Why do therapy clients say “I don’t know”—and what should we do when they do?

In this episode of Private Practice Skills, I explore six reasons clients might say “I don’t know” in session and name effective, compassionate responses that can help move the work forward.

Because I know we've all been in the situation where a therapy client says "I don't know" and then we think: "uh oh, I don't know what to do now either!" This one's for you :)

You’ll walk away feeling more prepared and less alone in those awkward or confusing moments.

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.

Are you trying to market your private practice without spending a ton of money? You're not alone — and the good news is, there are plenty of ways to grow your therapy business on a budget.

In this episode, I share marketing strategies for therapists that are free or affordable, the tradeoffs to be aware of, and how to choose the right path based on what you know right now. It's not about doing everything — it’s about doing what fits you.

Let this episode be your permission slip to release the pressure and take one doable step forward today. 💛

Links Mentioned:

Prior episode: "What's the Most Effective Marketing Strategy for Therapists?”

https://youtu.be/WLbhTLmhmoM

Playlist: "Private Practice Marketing Strategy”

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi4iw1FZZYrAaqD-YMZm_Hc5WSZMq5WSB&feature=shared

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.

In this episode, I unpack the 3 biggest mental blocks that hold therapists back from starting a private practice — from analysis paralysis to self-doubt. If you’re stuck, this one's for you.

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

Links Mentioned:

For reference, here is the conversation I had with ChatGPT about starting a practice:

https://chatgpt.com/share/67fee61e-b0b0-800b-9dc1-d53518bd0d7e

Wikipedia page for “Analysis Paralysis”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analysis_paralysis

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.

Wondering if your email setup is truly HIPAA compliant? In this episode, I sit down with Hoala Greevy, founder and CEO of Paubox, to break down everything private practice therapists need to know about HIPAA-secure email.

We cover:

-Why Gmail and Google Workspace aren’t automatically HIPAA-compliant

-What therapists are doing wrong (without realizing it!)

-How to easily set up HIPAA-compliant email—without portals or passwords

-And more!

If you’ve ever felt confused or overwhelmed about HIPAA compliance and email, this episode is for you. Friendly, clear, and packed with actionable tips—no tech degree required.

Thank you to Paubox for sponsoring this episode!

🎁 Special Offer for Private Practice Skills listeners:

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

https://bit.ly/pps_paubox_spotify

*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 Mentioned:

Paubox Article: "Comparing Google Workspace to Paubox for HIPAA compliant email (2024 update)”

https://www.paubox.com/blog/g-suite-baa-vs-paubox

"G Suite HIPAA Business Associate Amendment”

https://admin.google.com/terms/apps/3/4/en/hipaa_baa.html

Google Workspace “HIPAA Included Functionality”

https://workspace.google.com/terms/2015/1/hipaa_functionality/

Google’s Transparency Report:

https://transparencyreport.google.com/safer-email/overview

Paubox Badge program for an extra $100 off:

https://www.paubox.com/badgeprogram

Reviews of Paubox on G2:

https://www.g2.com/products/paubox/reviews

More about Gmail's end-to-end encryption service (new in April 2025):

https://www.paubox.com/blog/what-is-gmails-new-end-to-end-encryption-service

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.

*Feeling anxious as a therapist?* You're not alone. In this episode, I’m sharing the one mindset shift that completely changed how I show up in sessions—and helped me overcome therapist anxiety, self-doubt, and imposter syndrome.

Whether you’re a new therapist or a seasoned clinician feeling stuck, this shift can help you feel more confident, present, and grounded in your work. If you’ve ever asked yourself:

“What if I say the wrong thing?”

“Why do I feel like a bad therapist?”

“Am I doing therapy the right way?”

—then this episode is for you.

💬 Let’s talk about how to stop overthinking, trust the process, and show up with confidence 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!

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 invited you to share on Instagram what your top marketing-related questions were in private practice. The most frequently asked question: What's the most effective marketing strategy in private practice?

In this episode, I do my best to answer this question (spoiler: it's nuanced!). Most importantly, I hope you takeaway that you can make your marketing strategy your own, and find a path that works great for you while effectively bringing in your ideal clients.

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!

Lots of fun links in today's episode! Here they are:

(Some are affiliate links)

Check out my private practice marketing training: Client Attraction System:

https://bit.ly/60OFFSPECIAL

*The first 30 people to sign up with this link will get 60 percent off!* (coupon code “60OFFSPECIAL” will automatically be applied at checkout if the discount is still available)

Heard Webinar: Getting Over the Tax Season Finish Line

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_fb0z0gvFQKCuPU-522UfAQ

This webinar is free! Even if you can’t make it live, you can catch the replay after :)

Video: "HALF of Therapists Fill Their Practice This Way”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuHYlh5Z5V0

Neil Patel’s Ubersuggest tool for Keywords & SEO:

https://neilpateldigital.sjv.io/Kj1Axx

Semush:

https://semrush.sjv.io/b34a09

(I love their free SEO courses)

The usual 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 could be helpful to share a list of categories and questions to check in on for your practice on a semi-regular basis.

