You’re On A Spiral Staircase

I don’t think a single Abundance Practice-Building Group gets completed without me referencing the spiral staircase. This usually occurs in the 5th week of the group which is focused solely on money (and thus security and self-worth and all the other things we associate with it). Here’s how it usually happens: one of my group members shares that they are struggling with X. They mention that they used to struggle with X in the past, thought they were passed it, and now it’s rearing it’s ugly head…

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Lower The Bar

It was an interesting experience when twice in a 12 hour period I was instructed to “lower the bar.” Those exact words. The first was Nikki Elledge Brown’s new venture Naptime Empires. When I heard those words, tears sprang to my eyes and a sense of being seen and known in combination with a strong “I don’t wanna!!!!” pounded in my chest. It’s something I’d been needing to hear. Then at 5:30 the next morning, my meditation app, Muse, instructed the same thing. “Lower the bar.” Fuck!

In case you’r…

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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 …

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New Year, New Plan

Let’s do this thing, 2017!

Rather than my usual, more verbose post today I’m gonna give you a worksheet.

Here’s a little intro though, since you know I can’t hold myself back from writing:

Guess what! You can build your business without planning. You don’t need to lay this stuff out. Clients will probably still come, your office rent might get paid.

But here’s what I believe is true: you can take a couple hours right now to sit down and plan it and save yourself a ton of stress, tears, and frustra…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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 t…

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Math Makes Fee Setting Fun!

Stacey Steinmiller of Authentic Self Counseling has been a part of the Abundance Practice-Builders Group for what feels like forever. She’s been an incredible support for folks and it’s been awesome to watch her practice grow from across the internet.

Stacey had an “ah ha” moment around fee setting and I love this perspective as an addition to the many ways we can go about deciding what to charge. Hopefully this is helpful for perspective! Here’s Stacey:

Math Makes Fee Setting Fun

Setting fees fo…

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Should You List Your Fees On Your Website

This question has come up a lot in the Facebook Group (hop in!): Should You Post Your Fees on Your Website?  It’s a great question and we’re divided on it as a field so I’ll explain the argument for each side and I’ll give my two cents. Be clear, there’s no right or wrong as long as a client is clear on your fee before your first appointment. So choose whichever side feels like the best fit for you and your business and let us know in the comments.

Anti-Fee Posting

My business coach hosted a retr…

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