Dr. Lauren Chase joined me this week to talk about something so many of us face: the anxiety of leaving insurance panels.

Lauren's a PhD-level provider (yes, insurance pays her master's-level rates - criminal), seeing 20-25 clients a week, and finally hit her breaking point. She regrets not starting private pay from day one, and now she's planning her full exit for 2026.

We dug into:

• Why "disappointing clients" isn't abandonment

• The 60-90 day transition period (you have TIME)

• How to talk to clients about leaving panels

• Getting what you NEED vs. chasing credentials to justify your rate

• Why consistent schedules changed everything for her practice

The big takeaway? Clients get to be disappointed AND they're going to be okay. Your job is to support them through the transition, not sacrifice your sustainability to avoid their discomfort.

Lauren's dropping Blue Cross Blue Shield in March, Aetna in June, and building her premium private pay practice in the second half of 2026. She's also getting EMDR trained because she WANTS to, not because she thinks she needs it to charge more.

Find Dr. Lauren Chase:

• Website: ClimbingHillsCounseling.com

• Instagram: @ClimbingHillsCounseling

• Licensed in: North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida

Watch the replay now.

This episode hit different.

We talked about something that shows up constantly in the community but doesn't get enough air time: the pressure of being the primary earner while building or sustaining a private pay practice.

The reality that if clients don't show up, the money doesn't flow. The challenge of saving when income isn't consistent. The weight of managing a household while also holding people's trauma daily and running a business.

We covered the practical stuff too:

• Using Profit First to build reserves that actually save your behind

• Setting cancellation policies you actually stick to

• Creating multiple income streams beyond clinical work

• Retirement planning when you're self-employed

• The difference between wanting to be the primary earner and being tired of that role

Some folks are moving toward that position. Others have been there so long they're ready for something different. All of it is valid.

This conversation is just the beginning. Running a business is challenging enough without the added layer of primary earner pressure. But sustainable private pay practice is possible, wherever you are in that journey.

Access the full episode now in your Premium dashboard.

See you next week.

DJ

We're talking about the stuff that's making networking harder than it needs to be.

What we're covering:

The Cold Facebook Add - Why you need to introduce yourself before hitting "send" on that friend request (and what to do instead)

The Salesy Networking Meeting - How to show up as a person, not a business card, and why pitching too early kills the relationship before it starts

Rate Shaming - Yes, private pay people do this to each other. And it needs to stop. Your rate is your business. My rate is mine. We're not competing.

The Referral List Exchange - The right way to close out a good networking meeting so it actually leads to referrals (hint: it's reciprocal, not transactional)

Bottom line: Networking is about relationships, not transactions. Introduce yourself before you ask to connect. Build trust before you ask for referrals. And stop judging other people's rates.

One more thing: if you add me on social media and never engage, I'm removing you. Connection without engagement isn't connection. It's just noise.

Till next time,

DJ

Hufsa Ahmad (2x TEDx speaker, EMDR specialist, 13 years in practice) joined me to talk about the networking mistakes we ALL make in early practice - and honestly, mistakes some of us are still making.

What we dug into:

• Why "networking for referrals" backfires every single time

• Not having your pitch down (and how it makes you look inexperienced even when you're not)

• Dealing with therapists who don't ask about YOUR practice

• When your own mood/symptoms mess with your networking game

• The weird irony: crushing it with consultation calls but bombing at peer networking

Plus: Hufsa's now getting more speech coaching referrals than therapy clients - we talked about what that means for diversifying your offers and finding unexpected revenue streams.

Connect w/ Hufsa on social media

Instagram

LinkedIn

Watch her TEDx

If you are interested in Virtual Assistant services, Hufsa's provider is offering a discount to our listeners. Reach out to Strategic Beasts for $15/hr VA services if you mention Hufsa's name!

Hey there,

If you missed last night's Wednesday check-in, you missed one of the most powerful conversations we've had.

Dr. Dominique Pritchett joined me to talk about evolving from therapist to paid speaker, and she brought ALL the wisdom.

Here's what we covered:

On Building a Speaking Business:

• How she went from finishing her postdoc to building a global speaking career (Spain, Ireland, Italy, South Africa)

• Why she loves "traveling on other people's money" and how speaking pays way more than therapy sessions

• The difference between networking for referrals vs. networking for speaking opportunities

• Her secret: "I'm the woman companies call when they're going through high demand and high stressful situations. My goal is to prevent a crisis."

On Creating Your Own Stage:

• Why waiting for someone else to validate you as an expert is the most dangerous thing you can do

• How she built her own retreat and spoke to 5 people like it was 1,000 (after refunding most attendees due to the Asheville flooding)

• The power of micro-clips and leaving a digital blueprint so people can find you

• Why you can't showboat and serve at the same time

On Positioning Yourself:

• Stop doing the "alphabet soup" introduction at networking events

• Lead with transformation, not credentials

• Build partnerships for speaking, not therapy

• Her mission: Creating cultures of wellness where people are valued as souls, not statistics

The Most Powerful Moment: Dr. Dominique shared how she opened Beloved Wellness Center during civil unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Her building got broken into, but every single client still showed up. She and one social worker set up outreach tables and milk stations on the front lines. That's when she realized: "I can't showboat and serve at the same time."