If you've been running your practice on autopilot, or if something hasn't been quite working in your practice but you can't quite pinpoint it, I made this episode with you in mind :)

Feel free to add to my list if I missed anything! Here are the steps I named in the episode:

1. What are your goals?

2. Choose a time frame to evaluate

3. Bookkeeping Checkup

4. Numbers Checkup

5. Marketing Checkup

6. Clinical Checkup

7. Wellbeing Checkup

8. Emotional Checkup

9. Choose ONE item to focus on

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

Links Referenced:

Video about Marketing: "Not Getting Therapy Clients? Start Here”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_cDyK_K0_c

Book: "Better Results: Using Deliberate Practice to Improve Therapeutic Effectiveness” by Scott D. Miller, Mark A. Hubble, & Daryl Chow:

https://amzn.to/4iM9XNt

(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.

DARVO was coined by Dr. Jennifer Freyd in the 1990s and stands for “Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender.” DARVO is a common defense strategy by perpetrators, narcissists, and offenders of both criminal and noncriminal harm when they wish to deflect accountability for their actions.

Despite how common DARVO is both individually in relationships as well as on a larger scale (e.g., corporate and government level), it isn’t talked about very often. DARVO is highly effective at silencing victims. But I’m hopeful that by sharing knowledge of how DARVO operates, we can empower ourselves and our society to combat it.

In this episode, we discuss the dynamics of DARVO, as well as the ways it can suppress whistleblowers and negatively impact their wellbeing.

I know it’s a weighty topic for this episode, but it feels highly useful for all of us to have this knowledge handy, whether to advocate for ourselves or to better support our clients in identifying DARVO and successfully holding others accountable.

You can find the shorter, less in-depth version of this episode here:

https://youtu.be/zhAZfcin3YY

National Domestic Violence Hotline:

https://www.thehotline.org/

Crisis Text Line:

https://www.crisistextline.org/

"How to Handle the DARVO Method"

https://sentientcounselling.co.uk/2023/03/21/how-to-handle-the-darvo-method/

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

"Processing Personal Challenges While Still Being a Therapist"

https://youtu.be/KoLn9XeUZ9Y

Choosing Therapy Article: "DARVO: Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim & Offender”

https://www.choosingtherapy.com/darvo/

Dr. Jennifer Freyd: “What is DARVO?”

https://www.jjfreyd.com/darvo

CNN Article: "What others knew: Culture of denial protected Nassar for years”

https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/23/us/nassar-sexual-abuse-who-knew/index.html

Office of the Whistleblower Website:

https://whistleblower.house.gov/

“Whistleblowing and Mental Health” Government Document:

https://whistleblower.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/whistleblower.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/Whistleblowing_and_Mental_Health.pdf

Resources for Whistleblowers:

https://whistleblower.house.gov/resources/resources-whistleblowers

"The Whistleblower’s Dilemma: Do the Risks Outweigh the Benefits?”

https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/whistleblowers-in-business/

Whistleblower Protections (in the U.S.)

https://www.dol.gov/general/topics/whistleblower

Article: "What Makes Whistleblowers So Threatening?”

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4676977/

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 had thought that in-person therapy was going out of style. But after doing a little research, it looks like it's coming back into fashion.

But given that there's evidence showing that virtual therapy is just as effective as in-person therapy, plus the convenience and cost-effectiveness of being remote, why the movement back to meeting in person?

We dig into this question a little more in this episode. I turn to research, your responses to my Instagram poll and yes, Reddit, to try to understand a little better.

Just one extended version this week. My of my short and snappy episides again next time :)

FREE Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling:

https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

Links Mentioned:

Link to Poll responses:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MBlDAo78t0yFHoB-rKCD1K3tRR-TqPKHnaBZQ-TRLlg/edit?usp=sharing

Psychology Today Article: "The Data Are In: Telehealth Is Here to Stay”

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psychoanalytic-exploration/202111/the-data-are-in-telehealth-is-here-stay

Vogue Article Referencing 2024 data: "How to Find a Therapist Online—And Make Sure They’re Good"

https://www.vogue.com/article/how-to-find-a-virtual-therapist

Reddit Post: “Why do you in-person?”

https://www.reddit.com/r/therapists/comments/15he3xv/why_do_you_inperson/

Reddit Post: “Are clients still interested in in-person sessions?”

https://www.reddit.com/r/therapists/comments/1g6gajj/are_clients_still_interested_in_inperson_sessions/

National Library of Medicine Article: "Evaluation of Online Counseling through the Working Experiences of Mental Health Therapists Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic”

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10888081/

Yahoo! Article: "The in-person preference: Why traditional therapy still rules over online counseling alternatives”

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/online-therapy-not-as-popular-as-in-person-mental-healthcare-232912199.html

National Library of Medicine Article: "Therapeutic Alliance in Online and Face-to-face Psychological Treatment: Comparative Study”

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9112077/

National Library of Medicine Article: "Telehealth Versus Face-to-face Psychotherapy for Less Common Mental Health Conditions: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials”

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8956990/

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.

We all have moments with clients where they just can’t seem to crack into the deeper layers of their emotions.

Sometimes, it can be tempting to try to convince our clients to lean into their emotions. But I've learned over the years that often emotions are difficult to access because they're too intense.

So in today's episode, I share some of my favorite tools to help reduce the emotional charge of clients' emotions so they have an easier time accessing and expressing how they really feel.

As always, this episode does not constitute clinical or professional advice. I'm just sharing some tools I like to use :)

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

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.