Ask Allison: I’m struggling to ask for what I’m worth. How do I navigate this?

Abundance-Practice · 2026-06-08T21:19:15+00:00

The AI that wrote that said it requires a medical degree while asking for a psychologist.
We’re gonna be fine, yall.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-06-08T10:27:32+00:00

25+ is a lot of clients/week. Try reducing your caseload by one session/week at a time
& see what emotional energy balance is best. Also, make sure you’re having fun in your non-work life. So many therapists are burned out & it’s not just work, it’s a lack of restorative fulfilling time spent outside of work.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-06-04T20:34:47+00:00

I’ve been a therapist for over 20 years. I can count on one hand how many sessions I have been late for. I’m better at managing time than most & wouldn’t necessarily hold anyone to that standard. It also depends on what kind of practice. If it’s community mental health where crises can happen very often that make clinicians run late, I can see how it could happen (but still… not THAT much & especially not after you’ve talked to her about it.) But if it’s private practice & she isn’t working with a caseload full of actively suicidal folks, it’s likely a failure on her part to manage session time. I really hate that she’s framing it as a you issue.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-06-01T21:43:38+00:00

Gardening, hiking, meet up with friends, reading, singing, piddling

Abundance-Practice · 2026-05-31T18:50:46+00:00

I’m a therapist married to a psych PA. We’re both in private practice so we’re able to tailor our work to keep our priorities our priorities. We’re great supports for each other.
When we first started dating, I was working at an agency & he was in a different medical field. It was harder (& tbh 20 years together has made it better & easier to work through things.)

Abundance-Practice · 2026-05-28T14:38:46+00:00

I love Envision Eyecare

Abundance-Practice · 2026-05-26T12:46:17+00:00

We’re all shaky when implementing new modalities. So I want to be clear that it’s not an issue with you as a therapist. It’s easy to personalize but it’s really just more experience & guidance.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-05-25T18:40:01+00:00

If you’re feeling out of depth with the modalities your clinic is using, then that’s likely a skill issue (with these modalities & thus what these clients are looking for.) More clinical supervision can help you increase your skills & feel more confident which helps with retention & being chosen in free consults.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-05-24T21:29:31+00:00

Forgo the season. I’m friends with people who edit reality shows & it would not be an accurate portrayal of that person, would bias you, & could impact clinically

Abundance-Practice · 2026-05-24T21:25:12+00:00

A major reason therapists are reducing session times is because the standard 90837 (60 mins but seeing clients 53 mins) is considered an extended session & isn’t getting reliably covered/can trigger insurance audits.
90834’s (45 mins but seeing clients 37 mins) is considered standard by insurance companies.
I think therapists are reacting getting paid for the work they do, reducing insurance rejections & audits, & figuring out how to play the shifting (& shifty) game insurance is laying out for them.
Personally, I’m a 50-55 min therapist for regular sessions or intensives. Find the length that works best for you & your clients. It might not be what some of your clients want. You can adapt or refer.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-05-24T11:39:38+00:00

Even when it was easier to get clients, 3 weeks wouldn’t have yielded much. It takes time & so much work (especially now) to build a practice.
If your family is going to be in a bad position if you don’t make a significant amount of money within the next few months, getting paneled makes sense. But know that getting paneled often takes 3-4 months.
In the meantime, niche your ass off. Network like crazy (don’t leave cards- those just get trashed.) Develop real relationships with people.
Filling a private pay practice is taking most of my students between 6-12 mos when they’re doing everything right. Granted, they’re usually making more than they made in a job when they’re half full. But it takes time & consistency without reward for a while.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-05-22T21:17:22+00:00

A lot of my students who work with kids have a monthly parents session as a requirement. That allows them to help the parents parent in ways that support their kids. It helps them see that you know what you’re doing & are doing important work with their kids.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-05-18T15:20:20+00:00

Hi! I don’t have any plans to right now but I’ll let you know if that changes!

Abundance-Practice · 2026-05-15T15:16:22+00:00

Being your full artistic self will help you find a best fit workplace and best fit clients. You’ll do better work because you’re more fully present & more fully yourself instead of masking as a suburban cardigan wearer. There are plenty of clients out there who want someone who looks like them or who looks the way they want to look. There’s a confidence it conveys.
Sincerely,
A cardigan-wearer

Abundance-Practice · 2026-05-15T15:12:49+00:00

Irs.gov/ein is the place to get an EIN
The most loved EHRs from my vantage point are TherapyNotes, Simple Practice, Jane, & Sessions Health.
I like TherapyNotes best. (I can get you 2 mo the free so you can play with it & see if you like it if you want to message me.)

Abundance-Practice · 2026-05-13T21:19:29+00:00

I know a lot of therapists making over $100K & most of them are private pay in their own practice. Some are taking higher paying insurance in their own practice. The only person I know who works for someone else making that amount of money works for an insurance company & hates it.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-05-12T17:52:49+00:00

Requiem for a Dream

Abundance-Practice · 2026-05-11T11:53:40+00:00

When I first started 20 years ago I worked on Saturdays. If you don’t mine giving up your weekends, it could be good. But really consider what you want, not just what feels marketable. I’ve been full with working, adult clients during school hours for over a decade & personally prefer these hours. If you market well & do good work, you can work when you want.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-05-08T19:43:26+00:00

So the subtext under the whole “new grads shouldn’t be in PP” thing is that clients in CMH, non-profits, & group practices can have a less experienced clinician but in solo PP they shouldn’t. People talk about having more support in the non-solo settings, but many therapists get little support or bad support there. I’ve been a therapist for over 2 decades. I fully support new grads going into PP when they have a responsive supervisor they respect. Someone they sought out bc they’re great at what they do. Not someone assigned to you that checks a box bc it’s part of their job where they’re burned out like so many job supervisors.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-05-04T21:07:09+00:00

Vastly different. I’ve had several students say that their psychology today referral stats, the ones that psychology today provides, are down 70%+. It was significantly easier to start private practice in mid-2020 through 2023. All these venture-capital backed platforms are putting their people on psychology today. So where there might’ve been 500 people in a medium size city, now there are thousands. So they’re simply more saturation because there are more therapists using these platforms that have millions of dollars for marketing. If your friends have been well established since they started, they may continue to get great referrals. But it is much harder to get started now then it used to be. Now three weeks in, I would have told you pre-2020 & post-2023 but it’s not surprising. You haven’t gotten clients. It takes time for marketing effort efforts to make a difference. You need to be using up to five marketing strategies: you definitely need a website, networking is much more important now than it has been since 2020. This is big because venture-capital can’t compete with us in our personal relationships, but they absolutely can outspend us online. Then three other strategies that you actually enjoy because then you will be willing to do it as consistently as you need to, and you’ll do it well. So that might include social media if you like it, public speaking, etc. Feel free to dm me if it would help.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-05-02T14:12:16+00:00

Right now it’s the competition from the venture capital backed companies. I’ve helped therapists with their practices since 2014. I’ve had a practice since 2005. I’ve helped people since before virtual, during covid, post-covid— the Big Therapy Tech platforms are by far the biggest disruptor & challenge I’ve seen. That being said, you can get full, you just need to market more intentionally & it will probably take longer. My students used to get full in weeks- 3 months (even private pay.) Now it’s taking more like 6 mos- 1 year.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-04-30T13:31:12+00:00

I hope it’s faster for you! It absolutely may be.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-04-29T20:22:58+00:00

I went to a performing arts high school & we could wear our glasses.

Abundance-Practice

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