There's just one long, chatty version of the episode this week :)

Today's sponsors:

Free catch up bookkeeping for 2026 if you sign up by October 31st, plus 15 percent off annual plans with Heard using code "MARIE15":

https://affiliate.joinheard.com/dqidz

Paubox makes HIPAA-secure email and forms easy and streamlined. Check them out here:

https://get.paubox.com/solutions/private-practice

*Get $250 off your first year with Paubox with coupon code "SKILLS"

LINKS:

*Some links are affiliate links. A percentage of purchases come back to me and help my channel immensely!

👉 FREE Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling: https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

👉 All my filming gear: https://kit.co/privatepracticeskills/all-my-gear

This podcast is geared toward therapists of all kinds, including psychologists, MFTs, LPCCs, social workers, and others in the clinical counseling field. Welcome to Private Practice Skills! I’m Dr. Marie Fang, psychologist in private practice. I post videos offering tools I learned the hard way about starting and growing private practice so that you don’t have to.

Website: www.privatepracticeskills.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/privatepracticeskills

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/privatepracticeskills/

This podcast is not intended as professional or legal advice. Be sure to seek the services of a professional if you are in need of them.

Today's sponsors:

Free catch up bookkeeping for 2026 if you sign up by October 31st, plus 15 percent off annual plans with Heard using code "MARIE15":

https://affiliate.joinheard.com/dqidz

Paubox makes HIPAA-secure email and forms easy and streamlined. Check them out here:

https://get.paubox.com/solutions/private-practice

*Get $250 off your first year with Paubox with coupon code "SKILLS"

Related Episodes:

Video: "Top Therapist Marketing Tip: Be Yourself”

https://youtu.be/0sUMUThVcXA

Video: "The Biggest Mistakes I Made Starting a Private Practice”

https://youtu.be/RSkus4Ucxbc

LINKS:

*Some links are affiliate links. A percentage of purchases come back to me and help my channel immensely!

👉 FREE Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling: https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

👉 All my filming gear: https://kit.co/privatepracticeskills/all-my-gear

This podcast is geared toward therapists of all kinds, including psychologists, MFTs, LPCCs, social workers, and others in the clinical counseling field. Welcome to Private Practice Skills! I’m Dr. Marie Fang, psychologist in private practice. I post videos offering tools I learned the hard way about starting and growing private practice so that you don’t have to.

Website: www.privatepracticeskills.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/privatepracticeskills

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/privatepracticeskills/

This podcast is not intended as professional or legal advice. Be sure to seek the services of a professional if you are in need of them.

In this episode, we cover the importance of your therapist photo, and I also offer a practical tutorial for how to take professional looking photos using your smartphone.

We Cover:

-Why Your Therapist Photo Matters

-How to DIY Great Photos

-iPhone Camera Tech Tutorial

And more!

LINKS:

*Some links are affiliate links. A percentage of purchases come back to me and help my channel immensely!

👉 FREE Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling: https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

👉 All my filming gear: https://kit.co/privatepracticeskills/all-my-gear

This podcast is geared toward therapists of all kinds, including psychologists, MFTs, LPCCs, social workers, and others in the clinical counseling field. Welcome to Private Practice Skills! I’m Dr. Marie Fang, psychologist in private practice. I post videos offering tools I learned the hard way about starting and growing private practice so that you don’t have to.

Website: www.privatepracticeskills.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/privatepracticeskills

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/privatepracticeskills/

This podcast is not intended as professional or legal advice. Be sure to seek the services of a professional if you are in need of them.

What Private Practice Therapists Wish they Knew Before Starting

I posted to Instagram asking therapists: “What’s one thing you wish you’d known before going into private practice?"

Thank you to all of you who participated :) I share related resources to the topics discussed below.

Thank you to Paubox for sponsoring this episode. Paubox makes HIPAA-secure email and forms easy and streamlined. Check them out here:

https://get.paubox.com/solutions/private-practice

*Get $250 off your first year with Paubox with coupon code "SKILLS"

Resources:

Free Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling:

https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

Video: "How to Launch a Successful Private Practice in 2026”

https://youtu.be/tydi5vXa0JM

Video: "How do I Set my Fee as a New Private Practice Owner?”

https://youtu.be/0iMbrdIzI5s

Video: "Startup Costs of Part Time Private Practice | Start Private Practice on a Budget”

https://youtu.be/02GbDAyBWUw

(This is an old one but the concepts hold up!)

Video: "What you Need to Know About Quarterly Taxes for Your Practice”

https://youtu.be/Eo3f2VIrbMI

Video: "Why are Therapists so Isolated?”

https://youtu.be/19lcjfra0DE

Video: "How to Avoid Isolation in Private Practice”

https://youtu.be/u-p7H36UK44

Playlist: "Ask the Tax Expert about Private Practice Accounting"

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi4iw1FZZYrCeMCOvYxz1zfYqtNxFFnZz

Playlist: “Private Practice Marketing Strategy”

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi4iw1FZZYrAaqD-YMZm_Hc5WSZMq5WSB

LINKS:

*Some links are affiliate links. A percentage of purchases come back to me and help my channel immensely!

👉 FREE Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling: https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

👉 All my filming gear: https://kit.co/privatepracticeskills/all-my-gear

This podcast is geared toward therapists of all kinds, including psychologists, MFTs, LPCCs, social workers, and others in the clinical counseling field. Welcome to Private Practice Skills! I’m Dr. Marie Fang, psychologist in private practice. I post videos offering tools I learned the hard way about starting and growing private practice so that you don’t have to.

