The Bad Therapist Show

Marketing for therapists feels icky - and not because you're doing it wrong. You were trained to be boundaried, ethical, and non-transactional. Then you’re told to post on Instagram and ask complete strangers to book a call. No wonder you're feeling conflicted about it.

In today's episode I'm offering you a completely different way to think about marketing your private practice, one that doesn't require you to abandon your values or pretend you love the hustle. We're talking about why the discomfort is so real, why waiting until it ‘‘feels better’’ is the wrong move, and what happens when you stop treating your marketing like a necessary evil and start treating it like a devotional practice.

I also walk you through a simple intention setting practice I created for one of my clients, so you have something to come back to every single time you sit down to do your marketing.

This is one to save and come back to!

Topics covered on Marketing for Therapists:

1. The ick around marketing for therapists is real and it goes deeper than most business coaches will tell you
2. Waiting until marketing feels better before you start is the exact thing keeping your practice stuck
3. Treating your marketing like a devotional practice instead of a necessary evil changes everything about how you show up for it
4. Being misunderstood in your marketing is not a sign you're doing it wrong, it is part of the process
5. A marketing practice for therapists to use when you're dreading sitting down to create content

Connect with Felicia:

1. Get my freebie & join the email list: The Magic Sheets
2. Instagram: @the_bad_therapist
3. Website: www.thebadtherapist.coach

Resources from this episode:

1. Liberated Business: www.thebadtherapist.coach/liberatedbusiness

Quote:

"Done consistently beats done perfectly every single time." - Felicia

Let's talk about building a therapist website that converts (one of my favorite topics). Your homepage copy has about three seconds to convince someone to stay. Three seconds. And most therapists are wasting them on "welcome to my website" and a stock photo of stacked rocks.

That's why in today's episode I sat down with Monica Kovach, former therapist turned website designer for private practice therapists, to break down exactly what belongs on your therapist homepage and what needs to go immediately. Monica shares the simple what, who, and where framework for your above the fold section that most therapists are overcomplicating. We get into the copy mistakes that make every therapy website look the same, why your stock photography might be working against you, and how good therapist conditioning is showing up in your website design in ways you probably haven't noticed.

If your website isn't converting the way you want it to, there's one section you need to look at before anything else and it's probably not the one you think.

More about Monica Kovach:

Monica is the Founder and Designer at Hold Space Creative; a Squarespace website design agency. She's a former art therapist and coach, and uses her 10+ years of experience in marketing and design to help therapists and coaches connect with their best-fit clients online.

Topics covered on Therapist Website:

1. Why "welcome to my website" is still showing up on therapist websites in 2026 and why it needs to stop
2. Most therapists flip the relationship between copy and design on their homepage and it costs them clients
3. Where location info actually needs to live on therapist website
4. The stock photography trap that makes every therapist website look identical
5. Your bio section doesn't belong where you think it does on your homepage
6. Good therapist conditioning makes you hide behind credentials instead of showing your personality
7. The call to action mistake that overwhelms visitors and stops them from booking
8. Your website copy should speak to where clients are today, not where you want them to be

Resources from this episode:

• Liberated Business: www.thebadtherapist.coach/liberatedbusiness
• Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller
• Website templates for therapists: https://hold-space-creative-affiliates.peachs.co/a/felicia-feliciathebadtherapistcoach

Connect with Monica:

• Website: Hold Space Creative
• Instagram: @holdspacecreative

Connect with Felicia:

• Get my freebie & join the email list: The Magic Sheets
• Instagram: @the_bad_therapist
• Website: www.thebadtherapist.coach

Related episodes:

• SEO Blogging for Therapists: How Long It Really Takes to Get More Traffic and Inquiries [Ep 153]

Quote:

"Your copy should speak to where your clients are right now, and your design should speak to where they want to be." – Monica Kovach - Monica Kovach

A therapy intensive can be one of the best ways to work with new clients when your private practice is full and inquiries keep rolling in. Most therapists default to a waitlist or refer people out, but this third option could seriously increase your monthly income.

In today's episode, I talk about how one of my clients used a therapy intensive to convert a consult call into a same-month booking, without the potential client feeling disappointed or misled. I share the exact language you can use on a 10-minute consult call to present a therapy intensive as the obvious best fit, why your energy and attitude when delivering this information matters more than you think, and what happened when my client implemented this strategy the very same day I coached her on it.

If your private practice is full but your inquiries aren’t slowing down, this episode will completely change how you think about your next consult call.

