The Practice of Therapy

[00:00:00] Gordon Brewer: I want us to think about the new year differently, not necessarily doing it better or doing it more efficiently. But be more honest about what we're able to do and what we want to see with our practices. This episode is sponsored by Therapy Notes, therapy notes.com. Be sure and check them out and be sure and use the promo code Gordon, G-O-R-D-O-N, and you can try them out for two months for free.
[00:00:39] For the past 20 plus years I've been working in the mental health. Field is a licensed therapist, private practice owner, coach, and consultant, and I've learned a lot the hard way and I don't think you need to do the same. Hi there, I'm Gordon Brewer and welcome to the Practice of Therapy Podcast, part of the Psych Craft Network, a podcast.
[00:01:01] Whether you're just starting out expanding your practice or looking for fresh inspiration, this podcast is here to support you in your journey. Each week we explore the real world challenges and opportunities that come with building. In growing your private practice from marketing and money management to ethics, client care, and self-care, we cover it all.
[00:01:25] You'll hear from leading experts, seasoned clinicians, and innovative voices in the mental health and allied health fields, all sharing their insights and strategies to help you. Thrive in your practice. So let's jump in and get to today's episode of The Practice of Therapy Podcast.
[00:01:54] Well, hello everyone and welcome to the podcast. This is episode number four 14 of The Practice of Therapy Podcast and happy new year. So as we begin another year with the podcast, and I guess in a way, kind of a new season, I'm so glad you've joined me and I hope you'll take time to follow us or subscribe to the podcast wherever you might be listening to it.
[00:02:17] You know, e pretty much every year since I started the podcast in 2017, I've kind of opened the year with a solo episode of just kind of reflecting and thinking about things that have been on my mind in terms of. Running a private practice and the directions that we're going in our professions, and that's what I'm doing here.
[00:02:39] And one of the things that I really want to focus on is just thinking about as a practice owner, I think a lot of times we feel the new year, even before you open our planner at the beginning of the new year, there's this internal pressure that we create for ourselves about starting a new year. You know, we hear all the time people making resolutions.
[00:03:03] And doing. There's, you know, the gyms are full and all of that sort of thing. And so I think one of the things I'd like to maybe invite you to do or challenge you to do is maybe just think about things a little differently this year. So that's what I'm gonna be covering in this particular episode. One of the things I would like to invite you to do is take time to.
[00:03:26] Go over to practice of therapy.com, my website, and if you're interested in working with me this year, I am taking on some new individual. Consulting clients and would love the opportunity to have a conversation with you about that. I really enjoy working with people one-on-one because I think in many ways, like in therapy, it really allows you to focus in on.
[00:03:54] The things that matter most to you. Certainly listening to this podcast and looking up resources in different places and different areas can have have an impact, and I would encourage you to do that, but a lot of times I think just having that inner interaction, that one-on-one. Attention just creates so much more efficient change for us and also kinda holds us accountable in making changes within our practice or wanting to either scale our practice in increase the number of clients you might be having, might be that you're thinking about to starting a group practice or expanding the practice that you have.
[00:04:36] And so. Those are the things I absolutely love working with clients on, and so again, I'd invite you to go to practice of therapy.com and just click on that link up there. That's for coaching and consulting, and you can find out more about that. The other thing that I'm gonna be focusing on this year is really kinda revamping and rethinking the site craft network that I started in 2022.
[00:05:04] Currently we have about 10 different podcasts that are part of the network. A lot of 'em are gonna be familiar to you if you're listening to anything around private practice. And so really gonna look at creating some more resources for people within that space. And if you're interested in starting a podcast, maybe that's something that you've kind of had.
[00:05:30] On your list of things to do or wanting to accomplish, it is a great way to get yourself out there. It's a good marketing tool. The other thing too is, is that there might be some topics and things that you really feel passionate about, and I just love the podcast. Platforms love podcasting in terms of a, a media that is very portable.
