The Practice of Therapy Podcast

Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free

Meet Stacey Lanier

Stacey Lanier is a therapist, coach, and founder of Calm Minds Healing Collective. Drawing on her experience in private practice and approaches including EMDR, brainspotting, and hypnosis, she helps people navigate life transitions, build confidence, and explore what comes next. Her coaching focuses on the bridge between surviving and thriving, supporting clients as they recognize their strengths and pursue new possibilities. Her own family's journey—including her son's rise to the NBA—has shaped her perspective on navigating unexpected change and finding purpose in a new season.

Website (15% code for VIP Coaching services: POT2026) Instagram TikTok

Nov 2, 2026 35 min

When Coping Becomes a Cage: Rethinking Depression | Dr. Terry Lynch | TPOT 455

Show notes

What happens when the strategies we use to protect ourselves begin to limit our lives?

In this episode of The Practice of Therapy, Gordon Brewer welcomes Dr. Terry Lynch, a medical doctor and psychotherapist based in Ireland, for a conversation about depression, emotional wounds, and the ways coping can become a cage.

Terry shares his trauma-informed perspective on depression and explores how people-pleasing, withdrawal, and avoiding risks can serve as self-protection while carrying long-term costs. He discusses the role of the inner critic and how therapists can help clients rebuild their sense of self, develop a more compassionate inner dialogue, and recognize opportunities for choice.

Through examples from his clinical work, Terry illustrates how small, manageable steps can help clients expand their comfort zones. This conversation invites therapists to look beyond diagnostic labels and stay curious about the experiences and protective patterns shaping their clients' lives.

Find episode resources and learn more about Terry's course: https://practiceoftherapy.com/terrylynch

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free

Get Terry's Course Website YouTube Instagram

Meet Dr. Terry Lynch

Dr. Terry Lynch is a fully registered medical doctor, a fully accredited psychotherapist and author. A leading figure in mental health in Ireland, Terry provides a recovery-focused mental health service in Limerick, Ireland. For over 10 years, Terry has been a passionate and an outspoken advocate for change, especially toward a deeper and more accurate understanding of emotional distress and mental health problems, and also toward the creation of truly recovery-focused mental health services.

Terry's first book 'Beyond Prozac' (2001 and 2004) was a bestseller in Ireland and was shortlisted for the MIND (UK) Book of the Year award in 2002. Terry's second book, 'SELFHOOD: A Key to the Recovery of Emotional Wellbeing, Mental Health and the Prevention of Mental Health Problems' was published in September 2011. SELFHOOD is the first book in a series - The Mental Wellness Book Series, which Terry will be writing over the coming years.

Oct 26, 2026 36 min

Beyond the Diagnosis: The Stories That Shape Our Clients | Dr. Travis Heath | TPOT 454

Show notes

What do we miss when a diagnosis becomes the whole story?

Dr. Travis Heath joins Gordon Brewer to explore how narrative therapy helps us understand the stories clients tell about themselves—and the stories their families, communities, and culture tell about them.

Together, they discuss how labels can both offer clarity and limit understanding, why slowing down matters in therapy, and how curiosity can open up new possibilities. Travis also shares ways therapists can reflect on their sessions, question familiar assumptions, and move beyond simply listing a client's strengths to hearing the experiences behind them.

This conversation invites therapists to look beyond the diagnosis and make room for clients to feel more fully seen and known.

In this episode: • How personal and cultural stories shape identity • The benefits and limitations of diagnostic labels • Slowing down and moving beyond either/or thinking • Asking questions that invite richer client stories • Staying curious about your own clinical work

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free

Meet Dr. Travis Heath

Travis Heath, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and has been in community practice for nearly two decades. His scholarship has included looking at shifting from a multicultural approach to counseling to one of cultural democracy that invites people to heal in mediums that are culturally near. Other writings have focused on the use of rap music in narrative therapy, working with persons entangled in the criminal injustice system in ways that maintain their dignity, narrative practice stories as pedagogy, and a co-created questioning practice called reunion questions. He is co-author, with David Epston and Tom Carlson, of the first book on Contemporary Narrative Therapy released in June 2022 entitled, Reimagining Narrative Therapy Through Practice Stories and Autoethnography. He has presented his work in 10 countries to date.