Topics covered on Therapy Intensive:

1. The third option nobody talks about when new inquiries keep coming in and you have zero weekly spots
2. Therapy intensive can get clients faster results without the long term commitment of weekly therapy sessions
3. The exact way I coach my clients to pitch a therapy intensive on a 10 minute consult call without apologizing or overexplaining
4. The one mindset shift that will completely change how potential clients react to you on consult calls
5. Assuming your client will be disappointed is the fastest way to guarantee they actually will be

Resources from this episode:

1. Liberated Business: www.thebadtherapist.coach/liberatedbusiness

Connect with Felicia:

1. Get my freebie & join the email list: The Magic Sheets
2. Instagram: @the_bad_therapist
3. Website: www.thebadtherapist.coach

Related episodes:

Devotional Sales: My Sales Practice That Will Turn Consult Calls into Clients [Ep 56]

How Therapy Intensives Can Rescue Your Private Practice from the Summer Scaries [Ep 119]

Therapist Consult Call: The Simple Fix to Boost Your Client Conversion Rates [Ep 89]

Quote:

"If you show up like you're delivering bad news, your client is going to receive it like bad news. Leave your weirdness at the door and watch what happens." - Felicia

Do you ever worry that taking regular time off from your private practice will cause your business to fall apart? Therapist work-life balance is something I hear from therapists all the time and in today's episode, I’m sharing how to build a private practice that supports you so you can take more time off as a therapist.

I walk you through how to prepare your clients before you take time off, how to handle the "but is that fair?" guilt that creeps in when you start setting boundaries around your schedule, and how to use my free tool to run the numbers so you can actually afford the time off you want.

I also get real about why not setting these boundaries leads to burnout and resentment toward your clients, and why your cancellation policy and your personal time off policy are two very different things.

If you've been wanting more freedom in your private practice but don't know where to start, this episode will show you how to get there.

Topics covered on Therapist Work-Life Balance:

1. How one of my clients takes an entire week off every single month from her therapy practice
2. Having honest conversations with your current and new clients about your time off without losing their trust
3. Why some clients might actually welcome your time away and how your modality plays a role in determining what schedule works best
4. Breaking down why therapist work-life balance doesn't happen by accident and why you need a concrete plan to get there
5. The Magic Sheets, my free tool that helps you simulate changes in your business so you can figure out exactly what needs to shift for you to take more time off
6. Your time off policy and your client cancellation policy are two completely separate things, and they do not need to be equal or fair
7. My story about missing a session with a client and what my supervisor told me that changed how I think about therapist work-life balance and setting boundaries in private practice

Resources from this episode:

1. Liberated Business: www.thebadtherapist.coach/liberatedbusiness
2. Get my freebie & join the email list: The Magic Sheets
3. The Fee Formula: https://www.thebadtherapist.coach/feeformula

Connect with Felicia:

1. Instagram: @the_bad_therapist
2. Website: www.thebadtherapist.coach

Related episodes:

1. How to Uphold Your Cancellation Policy Without Feeling Guilty [Ep 19]

Quote:

"Achieving your goals does not happen by accident. Therapists who are wildly successful in their private practices do not end up there by accident. They planned for it." - Felicia

Are you ready for the spring surge in therapy inquiries? I've noticed year after year that spring, not new years, is when people actually start taking action on their mental health. The weather shifts and people have the energy and motivation to invest in therapy.

So in today's episode, I'm walking you through the three things you need to do right now to make sure your therapy practice is positioned to capture that increase in demand and book more therapy clients. We're talking about collecting reviews, doing a website check to catch those sneaky tech glitches, and taking the opportunity to upgrade your schedule so you're not just filling spots but building the business you actually want to run. Plus, I'm sharing marketing ideas for therapists that work and how to think about your therapy practice growth strategically, not frantically.

By the end of this episode, you'll know exactly where to focus your energy before that spring momentum hits. Because honestly, the difference between a good year and a great year in your therapy practice often comes down to being prepared when opportunity knocks.

Topics covered on marketing ideas for therapists:

1. Why spring creates a natural surge in therapy inquiries and how this timing impacts your spring marketing efforts
2. The power of collecting fresh reviews and endorsements across Google My Business and Psychology Today to establish credibility for your therapy practice
3. Conducting a complete website audit to ensure your contact forms, scheduling links, and professional information are all functioning properly
4. How to strategically reassess your schedule and fill open spots with intention rather than desperation in your therapy practice

Connect with Felicia:

1. Get my freebie & join the email list: The Magic Sheets
2. Instagram: @the_bad_therapist
3. Website: www.thebadtherapist.coach

Resources from this episode:

1. Liberated Business: www.thebadtherapist.coach/liberatedbusiness
2. Google Workspace (Professional Email) - Discount link

Quote:

"The beautiful thing about running your own therapy business is that you get to create something that you love, that you are really excited to build and to exist in." - Felicia

What if I told you that you don't have to wait until licensure to start a private therapy practice? In today’s episode, Annie shares her remarkable story about starting a private therapy practice as an associate therapist, something nearly everyone told her was impossible. Annie went from juggling part-time nanny work and struggling to keep two or three clients, to receiving 8–9 inquiries a month and building a nearly full caseload at her highest fee…all before getting licensed.