[00:05:53] I know if I'm driving anywhere or walking or at the gym or any of that sort of thing, I'm listening to podcasts nearly all the time or some sort of audio book. So, but anyway, if you're interested in talking, starting a podcast, I'd love to have a conversation with you about that. And so you can reach out to me by just going to Gordon at.
[00:06:14] Practice of therapy.com or you can email me at the Site Craft network at Gordon, at site craft network.com and you, you can also find out more about the network by just going to site craft network.com. Hopefully that's easy for you to remember. But yeah, so we, before we get into my thoughts about just thinking about a new year and just thinking about.
[00:06:38] Thinking about how we can do what we do in maybe more unconventional ways or doing it from a different angle. I'd love for you to hear from the folks from Therapy Notes who are the sponsor of this podcast.
[00:07:10] Julie Herres: Hi there. I'm Julie Harris. I'm an accountant and I'm the host of the Therapy for Your Money podcast. In the podcast we talk about. All things money and finance specifically for therapists in private practice. You see my accounting firm, green Oak Accounting, specializes in working with therapists in private practice.
[00:07:29] That's all we do at this point, and over the years we've learned so many tips and tricks for how to make the financial side of private practice work better. After all we've seen under the hood of hundreds and hundreds of private practices. So in the podcast, I share lots of financial tools and tips and mindset shifts to help you have a profitable private practice.
[00:07:52] Therapy for Your Money is part of these side craft network of podcasts, our network of independent podcasters just like me. So head over to therapy for your money.com to hear episodes on topics like growing your practice, making more money without necessarily working harder. Weathering the ups and downs of a practice and so much more.
[00:08:12] Come join me at Therapy for your money.com.
[00:08:15] Rachel Bond: Hi, this is Rachel Gordon's podcast assistant and I wanna share the platform Gordon Trusts for his own practice therapy notes. Therapy Notes is the highest rated EHR practice management and billing software for mental health professionals. It's an all-in-one system for scheduling notes, billing, and secure client communication.
[00:08:36] And if you ever need help, their 24 7 customer service is always just a call or email away their latest update therapy fuel. Uses AI to streamline documentation, generating progress notes, creating contact notes from client messages. And even summarizing client history forms saving therapists hours every week.
[00:08:57] Are you ready to give it a try? Head to therapy notes.com. Click start My Free trial and use the code Gordon to get your first two months free. See why Therapy Notes is the most trusted EHR and the one Gordon chooses for his practice. Please enjoy the rest of the show.
[00:09:33] Gordon Brewer: Well folks, welcome back to the podcast and you know, one of the things that you probably like me have felt as we transition into the new year. It's just this constant list of to-dos and things that you feel like you need to get accomplished in the new year. You know, immediately when we think of a new year or we think about making new resolutions or setting specific goals for ourself.
[00:09:59] I'm not saying that we shouldn't do that, but I think one of the things is, is that we can put a lot of pressure on ourselves around those kinds of things, and it's kind of a subtle pressure that kinda shows up right about now because the, the new year, just a lot of transition we're having to. Learn how to write 2026 instead of 2025, and it's not always just a real loud kind of pressure, but it is persistent.
[00:10:26] It might be too that you're feeling pressure to just kinda get more clients. It might be that you're feeling the pressure of increasing your income and creating, making your PRA practice more profitable and sustainable. It might be that you are thinking about your systems and processes and what you should put in place or take away.
[00:10:47] Also, just thinking about, you know, how you manage your time, and I know one things that. I am constantly trying to tweak is how I do manage my time and being able to give myself. Time, time off and time down. That's something that I know that a lot of times as practice owners, we don't do. In other words, when's the last time you took a vacation?
[00:11:11] I know we just coming off the holidays here at this particular episode, but how many of you stopped working when you're when, during the holidays and giving yourself permission to just take, take time off and take time down? Might be that you're just wanting to do something simple. Well, it's not necessarily simple, but something you might feel pressure.