Hear more from Travis on his podcast, Therapist Confidential, and explore his conversations and webinars at https://www.psychotherapy.net

Instagram

Email: theath@knowfully.com

Oct 19, 2026 42 min

What Growing a Group Practice Really Takes | Whitney Owens | TPOT 453

Show notes

Growing a private practice takes more than adding clients and hiring therapists. It also means learning to delegate, trust your team, and let go of doing everything yourself.

In this episode, Gordon Brewer welcomes back Whitney Owens, founder of Water's Edge Counseling and Wise Practice Consulting. Whitney shares her journey from solo therapist to group practice owner, including the challenges of building a leadership team, navigating staff turnover, and creating systems that support growth.

Gordon and Whitney explore how confidence develops through experience, why clear values matter in hiring, and how faith shapes Whitney's approach to leadership. They also discuss taking risks, investing in professional relationships, and making room to enjoy the business you're building.

Whether you're considering your first hire or leading an established group practice, this conversation offers practical ideas for sharing responsibility and growing as a leader.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free

Website Water's Edge Counseling Instagram Facebook Wise Practice Podcast

Meet Whitney Owens

Currently, Whitney owns a thriving group practice in Savannah, Georgia, called Water's Edge Counseling. When not running the practice, you can find her coaching, running, or drinking coffee while reading a book. She is married to a pastor and is the mother of two beautiful girls. She has walked the road of balancing work and family and continues to learn along the way.

As a graduate of Richmont Graduate University, she received training not only in professional counseling but also in faith integration. Over the years, she has worked in numerous clinical settings, from residential treatment to hospital work to opening multiple private practices. She is also the author of a Lent devotional for faith-based practice owners called The Practice of Becoming!

Now, she lives the lifestyle she loves, working 4 days a week, picking her kids up from school, and enjoying a profit in her business. She can do the work she loves, live out her faith, and have fun doing it!

Oct 12, 2026 37 min

How Therapists Can Practice What We Preach About Mindfulness | Debi Trent Brown | TPOT 452

Show notes

Therapists spend a lot of time encouraging clients to slow down, practice mindfulness, and become more aware of what they need—but practicing those same things in our own lives can be much harder.

In this episode, Gordon talks with Debi Trent Brown about mindfulness beyond meditation, the importance of creating small moments of joy, and what it means to live more authentically. They explore how the "rules" we pick up from family, culture, and society can quietly shape our choices, why pausing before we respond can help us better understand ourselves, and how consistency—not perfection—builds self-trust. Debi also shares practical ways therapists can become more grounded and intentional in everyday life while learning to practice more of what we preach.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free

Meet Debi Trent Brown

Debi Trent Brown is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who believes deeply in the power of human connection and the importance of creating a safe, nonjudgmental space where clients feel heard and supported.

Using a collaborative, solution-focused approach, Debi helps clients build self-confidence, strengthen coping skills, practice mindfulness, and develop greater trust in their own inner voice and intuition. Her areas of focus include anxiety, depression, self-esteem, stress management, addiction, negative thinking, anger management, grief, communication, and decision-making.

Debi is especially passionate about helping people become more present, grounded, and intentional in their everyday lives while learning to recognize the things that bring them joy and create meaningful change.

Website https://debitrentbrowntherapy.com Instagram https://www.instagram.com/presentlygrounded/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/deborah.afs

Oct 5, 2026 41 min

How to Make More Impact Without Adding More Clients | James Marland | TPOT 451

Show notes

What happens when being "successful" in private practice starts to look a lot like burnout?