In our conversation, she reveals the exact strategies that worked: redesigning her website using StoryBrand messaging to actually speak to her ideal clients, running Google Ads successfully when "everyone" said they wouldn't work, and learning to trust herself instead of all the external doubt and noise.

If you're an associate therapist feeling scared, underpaid, or convinced that starting a private therapy practice isn't realistic for you right now, this episode is proof that with the right strategy and support, it absolutely is.

More about Annie Patyk:

Annie Patyk is an associate marriage and family therapist based in San Francisco, CA. She specializes in helping high-achieving women break cycles of anxiety, perfectionism, and self-doubt to build lives that feel authentic and aligned. Annie is passionate about helping her clients stay connected to their ambition while cultivating self-trust and honoring their deepest desires.

Topics covered on How to Start a Private Therapy Practice:

1. How Annie went from struggling with 2-3 clients she couldn't keep to getting 8-9 inquiries a month and building a nearly full caseload
2. How redesigning her website using the StoryBrand framework became the foundation for successfully running Google Ads
3. The biggest shift she made in her consultation calls
4. Everyone told her she'd never make enough money as an associate, but she decided to start a private therapy practice anyway and quit her nanny job in less than a year
5. The difference between fear-based noise and the quiet knowing that comes from real intuition
6. The financial reality of starting a private therapy practice - what client acquisition actually costs and how quickly you recoup your investment

Connect with Felicia:

1. Get my freebie & join the email list: The Magic Sheets
2. Instagram: @the_bad_therapist
3. Website: www.thebadtherapist.coach

Connect with Annie:

1. Website: anniepatyk.com
2. Email: [email protected]

Resources from this episode:

1. Liberated Business: www.thebadtherapist.coach/liberatedbusiness

Related episodes:

1. Handling Fee Objections: What to Say When a Therapy Client Says Your Fee Is Too Expensive [Ep 152]
2. Therapist Consult Call: The Simple Fix to Boost Your Client Conversion Rates [Ep 89]

Quote:

“The main mediator between people who are successful and people who are not, is that they're able to be in that space of frustration and not knowing for long periods of time, and just keep going.” Annie Patyk

Do you ever catch yourself wanting to delete, shrink, or simplify something in your business that's actually working? Patterns in business can be sneaky like that!

After my biggest year ever, adding 100K+ in revenue and watching my clients hit milestones like 30K months and full practices, I found myself wanting to disable pages on my website, strip things back, and get rid of what felt like "too much." It turns out, I was mislabeling complexity as messiness. That same impulse I have in my home to declutter everything? It had crept right into how I was running my business.

In today's episode, I'm getting real about how I caught myself mid-sabotage and what I'm doing differently now. I'm also inviting you to look at your own stress responses because the thing you do when your business feels overwhelming might not be solving a real problem. It might just be giving your nervous system a quick hit of relief.

If you're in a season of growth and things feel heavier than you expected, this episode is for you.

Topics covered on Patterns In Business:

1. Self-sabotaging patterns in business that were quietly working against me
2. The difference between fruitful complexity and actual disorganization in a growing therapy practice
3. Your nervous system can trick you into shrinking what you've built instead of learning to hold more
4. The patterns in business you default to under stress often mirror what you do in your personal life
5. The important question I now ask myself before making any impulsive changes

Resources from this episode:

1. Liberated Business: www.thebadtherapist.coach/liberatedbusiness
2. What Your Therapist Thinks: https://www.youtube.com/@WhatYourTherapistThinks

Connect with Felicia:

1. Get my freebie & join the email list: The Magic Sheets
2. Instagram: @the_bad_therapist
3. Website: www.thebadtherapist.coach

Quote:

“ There are all sorts of ways that we can sabotage our success and our growth because we're uncomfortable with the success and the growth that we are experiencing.” - Felicia

How long does it actually take before you start seeing more traffic and inquiries from SEO on your therapy website?

SEO blogging for therapists can feel like a slow-burn strategy, but it’s one of the most reliable ways to step off the social media hamster wheel. Waiting months for momentum can feel painful, especially when you want clients now. But I went from basically zero traffic to 7–10K visitors a month, and I’ve watched therapists inside my signature program, Liberated Business, experience the same shift once they committed to the long game.

In today's episode, I'm breaking down what really happens in the first few months, how results compound between 6–12 months, and why many therapists feel the biggest difference around the one-year mark. I’ll help you figure out whether you should DIY your SEO or hire support, and how to spot red flags so you don’t waste money on someone who overpromises.

If you’re a therapist who’s curious about SEO but overwhelmed, impatient, or unsure whether it’s worth it, this episode will give you realistic expectations and a clear path forward.

