imposter syndrome (2)
- trans (1)
- trauma (1)
- expanding (1)
- online (1)
- telehealth (2)
- virtual (2)
- life coaches (1)
- first phone call (1)
- getting off insuraance (1)
- ethics (2)
- muslim therapists (1)
- consultation calls to clients (1)
- converting clients (3)
- divorce (1)
- ideal client (6)
- religion (2)
- changing niche (1)
- niche anxiety (1)
- consultation (3)
- scheduling (1)
- diy seo (1)
- Podcast (71)
- agency to private practice (3)
- hours (1)
- flow (1)
- slowing down (1)
- time management (1)
- work/life balance (3)
- cost of marketing (1)
- specificity (1)
- cost (1)
- outside collaboration (1)
- school consultation (1)
- boundaries (1)
- systems (2)
- name (1)
- money management (1)
- broad niche (1)
- capitalism (1)
- maternity leave (1)
- starting a family (1)
- starting private practice (1)
- when to start (1)
- sex (2)
- sex therapist (2)
- Abundant Voices (1)
- monogamy (1)
- raising rate (2)
- days (1)
- schedule (3)
- wellness center (1)
- networking (7)
- social (1)
- hobbies (1)
- decorating (1)
- office (2)
- office space (1)
- distracted (1)
- neurodivergent (1)
- judaism (1)
- clinical consultation groups (1)
- groups (2)
- budgeting (1)
- financial (6)
- retreat (1)
- getting off insurance (1)
- ads (1)
- advertising (1)
- sessions (1)
- group (1)
- deaf culture (1)
- money guilt (1)
- sexual freedom (1)
- new clients (1)
- full practice (1)
- accountability (1)
- emdr (1)
- rural (1)
- cancellation policy (2)
- marketing (2)
- live video (1)
- video marketing (1)
- transitioning to private practice (2)
- gender & sexuality (1)
- theoretical orientation (1)
- getting unstuck (1)
- legal (1)
- parenthood (1)
- self-discipline (1)
- hiring (3)
- clinical work (1)
- accessibility (1)
- coaching (2)
- party dip (1)
- client's death (1)
- children (1)
- substance abuse (1)
- technology (1)
- ketamine (1)
- fired (1)