In this episode, Gordon talks with James Marland about the three traps that can keep therapists stuck in one-on-one work: the clock trap, calendar trap, and couch trap. They unpack why being fully booked isn't always the same as being free, and how tying your income, time, and impact entirely to client hours can eventually become exhausting.

James also shares practical ways therapists can begin thinking beyond traditional one-on-one work through workshops, courses, trainings, and other resources that allow their expertise to reach more people. The conversation covers protecting your calendar, testing new ideas without a huge upfront investment, and using the knowledge you already have in a way that creates more flexibility and impact.

If you've ever felt like your schedule is running your life—or wondered how to grow without simply adding more clients—this episode offers a different way to think about success in private practice.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free

Meet James Marland

James Marland helps therapists expand their impact beyond one-on-one clinical work by creating additional income streams through workshops, courses, and other scalable resources. He is the host of the Scaling Therapist podcast and works with therapists to turn their expertise into practical offerings that can reach more people without adding more hours to their schedules. Through Course Creation Studio, James also helps with the strategy and behind-the-scenes tech needed to launch and run workshops and courses.

Email James: james@coursecreationstudio.com Website LinkedIn Scaling Therapist Podcast

Sep 28, 2026 42 min

Supporting Postpartum Moms Through Private Practice | Hannah Short | TPOT 450

Show notes

One of the things I've learned over the years is that the work we feel most drawn to often has some connection to our own experiences.

That doesn't mean our story becomes the center of the therapy room, but it can absolutely shape the populations we care about, the problems we notice, and the kind of practice we want to build.

In this episode, I talk with Hannah Short about how her own experiences with eating disorder recovery and postpartum helped shape her clinical niche. We also get into thoughtful self-disclosure, creating a practice where clients feel genuinely understood, moving from virtual work into an in-person office, and using systems and AI to make solo practice a little more manageable.

There's a lot here about finding meaningful work, building a practice around it, and remembering that sometimes the best clues about your niche are already part of your story.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free

Meet Hannah Short, LCSW, BCBC

Hannah Short, LCSW, Board-Certified Bariatric Counselor, is the founder of Rooted & Nourished Psychotherapy, a solo private practice in Waco, Texas, offering in-person and virtual therapy services across Texas.

She specializes in women's mental health, body image, eating disorders, bariatric surgery preparation and recovery, perinatal and postpartum support, and trauma-informed care, including EMDR.

Hannah has struggled with her own eating disorder and is 10 years in recovery. She also built her practice while navigating her own postpartum journey, bringing both lived and professional expertise to her work with women in transition.

She's known for her direct, relatable approach both in clinical work and through her "Between Sessions" newsletter and content. Her mission is to create space for women's stories without shame, diet culture, or clinical distance.

Website Instagram TikTok

Sep 21, 2026 32 min

Branding Your Private Practice: How to Stand Out and Get Found | Ritu Riedweg | TPOT 449

Show notes

When therapists think about branding, it's easy to immediately think about logos, fonts, colors, and websites. But your brand is so much more than what your practice looks like online. It is also the feeling people get when they encounter you, the story they associate with you, and ultimately, whether they feel like they can trust you.

In this episode of The Practice of Therapy Podcast, I had the pleasure of talking with Ritu Riedweg about personal branding, marketing, and what therapists can do to make their practices easier to find and easier to connect with.

Ritu brings an interesting perspective to this conversation because her career has crossed both the marketing and therapy worlds. She originally studied social work before building a career in marketing, branding, and design. Later, after experiencing the transformational impact of therapy in her own life, she trained as a therapist herself. Eventually, she realized she could combine those two areas of experience by helping other therapists become more effective at marketing and branding their practices.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free

Website LinkedIn Instagram

Meet Ritu Riedweg

Ritu Riedweg is a brand strategist, web designer, and personal branding expert who helps therapists, coaches, and healers stand out online, get found on Google, and connect with their ideal clients. With a background spanning marketing, coaching, therapy, and web design, Ritu brings both strategy and a deep understanding of the helping professions to her work.

