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Starting a Private Practice in Counseling Checklist

Marie Fang
Jan 04, 2021

At the end of this post, I linked to the ULTIMATE checklist if you’re just starting a private practice in counseling. Even if you’re starting completely from scratch and you have absolutely no idea where to start, this checklist was made with you in mind.

Just follow along, check off the tasks one-by-one, and when you’re done your private practice doors will be open with interested clients contacting you for counseling services.

Starting a Private Practice in Counseling Checklist


the first step in starting a private practice in counseling

Before you get started, its super important to ask: is private practice right for you?

I won’t lie, I LOVE private practice and I think just about everybody has what it takes to succeed. But it’s important to ask if what private practice entails is what you really want right now and whether it aligns with your values.

The key aspect that’s important to ask yourself about private practice is whether you’re ready to tackle the business aspect of starting a private practice in counseling.

Yep. I said it. Private practice is a business. If you found yourself cringing at the word, most therapists feel this way at first.

But we are providing a service for money. This is, by definition, a business!

If you’d like a little more help finding the answer to this question, check out my article: Starting a Private Practice in Counseling: Is it Right for you?


the importance of building your brand

Later in this post I’ll give you the tasky stuff that you can knock off your checklist fairly easily.

For now, I’m going to stick to talking about some of the business stuffs when it comes to starting a private practice. Cuz, that’s where most therapists get stuck, am I right?

Think of your brand as the “vibe” of your practice. Your brand represents a snapshot of who you are and who you serve.

When potential clients find you, they want to know not only whether you specialize in what they’re seeking help for, but more importantly, whether they can fully trust you.

Your brand is a key part of how you communicate who you are to your clients so they feel like they can trust you.

To learn more about building your brand, check out my article: Therapist Marketing 101: Build your Brand Story in 3 Steps


a marketing strategy will make or break the success of your practice

For real y’all. If you think you can rent an office, make a listing on Psychology Today, and simply wait for clients to start pouring into your practice, you’ll be sorely disappointed.

Unfortunately, this is what so many therapists do when they first start their private practice.

If you feel intimidated at the prospect of developing a marketing strategy, don’t fret! I have resources for you. You can start by checking out my article: How to Get Counseling Clients | Marketing Your Private Practice


starting a private practice in counseling checklist

With all that I said about business-savvy, branding, and marketing, there is still a full list of tasks to go through to make sure you have all your proper credentials in place, you’re set up to legally run a business in your city, you have the right paperwork ready, and that all of your systems are HIPAA-compliant.

I have a complete checklist covering ALL of these tasks!

Even if you haven’t done a single thing yet when it comes to starting your private practice, this checklist literally has everything you possibly need to do to go from zero to launched in your practice.

I also expand on each checklist item in further detail and offer resources for each of them, so you know exactly what to do in order to make each checklist item happen smoothly.

Ready to snag your checklist? You can get it for free here:

Starting a Private Practice in Counseling Checklist

I hope you find that this checklist provides everything you need to start a successful therapy practice.

And until next time, from one therapist to another: I wish you well!

-Marie

Hi, I'm Dr. Marie Fang!

I created Private Practice Skills so you can start a therapy practice that fits your life!

First time here? You might Read my story, browse the blog, or watch some videos. And don’t sleep on my free getting started guide:

FREE Getting Started Guide


Disclosure: Private Practice Skills uses affiliate links. This means that when you make a purchase through my links I may earn a commission, which helps me continue creating more awesome content for you. Thank you!

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