Ever wonder what the difference is between therapy and coaching? And if you are a therapist who wants to expand your services with coaching, do you have any clue what to do, where to start, and how to protect yourself legally?

In this flashback episode, I talk with Carly Hill, LCSW and business coach for therapists who want to add coaching to their businesses. We discuss an important topic for therapists looking to add coaching to their practice: How to do it ethically and protect yourself, your business, and your clients.

Here are three key takeaways from the episode:

1. Don't just slap coaching onto your private practice: It's crucial to separate your therapy and coaching services into distinct business entities. This not only avoids ethical dilemmas but also ensures that you comply with licensing regulations and accounting practices.
2. Understand the difference between therapy and coaching: While some definitions focus on past vs. future-oriented approaches, the simpler distinction lies in medical necessity. Therapy addresses clinical and mental health issues, while coaching tackles situational and nonclinical problems.
3. Coaching certification is not required, but competence is essential: As a therapist, you already possess a wealth of clinical knowledge and experience. It's up to you to determine if you feel confident delivering coaching services in a specific area. While certification can boost confidence, it's not a prerequisite for calling yourself a coach.

Listen to the full episode to learn more about the ethical considerations of incorporating coaching into your private practice. And remember, protecting your license and serving your clients with integrity should always be top priorities.

More about Carly:

Carly Hill is an LCSW and business strategist for clinicians. She specializes in helping overworked and underpaid female clinicians make more money and more impact by teaching them to build the online coaching business of their dreams.

She helps clinicians break free from the 1:1 model to leverage their time, get paid for their knowledge, and live a life of true freedom. She helps clinicians to find their coaching niche, develop their high-ticket offer, and organically call in their ideal clients easily and effortlessly using her unique modern marketing masterplan.

• Carly's Website: carlyhillcoaching.com
• Carly's Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/carlyhillcoaching

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***This episode is an episode that All Things Private Practice is re-releasing for 2025. Please enjoy, and we'll be back with new content, resources, and guests in a couple of months.

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Thanks to Our Sponsors: The Receptionist for iPad, Alma, & All Things Private Practice — 2025 & 2026 Retreats!

✨ The Receptionist for iPad

Thanks to The Receptionist for iPad for sponsoring this episode.

The Receptionist offers an iPad list check-in option where clients can scan a QR code to check in, which negates the need for you to buy an iPad and stand. Go to thereceptionist.com/privatepractice and sign up for a free 14-day trial. When you do, you'll get your first month free. And don't forget to ask about our iPad list check-in option.

✨ Alma

Thanks to Alma for sponsoring this episode.

Building and managing the practice you want can be challenging. That’s why Alma offers tools and resources to help you build not just any practice, but your private practice. They’ll help you navigate insurance, access referrals who are the right fit for you, and efficiently manage administrative tasks — so you can spend less time on the details and more time delivering great care. You support your clients. Alma supports you. Visit helloalma.com/ATPP to learn more.

✨ All Things Private Practice — 2025 & 2026 Retreats

All Things Private Practice has some amazing retreat experiences coming up in 2025 and 2026.

Join us in Edinburgh, Scotland, for the second Doubt Yourself, Do It Anyway Summit from July 14th to 17th, 2025! We have an incredible lineup of 12 speakers and offer 12 MBCCEs. If you're a leader or aspiring to start a group practice, join our Leadership Retreat in Chania, Crete, from September 6th to 11th. In 2026, we have two retreats in Queenstown, New Zealand. The first is for Neurodivergent Entrepreneurs from March 1st to 8th, and the second retreat, Beyond Private Practice, focuses on moving beyond one-on-one therapy and creating alternative income streams from March 15th to 22nd.

Spaces are limited, so check the links to sign up today. Doubt yourself, do it anyway!

• Doubt Yourself, Do It Anyway Summit in Scotland: empoweredescapes.com/scotland-july-2025-summit
• Leadership Retreat in Chania, Crete: empoweredescapes.com/greece-retreat-2025
• Neurodivergent Entrepreneurs in Queenstown, New Zealand: allthingspractice.com/new-zealand-neurodivergent
• Beyond Private Practice in Queenstown, New Zealand: allthingspractice.com/new-zealand-income-streams

Mentioned in this episode:

All Things Private Practice — 2025 & 2026 Retreats

All Things Private Practice has some amazing retreat experiences coming up in 2025 and 2026. Join us in Edinburgh, Scotland for the second Doubt Yourself, Do It Anyway Summit from July 14th to 17th, 2025! We have an incredible lineup of 12 speakers and offer 12 MBCCEs. If you're a leader or aspiring to start a group practice, join our Leadership Retreat in Chania, Crete, from September 6th to 11th. In 2026, we have two retreats in Queenstown, New Zealand. The first is for Neurodivergent Entrepreneurs from March 1st to 8th, and the second retreat, Beyond Private Practice, focuses on moving beyond one-on-one therapy and creating alternative income streams from March 15th to 22nd. Spaces are limited, so check the links to sign up today. Doubt yourself, do it anyway!

Doubt Yourself, Do It Anyway Summit in Scotland: https://www.empoweredescapes.com/scotland-july-2025-summit

Leadership Retreat in Chania, Crete: https://www.empoweredescapes.com/greece-retreat-2025

Neurodivergent Entrepreneurs in Queenstown, New Zealand: https://www.allthingspractice.com/new-zealand-neurodivergent

Beyond Private Practice in Queenstown, New Zealand: https://www.allthingspractice.com/new-zealand-income-streams

Alma

I want to thank Alma for sponsoring this episode.

Building and managing the practice you want can be challenging. That’s why Alma offers tools and resources to help you build not just any practice, but your private practice. They’ll help you navigate insurance, access referrals who are the right fit for you, and efficiently manage administrative tasks — so you can spend less time on the details, and more time delivering great care. You support your clients. Alma supports you. Visit helloalma.com/ATPP to learn more.

The Receptionist for iPad

I want to thank The Receptionist for iPad for sponsoring this episode.

From new patients faced with an empty lobby and no idea where to find their therapist to clinicians with a session running over time and the doorbell ringing, some of the most anxiety-ridden moments of a therapy appointment happen before a session even starts. The Receptionist for iPad, helps you tackle some of that pre-appointment apprehension and anxiety. The Receptionist for iPad is an easy-to-use digital client check-in system that helps your visitors check in securely to their appointments and notify their practitioners of their arrival via SMS, email, or your preferred channel. No more confusion, and less lobby checking or having clients sign in on paper logbooks. It can even help you upgrade and update your demographic information for your clients as well and even validate parking.

Start a 14-day free trial of the Receptionist for iPad by going to thereceptionist.com/privatepractice. Make sure to start your trial with that link and you'll also get your first month free if you decide to sign up.