After building her own therapy practice, Ritu returned to her marketing roots and launched a personal branding and website agency focused on helping heart-centered professionals build businesses that reflect who they are and the people they are called to serve. Her approach blends thoughtful branding, clear strategy, and authentic storytelling to create an online presence that feels personal, professional, and aligned.

Sep 14, 2026 38 min

Working With High-Risk Teens in Private Practice | Katie K. May | TPOT 448

Show notes

Working with high-risk teens can feel overwhelming, especially when self-harm, suicidal thoughts, emotional dysregulation, or repeated hospitalizations are part of the picture. So how can therapists provide both compassion and structure without letting fear drive the treatment?

In this episode, Gordon talks with Katie K. May about working effectively with high-risk teens and their families. Katie shares why validation matters, how therapists can provide strong clinical leadership, and why caregiver involvement is such an important part of the process.

They also discuss proactive safety planning, recognizing patterns before a crisis, helping teens build skills they can actually use outside the therapy room, and why therapists need clear frameworks and support when doing high-risk clinical work.

Katie also shares ideas from her book, Teen DBT in Practice, including how therapists can help teens move toward a life worth living while creating more confidence and sustainability in the work.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free

Meet Katie K. May

Katie K. May is a licensed therapist, author, speaker, trainer, and group practice owner whose mission is to stop the revolving door of hospitalizations for teen self-harm, suicidal behaviors, and shutdowns by giving families and clinicians practical tools that create lasting change.

She is the founder of Creative Healing, a multi-location teen support center in the Philadelphia area, and the author of the #1 Amazon best-seller You're On Fire, It's Fine: Effective Strategies for Parenting Teens with Self-Destructive Behaviors. Her second book, Teen DBT in Practice, provides clinicians with a practical framework for applying DBT with adolescents and moving beyond surface-level behavior management toward meaningful, lasting change.

One of a select few Linehan ("Lynn-a-hayn") Board-Certified DBT Clinicians in Pennsylvania, Katie specializes in evidence-based treatment for self-harm, suicidal behaviors, and complex emotional challenges in teens. She is an ongoing guest expert on Good Day Philadelphia, where she shares practical guidance on teen and parent mental health.

Known for her clinical practicality and lived experience as a teen who once turned to self-harm herself, Katie bridges the gap between the therapy room and the family living room. Her work helps parents and professionals decode behavior as survival, regulate the nervous system, and create new coping strategies that last because the whole family is integrated into the treatment plan.

• Website
• Instagram
• Treating High-Risk Teens Course
• Teen DBT in Practice: A Comprehensive Guide for Therapists Treating High-Risk Behaviors
• How to Assess Teen Suicide Risk

Sep 7, 2026 34 min

Why Rapport Matters More Than Ever in Private Practice | Nora Anger | TPOT 447

Show notes

Building rapport isn't just about helping clients feel comfortable. It can play a major role in whether they trust you, open up, and keep coming back.

In this episode, I sit down with Nora Anger, LPC, to talk about building stronger therapeutic relationships in private practice. We discuss what clients really want from their therapists, common reasons they leave therapy, thoughtful self-disclosure, creating safety and trust, and how to balance compassion with challenging clients when they need it.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free

Nora's Website Nora's Instagram

Meet Nora Anger

Nora Anger, MS, LPC, is a Licensed Professional Counselor with more than a decade of experience in the mental health field. She specializes in trauma, grief, anxiety, and depression, helping clients navigate difficult life transitions and experiences. Known for her warm, direct, and down-to-earth approach, Nora has a particular strength in building rapport with clients who may have struggled with therapy in the past. She earned her master's degree from Chestnut Hill College and currently provides counseling in the greater Philadelphia area.

Aug 31, 2026 41 min

Is Your Private Practice Too Dependent on You? | TaVona Denise | TPOT 446

Show notes

What happens to your private practice when you step away?

