What if the heaviest part of private practice isn't the clinical work, but everything around it?

For most therapists, burnout isn't about the sessions. It's the admin, the paperwork, the after-hours notes. You're working all the time and something feels off, but you don't have space to figure out why.

Damien Adler makes the case that a draining practice is usually a design problem, not an inevitability. And design problems can be fixed.

Damien is a registered psychologist and co-founder of Zanda, a practice management system used by tens of thousands of practitioners across more than 20 countries. He built a group private practice with his wife before turning to technology, so he's lived this himself and now sees the same patterns play out worldwide.

In This Episode, You'll Learn:

• Why your training prepared you for clinical work but not for running a business
• How "vanity metrics" like staff count and revenue pull you away from what you actually want
• Why a practice built around one key admin person is a hidden risk
• How most practice management systems can do far more than scheduling
• Where AI lightens the load, like drafting SOPs and writing clinical notes in your style
• Why you should block recurring quarterly time to work on the business, not just in it

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Episode 186. From Burned-out Psychologist to Software Entrepreneur with Damien Adler
• Zanda Health
• Damien on LinkedIn and X
• Damien's Substack

Our Sponsors:

Alma simplifies access to high-quality, affordable mental health care by giving providers the tools to build thriving in-network practices.

Zanda gives practitioners simple, secure tools that reduce admin and strengthen operations. Start your free trial today.

AI tools are everywhere right now. And if you've spent any time on Instagram lately, you already know — there's a new one in your feed every single day.

It's exciting. It's also a little exhausting.

As a practice owner, you're already juggling a full caseload, managing your team, and trying to keep up with your marketing. The last thing you need is another shiny tool that takes weeks to figure out and never quite delivers on the promise.

Daniel's been deep in the AI world lately, testing tools, building automations, and figuring out what's genuinely useful for running a small business. And right now, there's one tool he keeps coming back to.

It's called Victor (spelled VIKTOR), and it's unlike most of the AI tools you've probably seen.

Instead of being another dashboard you have to log into and learn, Victor lives inside Slack, which is a communication tool a lot of small teams already use. You talk to it like you would a team member. You tell it what you need, and it gets to work.

The best part? It connects to over 3,000 platforms.

So if you're already using popular online services, Victor can start connecting the dots between them, and automate the tasks that are eating up your time.

In this episode, Daniel walks you through exactly how he set it up and what it's doing for him every single week — including how it now handles his entire podcast publishing workflow without him lifting a finger.

• Victor (VIKTOR) is an AI tool that lives inside Slack and connects to over 3,000 platforms — think Google Drive, Asana, WordPress, ConvertKit, YouTube, Spotify, and more.
• It works conversationally, like having a team member in Slack you can assign tasks to.
• Daniel used Victor to fully automate his Monday morning podcast publishing workflow — from pulling show notes out of Asana to embedding Spotify and YouTube links and publishing to WordPress.
• Victor also drafts the weekly email newsletter and drops a draft Google Doc, ready for Daniel to personalize before scheduling.
• The tool gets smarter over time. As you refine it, it updates its own "skills files" so it knows what to do next time.
• You don't have to be a developer. The whole thing is conversational, you just tell it what you need.
• Great use cases for practice owners: blog post ideation, content publishing workflows, social media post creation and scheduling.

• Try Victor: privatepracticeelevation.com/viktor - (PPE referral link)

If you’d like help improving your website and turning more visitors into clients, you can schedule a Clarity Call here:

https://privatepracticeelevation.com/kickoff

If AI feels overwhelming, ethically murky, or like one more thing you don't have time to figure out, well, you're not alone.

Most therapists we talk to land somewhere between "nervous" and "fully avoiding it."

But AI isn't going away. And the therapists who learn to use it well are going to have a real advantage when it comes to marketing their practices.

In this episode, Daniel sits down with Dr. Carolyn Solo, PhD, LCSW, for an honest, behind-the-scenes look at exactly how she uses AI in her business every single week.

From writing blog posts and social media captions to optimizing her website, building courses, and creating freebies for her email list, Carolyn walks through the real workflows that have saved her hours of time.

Carolyn is an EMDRIA-approved consultant, the founder of Integritas Wellness and Recovery in Vermont, and the host of the Future Template Parent podcast.