[00:11:32] Okay. I look at my email inbox and it is so full all the time, and I'll say, mine stays that way. But anyway, you feel pressure from things like that and just really kind of coming up with some smarter strategies around how we do things. But if you're, you know, if you're like me as a therapist or practice owner, or.
[00:11:55] An entrepreneur, if you will. There's a lot of internal conflict and pressure that comes up with, with being in practice because one, one of the things is, is that a lot of times in practice, private practice, whether you have in a group practice or whether you are in a solo practice, it can feel kinda lonely and it, you can feel.
[00:12:17] That pressure and feel like you don't have a lot of people to talk to about that. But what I've, what I've noticed is both in my practice and in talking with so many of you is, is that January doesn't have to always mean about bringing clarity. It's another month and sometimes it just, the pressure around goal setting and then being able to come up with specific plans can be a lot of unnecessary pressure, I think.
[00:12:47] So I want us to think about the new year differently. Not necessarily doing it better or doing it more efficiently, but be more honest about what we're able to do and what we want to see with our practices. And I think it goes back to something that you hear from me quite often is. Is really being grounded in your why.
[00:13:10] All of us have gone into private practice for different reasons, and I think the big one for most folks, and I know it is for me, is just having that freedom and autonomy of being your own boss. But we can create a lot of pressure. Our boss can create a lot of pressure on us around all of those things that we see that we want to do.
[00:13:31] I wanted to use an idea from a short story by Barbara Brown Taylor, if you're not familiar with her. She is a theologian and priest and pretty well known preacher, at least in my, in my world. She's an Episcopal priest and she is. One of the best storytellers you would ever hear and she wrote a, a short story called Home by another way, and it's really kind of a timely thing coming out.
[00:14:00] Me talking about this right now, number one, it's fresh on my mind because I used that book is kind of illustration in my. Sermon this past week. For those of you that don't know, I'm also a, a, an Episcopal clergy person, and so occasionally I will preach on Sundays, and so, but not to disappoint anybody.
[00:14:19] I'm not a bible thumping preacher, but I'm pretty, what you hear is what you get here on the podcast. But anyway, Barbara Brown Taylor's book, the short story really goes into. A fictional account of what happens to the wise men after they leave meeting the Christ child in the manger. And not to get too far off on a tangent, but the story that is in the Bible is actually very short, and there's only only mentioned in one.
[00:14:49] One book of the Bible in the Gospel of Matthew, and it's just only a few paragraphs long, the whole story of the Wise Men, but we've created over the years, just a whole set of stories and lore around the wise men. Fun fact is, is that we always think of it being three wise men, but the, it, it, the Bible, it never mentions a number.
[00:15:13] We just assume that because there were three gifts. So anyway, I digress a little bit with that. But one of the things about Herb, short story about the wise men, and it's titled Home by a Entitled Home by another way because. At the end of the story of the wise men, just to kinda give you the, a little bit of the backstory, the wise men come to come to.
[00:15:39] Come to Jerusalem looking f following a star. You've probably heard the story. They're following the Star of Bethlehem and they go and meet with King Herod to ask them him about a new king of the Jews being born and that the si the star was assigned for them of that. King Herod not being a very good person, really kind of tries to coerce them into finding out where the baby Jesus is.
[00:16:10] And then he plans to go kill the baby Jesus, because he sees the baby as a threat to his kingship and all of that sort of thing. And so the final line of the story talking about that is, is that the wise men were warned, warned in a dream. To go home, to not return to Herod, but to go home by a different road.
[00:16:33] And so that's where the title of her short story comes. And it's home by home by another way. I, I'll try to have a link here. If you wanna look it up, you can listen to it, the audio book on Spotify and other places like that. But at its court, it's all, it's about this people. As people, we tend to follow a familiar route.