In this episode, Gordon talks with TaVona Denise about what her Private Practice Vitality Report revealed about owner dependency, burnout, delegation, and the systems that keep a practice running. They explore why hiring more staff doesn't always create more freedom, how to tell if your practice still depends too heavily on you, and the simple 30-day question that can uncover exactly where your systems need work. If you want to build a practice that can grow without requiring you to be involved in every decision, this conversation is a great place to start.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free

The 2026 Practice Vitality Report is free

Meet TaVona Denise

TaVona Denise is a strategic operations consultant for independent practice owners who are making money but can't take a vacation. A former clinic director and PT with 13 years running her own contracting company, she knows what it's like to be the best thing that ever happened to your patients and show up sick because calling out would lead to chaos. She is the author of the Private Practice Vitality Report 2026, a cross-disciplinary study of 43 practice owners that challenges what most owners assume about stability and freedom. TaVona's on a mission to ensure there are no martyrs in medicine.

Instagram @TaVonaDenise

Facebook Page

Aug 24, 2026 33 min

The Systems Your Private Practice Needs to Run Smoothly | Lisa Permar | TPOT 445

Show notes

A private practice can look successful on the outside and still feel exhausting behind the scenes. Clients are showing up, revenue is coming in, and everything appears to be working, but the owner may still be answering every question, fixing every exception, following up on loose ends, and carrying far too much of the practice in their own head.

In this episode, Gordon talks with Lisa Permar about the small, repeated friction points that quietly drain a practice owner's time, attention, and energy. They explore how everyday tasks around intake, scheduling, billing, documentation, and team communication can become much bigger problems when there are no clear systems behind them. Lisa also shares her framework of moving from firefighter to builder to operator and explains why hiring more help does not necessarily solve the problem if the processes themselves are unclear.

Gordon and Lisa also discuss delegation, creating simple and useful SOPs, and what it takes to build a practice that can continue functioning when the owner needs to step away. Whether you are running a group practice or working solo, the goal is not to automate every interaction or remove the human side of your work. It is to create enough structure around the predictable and repeatable parts of your practice that you can protect your attention for the things that truly require your judgment and care.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Wise Practice Summit

Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free

Website Instagram Facebook

Meet Lisa Permar

Lisa Permar is an operations architect and the founder of Zero Friction Practice, where she helps private practice owners build the systems their businesses need to run smoothly without relying on memory, constant oversight, or late nights. Drawing on years of experience building the operational backends of businesses across multiple industries, Lisa specializes in helping clinical practices improve intake, scheduling, billing, cash flow, delegation, and documentation. Through the Zero Friction Method, she works alongside practice owners to install practical infrastructure, create clear playbooks, and remove the owner as the bottleneck so the practice can operate with greater clarity, consistency, and freedom.

Free Practice Friction Quiz + Friction Tax Calculator The assessment identifies their Practice Friction Type (Firefighter, Builder, or Operator), estimates the financial impact of operational friction inside their practice, and provides a clearer next step based on their results.

Podcast listeners will also receive 55% off The Friction Tax Blueprint, a step-by-step diagnostic that helps practice owners uncover where their practice is quietly draining time, money, and mental bandwidth. Through five guided assessments and calculations, they'll identify their biggest operational leaks, estimate the true cost of those inefficiencies, and walk away with a prioritized 30-day action plan so they know exactly what to fix first. Discount code: THERAPY50

Aug 17, 2026 30 min

Private Practice Money Mistakes That Could Be Costing You | Margo Masri | TPOT 444

Show notes

Your private practice may look profitable on paper, but does the money actually feel available?

In this episode, Gordon talks with Margo Masri, founder of Heartfelt CFO and Tax Services, about the financial decisions that can quietly create cash flow problems for private practice owners. They explore the risks of over-hiring, ignoring taxes, taking on office space too soon, and trying to grow without fully understanding the costs involved.

Margo also shares why practice owners need to know what they personally need to live on, build financial systems that can grow with the business, and approach financial mistakes as opportunities to make better decisions moving forward.