She'll be the first to tell you she was skeptical of AI for a long time. But over the past year, she's built a thoughtful, ethical workflow that helps her show up across more platforms, without losing the voice that makes her work feel like hers.

If you've been hesitant to dip your toes in, this episode is your permission slip.

• Why blogging isn't dead, and how 8 to 10 strong posts can carry your SEO
• How to use AI to repurpose one piece of content across blogs, social, and email
• Why a website alone isn't enough anymore for a premium-fee practice
• How in-person therapy is becoming a real asset again in the age of AI
• Why niching down matters more now than ever before
• How Carolyn used Claude to optimize a 12-hour video course and tighten it up without losing value
• A simple way to use AI to plan webinars and trim your slide decks
• Why your "marketing ecosystem" matters,and how AI cuts the blank-page overwhelm that stops most therapists from posting consistently

• Future Template Parent Podcast
• Integritas Wellness and Recovery
• Instagram: @futuretemplateparent and @integritas_intensive_emdr
• Free Intensive Workbook (available on Carolyn's website)
• Carolyn's freebie: "5 Things You Can Do to Start Marketing Intensives"

Alma simplifies access to high-quality, affordable mental health care by giving providers the tools to build thriving in-network practices. Learn more at helloalma.com/elevation.

Zanda gives practitioners simple, secure tools that reduce admin and strengthen operations. Start your free trial at zandahealth.com.

Most private practice owners ask the SEO vs. Google Ads question like it's a one-or-the-other decision. Pick one, commit, go.

But that's the wrong question.

In this episode of On The Trail, Daniel breaks down when Google Ads actually make sense, the one quiet mistake that drains ad budgets, and why the smartest practice owners run both, and shift the balance over time.

If you've been wondering whether to start ads, turn them off, dive into SEO, or some combination of all three, this episode will give you a clear way to think about it.

• Google Ads buy you speed. You can be in front of people searching for a therapist within days — useful when you just opened, a clinician left and you have openings to fill, you've added a new service or location, or your caseload dipped and you can't wait for SEO to catch up.
• Don't pour traffic into a leaky bucket. Ads only work if your website works. If someone lands on a confusing, slow, or unconvincing site, you've paid for that click and gotten nothing.
• Your website needs to do three things before you spend a dollar on ads: clearly explain who you help, build trust, and make it obvious how to get started.
• Work with someone who understands the numbers. Knowing whether ads are actually producing booked clients (not just clicks) requires someone who can read your analytics and tell the whole story.
• SEO is the long game — and it builds an asset you own. Ads stop the moment you stop paying. Organic rankings keep working and compound over time.
• The smart move is running both, then shifting the balance. Ads carry you through the months while SEO is still building. As your organic visibility grows, you can dial ad spend down — because clients are finding you for free.
• It's possible to grow on organic alone. Daniel's wife has run her practice since 2011 without ever running Google Ads — SEO and blog content are her primary driver for new clients.
• Think timeline, not either/or. Ads for now, SEO for later, both working toward the day you need ads less and less.

• Last episode of On The Trail: How Long Does SEO Take to Work?
• RevKey: Our reccommended Google Ads management for therapists: https://www.revkey.com
• Book a free consultation with Private Practice Elevation: privatepracticeelevation.com/kickoff

If you’d like help improving your website and turning more visitors into clients, you can schedule a Clarity Call here:

https://privatepracticeelevation.com/kickoff

What if the path to growing your therapy practice has nothing to do with adding more clients to your caseload?

If you've ever come home from work so drained that all you can do is crawl into bed, this episode is for you.

Today's guest, Jenny Melrose, helps therapists stop trading time for money by turning the psychoeducation they're already teaching in session into digital products and services they can sell while they sleep.

Jenny isn't a therapist herself. She's a former inner-city teacher who built a successful food blog back in 2010 (before Pinterest and Instagram existed), sold it in 2019, and now helps practice owners apply those same marketing principles to grow their revenue without working more hours.

A lot of therapists assume that the only way to make more money is to fit more clients into the week. 

But that thinking is exactly what leads to seeing 36 clients, hitting a wall, and having to take two weeks off just to recover. 

Jenny shows you a different path. One built on niching down, creating supplemental resources, and building a real relationship with your audience through email.

1. Why isn't getting more clients the answer to growing my practice?
2. How do I figure out what digital product or service to create?
3. Why does my email list matter more than my social media following?

