Business
32. Freedom From the ‘Good Clinician’ Rules
In this episode of Marketing Therapy, Anna Walker addresses the common 'shoulds' that therapists impose on themselves, such as feeling they should already have a full caseload or know how to...
32. Freedom From the ‘Good Clinician’ Rules
Business •
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Interactive Transcript
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Welcome to Marketing Therapy, the podcast where we treat the self-doubt, anxiety, and
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imposter syndrome that so often show up when marketing your private practice.
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I'm your host Anna Walker.
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I've helped over 3,000 therapists grow their practices in ways that are effective,
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authentic, and actually feel good.
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This podcast isn't about chasing trends, slimy sales tactics, or forcing yourself to be
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someone you're not.
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It's about building real confidence, learning what actually works, and finding your voice.
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So your marketing finally feels like you, and starts connecting with the clients you are
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meant to serve.
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Here we serve up the breakthroughs that lead to a full feel-good caseload.
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Ready to dive in?
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Marketing Therapy is now in session.
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Hey everyone, welcome back to Marketing Therapy.
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It's funny when I think about the clients that my clients, therapists, most often serve.
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It is some version of a high functioning, over-functioning, anxious, perfectionistic woman.
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Now not all of the therapists I serve work with that type of person, but it is definitely
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the most common client type that we see.
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And what's interesting is often the clients themselves, the clinicians themselves, are also
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high functioning, anxious, high achieving women.
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Is that interesting?
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But as I was reflecting on kind of this phenomenon, I've noticed how often I chat with therapists
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about the way that their clients should themselves.
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Do you see your clients should themselves?
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I should be further along, I should be handling this better, I should be over it by now,
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this shame and lack of self-compassion that is so common in not just women, certainly,
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but people having this type of experience.
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And how curious is it that therapists are often supporting their clients in this
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shoulding themselves and helping them grow in self-compassion and greater awareness of
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what's really happening there when they themselves are also often shoulding themselves?
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Now your work is usually about helping your clients notice those thoughts.
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Like I said, extend some compassion, practice grace.
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But I see so many of you doing it in your own practices,
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shoulding yourselves.
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I should already be full.
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I should know how to do this.
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I should do what everyone else is doing.
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Now, when you are running a business, you aren't working for someone else,
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you aren't clocking in and clocking out, right?
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You're creating something that is truly your own.
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You're carrying financial stakes, right?
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You are probably a contributor to your household, possibly the only one.
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You might be breaking generational patterns in your family by going out and becoming
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this highly trained professional and not just that, but also starting a business, right?
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I don't need to tell you that the pressure here is high.
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The pressure is very, very high.
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And I think that's why so many therapists get caught shoulding themselves,
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whether they realize it or not.
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So today, I want to look at the most common sheds that therapists put all themselves.
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And if you're caught in one of them, what they're costing you,
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but also what it could open up if you're able to let them go.
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Now, growing a practice, becoming a CEO, mindset, business owner, all of those things,
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it's not about perfection.
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You're never going to get there, right?
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We're always going to have struggles.
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But I do want to encourage you here to free yourself from some of the old definitions
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of what a quote, unquote, good clinician should look like.
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So you can build a practice that actually fits you, not just now, but also for the long term.
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All right, so one of the most common sheds that I hear from clinicians is I should already be full.
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Or a variation I should be seeing results faster.
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Often times this is rooted quite frankly, just in unrealistic expectations.
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In this market, it is very unlikely that you're going to launch a practice from the ground up
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and have a full caseload in a handful of months.
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That takes time, right?
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And we've all seen the overnight success stories.
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We've all seen the people that are making six figures, their first year in practice,
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are multiple six figures.
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And while those are wonderful stories to know about and to strive for,
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they can sometimes low less into a sense of believing that that's the experience for everyone.
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And that if we are tapping that experience, then something is wrong.
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Okay, I want you to remember that sustainable growth takes longer, but it also lasts longer.
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And that's not to say if you are very, very successful in your first year that it can't
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continue. But it is to say that if you are slowly but surely making progress in your practice,
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chances are that slow but sure progress is only going to continue over the long term.
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Not full yet is not the same as failing.
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The only way you fail here is if you quit.
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So how could you shift that here?