Whether you are starting a private practice or managing a growing team, this conversation offers a reminder to slow down, understand your numbers, and make financial decisions that support the practice you actually want to build.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free

Website Instagram Facebook

Meet Margo Masri

Margo Masri is the founder of Heartfelt CFO and Tax Services, a company she started in 2003 to help business owners better understand their finances and build stronger, more sustainable businesses. With extensive experience in bookkeeping, advanced accounting strategies, tax planning, and virtual CFO services, Margo takes a holistic approach to helping clients create financial systems that support their personal and professional goals. She also coaches small business owners through financial challenges and regularly speaks at industry events.

Aug 10, 2026 36 min

The Neurodivergent Therapist's Guide to Private Practice | Martin Altman | TPOT 443

Show notes

Have you ever wondered how much easier private practice could feel if you stopped fighting the way your brain works?

In this episode, I'm talking with Martin Altman, LPC, about his experience as a therapist with ADHD and how understanding his own neurodivergence helped him find a niche that genuinely fit. We get into the strengths and challenges that can come with ADHD, how Martin stays present with clients, and why building the right systems can make private practice feel a whole lot more sustainable.

Martin also shares a really helpful perspective on emotional hijacking and why distraction is not always about lacking focus or discipline. Sometimes our thoughts and emotions are simply taking up too much bandwidth. Whether you have ADHD yourself or work with neurodivergent clients, I think you'll find this conversation honest, encouraging, and full of useful takeaways.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free

Meet Martin Altman, LPC

Martin Altman, LPC, is a therapist and the owner of Stillwater Counseling in Atlanta, Georgia, where he specializes in working with clients experiencing ADHD, anxiety, and Level 1 autism. As both a clinician and someone with ADHD, Martin combines professional training, research, personal experience, and a straightforward, relatable approach to therapy. Raised on a farm in South Georgia, he blends what he calls "old-school wisdom" with modern science to help clients slow down, manage emotional and sensory overwhelm, and become more productive without sacrificing their creativity. Martin studied psychology at the University of Georgia and earned his master's degree in counseling from Georgia State University. After working with several large mental health organizations in Atlanta, he built a private practice focused on helping neurodivergent clients feel understood, supported, and more in control of their lives.

Website Instagram

Aug 4, 2026 34 min

The Emotional Weight of Private Practice | Lindsay Benson | TPOT 442

Show notes

Therapists are great at taking care of everyone else, but we are not always so good at noticing what the work is doing to us.

In this episode, I'm talking with Lindsay Benson about the hidden toll private practice can take on our nervous systems. We get into therapist burnout, the stress that builds up from sitting with difficult stories all day, and the small practices that can help us reset between sessions.

Lindsay also shares her experience moving from insurance to private pay, offering therapy intensives, and building a practice that feels more sustainable. This is a great conversation for anyone who loves the work but wants to have a little more energy left when the workday is over.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free

Lindsay's Website Divine Legacy Collective Instagram

Meet Lindsay Benson LPC-S

With 20 years of experience as a Licensed Professional Counselor, Lindsay Benson is passionate about helping people heal from the inside out. She earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees from Oklahoma State University, where her calling to work with trauma survivors began while volunteering with abused youth. That experience confirmed what she has known ever since, that helping others heal is more than a profession; it is her life's purpose.

For more than a decade in private practice, Lindsay has specialized in working with adults struggling with anxiety, trauma, shame, burnout, self-judgment, and a sense of disconnection from themselves and their lives. She is especially passionate about helping individuals reconnect with their authentic selves, cultivate self-compassion, and live with greater purpose, presence, and fulfillment.

Lindsay believes lasting healing happens when we address the whole person mind, body, and spirit. Her integrative approach combines evidence-based therapies with holistic practices, including EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Somatic Healing, Transpersonal Psychology, Energy Psychology, Mindfulness, Reiki, Emotion Code, Body Code, Healing Remembered, and meditation. Her work focuses on helping clients regulate their nervous systems, heal unresolved wounds, and reconnect with their innate capacity for healing.