[00:16:56] We have, it's an expected route, it's an approved route. It's a route that makes sense to us. I think about driving home, I go home the same way and a lot of times I have to remind myself, okay, let me take a different route home. And that gives us a lot of insight when we do that. But a lot of times when we do take a different route or do things differently.
[00:17:21] Something usually happens and we tend to see things differently by doing things in different ways. There's this internal shift that happens and uh, Barbara Brown Taylor in her book, in her short story rather. Home by another way. She taught, she gives this fictional account about the internal changes that the wise men go through after having encountered the baby Jesus and then having to be forced to go home by a different route and all that they encounter.
[00:17:53] And it really becomes a big move for them for some internal reflection and being totally honest with themselves about what really matters most for them. It's because they are, you know, in many ways the by going home another way or following another route, we become different people. I think about all of the people that I've met over the years and the influence that they've had on me, and I think about too, how just different events in my life has changed the course of my life over time, and I think.
[00:18:28] One of the things that if, particularly if you're feeling stuck with where you are in your practice or feeling overwhelmed, is to be able to start looking at things in unconventional ways or looking at other roots to the way that we accomplish what we do every day. It's not that what we're doing is wrong or how you're doing it now is wrong, but it's because when we have an internal change.
[00:18:57] Or really kind of change our mindset about things, if you will. That's what really creates change in, in the direction that we go. So it's, it's really about being able to make these small changes and what we do and really kind of assessing what it is that we need to do for ourselves with our practice.
[00:19:20] And also, you know, what sort of internal changes do we need to. Need to make. What do we need to be brutally honest with ourselves about? And I think one of the big decisions that a lot of times we what, uh, I think a lot of times what happens is, is at the point at which we get overwhelmed, we kind of say to ourselves, I can't do this anymore.
[00:19:43] I just can't. It's just too much. And so that's what leads to burnout. That's what causes people to just leave their practices too. E eventually fail in their practices and that sort of thing. So I think it's important to really kinda go circling back to being aware of what your why is and why you're doing everything that you're doing to begin with.
[00:20:11] Another, another book that I'd like to mention that I've read this past, past year was a book called 4,000 Weeks by Oliver Berkman, and it's, the subtitle is Time Management for Mortals. And the premise of the book is, is that recognizing that the average human lives for about 4,000 weeks and that our, our time.
[00:20:34] And ability to do things is very limited, but we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to create all these efficiency things. I know I, I've, I've fallen into that trap a lot in the past and still do to some degree of feeling like, okay, I've got to have better time management. I've got to be able to do more, do faster, bigger, better, faster, be more efficient with my time, be able to be more organized.
[00:21:04] And essentially what Oliver Brookman points out is, is that when we create all of those time management systems and we do all the bigger, better, better, faster, really put pressure on ourselves, we spend all of our time working on the systems and processes rather than actually doing what we want, what we set out to do to begin with.
[00:21:25] So again, it circles back to. What is your why? Why are you in practice? What is it that you want to create for yourself by being in private practice? And I think as much as anything. It is the autonomy of our time and how we spend our time and how we do things with clients and that sort of thing. But if we get too focused on trying to do too much with the systems and processes and all of that sort of thing, it, it can just create a lot less pressure for us on our, on ourselves, for, for a lot of us.
[00:22:01] We get, we get these ideas, well, if I can just get this right system in place, things will calm down or. We might say to ourselves, once my caseload stabilizes or I get more clients, then I'll have a better, be more profitable. Or if I particularly get, get to a particular benchmark with the numbers or whatever, I can finally breathe.
[00:22:25] Breathe. But. What usually happens, and Oliver Berkman points out this, is that as he puts it, the goalpost moves, the expectations expand, and the calendar fills up, and so it really doesn't get to what it is that we're wanting to do. We Berkman, in his book calls this the efficiency trap. The more efficient you become, the more you're expected to handle, so.
[00:22:53] It's, it's kinda like the more you respond to emails, the more emails you get. And so again, I'm not, I'm not saying not to do some of those things, but I think really to evaluate the pressure we put on ourselves around a lot of this stuff. The the truth is, is that you don't actually have time for everything you care about.