• Why niching down attracts more clients, not fewer
• How to spot the "psychoeducation patterns" hiding in your sessions that could become a product
• Real examples of digital offers therapists have successfully created — courses, workbooks, journals, and group intensives
• How a supplemental resource can actually improve outcomes inside the therapy room
• Why your blog and website are the only platforms Google can find (and social media isn't)
• The simple monthly newsletter strategy that keeps you front-of-mind with past and potential clients
• How to use your email list for real-time market research before you build anything

• Jenny Melrose's Strategic Growth Guide
• The Practice to Profit Podcast
• Schedule a Free Clarity Call with Daniel

Alma simplifies access to high-quality, affordable mental health care by giving providers the tools to build thriving in-network practices. Learn more at helloalma.com/elevation.

Zanda gives practitioners simple, secure tools that reduce admin and strengthen operations. Start your free trial at zandahealth.com.

If you've been hearing about SEO and wondering whether it can turn your slow season around, this episode is for you.

A lot of practice owners are feeling the pinch right now — fewer inquiries, quieter schedules, more pressure to keep clinicians busy. When things get quiet, SEO starts to look like the fix. But here's the honest truth: if you need clients this month, SEO probably isn't going to save you.

Daniel busts the biggest myth that frustrates practice owners — the idea that SEO delivers new clients in a few weeks. The reality is that meaningful results take 6 to 12 months, sometimes longer in competitive markets.

Google has to crawl your site, trust your content, and decide you deserve to rank above therapists who've been at this for years. There's no shortcut.

So why bother? Because SEO is like a 401k. The best time to start was a year ago, and the second best time is today. It compounds — one ranking page leads to more traffic, more visibility, more backlinks, and a stronger site overall.

The practices winning right now are the ones who started a year or two ago and stayed consistent.

If you need clients right now, you'll want faster tools: Google Ads to get in front of people actively searching, networking with referral partners, reactivating past clients through email, and dialing in your directory profiles.

The smartest move isn't SEO or ads — it's both. Ads and networking keep the lights on today, while SEO builds the steady, sustainable growth that carries your practice into next year.

• SEO takes 6 to 12 months to show meaningful results — sometimes longer in saturated markets like NYC or San Francisco.
• If an agency promises rankings in a month, be cautious. They may be overpromising or using risky "black hat" tactics.
• Think of SEO like a 401k: it compounds over time when you stay consistent.
• A realistic timeline: small movement around month 3, real traction by month 6, compounding results by month 12.
• If you need clients now, SEO isn't the answer — Google Ads and networking are.
• Don't treat SEO and ads as either/or. Stack them: ads for now, SEO for later.
• Simple short-term moves: network with referral partners, reactivate past clients, and update your directory profiles.
• Don't skip SEO just because it's slow. It's what keeps your practice sustainable when ad budgets tighten or referrals dry up.

• Schedule a clarity call with Private Practice Elevation: privatepracticeelevation.com/kickoff

Grad school taught you how to be a great therapist. But running a business? That's a whole different skill set — and it starts with mindset.

In this episode, Daniel sits down with Dr. Charmain Jackman, award-winning psychologist, TEDx speaker, founder of InnoPsych, and author of The Black Therapist's Guide to Private Practice and Entrepreneurship. They unpack the mindset shifts that move therapists from "I can't run a business" to building a practice that actually supports their life.

You'll learn:

• Why grad school leaves most clinicians unprepared for the business side — and how to fix it
• How to uncover your "money story" and stop letting it limit your growth
• The three biggest mindset blocks that keep therapists stuck (and how to push through)
• Why launching imperfect almost always beats waiting for perfect
• The cultural messages around self-promotion that hold therapists back from marketing

Whether you're just starting out or trying to grow, this conversation will give you a fresh lens on what it takes to build a thriving practice.

Links mentioned:

• InnoPsych: https://www.innopsych.com
• Get your copy of The Black Therapist’s Guide to Private Practice and Entrepreneurship (20% Promo Code: 
• Download An Exerpt of the book
• Book a free Kickoff Call: https://privatepracticeelevation.com/kickoff

Sponsors: Alma (helloalma.com/elevation)

Most therapists treat their FAQ page like a parking lot for leftover content. 