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You know your clients don't change their patterns in two sessions, right?
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Therapy takes time, so too does growing a therapy practice.
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Sometimes when I see clinicians shooting themselves in this place,
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there's like it or not a bit of a sense of entitlement as well.
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Well, I did my time. I did the marketing.
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I launched the website.
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I reached out to that networking contact and they never got back to me.
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And of course this is never intentional, but there can be a sense of entitlement to clients.
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I was actually speaking with a clinician who launched her practice during the pandemic,
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which was in many ways a good time, quote, unquote, to launch a practice because the need was so
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right. Well, here we are in post pandemic times where the need has shifted.
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The market has shifted. Clients aren't just clamoring to go to any available therapist anymore.
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And so what used to work to get clients might not work the same way.
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And it can be tempting in the realization that you might have to make a change to feel like you
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shouldn't have to. And believe me, the only reason I'm saying this is because I know that feeling
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I too have felt entitled in my own business and times as I look back.
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But sometimes this feeling that I should already be full or I should be seeing results
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faster is because I believe that I've already done my time.
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And so I would encourage you however you're experiencing this should, if I have said something
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but has struck a chord with you, I encourage you to replace the frustration you're feeling
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with a bit of curiosity. What can I learn here? What is this season showing me?
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We've been talking in the past couple of episodes about the seasons of private practice. How can
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you appreciate the one you're in right now? What would failure actually mean? And what evidence do
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you have that maybe you're not feeling at all? I want to normalize here slow and steady progress.
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You are in this for the long game, right? You did launch a practice for the next one three,
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five years, you did it for the long game. And that's not to say you can't be successful in the one
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three or five years. But it does mean that what you're creating slow and steady is likely going to
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be incredibly sustainable as long as you keep pushing forward. So what can you learn here if you're
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finding yourself shooting yourself in this way? The next should that I see a lot of clinicians fall
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into. I should know how to do this or another version I should just figure it out on my own.
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Now, understandably many clinicians pride themselves on independence.
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You probably have story after story of how you have been scrappy and made it work up until now.
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And obviously we talk about this all the time, Grant Schooled in Cover Business.
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And so there's this rub between you being independent and scrappy and self-sufficient and also
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never having actually been taught these things. Whatever these things are, maybe it's accounting,
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maybe it's billing, maybe it's marketing, maybe it's writing copy, whatever that might be.
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But in the same way that you see your own clients benefit in some ways from self-help or self-care
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practices and strategies, it can't replace therapy. Therapy deepens and accelerates growth
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that a client on themselves can rarely experience. And so if you're someone feeling bad about the fact
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that you should know how to do this or you should just figure it out on your own, I believe you
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probably could DIY everything. But at what cost? What is the cost of continuing to believe that you
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should figure this out on your own? The time, the energy, the frustration, the opportunity cost
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of staying there. The smartest clinicians I know, the most successful ones, have invested in support
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to fill the gaps they themselves could not fill. Sometimes that means hiring someone for their website,
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not always though. Sometimes it's seeking out a coach. Sometimes it's working on their mindset.
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Sometimes it's outsourcing the menial tasks of their business that keep them spinning in their
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admin time. But they are investing in support so they can focus on the work only they can do.
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Only you can show up in the room and do what you do with your clients.
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And so if you're finding yourself feeling bad about your quote-unquote inability to do something
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by yourself, I want to remind you that seeking help isn't weakness. It is wisdom.
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And it is so often beneficial over the long term, even if it feels expensive, in time, energy
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money, whatever it might be, upfront. All right, the next one, I should be doing more. Have you ever
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thought this one? I should be doing more. And that clinician over there and the Facebook
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group said they're doing this thing. Oh, that person did a lunch and learned at a doctor's office.
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Oh, this person is getting followers on TikTok. This person talked about SEO or blogging.
