Since it’s common for therapists to feel unhappy or burdened by various aspects of our work and our jobs, I thought it would be helpful to make a little triage checklist of sorts help correct course.

Please note that this episode does not constitute clinical or professional advice. I’m just sharing the steps I would run through if I were feeling unhappy as a therapist.

Thank you to Paubox for sponsoring this episode. Paubox makes HIPAA-secure email easy and streamlined. Check them out here:

https://bit.ly/pps_paubox_spotify

*Get $250 off your first year with Paubox with coupon code "SKILLS"

*Bonus Deal:* If you add the Paubox badge to your website you get an extra $100 off your first year - that means you can get your whole first year free if you apply both deals!

FREE Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling:

https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

Past Videos about Therapist Satisfaction:

Video: "Would Therapists Still Choose This Career if They Could Start Over?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_F0W9zvAwM

Video: "Sneaky Signs of an Unhealthy Work Environment”

https://youtu.be/llaLJZej-Sk

Past Videos on Therapist Burnout:

Video: "Let’s talk about Therapist Burnout”

https://youtu.be/-oUOQa_jnPc

Video: "Early Signs of Therapist Burnout and how to Cope”

https://youtu.be/ZFeZJ2hC-Rg

ProQOL (Professional Quality of Life Measure) Self-test:

https://proqol.org/proqol-measure

ACT Bulls Eye worksheet via Zencare:

https://blog.zencare.co/values-bullseye-exercise/

LINKS

*Some links are affiliate links. A percentage of purchases come back to me and help my channel immensely!

👉 FREE Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling: https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

👉 How to DIY a Therapist Website that Fills your Practice: https://privatepracticeskills.teachable.com/

👉 All my filming gear: https://kit.co/privatepracticeskills/all-my-gear

This podcast is geared toward therapists of all kinds, including psychologists, MFTs, LPCCs, social workers, and others in the clinical counseling field. Welcome to Private Practice Skills! I’m Dr. Marie Fang, psychologist in private practice. I post videos offering tools I learned the hard way about starting and growing private practice so that you don’t have to.

Website: www.privatepracticeskills.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/privatepracticeskills

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/privatepracticeskills/

This podcast is not intended as professional or legal advice. Be sure to seek the services of a professional if you are in need of them.

Howdy and happy 2025! I thought it would be fun to kick off the new year by reacting to the top posts of 2024 in the r/therapists subreddit. It’s a roller coaster ride of funny memes, critiques of health insurance carriers, story times of mental health stigma and more. 

FREE Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling:

https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

General link for r/therapists:

https://www.reddit.com/r/therapists/

Top r/therapists posts of the last year:
https://www.reddit.com/r/therapists/top/?t=year

*I opted not to include the posters’ reddit usernames in the video screen grabs. Even though the r/therapists subreddit is publicly visible, the folks who posted may not have anticipated having their post blasted on YouTube. However, I’ll link to each of the individual posts here since the link above won’t stay static. Here are the posts:

Fortune Cookie:

https://www.reddit.com/r/therapists/comments/1hn3kg6/found_this_in_my_fortune_cookie_from_chinese/

Kaiser Strike:

https://www.reddit.com/r/therapists/comments/1gckent/kaiser_therapist_strike_riverside_ca/

I did it I graduated:

https://www.reddit.com/r/therapists/comments/1hind7p/i_did_it_i_graduated_im_legit_crying/

Confidentiality Policies:

https://www.reddit.com/r/therapists/comments/1hhmc8u/when_a_client_starts_the_session_by_asking_you_to/

Start a sentence and don’t know where it’s going:

https://www.reddit.com/r/therapists/comments/1gm8rpq/anyone_else/

Therapist Parkour Shoutout:

https://www.reddit.com/r/therapists/comments/1gns6qz/shout_out/

AuDHD:

https://www.reddit.com/r/therapists/comments/1fstzp0/therapist_who_do_not_have_a_lot_of_experience/