Driven by a passion for supporting fellow clinicians, Lindsay co-founded Divine Legacy Collective, an organization dedicated to helping therapists thrive personally and professionally through immersive, embodied continuing education experiences. Rather than traditional lecture-based trainings, Divine Legacy Collective offers experiential CEU retreats and workshops that allow therapists to personally experience the very practices they can bring into their clinical work. Through trauma-informed yoga, somatic practices, meditation, parts work, nervous system regulation, time in nature, and opportunities for deep reflection, therapists leave not only with new clinical skills but also feeling renewed, grounded, and more connected to their Highest Self.

Lindsay's mission is simple: to help people and the professionals who care for them move beyond surviving and into a life of authenticity, connection, healing, and lasting well-being.

Jul 27, 2026 33 min

The Mindset Shifts That Make Private Practice Feel More Sustainable | Tyana Tavakol | TPOT 441

Show notes

What if the biggest thing holding your private practice back isn't your marketing strategy but your mindset?

In this episode, I'm joined by Tyana Tavakol to talk about the beliefs that shape the way we build our practices. We explore scarcity versus abundance, the value of finding your niche, and why trying to appeal to everyone often keeps you from connecting with the clients who need you most.

We also dive into building an online practice, creating meaningful professional relationships, and learning to trust your own expertise instead of comparing yourself to everyone else. If you've ever questioned whether you're doing enough or wondered why private practice feels harder than it should, I think you'll find this conversation both encouraging and practical.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free

Meet Tyana Tavakol (she/her), LMFT

Tyana Tavakol is an LMFT licensed in CA & FL specializing in anxiety, trauma, and late-diagnosed autistic adults. She is passionate about helping people move beyond self-criticism, unmask, and better understand themselves through a neurodiversity-affirming lens. Her work focuses on helping clients reconnect with who they are beneath years of people-pleasing, perfectionism, and the belief that something is "wrong" with them. Through therapy, education, and online content, Tyana is committed to making conversations about autism, mental health, and healing more accessible, compassionate, and empowering.

Website Instagram

Jul 20, 2026 32 min

Private Practice Stress: What's Filling Your Bucket? | Kristin Oja | TPOT 440

Show notes

Are you burning out in private practice without realizing it?

In this episode of The Practice of Therapy Podcast, Gordon talks with Kristin Oja, DNP, founder of STAT Wellness, about optimizing stress resilience and preventing burnout. Kristin shares a functional medicine perspective on why burnout is not always caused by work alone. Often, it is the buildup of stressors outside of work, including sleep, caffeine, exercise, relationships, technology, self-talk, and lack of recovery.

Kristin explains the idea of the "stress bucket" and how even good things, like exercise, intermittent fasting, sauna, cold plunge, and high achievement, can become stressors when there is not enough recovery. Gordon and Kristin also talk about why therapists and private practice owners need to pay attention to their inner voice, create healthier boundaries with phones and email, and build small resets into the day between clients.

If you are a therapist, counselor, or private practice owner feeling exhausted, disconnected, or stretched too thin, this conversation will help you think differently about burnout and what it really takes to recover.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free

Website Instagram Little By Podcast on Instagram

Meet Kristin Oja

Kristin obtained her Doctor of Nursing Practice, Masters of Science in Nursing with a Family Nurse Practitioner focus, and is a Registered Nurse. She is also an entrepreneur, functional and lifestyle medicine guru, personal trainer, group fitness instructor, and lover of everything health and wellness!

Passionate about taking a Personalized Medicine approach, Kristin focuses on uncovering the root cause of chronic illness and disease. Taking into account her patients lifestyle, diet, genetics, environment, and stress, each treatment plan is unique and individualized.

Kristin has been serving and caring for patients for over 10 years. She strives every day to provide high quality care by doing everything with compassion, integrity, and above all a serving heart.

