With all the changes in the therapy profession and private practice lately, I’ve heard folks wonder if it’s possible to have a successful private practice in 2026. I do wholeheartedly believe it’s still possible! But I do also think it’s wise to adapt our strategy to fit today.

In this episode, I share the two top tips I’d focus on to launch a successful private practice in 2026. The good news: they don’t have anything to do with AI or technology.

Thank you to Paubox for sponsoring this episode. Paubox makes HIPAA-secure email and forms easy and streamlined. Check them out here:

⁠https://hubs.la/Q04k58tL0⁠

*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 :)

Links Mentioned:

Free Checklist: Start a Private Practice in Counseling:

https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

Training: “The Client Attraction System"

https://privatepracticeskills.teachable.com/p/client-attraction-system

Training: “Website Copy in a Weekend”

https://privatepracticeskills.teachable.com/l/pdp/website-copy-in-a-weekend

Video: "Beat Big Tech Therapy by not Playing Their Game”

https://youtu.be/wKrlL6oxUX4

Video: "Big Tech & AI Won't Replace Private Practice”

https://youtu.be/thRjsJPYccs

Video: "Develop your Niche in Private Practice”

https://youtu.be/bh6bJRb7iwQ

Video: "5 Ways to Find Your Therapy Niche”

https://youtu.be/FU1eHRDwkus

Video: "How to Find Your Specialty as a Therapist with Roy Kim, CSAT”

https://youtu.be/klbXEq4sIWs

Free Workshop: "SEO & AIO for Therapists: Simple Steps to Get Found on Google and AI”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VosuMl8CTwo

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

👉 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.

2026 Marie interviews 2012 Marie (the year I started private practice). Which do you prefer more?

Thank you to Paubox for sponsoring this episode. Paubox makes HIPAA-secure email and forms easy and streamlined. Check them out here:

⁠https://hubs.la/Q04k58tL0⁠

*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

👉 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.

The land of Big Tech Therapy has been making headlines. I cover some of them in this episode.

*The links shared below are a reference only and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Marie Fang, Private Practice Skills, or its sponsors.

If you’d like a great summary of all that I covered, check out ZynnyMe’s article:

https://www.zynnyme.com/blog/alma-headway-and-the-big-question

If you feel compelled to do something, this r/therapists post links to several options at the systemic level:

https://www.reddit.com/r/therapists/comments/1tvzpov/support_and_advocacy_for_therapists/

Build Better Health’s Mental Health Insurance Reform Task Force’s Petition (if you’d like to sign):

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/we-demand-a-system-that-reflects-the-true-value-of-mental-health-care

Thank you to Paubox for sponsoring this episode. Paubox makes HIPAA-secure email and forms easy and streamlined. Check them out here:

⁠https://hubs.la/Q04k58tL0⁠

*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!

Citations:

Alma has investments from Cigna and Optum:

https://cignaventures.com/alma-raises-130m-in-series-d-funding-led-by-thoma-bravo-to-advance-its-mission-to-simplify-access-to-high-quality-affordable-mental-health-care/

Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), the parent company of several Blue Cross Blue Shield programs, invests in Headway:

https://www.hcsc.com/newsroom/news-releases/2023/strategic-investment-headway-behavioral-health

Reference: HCSC is parent company of Blue Cross Blue Shield:

https://www.hcsc.com/who-we-are

Rula backed by Blue Venture Fund:

https://bhbusiness.com/2024/09/17/digital-mental-health-platform-rula-health-expands-to-50-states/

Reference: Blue Venture Fund invests on behalf of Blue Cross Blue Shield:

https://blueventurefund.com/

Headway and Alma announce 30 percent cut in Optum Rates, January 2025:

https://clearhealthcosts.com/blog/2024/11/2-digital-mental-health-platforms-cut-pay-rates-for-therapists-with-unitedhealths-optum-stirring-anger/

Aetna cuts rates with Alma-contracted therapists:

https://bhbusiness.com/2026/05/21/aetna-cuts-rates-with-alma-contracted-therapists/

r/therapists megathread on Aetna’s rate cuts through Alma:

https://www.reddit.com/r/therapists/comments/1tj1bl1/megathread_aetna_alma_reimbursement_changes_90837/

APA urges Aetna to halt rate cuts:

https://updates.apaservices.org/apa--american-psychiatric-association-urge-aetna-to-pause-reimbursement-rate-cuts-for-behavioral-health-clinicians

Aetna Launches Aetna Mental Health on Demand:

https://www.aetna.com/insights/news/aetna-launches-mental-health-on-demand.html

CVS Announces Aetna Mental Health on Demand:

https://www.cvshealth.com/news/condition-management/aetna-launches-aetna-mental-health-on-demand-to-provide-real-time-access-to-care-and-ongoing-support.html

Proof News Article: "Woman’s Talkspace Therapy App Sessions Exposed in Court"

https://www.proofnews.org/womans-talkspace-therapy-app-sessions-exposed-in-court/

FTC Sues Amazon for Monopoly Power:

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/09/ftc-sues-amazon-illegally-maintaining-monopoly-power

Class Action Lawsuit Against Headway:

https://www.classaction.org/news/headway-hit-with-class-action-over-alleged-disclosure-of-patient-info-to-google

Clear Health Costs Article: "Therapists have misgivings on the platforms: Alma, Headway etc. and the business of therapy”

https://clearhealthcosts.com/blog/2025/11/therapists-have-misgivings-on-the-platforms-alma-headway-etc-and-the-business-of-therapy/

Website: www.privatepracticeskills.com

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.