Cancellation Anticipation:

https://www.reddit.com/r/therapists/comments/1ha61t6/cancellation_anticipation/

Blue Collar Men:

https://www.reddit.com/r/therapists/comments/1b9z6cv/blue_collar_men_in_therapy_bless_their_hearts/

United Healthcare Execs:

https://www.reddit.com/r/therapists/comments/1h6nysd/the_top_5_executives_at_unitedhealthcare_were/

I love being a therapist:

https://www.reddit.com/r/therapists/comments/1fdu7zs/i_love_being_a_therapist/

LINKS

*Some links are affiliate links. A percentage of purchases come back to me and help my channel immensely!

👉 FREE Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling: https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

👉 How to DIY a Therapist Website that Fills your Practice: https://privatepracticeskills.teachable.com/

👉 All my filming gear: https://kit.co/privatepracticeskills/all-my-gear

This podcast is geared toward therapists of all kinds, including psychologists, MFTs, LPCCs, social workers, and others in the clinical counseling field.

Welcome to Private Practice Skills! I’m Dr. Marie Fang, psychologist in private practice. I post videos offering tools I learned the hard way about starting and growing private practice so that you don’t have to.

Website: www.privatepracticeskills.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/privatepracticeskills

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/privatepracticeskills/

This podcast is not intended as professional or legal advice. Be sure to seek the services of a professional if you are in need of them.

As I look at how things have gone for my business in 2024 it really stands out just how much things have slowed down for Private Practice Skills. I’ve been pretty intentional about this change, and in today’s episode I share the reasons why I opted to pump the breaks on my business a little bit this year.

FREE Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling:

https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

Video: "How I Make Six Figures as a Part-Time Therapist”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF3n7vRnAUY

Video: "Why I'm a Solopreneur”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoEh6XsxhOE

Article: "Child Care in San Diego More Expensive As Going to College”

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/child-care-as-expensive-as-going-to-college-in-san-diego/2861992/

LINKS

*Some links are affiliate links. A percentage of purchases come back to me and help my channel immensely!

👉 FREE Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling: https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

👉 How to DIY a Therapist Website that Fills your Practice: https://privatepracticeskills.teachable.com/

👉 All my filming gear: https://kit.co/privatepracticeskills/all-my-gear

This podcast is geared toward therapists of all kinds, including psychologists, MFTs, LPCCs, social workers, and others in the clinical counseling field.

Welcome to Private Practice Skills! I’m Dr. Marie Fang, psychologist in private practice. I post videos offering tools I learned the hard way about starting and growing private practice so that you don’t have to.

Website: www.privatepracticeskills.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/privatepracticeskills

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/privatepracticeskills/

This podcast is not intended as professional or legal advice. Be sure to seek the services of a professional if you are in need of them.

I've always wondered what therapists are up to when they have their doors closed between sessions. It's so elusive. I mean, I often do the same thing. But are other therapists really just plunking away at their notes and having a great zen moment? Or is there more going on between sessions?

Today, I took to Instagram to find out, and y'all didn't disappoint. I compiled your 53 responses and share the results here. What do you think most therapists do between sessions?

FREE Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling:

https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

LINKS

*Some links are affiliate links. A percentage of purchases come back to me and help my channel immensely!

👉 FREE Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling: https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

👉 How to DIY a Therapist Website that Fills your Practice: https://privatepracticeskills.teachable.com/

👉 All my filming gear: https://kit.co/privatepracticeskills/all-my-gear

This podcast is geared toward therapists of all kinds, including psychologists, MFTs, LPCCs, social workers, and others in the clinical counseling field.

Welcome to Private Practice Skills! I’m Dr. Marie Fang, psychologist in private practice. I post videos offering tools I learned the hard way about starting and growing private practice so that you don’t have to.

Website: www.privatepracticeskills.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/privatepracticeskills

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/privatepracticeskills/

This podcast is not intended as professional or legal advice. Be sure to seek the services of a professional if you are in need of them.

