The Grow Your Private Practice Show

In this podcast, The Binge Eating Therapist Sarah Dosanjh talks about how her niche has informed her business growth, enabled her to diversify and now, she’s never been busier.

In this podcast we discuss:

• The journey to her binge eating niche (and how she’s never been busier)
• How having a niche has helped
• The importance of knowing what clients want
• How social media can effectively screen clients
• The benefits of therapy groups
• Helping therapists work with relationships with food

Sarah Dosanjh is a TA psychotherapist and author of the book I Can't Stop Eating. She is passionate about helping those struggling with binge eating/body image to find peace and freedom around food.

She runs CPD events for therapists who want to learn about working with binge eating as well as offering training and a free support community for therapists who want to set up groups in private practice.

Connect with her on Instagram

And find all her other details HERE

Links to follow:

Episode 6: Do you need to be an expert to attract counselling clients?

Episode 28: How to get and stay motivated

Episode 35: Can you help your clients - and do they know it?

To take Sarah's workshop in the GYPP Club, join here Grow Your Private Practice

They say ‘we teach what we need to learn’ and I think it’s true. I used to have an online business all about self-help for people-pleasers, and yup, I’m a recovering people-pleaser. 

I’m a whole lot better than I used to be, but I suspect that a lot of counsellors are people pleasers or recovering people-pleasers too. 

And being a people pleaser can have a real impact on your private practice. It can impact how you run your business and even what income you make. It can also lead to resentment and burnout. 

So if you’re a counsellor, how can you handle people-pleasing?

In this episode, we look at:

• 5 ways being a people pleaser can impact you in private practice
• 5 solutions to help
• How it’s not all about the clients’ needs - and that’s ok

I don’t think people pleasing just goes away, I think it’s always going to be there lurking. It’s for us to be aware of it and keep doing the work. And the more work we do, the better we feel. 

Saying no feels very uncomfortable sometimes, but the more you do it, the easier it gets. And it’s totally worth it. 

Counselling is a valuable service - you are providing a valuable service. It’s ok for people to pay for that service and it’s ok to value yourself and what you do. 

It’s not all about the client - and that doesn’t make you selfish. And it’s okay for you to build your business into something that suits you and improves the quality of your life. 

Links to follow

Episode 24: Managing your diary with time blocking

Episode 32: 5 Easy ways to give back to charity (without reducing your fees or working for free) with Sophia Giblin

Episode 28: How to get and stay motivated

If you need more help with your business, get the Grow Your Private Practice book, available now on Amazon or CLICK HERE

Letting a client know that you can help them is a fundamental part of growing your private practice. After all, why would they embark on expensive counselling if it won’t help? 

However, this can feel awkward because ultimately we can’t absolutely guarantee that they will get those results - and as such, shouldn’t make such claims. 

So this week, I explore this conundrum in order to help you feel confident within your marketing while remaining completely ethical. 

Take a listen and you’ll see what I mean. 

In this episode, you’ll discover how:

• It’s important to understand the difference between saying you can help and taking responsibility for the clients’ outcomes
• People are looking for a solution to their problems
• You need to help people make the decision to choose you, just by helping and sharing your warmth

You can't advertise promising results, of course you can't. You cannot and should not be promising things you have no control over.

However, expressing to clients how you can help them is a fundamental part of marketing, so take some time to really get into the head of your potential clients. 

Then share your findings to let people know that coming for counselling with you is one of the ways they can start to make a positive change in their life. 

Links to follow:

Episode 2: The clients journey into therapy

Episode 6: Do you need to be an expert to start attracting therapy clients?

And if you need more help with this, take The Foundations Course in the Grow Your Private Practice Club, and let your potential clients feel assured that you can help. For more details and to join, CLICK HERE

For years I’ve said - and heard people say - ‘done is better than perfect’, but something about this doesn’t sit right for me. 

Because when marketing our private practice, we want something that’s not just ok but something that’s really good, don’t we? We want everything we do to be professional, warm, welcoming and reassuring to attract more clients. 

