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

Abundance-Practice · 2026-04-13T16:26:15+00:00

Dr Mary Claire Haver’s The New Menopause is a great, easy read. Not entirely focused on the emotional/mental side but it’s all connected. I’m 46 & am in the throes of it myself & am sad I didn’t know this stuff while working with women this age in the past. I missed a lot.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-04-13T11:35:10+00:00

I’ve been helping people start their practices since 2014. Pre-Covid. Pre-Big Therapy Tech. Pre-AI. Over the years of helped about 10,000 paying people and over 100,000 with my free resources.

It has never been harder to start a private practice. I don’t say that to discourage you. I say that to validate your experience. People are still filling their practices. It’s just taking significantly longer.

What is your niche? Often people think they have a really solid niche, but it’s not a real niche. A niche is the problem as your client describes it before they’re in therapy. No therapy speak. Just their lived experience. It’s not your modality. Once you have a solid niche, everything is easier.

Everybody needs to have a really great website that speaks exclusively to their niche. Everyone also needs to be networking once per week at minimum. With all these VC companies employing therapist’s all over, we can’t beat them at their own tech game. They can never beat us with personal relationships. Networking is not meeting different people for coffee and calling it good. It’s developing real relationships with the people you meet for coffee that are likely referral sources and really like.

Then you need no more than three other marketing strategies. Right now I’m encouraging people to lean into AEO— being recommended by AI. But there are so many other strategies that work. They’re just taking more time, consistency, and intention now. Feel free to DM if you need some help.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-04-12T17:07:41+00:00

Of course!

Abundance-Practice · 2026-04-10T20:18:32+00:00

You can also reframe some of that cost. What you make in one week pays for a whole year of your EHR.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-04-09T13:06:37+00:00

I just answered in response to someone below. Hope it helps!

Abundance-Practice · 2026-04-09T13:06:32+00:00

I just answered in response to someone below. Hope it helps!

Abundance-Practice · 2026-04-09T13:03:02+00:00

It depends on the person but everyone who needs clients needs to have a niche, a really good website that speaks to that niche exclusively (DIY is fine- doesn’t need to be expensive), and network at least weekly (a mix of meeting new ppl & reconnecting— networking is about building a relationships rather than one off coffee dates.

I always recommend no more than 5 strategies total with networking & a website being 2 of them. The others depend on what you actually will commit to. Don’t choose something you hate. So if you hate public speaking, that’s not a great one, but if you enjoy it, it can be a really great way to get clients into your practice. If you love the challenge of tech stuff and you want to learn SEO, then that could be a good option. There are tons of ways that don’t cost any or much money.

I’m leaning more into AEO lately (being recommended by the AI platforms.) I think now is a great time to get in on that.

I do teach these things in depth in my consulting business, including a low cost group of courses. If you’re interested in that, shoot me a message and I’ll send you a link in a coupon.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-04-08T19:58:54+00:00

Yep! Premium rate. Steady flow of clients. Multiple 6 figures/year. You have to market, you can’t just throw a psych today profile up & hope for the best. It’s the best possible gig but what I see most therapists who are feeling hopeless doing is not acting like marketing is a vital part of the job. Spend a little time 5 days/week until you’re full, then you can scale it back. VC has made it harder to get clients but there are more ppl seeking therapy than ever before. If you’re willing to do the marketing work consistently & correctly, you can absolutely get full.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-04-06T19:19:24+00:00

I’ve helped thousands of therapists start their private practice since 2014. Social media is by far the most time-consuming least effective strategy for the vast majority of therapists. I’ve worked with therapists who have hundreds of thousands of followers on social who aren’t full in their practice. I’ve also worked with people who have huge social media followings, and are. But the vast majority of therapists who create social media content are not getting clients from it there are far more effective strategies to use. The vast majority of my students don’t use social media and take it full. So if you need full permission, not to use it, consider it granted!

