Private Pay Practitioners Premium Podcast

Everyone tells you that you MUST have a niche or your practice will fail. That’s not true. Some of you are thriving as generalists and should stay that way. In this episode, I’m helping you figure out if you’re a happy generalist who just needs better systems, or if lack of niche clarity is actually costing you money and clients. I cover: ∙ The signs you’re a “happy generalist” who doesn’t need to...

This week I sat down with Jana Glass, a solo practitioner in Sandy Springs, Georgia who specializes in perinatal mental health, trauma, and addiction. Her insurance exit story is one of the wildest I've heard. She took insurance for 15 years. Then BCBS sent her a letter about a client she'd seen two years prior - a woman who'd been on short-term disability for anxiety. Jana saw her for 6 months, u...

You THINK you have a niche. But does it actually do what it's supposed to do? In this episode, DJ breaks down the five most common niche mistakes therapists make - using real examples from consultation calls. If your marketing feels exhausting, if consultation calls aren't converting, or if you're not getting the referrals you want, your niche probably isn't specific enough. What you'll learn: The...

NEW: Therapy for Therapists with Tiffany Green First episode of 2026 is live. Tiffany Green is a solo practitioner in Chicago who's built a practice where a third of her clients are therapists. We talked about how that niche found her, what it's like to do deep work with people who do deep work for a living, and the three categories she sees therapist clients wrestling with: personal stuff, existe...

The Private Pay Practitioners Playbook is now on Audible. 20 five-star reviews. Amazon best seller. And I narrated every word myself — because no one else was going to tell this story with the same fire. I wrote this book for the therapists who are done letting insurance dictate their income, their schedule, and their clinical decisions. The ones who are ready to build something sustainable — on t...

This week I sat down with Emma Kobil, and we went somewhere I didn't expect. Emma built a successful coaching business helping therapists grow their private pay practices. Her clients got results. She was doing all the things — the Facebook group, the weekly lives, the sales funnels, the Instagram, the course. And then she walked away from it. Not because it failed. Because she was miserable. She...

This week I'm sitting down with Tony Rella — IFS-certified therapist, author, and someone I've known since our insurance-panel days in Seattle. Tony fully transitioned to private pay in October 2024, and this conversation gets into the messy middle of what that actually looked like: the panic of Q1 2025 when referrals dried up, the temptation to go back, and the moment he realized he couldn't. We...

Hey everyone, Just dropped a bonus episode that I'm making FREE for everyone - members and non-members alike. This one's different. It's not an interview. It's not a teaching session. It's a raw, honest reflection on what happened at Saturday's Private Pay Practitioners Playbook crash course workshop. What I talk about: The Mistake - How I accidentally didn't record the first hour of the workshop...

This week I sat down with Kellyn McCullough, LMFT and EMDR-certified therapist in Washington State, who's navigating something so many of us are feeling right now. She took a year off for maternity leave, moved locations, and came back to a completely different landscape. The post-pandemic abundance? Gone. Now it feels like scarcity. And everyone - EVERYONE - does EMDR now. Sound familiar? We dug...

Dr. Lauren Chase joined me this week to talk about something so many of us face: the anxiety of leaving insurance panels. Lauren's a PhD-level provider (yes, insurance pays her master's-level rates - criminal), seeing 20-25 clients a week, and finally hit her breaking point. She regrets not starting private pay from day one, and now she's planning her full exit for 2026. We dug into: Why "disappoi...

This episode hit different. We talked about something that shows up constantly in the community but doesn't get enough air time: the pressure of being the primary earner while building or sustaining a private pay practice. The reality that if clients don't show up, the money doesn't flow. The challenge of saving when income isn't consistent. The weight of managing a household while also holding pe...

We're talking about the stuff that's making networking harder than it needs to be. What we're covering: The Cold Facebook Add - Why you need to introduce yourself before hitting "send" on that friend request (and what to do instead) The Salesy Networking Meeting - How to show up as a person, not a business card, and why pitching too early kills the relationship before it starts Rate Shaming - Yes,...

Hufsa Ahmad (2x TEDx speaker, EMDR specialist, 13 years in practice) joined me to talk about the networking mistakes we ALL make in early practice - and honestly, mistakes some of us are still making. What we dug into: Why "networking for referrals" backfires every single time Not having your pitch down (and how it makes you look inexperienced even when you're not) Dealing with therapists who don'...