Key Pricing Insight: When asked about speaking fees, she said: "I'm not walking in for less than $10K." And she breaks down exactly how to position yourself to command those rates.

Want to Learn More?

Dr. Dominique is speaking at the Sessions to Stages Summit (October 20-22) alongside me and 25+ other mental health professionals who've built successful speaking platforms.

Register FREE: https://djburr--dominiquepritchett.thrivecart.com/sts-aap-fastaction/

Connect with Dr. Dominique:

• Website: https://www.dominiquepritchett.com/

• Speak to the Soul Podcast

• Beloved Wellness Center

This conversation reminded me why I love doing these Wednesday check-ins. We're not just building practices. We're building movements.

Speaking of building your platform: I'm hosting a 3-hour intensive workshop on Saturday, November 15 (12-3pm EST) for therapists ready to stop spinning their wheels. We're tackling money mindset, ideal client clarity, and pricing strategy - the stuff that keeps you stuck. Cameras on, real work, no theory. Early bird pricing ($300) ends November 8, then it goes to $350. If you need accountability and implementation, this is for you.

Workshop Registration: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/5wTiYcekRjGoPA1sRkqRyA
Payment: https://square.link/u/XZ7JzwN3

This conversation reminded me why I love doing these Wednesday check-ins. We're not just building practices. We're building movements.

See you in two weeks (taking next Wednesday off for my birthday), DJ

If you missed last night's call, you missed some REAL talk about what it takes to build a profitable practice without sacrificing your life.

Maren Londahl-Smidt (Balance & Beyond Coaching, Profit for Keeps® Coach) and Denielle Rigoglioso (9-Thrive Private Practice Accelerator, Salt Water Coaching) joined me to break down:

✅ Why the "therapists can't make money" narrative is BS

✅ How Profit for Keeps connects your personal AND business finances (spoiler: you only need ONE bank account, not 10!)

✅ Moving from insurance to private pay strategically

✅ Why "charge what you're worth" is problematic - and what to do instead ✅ Building teams so you can actually scale

✅ Why relationship building is THE foundation of private practice growth

Key Quote from the Night: "Therapists are allowed to make money. Period. End of story." - Denielle

Replay Access: Premium members - the recording is in the vault NOW with unlimited access (as always!).

Connect with Maren & Denielle:

Maren Londahl-Smidt:

• FREE Facebook Group (Profit for Keeps® for Therapists): https://www.facebook.com/groups/pfkprofitableclinician

• Learn more about Profit for Keeps®: https://www.balanceandbeyondcoaching.com/pfk

• Financial Clarity Retreat (October 21): https://www.balanceandbeyondcoaching.com/financial-clarity-retreat - Use code CLARITY100 for $100 off

• FREE Webinar with Mentaya (October 22): "How to Navigate the Dreaded 'Do You Take Insurance?' Question" - https://calendly.com/mentaya/webinar

Denielle Rigoglioso:

• FREE Facebook Group (9 to Thrive Therapist Private Practice Accelerator): https://www.facebook.com/groups/therapyceo/about/

• Pura Vida Private Practice Retreat in Costa Rica (January 12-16, 2026 - only 4 spots left!): https://saltwatercoachingandconsulting.com/puravidaprivatepracticeretreat

This conversation reminded me why I started this community - we ALL need to know there are different ways to do this work. Stop arguing about what other people charge. Figure out what YOU need. Build YOUR practice around YOUR life.

Not a Premium member yet? Premium is 35% off this month: patreon.com/privatepay

Last night's conversation with Kirk Perry delivered exactly what we needed - practical insights about AI without the hype or fear.

Kirk (former Meta AI leader, now founder of BrandNeue Archetypes) joined us to discuss how AI is changing therapy practices and what that means for you.

What we covered:

• Why generic AI prompts give you generic (robotic) results

• How to use AI without losing your authentic voice

• The connection between SEO and being discoverable in AI searches (I tested it live - I'm 3rd when searching ChatGPT for "therapist in Seattle sex addiction")

• Why knowing your archetypes helps you train AI to sound like YOU, not like ChatGPT

• The importance of being specific in your AI prompts

• Why credentials matter less than clarity about who you serve

Kirk shared personal stories, including using AI to write his father's eulogy during grief. The conversation addressed both the opportunities and the real concerns about AI in our field.

Replay is available now.

Kirk's archetype assessment: BNA72.com

Anne Pleas just delivered the networking masterclass we all needed 🔥

Tonight's Wednesday check-in with my colleague Anne Pleas was absolutely packed with actionable wins. Here's what happened when she put ALL our premium networking tools into action:

The Wake-Up Moment: Someone in our content said "you can't have a Psychology Today page and sit around and wait" - and that changed everything for Anne.