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It is very difficult in the hyper-social world we live in and that you operate your practice in
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to not feel drawn in one million directions. Pull the tort every platform and strategy out there
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believing that maybe this will be the thing. Okay, we call that shiny object syndrome. If you've
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never heard that term before, but it's you being distracted by the new shiny object that someone
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suggested or you saw online or you heard about, I've said this for a really long time,
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since very, very early on in the days of Walker's Strategy Co. And I believe this more now than I
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have ever believed it. When you focus on fewer things and do them with absolute excellence,
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you get far more results than when you do a bunch of things subpar. So if you look at all the ways
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that you could grow your practice and you select just a handful that feel authentic to you and
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sustainable and you commit to doing them over time very, very well, you will get such better
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results and also enjoy the journey a heck of a lot more than if you dabble in every single strategy
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out there. Please hear me that more activity doing quote-unquote more does not equate to more progress.
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This is a quality over quantity issue. You've probably heard the Jack of All trades but master of none
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phrase. Are you being a Jack of all trades in your marketing and therefore a master of none?
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Or are you being intentional and thoughtful and doing those things well over time?
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Refusing to be distracted. Refusing to just be drawn to something brand new just because someone
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else said it might work and instead doing what feels right for you. Because growing up practice,
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it is not one size fits all. Yeah, you can absolutely dance on Instagram reels and have an incredibly
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successful practice. You could also never show up on camera and write blogs. You could pay for Google
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ads when done well. You can network your hard out there are so many ways you can do this. And just
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because someone else experienced success in one way does not mean that yours has to look the same.
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I've got countless messages from clinicians who have thanked me for freeing them from the
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belief they held that they had to be on social media because it felt so
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inauthentic to them and they realized oh my goodness when I don't have to do that freeze me up to do
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what I do want to do and the success stories I have that follow that revelation are crazy.
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You don't have to do more do a handful of things that make sense for you and do them with
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excellence over time. That is what will lead to sustainability and growth.
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All right, the next one I should just be grateful for the clients I have.
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Have you felt this? Maybe you look around and you see others having a hard time
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gaining traction and getting clients. And there's a guilt about wanting more when others are
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struggling. You have some clients. Shouldn't you just be grateful for them?
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Or this can sometimes be a should that sound like I should say yes to everyone.
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You know, I'm afraid of turning clients away who I could help and who will pay me.
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Remember two things can be true at a time. Gratitude for the clients you have and a desire for change.
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Wanting something different looking to pivot in your niche looking to D panel doesn't mean you
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aren't grateful for the clients who currently have. Doesn't mean you don't cherish those
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relationships or care about their progress. Two things can be true at the same time.
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And the boundaries you set around who you're attracting and who you're bringing into your practice
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are what contribute to the sustainability of your practice over time.
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Because the more you can show up in the room as the best version of a therapist that you are,
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the longer you'll be able to stay in this game, the more you'll enjoy it and the better outcomes your clients will get.
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Saying no to some clients allows you to say a more wholehearted yes to the right ones.
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Saying quote unquote no is an active integrity. Not rejection.
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And you can, like I said, cherish the clients you currently have and want something different.
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And if you have felt that tension, especially as you look around with other people perhaps
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struggling to get any clients, please know that that's okay that you can live in that tension and
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both things can be true at the same time. All right, what about this one? I should sound more professional.
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I think this one is a remnant of the blank slate buttoned up ideal that clinicians, especially
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of yesterday were very much taught. We've seen the way in this market that clients want humanity.
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They're looking for connection. They're looking for deep, deep understanding.
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Not jargon, not professional language. And it's why in marketing therapy in this podcast,
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we talk so much about finding your voice because your authentic voice, it communicates more
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confidence than formality can than a list of trainings or certifications or where you went to
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school. You're authentic voice is where the relationship with your clients begins.
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I've said before that your clients right now are waiting through an absolute sea of sameness
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right now. They're opening up website after website with stacked rocks and beige colored schemes
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and cardiganed therapists. And of course none of these things are bad right. I'm just talking about
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cliches here. But whatever it is that you bring to the table, whatever sets you apart lean into that.
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If you swear in session, I always tell therapists that's one of the best ways to connect
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in your copy, swear in your copy. If you have pink hair, if you like bold colors, do whatever it
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takes. And if you like the beige, the cardigan, that's okay to embrace that, own it and be authentic
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about it. What clients don't want right now is the removed, cold, hard to connect to.
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Clinician, they're looking for a two-way street for engagement and to be in the room with a human.
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How can you show up to your marketing as a human?