Recent stats show that most TokToks related to mental health are misleading or inaccurate to some degree. I've noticed a trend in recent years that my clients will reference inaccurate mental health information as though it's common knowledge, despite the scientifically unsubstantiated aspects of their claims.

Today, I thought I'd dive into the misinformation about mental health that's out there on social media a little bit deeper, share relevant statistics, and offer some thoughts about what our role could look like in a context where misleading mental health isinformation is abundant.

FREE Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling:

https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

Links Mentioned:

APA Monitor on Psychology Article: "How to reverse the alarming trend of health misinformation"

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2024/07/ending-health-misinformation

Plushcare Article: "How Accurate is Mental Health Advice on TikTok?"

https://plushcare.com/blog/tiktok-mental-health/

Article: "The MMR vaccine and autism: Sensation, refutation, retraction, and fraud"

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3136032/

Article: "Vaccination as a cause of autism—myths and controversies"

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5789217/

CDC stats for MMR vaccination rates:

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/measles.htm

World Health Organization Stats on Measles:

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/measles

Article: "The big issue: Mental health and the TikTok effect”

https://www.bacp.co.uk/bacp-journals/therapy-today/2023/april-2023/the-big-issue/

Article: "Addressing misinformation about mental health with patients”

https://www.apa.org/topics/journalism-facts/misinformation-mental-health

Video: "Are Therapists Full of Themselves? Psychologist Takes Narcissism Test”

https://youtu.be/kYaMYr8TQi8

Video: "Processing Personal Challenges While Still Being a Therapist”

https://youtu.be/KoLn9XeUZ9Y

LINKS

*Some links are affiliate links. A percentage of purchases come back to me and help my channel immensely!

👉 FREE Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling: https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

👉 How to DIY a Therapist Website that Fills your Practice: https://privatepracticeskills.teachable.com/

👉 All my filming gear: https://kit.co/privatepracticeskills/all-my-gear

This podcast is geared toward therapists of all kinds, including psychologists, MFTs, LPCCs, social workers, and others in the clinical counseling field.

Welcome to Private Practice Skills! I’m Dr. Marie Fang, psychologist in private practice. I post videos offering tools I learned the hard way about starting and growing private practice so that you don’t have to.

Website: www.privatepracticeskills.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/privatepracticeskills

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/privatepracticeskills/

This podcast is not intended as professional or legal advice. Be sure to seek the services of a professional if you are in need of them.

Today we're diving into the frequently-asked question of what steps to take to sell an online course or product to supplement your income as a therapist.

There are many ways to create and launch an online course or product, but in this episode, I share a no-fuss way to get the ball rolling when you don't have an audience built up yet.

It's a very casual, chatty video this week due to the holiday. I hope you enjoy and I'll catch ya in the next one!

FREE Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling:

https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

Links Mentioned:

Pocket Products™ Training:

https://fosterdonahue.ontraport.com/t?orid=33155&opid=25

(This is an affiliate link)

Video: "Creating an Online Course as a Therapist"

https://youtu.be/S7BUNeoBtGs

Video: "How Much Work it Actually Takes to Make Passive Income”

https://youtu.be/0E7JsC7NI-8

Video: "How I Tripled my Salary in Two Years with Passive Income”

https://youtu.be/CFoLLpIqp2Y

Video: "How I Make Six Figures as a Part-Time Therapist”

https://youtu.be/sF3n7vRnAUY

Video: "How to Start a Therapist YouTube Channel”

https://youtu.be/GajCLjTD-uw

Video: "Live: How to Start a Side Hustle as a Therapist”

https://youtube.com/live/7NuATqpwkik

Video: "Side Hustles for Therapists Q&A”

https://youtu.be/WN0X4Hn_hiY

I looked it up and Teachable no longer has a free version. :( Sad day. They do have a 14-day free trial. Here’s my affiliate link for Teachable if you're interested:

https://teachable.sjv.io/0JaZJL

LINKS

*Some links are affiliate links. A percentage of purchases come back to me and help my channel immensely!