Topics covered on SEO Blogging for Therapists:

• The realistic SEO timeline from early indexing to compounding traffic
• What keyword cannibalization is and how to stop competing with your own blogs
• SEO blogging for therapists success stories, including my own journey from zero to 7-10K monthly visitors
• The truth about how blogs work (hint: most people don’t read the whole thing)
• When it makes sense to DIY and when hiring will save you time
• Why SEO brings traffic but can’t convert clients for you
• My favorite SEO blogging resources for therapists

Resources from this episode:

• Liberated Business: www.thebadtherapist.coach/liberatedbusiness
• Devotional Sales Strategy: www.thebadtherapist.coach/shop/p/devotional-sales-practice
• Place Digital (formerly Therapie SEO): https://grow.placedigital.com/the-bad-therapist
• Website templates for therapists: https://hold-space-creative-affiliates.peachs.co/a/felicia-feliciathebadtherapistcoach

Connect with Felicia:

• Get my freebie & join the email list: The Magic Sheets
• Instagram: @the_bad_therapist
• Website: www.thebadtherapist.coach

Related episodes:

• SEO For Therapists: Future-Proofing Your Therapy Practice with Kristie Platinga [Ep 38]
• SEO and AI Marketing for Therapists in 2026: What's Working Right Now [Ep 144]

Quote:

"SEO blogging is a long game. Not a quick hit, but over six to 12 months and beyond, it can become a quiet, steady engine for 'I found you on Google' inquiries." - Felicia

Ever frozen on a consult call the moment someone said your fee was too expensive (I mean, who hasn't?) Handling fee objections is one of the most uncomfortable moments therapists face on consult calls, and if you've ever walked away from that conversation feeling guilty, confused, or tempted to slash your rates on the spot, this episode is for you!

I'm breaking down what "too expensive" actually means when a potential client says it (it's not always what you think). I'll share how to tell the difference between someone who genuinely can't afford your fee and someone who's just unsure about investing in therapy. We'll talk about why being rock solid in your pricing matters and how your own money issues might be getting in the way. Plus, I'm giving you my favorite go-to response you can use word for word on your next call!

This episode isn't about pressuring anyone into saying yes. It's about holding your boundary while staying warm, curious, and deeply caring. If you want to feel more grounded the next time money comes up on a consult call, tune in.

Topics covered on Handling Fee Objections:

1. Why "too expensive" is a subjective judgment and not an objective fact about your fee
2. Your own assumptions can lead you to offer a sliding scale to clients who don't actually need it
3. What I would do differently with my therapy fees if I could start over
4. The real reasons someone might say your fee is too expensive even when they can technically afford it
5. My favorite word-for-word response when handling fee objections
6. Giving back in other ways helps you hold your fee without guilt

Resources from this episode:

1. Get my freebie & join the email list: The Magic Sheets
2. Liberated Business: www.thebadtherapist.coach/liberatedbusiness

Connect with Felicia:

1. Instagram: @the_bad_therapist
2. Website: www.thebadtherapist.coach

Quote:

"When someone says that your fee is too expensive, it's really important that we understand that this is a particular perspective. It's a judgment, it's a subjective judgment, but it is not a fact." - Felicia

Are you wrestling with whether to share your political beliefs publicly as a therapist? It’s a tough dilemma many of us face: How do you stay true to your personal convictions without compromising your professional responsibility? In today’s episode, I’m addressing a question by Becky, a group practice owner, who reached out to share her struggle with wanting to be transparent about her beliefs while staying respectful and ethical. So, how do we navigate the balance between authenticity and professionalism?

Tune in as I walk you through the tough questions you need to ask yourself before deciding to go public with your views. We’ll explore how this decision could impact your clients, your business, and even your employees. Plus, I’ll share strategies for communicating your values in a way that maintains professionalism without alienating those who may think differently.

Let’s unpack the challenges, reflect on your ability to work with clients across the political spectrum, and discuss how to stay true to yourself while upholding the ethical standards of our profession. You don’t have to figure this out alone.

Topics covered on Sharing Political Beliefs Publicly:

1. The ethical implications of therapists sharing political beliefs
2. How political transparency can affect your practice and client relationships
3. Balancing personal convictions with professional responsibilities
4. Strategies for communicating your values respectfully and professionally
5. Understanding your capacity to work with clients across the political spectrum

Resources from this episode:

1. My email newsletter: https://ckarchive.com/b/lmuehmhn0l4wlid7kkm78c8lo4v00bg
2. Indivisible: https://indivisible.org/
3. Submit your questions for the next episode

Connect with Felicia:

1. Get my freebie & join the email list: The Magic Sheets
2. Instagram: @the_bad_therapist
3. Website: www.thebadtherapist.coach

Quote:

"We need to be honest about our capacity to work with people across the political spectrum." - Felicia