After a consult call with a new potential therapist who charged the morning of the therapy session, I found myself in a deep dive seeking the answer to this question: is it ethical for therapists to charge in advance of session?

Thank you to Paubox for sponsoring this episode. Paubox makes HIPAA-secure email and forms easy and streamlined. Check them out here:

https://hubs.la/Q04k58tL0

*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 Mentioned:

r/therapists: "Do you charge your clients before or after the session?"

https://www.reddit.com/r/therapists/comments/1dilgg3/do_you_charge_your_clients_before_or_after_the/

Quora: "What are the ethical implications of paying for therapy sessions in advance?”

https://therapistsexposed.quora.com/What-are-the-ethical-implications-of-paying-for-therapy-sessions-in-advance

Quora: "Do all therapists require their clients to pay up front before starting treatment/therapy sessions?"

https://www.quora.com/Do-all-therapists-require-their-clients-to-pay-up-front-before-starting-treatment-therapy-sessions

Quora: "Should a therapist ask for payment up front or at the end of the session?"

https://www.quora.com/Should-a-therapist-ask-for-payment-up-front-or-at-the-end-of-the-session

Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct

https://www.apa.org/ethics/code

AAMFT’s Code of Ethics:

https://www.aamft.org/AAMFT/web/Action-Advocacy/Code-of-Ethics-New.aspx

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

👉 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 recently reached out to a therapist for myself and realized how much the entire intake process sets the tone of the therapeutic alliance.

In this episode, I share some suggestions for how we can hold a therapeutic frame with potential clients before the therapy starts. Not only will it improve the client experience, but setting accurate expectations can help clients make an accurate decision before consenting to therapy, and clients are less likely to cancel before the first session (like I did!).

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 Mentioned:

Article: "Premature discontinuation in adult psychotherapy: a meta-analysis"

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22506792/

Article: “The Nature, Timing, and Symptom Trajectories of Dropout from Transdiagnostic and Single-Diagnosis Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety Disorders"

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8531532/

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

👉 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.

It’s the start of a new series: The Most Fundamental Therapy Skills Explained. Woo! Today we’re kicking off the series by talking about active listening.

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 Mentioned:

Video: My Story of Sudden Hearing Loss:

https://youtu.be/DYQJKKnbxFk

APA’s Definition of Active Listening:

https://dictionary.apa.org/active-listening

Rogers, C. R., & Farson, R. E. (1987). Active listening. In R. G. Newman, M. A. Danzinger, & M. Cohen (Eds.), Communicating in business today (pp. 580–593). D. C. Heath & Company.

https://books.google.com/books/about/Communicating_in_Business_Today.html?id=PJ24PAAACAAJ

Article: “Active Listening”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK442015/

Article: "Coregulation of therapist and client emotion during psychotherapy”

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7233481/

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

👉 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 know that social media is messy. In this episode, we explore two questions that have been taking up space in my brain lately:

1. How much pseudoscience is spread by respected therapists with HUGE platforms, even amongst fellow therapists (think: psychologists with longstanding bestsellers)
   
2. How harmful we are to each other in the comments. Why do we dogpile on each other so hard? Why are therapists just as culpable of piling on each other? Is speaking to each other this way online effective? And importantly: is there a better way?Thank you to Loretta J. Ross’ for her work on Calling In - links to her work referenced below!

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 Mentioned:

Loretta J. Ross’ TED Talk: "Don't call people out -- call them in”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw_720iQDss&t=850s

Loretta’s book: "Calling In: How to Start Making Change with Those You'd Rather Cancel"

https://amzn.to/439WHfC

(this is an affiliate link)

Article: "Addressing misinformation about mental health with patients”

https://www.apa.org/topics/journalism-facts/misinformation-mental-health

Article: "An experimental online study on the impact of negative social media comments on anxiety and mood”

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-10810-8

Article: "Online disinhibition mediates the relationship between emotion regulation difficulties and uncivil communication"

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-81086-7

Article: "The online disinhibition effect”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15257832/

Article: "Calling IN: A Less Disposable Way of Holding Each Other Accountable”

https://www.bgdblog.org/2013/12/calling-less-disposable-way-holding-accountable/

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

👉 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.

Lots of private practice therapists are seeing a drop in referrals lately due to an array of factors, including the ongoing growth of big tech therapy and AI-based services. It raises the question: is private practice still sustainable?

In this episode, I share my personal take: private practice isn’t going anywhere. And, if we can stay grounded in our roots of offering specialized, individualized, dynamic therapy, we can differentiate ourselves from big tech therapy.

I share my take on this in this episode. What do you think? What pieces did I miss?

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!

Related Episodes:

"Trying AI Therapy (I'm a Psychologist)”

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

"Beat Big Tech Therapy by not Playing Their Game”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKrlL6oxUX4

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

👉 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.