Is ‘done’ just an exercise in ticking an item off a list? Because if you want results, you want to put your best foot forward. 

So in episode 34, I explore why we should change ‘Done is better than perfect’ to ‘Done well is better than perfect. Take a listen and see what I mean. 

In this episode we look at:

• Why being perfect isn’t the goal
• How action brings results
• Things you can change to make a real difference
• The impact on you and your confidence

Done is better than perfect is true, but it could be harming your business. I think it’s better to get something out there in front of your audience than be paralysed with fear and doubt. And it’s better to get what you’ve written out there rather than to constantly tweak and fiddle without publishing.

Get it done, get it out there and grow your practice. Perfection isn’t necessary. 

Because we are looking for progress not perfection. 

The Social Media Made Simple course, and Blogging With Confidence are available now in the Grow Your Private Practice Club, along with courses, workshops, resources and a supportive community all aimed at helping you attract more clients, more easily. 

To find out more about it, CLICK HERE now

It’s happened to us all: You got a call and a client booked in. They come for their first session and it all seems to have gone well as they book in for session two. 

But they don’t turn up. 

This can feel awful at any time, but especially if you’re new to private practice as it feels like a slap in the face.  

So what can you do if this happens to you - and it will at some point.

Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode

• Why you should give yourself a pat on the back 
• Why this happens
• Why you’ll never be sure about why it’s happened
• How to review your first session
• Tips on how to manage those first session nerves
• Practice practice practice

This happens to us all from time to time and the most important thing is to not beat yourself up about it. Literally, nothing good can come from that. 

So if it's happened to you - big deep breaths. And then calmly decide what to do next. 

Good luck! 

One of the frustrating things about being a therapist in private practice is not being able to help everyone that needs it, including those that can’t afford to pay.

But thankfully there are other ways to give back without having to volunteer your time and energy as a counsellor, as this can really hold you back when you want to attract paying clients of your own.

In this episode I have expert Sophia Giblin from Fundraising For Good join me to discuss different ways you can give back depending on the time and energy you have available. 

There are hundreds of thousands of charities out there who are always looking for support, and as trained counsellors, we are in a unique position to help in a few different ways that could even lead to you getting paid work.

We’ve started with the easiest things to do and moved up from there.

In this episode we look at:

• The disadvantages of offering unpaid work as a counsellor
• Suggestions to give back depending on the time and energy you have available to you
• How you are ideally placed to offer practical help and advice
• How this can increase your visibility and grow your practice. 

There you go, some great tips about how you can both give back and raise your visibility as a private practitioner.

And if you’re wondering how you can actually make these happen, then I have some fabulous news for you.

To go with this podcast Sophia and I have made a helpsheet to help you decide what is right for you. Just go to janetravis.co.uk/32 to get it.

But also, Sophia has generously offered listeners of The Grow Your Private Practice Show 50% off her Power Hour.

So book a Power Hour with Sophia to discuss ways in which you can support and collaborate with charities to help more people and get more visible. 

Full details and the coupon code are in the download, so grab it now. 

And you can check out Sophia’s Fundraising for Good course here www.fundraisingforgood.co.uk

About Sophia

Sophia Giblin is the Award Winning Founder of Clear Sky Children's Charity, a Play & Creative Arts Therapy charity for children in the Thames Valley. 

Sophia set up the charity at the age of 23 with a minimal amount of experience and a big vision for change she wanted to see in the world!

As well as having a Masters in Play Therapy, Sophia also has a BA in Business Administration and combines her business acumen with her passion and experience in charity to help heart centred entrepreneurs deliver projects that make a difference in the world.

Sophia has been successfully fundraising for charitable causes for over 10 years now, raising over half a million pounds for charities that have a big impact on people’s lives.

Connect with Sophia on LinkedIn

When was the last time you increased your prices?

Probably it’s been quite a while, so if you haven’t increased your price in over a year, then take a listen. 