Website: www.privatepracticeskills.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/privatepracticeskills

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/privatepracticeskills/

This podcast is not intended as professional or legal advice. Be sure to seek the services of a professional if you are in need of them.

In this episode, I cover some of the most common questions that pop up around how to do private practice when you have young kids, like:

How do you arrange your schedule?

How do you account for sickness?

How do you manage the reduced hours and childcare costs?

And more questions that I wondered before having kids and a private practice.

Links Mentioned:

FREE Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling:

https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

Video: "How do I Set my Fee as a New Private Practice Owner?”

https://youtu.be/0iMbrdIzI5s

Thank you to Paubox for sponsoring this episode. Paubox makes HIPAA-secure email and forms easy and streamlined. Check them out here:

https://get.paubox.com/solutions/private-practice

*Get $250 off your first year with Paubox with coupon code "SKILLS"

LINKS:

*Some links are affiliate links. A percentage of purchases come back to me and help my channel immensely!

👉 FREE Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling: https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

👉 All my filming gear: https://kit.co/privatepracticeskills/all-my-gear

This podcast is geared toward therapists of all kinds, including psychologists, MFTs, LPCCs, social workers, and others in the clinical counseling field. Welcome to Private Practice Skills! I’m Dr. Marie Fang, psychologist in private practice. I post videos offering tools I learned the hard way about starting and growing private practice so that you don’t have to.

Website: www.privatepracticeskills.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/privatepracticeskills

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/privatepracticeskills/

This podcast is not intended as professional or legal advice. Be sure to seek the services of a professional if you are in need of them.

At a time when there's no shortage of private practice marketing advice, it can still feel overwhelming to know how to market your practice. In this episode, I go back to the basics of private practice marketing: be yourself!

I share practical tips to translate your unique, individual self into your marketing materials so that your ideal clients can find you and build trust with you.

Thank you to Paubox for sponsoring this episode. Paubox makes HIPAA-secure email and forms easy and streamlined. Check them out here:

https://get.paubox.com/solutions/private-practice

*Get $250 off your first year with Paubox with coupon code "SKILLS"

LINKS:

*Some links are affiliate links. A percentage of purchases come back to me and help my channel immensely!

👉 FREE Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling: https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

👉 All my filming gear: https://kit.co/privatepracticeskills/all-my-gear

This podcast is geared toward therapists of all kinds, including psychologists, MFTs, LPCCs, social workers, and others in the clinical counseling field. Welcome to Private Practice Skills! I’m Dr. Marie Fang, psychologist in private practice. I post videos offering tools I learned the hard way about starting and growing private practice so that you don’t have to.

Website: www.privatepracticeskills.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/privatepracticeskills

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/privatepracticeskills/

This podcast is not intended as professional or legal advice. Be sure to seek the services of a professional if you are in need of them.

There are so many ways therapists are qualified to advocate for our clients, but we're often not taught about them until our clients request documentation from us.

This episode highlights important ways we can advocate for our clients outside of session.

More info about these topics:

"Information for Health Care Providers to Complete a Certification under the FMLA"

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla/certification-of-a-serious-health-condition

"Short-Term Disability Letter from a Therapist: Template & Guide"

https://clinicaldocslibrary.com/clinical-letters/short-term-disability-letter/

"The Mental Health Provider's Role in a Client's Request for a Reasonable Accommodation at Work"

https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/mental-health-providers-role-clients-request-reasonable-accommodation-work

LINKS:

*Some links are affiliate links. A percentage of purchases come back to me and help my channel immensely!

👉 FREE Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling: https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

👉 All my filming gear: https://kit.co/privatepracticeskills/all-my-gear

This podcast is geared toward therapists of all kinds, including psychologists, MFTs, LPCCs, social workers, and others in the clinical counseling field. Welcome to Private Practice Skills! I’m Dr. Marie Fang, psychologist in private practice. I post videos offering tools I learned the hard way about starting and growing private practice so that you don’t have to.

Website: www.privatepracticeskills.com

In this episode, we debunk some of the top myths about being a good therapist.

Myth 1: A good therapist always knows what to say

Myth 2: You have to have your own life completely figured out to help others

Myth 3: Burnout means you're not cut out for this work

Myth 4: Real therapists don't Google client symptoms or consult with colleagues mid-week

What are some of the myths about good therapists that you still hear floating around?

Thank you to Paubox for sponsoring this episode. Paubox makes HIPAA-secure email and forms easy and streamlined. Check them out here:

https://get.paubox.com/solutions/private-practice

*Get $250 off your first year with Paubox with coupon code "SKILLS"

LINKS:

*Some links are affiliate links. A percentage of purchases come back to me and help my channel immensely!

👉 FREE Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling: https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

👉 All my filming gear: https://kit.co/privatepracticeskills/all-my-gear

This podcast is geared toward therapists of all kinds, including psychologists, MFTs, LPCCs, social workers, and others in the clinical counseling field. Welcome to Private Practice Skills! I’m Dr. Marie Fang, psychologist in private practice. I post videos offering tools I learned the hard way about starting and growing private practice so that you don’t have to.

Website: www.privatepracticeskills.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/privatepracticeskills

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/privatepracticeskills/

This podcast is not intended as professional or legal advice. Be sure to seek the services of a professional if you are in need of them.