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Professionalism matters. No doubt about it. And clients want that. But professionalism does not
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outweigh authenticity, particularly in this market. All right, I got one more for you.
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This is a little bit similar to what I mentioned earlier, but I should do what everyone else is doing.
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Kind of similar to that I should be doing more. I was mentioning earlier. But this one I think
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comes down to a lot of that comparison game. Comparing yourself to peers where they are,
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people you graduated with and when they started a practice, how full are they, how full are you?
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This person raised their fees, this person hit this income. And sometimes what that can lead to
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is a desire to reverse engineer their success. Well, I heard this person did x, y, and z to get
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a full practice. And so I'm going to do x, y, and z.
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Remember, the therapeutic relationship is more important than the modality here.
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The way that you grow your practice matters far less than how you show up to those things.
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Someone's path, SEO, Instagram networking doesn't have to be yours.
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The tactic by which you grow your practice is secondary. Your voice, your energy,
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your authenticity is primary. If you're doing things in your marketing because someone said you
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should and you despise it and quite frankly resent it a little bit, guess what? That's going to
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show up in your marketing. And when you copy others, whether you mean to or not, you dilute the
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relationship with your ideal clients. So whatever it is that you choose to do to grow your practice,
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let your strategy serve that, not replace it. Lead from an authentic place, make decisions about
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your practice from that place. Show up to your marketing and to your business.
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As the version of yourself you want to be, not what someone else said you should do or what
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that other successful therapist did do. What's this going to look like for you? You get to carve that
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path. All right, did any of these hit home for you? I'm curious. Just like you help clients notice
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when they're shooting themselves. I want you to remember that you can practice the same
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compassion with yourself. And I hope this episode invited you perhaps to do that.
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Remember that being a good clinician isn't about polish, it isn't about how quickly you fill your
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caseload. It is so much more about authenticity and discernment and clarity. That's what I want for
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you. Like I said, we've been talking about the seasons of private practice recently and enjoying the
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ride. How could you better enjoy this ride, enjoy this journey and extend yourself some compassion and
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some grace. Get out of these mindset traps. You might not have even realized you're in.
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I heard from a clinician who just graduated, a confident copy a couple of weeks ago,
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and she told us that this program really helped me feel confident in my niche. The therapy I offered
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clients and the quality of my work. I really feel like without this program, I wouldn't know the
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value of the work I do to the level that I know now. She left confident copy with incredible copy.
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I can tell you because I read it. But also with this really incredible newfound understanding
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of what she brings to the room and how critical and valuable it is. That's what happens when you
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market from authenticity. You reconnect to your own confidence. It's not to say that clinician
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or any of us will ever not should ourselves ever again, but it sure does for you up to enjoy the
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journey and to make decisions from a place of authenticity. It's one of the reasons I love
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confident copy so much because it gives people more than just words. It gives them ownership of
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their own expertise. They really step into that in ways they don't expect to often as they leave the
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program. Remember, when you decided to grow your practice, you built this practice to be uniquely
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yours. Don't let anyone else's expectations or your own should take that away from you. Okay.
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I hope this one was helpful for you. Invited you to reflect a bit. Know that I'm cheering you on,
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that I believe you can do this in whatever way is right for you. Thanks for being here today.
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I'll see you in the next episode. That's it for this episode of Marketing Therapy. Thanks for
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being here today. If you found it helpful, pass it along to a fellow therapist who's serious about
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growing a full fee feel good practice just like you. And if you're liking Marketing Therapy,
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you will love our exclusive podcast series today's full caseload where I dive deep and I mean
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deep into what it takes to get clients right now in this market. Just head to walkers strategy code
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dot com slash TFC drop in your email and we will send you with a private invite.
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One more thing. Before you go, please consider dropping a quick rating or review. This helps more
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therapist find this show and ultimately to stay out of the marketing spiral that too many
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therapists get caught in. Thanks for being here. See you next time.
Topics Covered
Marketing Therapy
private practice marketing
therapist growth
imposter syndrome
self-doubt in marketing
building confidence
client connection
sustainable growth
therapist mindset
overcoming shoulding
self-compassion for therapists
authentic marketing strategies
shiny object syndrome
long-term practice success
support for clinicians
quality over quantity in marketing