In this episode, we looked at:

• The impact of not feeling valued
• Why we wait too long to increase prices
• How being paid affects the therapeutic relationship positively
• A pain-free way to increase prices

So if you haven’t increased your prices for over a year, it’s time for a review. 

And remember ‘I serve, I deserve’

Have you ever noticed how the more you learn, the more you realise you don’t know? 

For example, remember when you decided to become a counsellor? That excitement as you embarked on the fascinating training. 

And there comes a point when you start to realise that you have a lot to learn, more than you’d realised. And it all starts to feel a bit overwhelming.  

It happens to us all, so before you start MORE new training, take a listen.  

• Moving away from the perpetual learning trap
• The benefits of slowing down
• The importance of assimilating knowledge
• 2 Simple tips to help you acknowledge your learning 
• The announcement to make to yourself and the world
• How you know far more than you give yourself credit for. 

So if you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed, exhausted and on a hamster wheel of never-ending learning, stop. Breathe. You know more than you think you do.

Episode 6: Do you need to be an expert to attract counselling clients?

Episode 29: Slow down to speed up: How to increase both your skills and confidence

You know that feeling when you’re so excited and fired up, about to learn something new - but then it all falls flat? Yup, that’s what we’re looking at today.

This episode is a real game-changer because I’m going to share with you a simple mindset change that will increase both your skills and confidence.

• The reason why we give up
• The learning process 
• The uncomfortable truth about learning new skills
• The impact on your confidence
• The benefits of focus and goal setting

On 15th January 2021 in the Grow Your Private Practice Club it’s the Get Focussed, Achieve More’ workshop where we’ll be doing just this - getting focussed in order to learn, grow and come out with new skills and increased confidence. 

If you’d like to join us, check out www.growyourprivatepractice.co.uk

So the truth is, it’s important to stick with it, keep going when learning a new skill and allow yourself to be willing to be uncomfortable because that’s when the breakthrough happens. I guess like in counselling, we have to trust the process. 

So as I record this it’s the beginning of a new year, 2021 is standing ahead of us. I wonder how many new things you’ll learn by this time next year. 

All you have to do is do the work, trust the process and keep going.

You know you need to crack on with your marketing, you know all about the benefits but just can’t seem to find the motivation.  

If that sounds familiar, then this podcast is for you because I’m talking all about motivation. 

So let’s take a look at how to get - and stay! - motivated. 

If you want a successful practice, you have to do the work to attract clients. But not only do that, but do it regularly and consistently (and if you struggle with consistency, check out episode 26 ‘The truth about consistency (it might not be what you think)) 

But we all have days when we feel demotivated and struggle to get started. So here is:

• The fundamental question to ask yourself
• How your answer to this will keep you focused. 
• ...and a little about money

In private practice, knowing this will drive you every single day - when you wake up, this gets you out of bed, and when you hit a rough patch as we are all prone to do, it will mean you’ll find it within yourself to carry on and not just call it a day. 

If you need help with how to get more clients in this coming year, then come and join us in the Grow Your Private Practice Club.

There’s never a better time because on 7th January the price of the GYPP Club goes up, so if you join now you’ll be locked in at the current low price for as long as you are a member. 

In 2021 the word of the year in the club is action, because

• Action is the antidote to fear - you only get rid of your fear by doing - check out podcast episode 1
• Action is what moves your practice forward and
• Action is what brings you success. 

So in January if you join you can attend the new member call, where I’ll show you how to make the most of the club and get your questions answered, 

Then we have the ‘Get focussed, achieve more’ workshop, 

Also the members Q&A at the end of the month

So you can get started in the Foundations course, take action and see results. 

You also have access to the private practice success roadmap, the comprehensive library of courses and workshops, regular monthly workshops and guest workshops, member offers and a friendly supportive group of peers. 

So is it time to get off the fence and take action? Just check us out at Grow Your Private Practice.co.uk - you will be very welcome.