[00:23:15] There's a limited amount of time, obviously in a day, and so we can't do at all. And so the real work becomes to choose consciously what we won't get done and what we are gonna say no to. That's not. It's not failure when we say no to things, but it's, it's a way of really creating more space for ourselves to do the things that really matter to us most.
[00:23:44] So here are a few kind of. Ideas to maybe think about it on a more practical front this year is, and I do, I do this pretty regularly throughout the years, do what I call a brain dump. And what I do with that is I just get a sheet of paper or I use my planner and I just write down everything that I'm feeling pressure from.
[00:24:06] I start looking at what is what, what it is that I feel like I'm not getting done, or what is it that I feel like a pressure from other people out. Outside my practice or outside my businesses. I look at a lot of those internal things that I've created for myself that create pressure, and I start writing those down.
[00:24:27] And what I usually find is when I start writing those things down, it really becomes less overwhelming in that there's really not as much there as I think there is. So it's a lot bigger in our minds and in our bodies than it really actually is. So. One of the things is just really just kind of whittling things down to just one or two things.
[00:24:50] You know, like if you're using a lot of different tools, little different, a lot of different platforms, just make it simple. Just whittle it down to, to one particular platform, or just use one particular service for something rather than several different, just create. You know, only do one obligation a week or one meeting a week or whatever.
[00:25:14] Let let go of letting go of something is, is really doing something on purpose when you think about it in that way. You know, the other thing too is to really kinda redefine what growth is for you. Growth doesn't always mean getting bigger. Sometimes growth looks like, you know, having fewer clients with less pressure.
[00:25:37] It could be creating a lighter schedule for yourself with better boundaries around. Who you're willing to see and how many people you're willing to see. Saying no to doing things faster or getting caught in, like you said, that efficiency trap of just thinking that if I could just do this bigger or better or faster, it's gonna be better.
[00:25:58] But really looking at what it needs, what, what, what you can do to slow things down. The other thing too is really looking at. The question of does your practice match the type of life you want to hold for yourself? I know that's one thing that has been really kind of liberating for me is, is that I've been able to do a lot of traveling this last year.
[00:26:23] In fact, I've got. Another trip planned later this month to go to Patagonia down in South America, which I'm really looking forward to that I'm going with a group of friends that I've traveled with before, but being able to open up your time to be able to do those things and be able to plan for those things, save for those things, and being able to do those things that you know are life.
[00:26:49] Giving and sustaining and are things that really kinda recharge your battery, but being able to plan those things and saying yes to those things rather than getting caught up in that whole efficiency trap. The other thing too is to really think about. You know, not so much the speed in which you do things or getting at, or the quantity of things, but looking at the quality of your life and the quality of things that you're incorporating in your life of really being mindful of, you know, what, what brings meaning to you rather than just doing a set of task or your whole, whole life being centered around checking things off of a box.
[00:27:33] So. Those are things that I would encourage you to do. The other thing is, is that a few questions maybe to ask yourself as you think about this year or maybe do that brain dump, is what path in my practice am I following out of habit rather than it being alignment for myself? In other words. You're doing things just because you've always done it that way, but doesn't necessarily mean that that is what you really want for yourself.
[00:28:03] Also, being able to ask the question, what version of success am I chasing that may no longer fit my life? In other words. Life, your, your life has changed some, maybe your kids have gotten older or maybe you're moved to a different area, or the change would changes within your family. All of those kinds of things, what you originally had in place might not fit with all of that.
[00:28:28] Now. Another question is, is what am I afraid would happen if I slowed down or simplified? So again, not buying into that whole hustle, hustle culture of really being honest with yourself about what is, what is it that you want for yourself? What is it that you need in your life at this particular point?
