How to Walk Away from Your To-Do List

Sometimes we think that being busy is a badge of honor - that being busy makes us look successful when we don't always feel like we are. That the more stressed we are, the more valid we are because hey, we're working hard, right? But it's easy to forget that work is cyclical and that your last note for the week isn't your last note ever, and that our to-do list doesn't have to loom large in our minds. 

I see this as layered. One layer is systems-related, and the other is emotional. Let’s start …

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Episode 247: When Your Caseload is Niched But Not Ideal with Sarah



Have a niched but not ideal caseload? Then this podcast episode is exactly what ya need! Listen as Allison & Inner Circle grad Sarah discuss how to get more specific with marketing in order to reach your ideal client.

Sponsored by:
TherapyNotes™
Brighter Vision

Check out our free resources: /resources-allison-puryear/





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Is it Time to Raise Your Rates?



A lot of therapists wait to raise their rates at the “right time”, and truthfully it’s always the right time but imposter syndrome always tells us the opposite. So when do you raise your rates?

There are three major milestones you can use to gauge when to raise your fees. And no. Those milestones don’t involve someone dancing on your lawn with a huge sign that says “TIME TO RAISE YOUR FEES”.

The first milestone is when you realize you set your fees without using math. Typically this is when you …

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Is My Cancellation Policy Fair?

There are a ton of opinions about the fairness of cancellation policies in Facebook groups, group chats, in group practices & probably even etched into a petroglyph somewhere. Fair is fair, & fair is subjective, so let’s look at the fairness of cancellation policies.

I want everyone reading (or watching, or listening) to know that there isn't a right or wrong here. You must set policies in your practice that you've thought through & that you'll uphold.

As a parent, I can confirm that things don…

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Is Private Practice Right for Me?



Y’all know I’m a private practice proselytizer. I believe private practice is an excellent fit for the vast majority of the people it appeals to, but you can get stuck in a huge loop of private practice-free resource overload and not realize private practice may not be a good fit for you. 

Let’s talk about what would make private practice a bad fit for someone.  

If you have no job or a job you have to get out of ASAP and no savings, and no way to pay your bills, now may not be the best time. St…

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Is There a Niche Gray Area?

One of the questions I get most frequently is, Do I Have to Have a Niche? And I usually come down on the side of pro-niche. Here’s why:

Having a niche helps you:

  • Define your marketing strategy.
  • Know where to network.
  • Gain clarity for your practice. 

I think of niches as necessary to build at a reasonable pace for anyone and necessary for private-pay practices. Non-specific niches that therapists feel they have that clients don’t see themselves in are “people in a life transition” or ‘people w…

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Navigating Seeing Your Clients in the Dating App World

I get a lot of Ask Allison questions about how to navigate seeing your client in public, but I also see a high volume of questions about what to do if you happen to bump into a client online, especially dating apps - the internet’s both a big and small place at the same time so it can happen. If and when it does, how do you handle a client seeing you on a dating app? 

First of all, dating apps are how people meet these days. They’re a pretty common part of the dating and social scene these days…

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Private- & Hobby-Based Social Media

In some ways, the internet broadens our world and helps us connect with clients, market, and create a supportive and awesome community. In other ways, it can create an unintentional fishbowl. If your client is in their 20s, 30s, or younger, without a doubt, social media is a part of their lives. Social media is so mainstream and normalized now. Do social workers have an ethical responsibility to restrict themselves from enjoying online hobbies that “regular” non-therapist folks can? Social medi…

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Private Practice Naysayers

Starting your own business brings Devil's Advocates out in force - but creating a private practice can also really amp up the self-doubt and negative self-talk. How do you keep from letting naysayers get stuck in your gears?

As you gain momentum and as you keep building take time to check in with yourself. Are you getting what you want? Does what you're building fit? Are you making choices instead of sacrifices?

What do you want in your practice? Like truly profoundly want. Not what you think y…

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Staying Positive When the Phone Stays Silent

A positive and inquisitive mindset is vital to private practice. When the phone doesn’t ring, it can feel like all that internal naysaying is amplified, and you feel like you’re losing your momentum.

Staying positive is important, but so is effective marketing. My friend, if you have not had any calls in a few months, we have some marketing work to do. And that's ok. This is a fairly easy problem to solve, so before you spend one second more beating yourself up, let’s approach this like a math …

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