Kristin founded STAT Wellness, which stands for Strength To Achieve Total Wellness, to help transform medicine. Statistically, as a society, we are getting sicker and sicker. At STAT Wellness, we want to partner with you to help you not only look your best but to feel your best by combining the best practices of medicine + movement.

Jul 13, 2026 35 min

How AI Search Is Changing Private Practice Marketing | Natalie Moore | TPOT 439

Show notes

Is SEO dead, or is it just changing?

In this episode, I'm joined again by Natalie Moore, a licensed marriage and family therapist and SEO coach for therapists in private practice. Natalie breaks down the difference between SEO and AIO, or artificial intelligence optimization, and explains why therapists don't need to panic about AI search replacing traditional SEO.

We talk about how private practice owners can make their websites easier to find on Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other AI search tools. Natalie shares why specialty pages, Google Business Profiles, clear niche messaging, and client-centered copy still matter, and how AI search adds another layer to what therapists are already doing online.

If you're a therapist in private practice trying to get found by the right clients, this conversation will help you understand how SEO and AI can work together instead of competing against each other.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free

Google Business Profile Setup Resource

Meet Natalie Moore, LMFT

Natalie Moore is a licensed marriage and family therapist in Los Angeles and the founder of Space for Growth Therapy & Coaching. In her therapy practice, she specializes in supporting high-functioning women navigating anxiety, burnout, people-pleasing and the identity shift of motherhood. She is also an SEO coach for therapists, helping clinicians make their websites easier to find and easier for the right clients to recognize themselves in. Her work sits at the intersection of clinical nuance, ethical marketing, SEO and AI search strategy.

Website Instagram

BrightLocal's 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey (This includes helpful data on how local search behavior is shifting, including the rise of AI tools for local business recommendations.)

Episode 378: Keyword Research for Therapists

Jul 6, 2026 53 min

How to Protect Your Private Practice From the Unexpected | Jeanine Rousso | TPOT 438

Show notes

What happens when the therapist is the one who needs support?

In this episode, I'm talking about the very real challenges therapists face when life disrupts their ability to work. Private practice can offer freedom and flexibility, but it can also leave clinicians vulnerable when illness, grief, natural disasters, burnout, or unexpected emergencies come up.

We'll look at why therapists need a safety net, how financial stress impacts clinicians, and what it means to prepare your practice for the unexpected. From emergency grants and burnout prevention to referral networks and professional wills, this conversation is a reminder that therapists are human too.

Jeanine Rousso, co-founder of Therapist Resource Network, joins me to share how her nonprofit is supporting mental health clinicians through emergency financial assistance, advocacy, and resources for long-term sustainability.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free

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Meet Jeanine Rousso, LCMHC, LMHC, LPC, ACS

Throughout her 20 years working in the mental health field, Jeanine noticed a growing need for support among mental health clinicians, especially in times of personal emergencies and burnout. As the need for mental health treatment increased among clients, so did the need for the clinicians themselves to be cared for. Unfortunately, the broken mental health system does not often afford therapists the space and financial stability to receive much-deserved care in their times of need. Jeanine founded TRN as a way to support therapists in new ways.

Jun 29, 2026 30 min

Building a Private Practice Right Out of Grad School | Jarrod Hoffman | TPOT 437

Show notes

Can you really build a successful private practice right out of grad school?

In this episode of The Practice of Therapy Podcast, I talk with Jarrod Hoffman about building a private practice right out of grad school and the lessons he has learned in those early years of practice ownership.

Jarrod shares his experience of stepping into private practice, navigating pricing, working through imposter syndrome, and learning how to communicate the value of the work he does. We also talk about why niching matters, how our own stories often shape the clients we feel called to serve, and why private practice requires both strategy and internal growth.

This conversation is a great reminder that building a sustainable private practice is not just about getting more clients. It is about knowing your value, understanding the transformation you offer, and creating a practice with intention and purpose.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free