[00:28:49] Also, if I trusted another question is if I trusted my limits more. What would change? In other words, if you held your boundaries more around when you work, how you work, what types of clients that you see, you know what, what change would that create for you? So a lot of times we take on, again, I'm kinda repeating myself, but we take on too much.
[00:29:14] And so being able to say no to things. And then finally, what would going home by another way look like for you this year? In other words, if you were to think about number one, what is home for you? And I'm saying this in the metaphorical sense, not the literal sense, but what is it that that sustains you?
[00:29:34] What is it that is life giving for you? What is it that is meaningful for you, and how are you working towards sustaining that rather than. Always going after the numbers, going after the, the bigger, better things. Now, I will say that is important stuff to keep your, your finger on. You do need to make a profit, you do need to understand your numbers, all of those things.
[00:30:01] But those are just, those are just tools. Those are just things that should be just kind of flowing in the background. But that's not necessarily what drives everything that you do. Hopefully. Hopefully that makes sense for yourself.
[00:30:32] Well, folks, I hope that this has given you a lot. To think about in this particular episode. Yeah. Uh, and thanks for listening to my ramblings around just rethinking how we think about goals and how we think about resolutions and how we think about what it is we want for ourselves in the new year. And I would invite you to take time to just sit down and maybe do some journaling, doing some reflecting on those things.
[00:30:57] Like I said earlier, doing that brain dump I think is such an important piece with all of this. And being able to really write things down so that you can kinda look at it. And I think a lot of times when we do that, it doesn't feel quite so overwhelming. In other words, it's when it's there, it's not as big as we thought it was.
[00:31:18] So I would encourage you to do that. Also, before we close, I would invite you to go over and check out therapy notes. They are the leading electronic health record system for mental health providers. They're who I use in my practice and they do make things simple for us in our practice, and it makes, it's really the hub that helps us stay efficient, helps us not have to spend so much time on things that are kind of mundane tasks.
[00:31:47] In particular with all the new tools that Therapy Notes has got now, they do now have the ability to help you create your sessions, note session notes, using artificial intelligence. And that's been a huge game changer for me in the time it takes for me to create progress notes, write treatment plan plans, and that sort of thing.
[00:32:09] And I know that my staff absolutely loves all of those features and again. Therapy notes, if you'll go over to practice of therapy.com/therapy notes, and then you can try them out for two months for free by using the promo code Gordon, just G-O-R-D-O-N. And so I invite you to go over and check it out.
[00:32:30] And again, reach out to me with your questions. I love getting emails from people just asking questions or being able to just chat about things. One of the things too is that if you're interested in doing some consulting with me one-on-one. One of the things that you can do is sign up to do a free 15 minute brainstorming session with me so we can just talk about whether well, you know, the direction that you're headed, talk about whether consulting might be a good fit for you, and I'd love to hear from you on that.
[00:33:03] But again, you can go to practice therapy.com and just click on the link up there that says coaching and consulting. And to find out more about that. So we'll take care folks. Do take time to follow us or subscribe to the podcast wherever you might be listening to it. And do tune in for more episodes.
[00:33:23] We've got a lot of great guests already lined up for this year. It's at the end some episodes that we actually recorded at the end of this past year that are upcoming. So look forward to you hearing from those. So take care folks, and we'll be back with you again. For another episode of the Practice of Therapy Podcast,
[00:33:50] you have been listening to the Practice of Therapy podcast with Gordon Brewer, part of the Psych Craft Network of podcast. Please visit us@practiceoftherapy.com. For more information, resources, and tools to help you in starting building and growing your private practice. And if you haven't done so already, please sign up to receive the free private practice startup guide@practiceoftherapy.com and to find more great podcasts like this one.
[00:34:21] Please visit the Site Craft network@sitecraftnetwork.com. The information in this podcast is intended to be accurate and authoritative concerning the subject matter covered. It is given with the understanding that neither the hosts, guests, or producers are rendering legal, accounting, or clinical advice.
[00:34:42] And if you need help in these areas, be sure to find the right professional to help you with these things.