A Year from Today: Why I’m Thinking Big for My Private Practice

Where do you want your practice to be a year from today? Not where you think you should be. Not what feels realistic or safe. Where do you actually want it to be? For the longest time, I couldn't answer that question. I was so caught up in the day-to-day that I would finish my clinical sessions, immediately transition to my personal life, then wake up and repeat. I wasn’t sitting down to think about my long-term business vision or how to start getting there.

Then I had the hardest year of my practice. It shook me and woke something up inside me.

From flourishing to uh-oh

Prior to last year, I was flourishing. I had to turn people away because I was doing so well. I was almost always booked full. Then in 2025, I couldn’t replace clients fast enough as some moved on. There was a recurring theme: "As important as therapy is, I just can't do this right now.” From work and physical illnesses to caring for family members and managing the fallout of changing politics, mental health was taking a backseat for so many people.

As a human, I understood. But as a business owner, I thought, uh-oh, this is not what I was expecting. I remember feeling really sad. I kept thinking no, this can't be where it all ends for me. I love this work, and this can't be it.

That's when I realized that I had, in-part, put myself in this position. Yes, there were external factors that were contributing to this rough year, but I had been so “heads down” that I hadn’t planned effectively—I wasn’t working toward a future vision or prepared for the inevitable ups and downs of running a small business.

Tapping into my inner strength

I knew I wanted to stay in private practice. Sure, there is safety and predictability for working for someone and knowing I'm going to get benefits and a paycheck. But I’m not willing to put a cap on what my work life and my financial space can look like. I don't want someone to say this is as much as you can do here or you have to work double. I want to work smarter, not harder.

And one of my biggest reasons for going private practice was to be able to be a present mom, and that hasn’t changed. I don't want to look back and regret not being there. My son may not remember, but I will.

Everyone has different ways of tapping into their inner strength. Now I'm a Marvel nerd, so I was like, I have to be like Jean Grey. I have to be the phoenix. The phoenix comes out of the ashes, she rises out of it, and she is untouchable. I thought, don't let the rubble bury you. I knew I had to get out of it, and I also knew it was going to be messy. Some of it would hurt and some of it would not go exactly as planned. But staying in it wasn’t going to get me anywhere.

When in doubt, follow joy

I wanted to connect with a new vision, so I started thinking about what I enjoy. A perfect example: I love the WWE. It's my jam. Going to live events has been such a pleasurable hobby as an adult. I thought, what if I could find a way to support the mental health of people involved in this kind of industry? What might that look like? My path may not start with the WWE, but it could start by helping small companies support employee wellness. From there, I could build on my experiences, grow my network, and create a pitch.

I know it will take time to reach that goal or something like it, but I want to sharpen my vision. I want to be ready. I think about how I might meet somebody who knows somebody who might be somehow related to the work I want to do most. If they were to say, well, tell me what you want to do, I want to be clear and not stumble over my words. I want to be able to articulate exactly what I'm offering and why I’m worth considering.

These days, I'm creating more intentional time to think about it, write down ideas, chat with people, try things and see how they feel. Recently, someone was doing a healing event and their therapist dropped out, so they found me in a directory and asked if I was interested. I thought, let's say yes and get a little uncomfortable, because that's usually where things change.

Thinking bigger with Alma

When I started my private practice in 2022, I knew I wanted to provide accessible care, so I joined Alma immediately. I know some people credential themselves, but I didn't want to have to figure that out while building a caseload and doing the clinical work. Having other people take that load off of me, and all I have to do is click a couple buttons? That was it for me.

When you're not constantly worried about credentialing, about whether claims will process, about all those administrative pieces that consume so much time and attention, that creates precious space. And then you get to decide how to use that space.

From now on, I’m using it to pin down what I want for my practice—and to get intentionally uncomfortable so that I can continue to grow. An upcoming Alma event for members only is focused on getting started as a consultant. I've already reserved my spot.