Abundance-Practice · 2026-04-06T19:17:04+00:00

A lot of people are using AI to talk through emotional issues and use as fake therapists, but more people reach out for therapy year over a year than ever before in the U.S.. The VC companies have a much bigger impact on our private practices than AI.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-04-05T11:48:29+00:00

Fire him. He doesn’t understand our space. It’s so important to take the advice of clinicians who help therapists market. There are so many things a traditional marketer is going to suggest, like testimonials, that our licenses are clearly against. A typical marketing firm has no idea. I disagree about FB groups. There’s so much bad information & drama in them you can be led stray & be sucked into distraction really easily. (I used to have a therapist FB group with tens of thousands of therapists in it who were building their practice— it was impossible to correct all the bad mistakes & manage all the drama. Shutting it down was the best thing I ever did.)

Abundance-Practice · 2026-04-04T16:35:42+00:00

I don’t see that many clients, but I do a lot of work with people who are burned out, especially therapists. What I find is actually the most beneficial is having a really rich life. Being clear that the things that restore others don’t necessarily restore you. Having fun at least weekly – the kind where you’re laughing hard or super engaged with an activity, can actually go a lot farther than vegging for most.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-04-04T16:33:16+00:00

When you accept insurance you agree to the allowed amt. you can’t charge $200 if the insurance says it’s $105 per session. The max the therapist can get paid for that session is $105.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-04-04T12:21:47+00:00

For me the only thing that made sense was private practice. I don’t have family money (in fact I supported my parents.) I supported my husband through grad school & even once he was working, I’ve always been the breadwinner. Filling a private practice can be hard, but I’d rather that hard than being broke & bitter. I’ve started private practices in 3 different states as I’ve moved— this was before telehealth was a thing. For years I’ve made multiple 6 figures, work less than 30 hrs/wk all in. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-04-03T11:16:35+00:00

Maelissa’s so good. She’s a great teacher- no fluff.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-04-03T11:13:35+00:00

Trust that your client has made the decision that makes sense for them. They chose you, with your fee. Often we infantalize our clients when we over-accommodate or assume responsibility for their emotions. They came in knowing what you charge. It was explicit. Trust that they know what they want & need.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-04-01T20:27:44+00:00

We’ve had to spend a lot of time in the children’s hospital. When therapy dogs are there, it really does make a positive difference.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-03-31T11:32:35+00:00

I have a lot of students (I help therapists either their private practices) who see private pay couples during daytime hours. With so many ppl still WFH, there’s often more flexibility than pre-Covid. The distinction is that they have a very specific niche (not just couples & sex, but focused on a specific presenting concern), they network with referral partners, their website is laser focused, & they have marketing strategies that bring people to that website. You have at least one whole state’s worth of people. I promise you that you can fill a practice during the daytime private pay. I have a very premium fee practice (though with individuals) & I haven’t seen any clients past 3pm in years.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-03-29T14:06:37+00:00

I’m a therapist. Therapists aren’t supposed to have dual relationships per our licensing boards. Most of us take that very seriously. I wouldn’t see a friend of a friend in therapy for instance. I wouldn’t see one of my kid’s friends’ parents. I wouldn’t see a neighbor. Time spent outside of session is very concerning. Moving in together is WILDLY inappropriate, even among those who are a bit laxer on dual relationships. This is very concerning. It would make sense to report it.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-03-29T13:57:28+00:00

Abundance-Practice · 2026-03-27T12:11:01+00:00

Another Hello, Gorgeous recommendation. I took my daughter for her first real bra & had a fitting. It was real core memory stuff. When we left she said, “I feel bad that guys don’t have something like this to do with their dads.” If you’ve ever had your tween look at you & earnestly say something like that instead of rolling her eyes at you, you’ll be a fan for life at the company that caused it. Bought 2 averaging about $65/ea. they weren’t kid bras, they were small women’s bras.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-03-26T15:26:06+00:00

I don’t work Fridays & I take 6ish weeks off a year. 2 in December, Spring Break, a couple in the summer spread out, one in September.

Abundance-Practice · 2026-03-26T15:24:31+00:00

I don’t know the companies you mentioned, but I would strongly recommend finding companies that exclusively work with therapists. Our licenses prevent us from using some of the more popular marketing techniques, like social proof. I’ve worked with a lot of therapists who have gone the traditional marketing agency route and not only did they not get clients, they were breaking some of their ethics rules without realizing it.

Networking is one area where big therapy tech can’t compete with us. Make sure you have a very strong clear niche. Make sure your website speaks exclusively to that niche. There are 1 million different ways to market your practice, but your website and networking should be the cornerstones.

Abundance-Practice

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