The Summer Marketing Builder Results:

• 6 Zoom meetings with treatment center reps

• 1 coffee meeting, 1 lunch (with another lunch pending)

• ALL generated using our "offering value first" language and referral network approach

The Numbers Don't Lie:

• Took on 6 new clients in one wave

• 4 were private pay, 2 insurance (higher-paying panels)

• When asked "how did you find me?" - ALL said Google, NONE from Psychology Today

• Current roster: 29 clients total (14 private pay, 17 insurance - working toward flipping this ratio)

The Systems That Worked:

• Used our CEO Time Blocker to prevent burnout (no more exhausted Thursday afternoons doing admin)

• Therapist Capacity Calculator to optimize her schedule

• Our networking scripts gave her confidence: "Hey, would you like to know the kind of clients I work with that might be a good referral fit for you?"

• Treatment center reps were saying "thank you, you're making my job so easy, we need you"

The Mindset Shift: Anne talked about moving from fear to confidence - recognizing that "fear creates fear" and instead getting grounded and taking action. She's now holding spots for private pay clients instead of filling them with insurance.

Bonus: She's launching therapist consultations for colleagues who need substance use support AND writing an e-book on relapse prevention tools. The growth is real.

This is what happens when you implement rather than consume. Anne took our tools, printed them out (in a green notebook, naturally), and put them to work.

Ready to get similar results? All these resources are waiting for you in the premium library.

Check out Anne's website and schedule that networking lunch with her!

This Wednesday's check-in with Kate Littlefield was pure fire!

Kate shared her incredible journey from community mental health burnout to building a thriving private pay practice in Vermont - completely from day one, no insurance transition needed.

Key highlights from our conversation: ✓ How she saved for a year and gave herself 3 months to make private pay work or leave the field entirely ✓ Going from "no market for private pay in Vermont" to fully booked in ONE MONTH with just a single Facebook group post ✓ Building multiple revenue streams through self-published workbooks and online courses while maintaining work-life balance ✓ The $6,000 marketing program mistake (so you don't have to make it) ✓ How professional organization involvement led to opportunities with the Clinton Foundation and Harvard's Brazelton Institute

Kate's wisdom that hit different: "I don't have great executive functioning skills, and so I was like, I don't know how I'm gonna manage, like, running a practice that's insurance-based and, like, submitting claims... that whole process felt so inaccessible to me."

"Self-care for me was making these books, making these online classes... There's... self-care can look a lot of different ways. And sometimes self-care can be your building your business."

This interview is available to the entire community through Sunday, making it perfect timing to share with colleagues who are still on the fence about private pay.

Next Wednesday: Another game-changing conversation you won't want to miss.

DJ

Last night's Wednesday check-in was exactly why I love doing these sessions. Brandon Vazquez from We Up Counseling joined us to share his journey transitioning from insurance panels to private pay, and the conversation was packed with insights that apply to anyone making this leap.

The Strategic Approach Works Brandon started smart - dropping his lowest-paying panel (Cigna) first while building his private pay caseload. He's currently 70% insurance, 25-30% private pay, with a goal of flipping those numbers. This gradual approach lets you test the waters while maintaining financial stability.

The Calendar Reality Check We had a breakthrough moment when I asked: "If your calendar is full of insurance clients, where are the private pay people going to go?" Sometimes you need to clear space before you can fill it with what you really want. Strategic planning means thinking about capacity, not just marketing.

Networking Is Everything Brandon's been doing LinkedIn outreach (5 therapists per week for 2 months), building relationships through virtual coffee chats, and maintaining those connections. The Chamber of Commerce suggestion from our community member Zeruah was gold - it's not just therapists, it's the whole business community.

Groups = Consistent Income When Brandon mentioned his monthly men's group, we dove deep into the power of structured group work. My weekly men's groups at $100/week with 3-month commitments create predictable income streams. The difference between drop-in groups and commitment-based groups is the difference between variable income and consistent revenue.

The Community Advantage Brandon said doing telehealth felt solitary because he didn't have coworkers to chat with, and he felt like he was "reinventing the wheel with every move." That's exactly why communities like ours exist. You have 14,000+ colleagues in the main group, the Black private pay group, and this Premium community for deeper support.

• Review your platform contracts (Alma, Headway) for de-paneling requirements

• Consider higher-paying EAP work while transitioning

• Use "reduced rate" language instead of "discount" (mindset matters)

• Focus on relationship-building beyond just shop talk

The transition to private pay isn't just about money - it's about professional sustainability, clinical freedom, and building a practice that serves both you and your clients at the highest level.

What questions do you have about the transition process? Drop them in the comments and let's keep the conversation going.

Next Wednesday Check-In: September 17th at 7 PM ET. Bring your practice challenges and let's solve them together.