👉 FREE Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling: https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

👉 How to DIY a Therapist Website that Fills your Practice: https://privatepracticeskills.teachable.com/

👉 All my filming gear: https://kit.co/privatepracticeskills/all-my-gear

This podcast is geared toward therapists of all kinds, including psychologists, MFTs, LPCCs, social workers, and others in the clinical counseling field. Welcome to Private Practice Skills! I’m Dr. Marie Fang, psychologist in private practice. I post videos offering tools I learned the hard way about starting and growing private practice so that you don’t have to.

Website: www.privatepracticeskills.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/privatepracticeskills

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/privatepracticeskills/

This podcast is not intended as professional or legal advice. Be sure to seek the services of a professional if you are in need of them.

I thought it would be fun to make an episode sharing my most go-to therapy tools. They're not the "main show" of treatment approaches I use when building a treatment plan, but they show up frequently as a supporting role.

I hope you find this helpful. What are some of your go-to therapeutic tools that you find yourself pulling off the shelf time and again? I was a little surprised by what I realized are some of my most used tools!

Thank you to Paubox for sponsoring this episode. Paubox makes HIPAA-secure email easy and streamlined. Check them out here:

https://bit.ly/pps_paubox_spotify

DEAL ALERT: the first 100 listeners who mention "Marie Fang" at signup will get $250 off their first year! Just type "Marie Fang" in the box asking how you heard about them and they will honor the discount when your free trial is up.

*Bonus Deal:* If you add the Paubox badge to your website you get an extra $100 off your first year - that means you can get your whole first year free if you apply both deals!

LINKS

*Some links are affiliate links. A percentage of purchases come back to me and help my channel immensely!

👉 FREE Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling: https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

👉 How to DIY a Therapist Website that Fills your Practice: https://privatepracticeskills.teachable.com/

👉 All my filming gear: https://kit.co/privatepracticeskills/all-my-gear

This podcast is geared toward therapists of all kinds, including psychologists, MFTs, LPCCs, social workers, and others in the clinical counseling field. Welcome to Private Practice Skills! I’m Dr. Marie Fang, psychologist in private practice. I post videos offering tools I learned the hard way about starting and growing private practice so that you don’t have to.

Website: www.privatepracticeskills.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/privatepracticeskills

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/privatepracticeskills/

This podcast is not intended as professional or legal advice. Be sure to seek the services of a professional if you are in need of them.

The election is affecting all of us in different ways, and I was curious to ask how supporting our clients during the election has affected us uniquely. In this episode, I share your responses to three questions I asked on Instagram:

1. What’s been the hardest part of supporting your therapy clients post-election?

2. What’s been the most positive part about supporting your therapy clients post-election?

3. How has it affected you to support your therapy clients while doing your own processing?

I know it's been a roller coaster ride for many of us. However you might be experiencing this time, I hope you are taking care of yourself.

LINKS

*Some links are affiliate links. A percentage of purchases come back to me and help my channel immensely!

👉 FREE Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling: https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

👉 How to DIY a Therapist Website that Fills your Practice: https://privatepracticeskills.teachable.com/

👉 All my filming gear: https://kit.co/privatepracticeskills/all-my-gear

This podcast is geared toward therapists of all kinds, including psychologists, MFTs, LPCCs, social workers, and others in the clinical counseling field. Welcome to Private Practice Skills! I’m Dr. Marie Fang, psychologist in private practice. I post videos offering tools I learned the hard way about starting and growing private practice so that you don’t have to.

Website: www.privatepracticeskills.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/privatepracticeskills

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/privatepracticeskills/

This podcast is not intended as professional or legal advice. Be sure to seek the services of a professional if you are in need of them.

Today we're diving back into the land of private practice marketing for therapists. It's been a while! In this episode, I share the exact questions I'd run through if a therapist friend asked me for advice when their practice isn't filling up. It's definitely not hopeless and there is a lot you can do!