That's a mistake, and it's quietly costing you traffic, time, and clients.

In this episode of On The Trail, the focus is on why the FAQ page might be one of the most underrated pages on your private practice website, and how to make it work harder for you.

People search Google in questions. 

They want to know if you take insurance, what a session costs, and what to expect before they ever pick up the phone. 

When your website doesn't answer those questions, visitors close the tab and Google someone else.

A good FAQ page solves three problems at once: it brings in SEO traffic from real searches, it cuts down on the same five questions hitting your inbox every week, and it builds trust with nervous therapy seekers who need a few answers before they feel safe reaching out.

This episode also covers the one upgrade most practices miss — putting service-specific FAQs on every service page, so a couples client and a trauma client each see the questions that matter to them.

• FAQ pages are some of the highest-intent pages on your website — the people reading them are close to booking
• Each question and answer is a chance to use the words your ideal clients are typing into Google
• Internal links from FAQ answers to service pages help both SEO and conversions
• A clear FAQ page means better-qualified consult calls and less back-and-forth in your inbox
• Adding FAQ sections to each service page lets you speak directly to that specific type of client

• Learn about PPE's SEO Services
• Get an SEO Assessment for your website
• Schedule a free 15-minute Clarity Call to get started

If you’d like help improving your website and turning more visitors into clients, you can schedule a Clarity Call here:

https://privatepracticeelevation.com/kickoff

Most practice owners run their business on instinct. But when you understand the right numbers—like retention, utilization, and revenue per session—you stop guessing and start growing with intention.

In this episode, Daniel sits down with Madeline Larsen, co-founder of PracticeVital, to talk about the KPIs every therapy practice should be tracking (but usually isn't).

Madeline and her team help hundreds of group practices turn their EHR data into clear, actionable insights. 

She breaks down which metrics actually matter, why retention is often the first red flag to watch for, and how to use data without drowning in spreadsheets.

If you've ever felt like more marketing should be solving your growth problems—but isn't—this episode will help you figure out what's really happening inside your practice.

• Therapists often become business owners without formal training in operations or analytics
• Data helps practice owners move from gut decisions to informed decisions
• Retention is often the first "red flag" metric to investigate
• Low retention acts like a "leaky bucket"—clients come in but quickly drop out
• Utilization rates help determine whether it's time to increase marketing or hire new clinicians
• Tracking average revenue per session helps you understand client lifetime value and marketing ROI
• Data makes difficult conversations with clinicians easier by providing objective context
• Metrics are most powerful when used together, not in isolation

• PracticeVital: https://www.practicevital.com (Use code PrivatePracticeElevation for $30 off your first month)
• Private Practice Elevation: https://privatepracticeelevation.com/

Alma is on a mission to simplify access to high-quality, affordable mental health care by giving providers the tools they need to build thriving in-network private practices. When providers join Alma, they gain access to insurance support, teletherapy software, client referrals, automated billing and scheduling tools, and a vibrant community of clinicians who come together for education, training, and events.

Learn more at helloalma.com/elevation.

Getting traffic to your website is only half the battle. Many therapists invest time and money into SEO, directories, or ads, but still struggle to turn website visitors into actual inquiries. 

The problem may not be traffic. It might actually be conversion.

In this episode of On The Trail, Daniel Fava shares 5 simple ways to improve your website so more visitors become therapy clients. 

He explains how small changes to your website’s structure, messaging, and user experience can make a big difference in whether someone decides to reach out.

A good therapy website should make visitors feel understood, comfortable, and confident about taking the next step. 

That means having a clear call to action, making the website easy to navigate, using copy that speaks directly to your ideal client, building trust quickly, and making it simple for people to contact you. 

Daniel also shares a bonus tip about using Google Analytics to measure engagement and see what’s actually working on your website.

If your website is getting visitors but not generating many inquiries, this episode will help you understand what might be missing and what you can improve.

• Your website should have one clear call to action.
• A simple, easy-to-use website converts better than a complicated one.
• Website copy should speak to the client’s struggles and goals, not just your credentials.
• Building trust quickly is essential for therapy websites.
• Make it easy and comfortable for people to contact you.
• Google Analytics can help you measure and improve your website over time.

If you’d like help improving your website and turning more visitors into clients, you can schedule a Clarity Call here:

https://privatepracticeelevation.com/kickoff