Are you someone who has plenty of clients but finds themselves unhappy in private practice?
I think it is worthwhile to take a look at why you may not be content with your job in private practice.
In this article I will share some of the common reasons why some folks are unhappy in private practice even when they have a full caseload. I also will offer some potential solutions for these causes of unhappiness.
6 Reasons For Unhappiness In Private Practice
1) Working Too Much
Sometimes we go into private practice thinking we’re going to achieve so much more work-life balance and flexibility. But, then you find that you’re yet again seeing way more clients than you actually want to.
For some folks, we believe we’re “supposed to” see a certain amount of clients. But why?
If you were seeing your own therapist, wouldn’t you feel cared for knowing they struck whatever workload balance was best for them so they could be most emotionally available to serve you?
In my mind, 15-20 clients a week is, for most people, a full practice. For some, that number may be smaller. And for others you might be able to find a sustainable balance with more weekly clients. But, for most of us, somewhere after 20 clients a week we start to lose steam.
Solution: Ask yourself: in a selfish, ideal world, how many clients a week would you most enjoy? I’ve noticed that for a lot of folks, that number is much smaller than how many they’re seeing.
For more assistance, here’s a video on how to find your ideal private practice schedule.
2) Too Little Pay
The simple solution to this is to raise your rates, or request a raise from insurance panels.
Many of us feel uncomfortable with raising rates because we know that therapy is expensive for our clients. We may fear losing clients if we charge more. But, if you’ve been charging the same amount for a long time, this doesn’t account for inflation or increased expenses.
Think of it this way: if you don’t raise your rates, then every single year you’re giving yourself a pay cut. Also, your expenses often increase faster than the rate of inflation.
Case in point: in 2017 when I rented my first therapy office full-time, it cost $600 per month. Now my full-time office costs $1350 per month. (Granted, it’s a slightly bigger and nicer office, but that is quite substantial!)
Solution: raise your rate. If your practice is insurance-based, ask for a pay raise. Even a few dollars difference per hour can really add up over time.
3) Too Much Admin
Are you drowning in admin tasks? Is this causing you to be unhappy in private practice?
Maybe when you were working at an agency or in a different setting your employer may have had systems in place that helped with some of the admin items. But now, in a solo practice, you are taking it all on.
Do you find yourself overwhelmed with things like billing insurance? Or following up on scheduling calls? Maybe staying on top of bookkeeping is stressful? Or maybe you’re having trouble keeping up to date with your progress notes?
Solution: Find a way to streamline the parts of admin that are bogging you down. Or another option would be to hire someone to help you with these tasks.
If hiring someone to help you with a task means you are happier in your job, then it’s worth it. And often it’s easier to offset the cost if it means you feel less weighed down by your job.
4) Isolation
I can empathize with how this plays out. You’re probably leaving some employment setting that you’re ready to get out of. You are now able to finally work for yourself and do it your own way in private practice. But, you find yourself doing it all on your own.
Solution: find your people! Look for consult groups and therapist friends. It does take intentionality. A lot of people aren’t going to be a match. And that’s okay! We’re human. So if the first folks you reach out to aren’t your people, know that it can take a little while. It’s a bit like dating. 🙂
For more, check out my video on how to avoid isolation in private practice.
5) Not Seeing Ideal Clients
There can be a lingering message in our field that we’re supposed to try to help everyone. I agree that as a whole we should try to help everyone! But, that responsibility can’t fall on each of us individually.
Sometimes we have trouble naming and advocating for our ideal clients to find us because of imposter syndrome.
Solution: Decide on your niche and advertise it clearly! I know for me, when I work with ideal clients I feel so much more free to see more clients. I’m also more intrinsically curious and motivated to support them.
6) Prioritize Others And Neglect Ourselves
Some of us are prone to getting caught in the pressure to help others first and neglect ourselves.
If you feel like you have to care for everyone, you won’t be able to help anyone well. You won’t be able to show up with your full self when you meet with clients.
Solution: care for yourself first so you’re best equipped to help others.
Of course, this isn’t an exhaustive list of all the reasons why someone may be unhappy in private practice. But, these are some of the common explanations that I have seen in my circles.
Watch Out For Burnout!
All of these variables can lead to burnout. Especially if we feel like we’re not able to be effective in our work or have a driving sense that we’re making meaningful change that aligns with our values.
Here’s a video on early signs of therapist burnout.
I’ve also made a video on feeling burned out from the therapy profession as a whole. Maybe you can relate?
I hope if you are experiencing unhappiness in private practice that you’ll take a deeper look at some of the things in the above list. Consult with some folks that you trust to see where things may be going off-kilter. Hopefully, you can avoid burnout and have a fulfilling happy life.
I think everyone benefits if you have a practice that makes you happy – clinician and clients alike!
Until next time, from one therapist to another: I wish you well!
-Marie
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Photo by Marina Shatskikh on Pexels
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