I hope this is a helpful springboard for you to build off of so you can start filling your practice soon!

Thank you to Paubox for sponsoring this episode. Paubox makes HIPAA-secure email easy and streamlined. Check them out here:

https://bit.ly/pps_paubox_spotify

DEAL ALERT: the first 100 listeners who mention "Marie Fang" at signup will get $250 off their first year! Just type "Marie Fang" in the box asking how you heard about them and they will honor the discount when your free trial is up.

*Bonus Deal:* If you add the Paubox badge to your website you get an extra $100 off your first year - that means you can get your whole first year free if you apply both deals!

Relevant Links:

Video: "Are you Making these Mistakes on Your Psychology Today Profile?"

https://youtu.be/CzRTgWPp6Jo

SEO for Therapists Series:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi4iw1FZZYrAv84q347_diL19QpIIEDYB&feature=shared

Video: "Critiquing my First Therapist Website

"https://youtu.be/HgcgGutCvAs

Course: The Client Attraction System:

https://privatepracticeskills.teachable.com/p/client-attraction-system

LINKS

*Some links are affiliate links. A percentage of purchases come back to me and help my channel immensely!

👉 FREE Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling: https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

👉 How to DIY a Therapist Website that Fills your Practice: https://privatepracticeskills.teachable.com/

👉 All my filming gear: https://kit.co/privatepracticeskills/all-my-gear

This podcast is geared toward therapists of all kinds, including psychologists, MFTs, LPCCs, social workers, and others in the clinical counseling field. Welcome to Private Practice Skills! I’m Dr. Marie Fang, psychologist in private practice. I post videos offering tools I learned the hard way about starting and growing private practice so that you don’t have to.

Website: www.privatepracticeskills.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/privatepracticeskills

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/privatepracticeskills/

This podcast is not intended as professional or legal advice. Be sure to seek the services of a professional if you are in need of them.

I wanted to create an episode normalizing the anxiety most of us carry early in our therapy careers.

I used to think that I wasn't supposed to feel anxious, so when the anxiety showed up I made every effort to eliminate it. I interpreted my anxiety as a sign that maybe I wasn't ready to be a therapist, or maybe that my anxiety disorder was returning.

But now, looking back, some anxiety while we're practicing therapy with real therapy clients makes absolute sense. If we focus on normalizing the anxiety rather than fighting it, it might help the anxiety stay at a manageable level.

Of course, this is just my perspective and opinion. I'd love to hear your perspective in the comments!

Thank you to Paubox for sponsoring this episode. Paubox makes HIPAA-secure email easy and streamlined. Check them out here:

https://bit.ly/pps_paubox_spotify

DEAL ALERT: the first 100 listeners who mention "Marie Fang" at signup will get $250 off their first year! Just type "Marie Fang" in the box asking how you heard about them and they will honor the discount when your free trial is up.

*Bonus Deal:* If you add the Paubox badge to your website you get an extra $100 off your first year - that means you can get your whole first year free if you apply both deals!

Link to Angela Lee Duckworth's TED talk "Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H14bBuluwB8

Book: "Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance" By Angela Duckworth

https://amzn.to/4f5Xa6T

(this is an affiliate link)

LINKS

*Some links are affiliate links. A percentage of purchases come back to me and help my channel immensely!

👉 FREE Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling: https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

👉 How to DIY a Therapist Website that Fills your Practice: https://privatepracticeskills.teachable.com/

👉 All my filming gear: https://kit.co/privatepracticeskills/all-my-gear

This podcast is geared toward therapists of all kinds, including psychologists, MFTs, LPCCs, social workers, and others in the clinical counseling field. Welcome to Private Practice Skills! I’m Dr. Marie Fang, psychologist in private practice. I post videos offering tools I learned the hard way about starting and growing private practice so that you don’t have to.

Website: www.privatepracticeskills.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/privatepracticeskills

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/privatepracticeskills/

This podcast is not intended as professional or legal advice. Be sure to seek the services of a professional if you are in need of them.