Hey there, If you missed last night's Wednesday check-in, you missed one of the most powerful conversations we've had. Dr. Dominique Pritchett joined me to talk about evolving from therapist to paid speaker, and she brought ALL the wisdom. Here's what we covered: On Building a Speaking Business: How she went from finishing her postdoc to building a global speaking career (Spain, Ireland, Italy, So...

If you missed last night's call, you missed some REAL talk about what it takes to build a profitable practice without sacrificing your life. Maren Londahl-Smidt (Balance & Beyond Coaching, Profit for Keeps® Coach) and Denielle Rigoglioso (9-Thrive Private Practice Accelerator, Salt Water Coaching) joined me to break down: ✅ Why the "therapists can't make money" narrative is BS ✅ How Profit f...

Last night's conversation with Kirk Perry delivered exactly what we needed - practical insights about AI without the hype or fear. Kirk (former Meta AI leader, now founder of BrandNeue Archetypes) joined us to discuss how AI is changing therapy practices and what that means for you. What we covered: Why generic AI prompts give you generic (robotic) results How to use AI without losing your authent...

Anne Pleas just delivered the networking masterclass we all needed 🔥 Tonight's Wednesday check-in with my colleague Anne Pleas was absolutely packed with actionable wins. Here's what happened when she put ALL our premium networking tools into action: The Wake-Up Moment: Someone in our content said "you can't have a Psychology Today page and sit around and wait" - and that changed everything for A...

This Wednesday's check-in with Kate Littlefield was pure fire! Kate shared her incredible journey from community mental health burnout to building a thriving private pay practice in Vermont - completely from day one, no insurance transition needed. Key highlights from our conversation: ✓ How she saved for a year and gave herself 3 months to make private pay work or leave the field entirely ✓ Going...

Last night's Wednesday check-in was exactly why I love doing these sessions. Brandon Vazquez from We Up Counseling joined us to share his journey transitioning from insurance panels to private pay, and the conversation was packed with insights that apply to anyone making this leap. Key Takeaways from Our Session: The Strategic Approach Works Brandon started smart - dropping his lowest-paying panel...

Tonight's Wednesday Check-in was EVERYTHING! 🔥 Shoutouts to Michelle, Adele, Shay and Z for jumping in and sharing their multiple streams journeys. Hearing Shay talk about cutting her "think time" down to 3 days before acting on ideas? That hit different. And Adele - girl, I see you with that "quit standing in the way of your own success" reminder. We ALL needed that. What we covered: Why your th...

Just uploaded my conversation with Allyson Clemmons, LCSW - and this one's about more than just business strategies. What We Explored: Her realization that graduate school prepared her to be a therapist, not a business owner Managing the loneliness of solo practice while wearing multiple hats The entrepreneurial brain differences that help some of us take risks others won't How living in Greece fo...

Fall energy is hitting DIFFERENT this year! 🍂 Just finished our Premium Weekly Check-In and I'm buzzing with excitement about what this season holds. There's something magical about fall - maybe it's my birthday month bias, but clients always seem to show up with this renewed commitment to change. Real talk: Fall is prime time for launching something new. Whether it's a group, intensive, or works...

🚨 The Burnout Warning Signs Every Private Pay Therapist Needs to Know Real signs that networking burnout is creeping in: Dreading your Facebook groups or CE events (even when you need them!) Getting defensive about your private pay rates when colleagues question them Feeling low self-esteem and questioning your worth Resentment toward clients, yourself, or colleagues "If you're getting really def...

If you missed our powerful live conversation, you can now watch it anytime! Black therapists from across the country shared their authentic experiences navigating private practice and private pay systems. What you'll hear: ✨ Raw, honest stories - From growing up with messages like "we don't do therapy" to building thriving practices ✨ Insurance reality check - Why practitioners are leaving panel...

This 40-minute conversation with Dr. Jason Herndon goes places most practitioners won't—into the real internal work of pricing as Black therapists, the assumptions we carry, and the boundaries that actually serve our communities. Premium Highlights: On the dangerous assumption about Black clients: "I think there is this idea that, like, if you want to serve black people, you need to somehow charge...