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What does a successful practice actually look like? Too often, therapists get the answer to this question from anecdotes, social media, or their colleagues down the hall. And for good reason – the mental health field has lacked industry reports on the private practice experience for decades.
Thankfully, that is all starting to change though. One of the largest analyses of independent mental health practices ever published came out recently from SimplePractice – representing the more than 245,000 clinicians that use their platform.
Today, Dr. Lindsay Oberleitner, Head of Clinical Strategy at SimplePractice and lead author of this first-ever Annual State of Private Practice Report walks us through what hundreds of thousands of clinicians reveal about what’s really going on in private practice today.
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Meet Dr. Lindsay Oberleitner
Lindsay Oberleitner, Ph.D., LP, is a licensed clinical psychologist and Head of Clinical Strategy at SimplePractice, where she applies evidence-based practices to drive strategic clinical decision-making and advocate for mental health providers. Throughout her career, she has worked at the intersection of addiction, chronic health conditions, and the criminal justice system, underscoring her passion for advancing interdisciplinary training and collaboration. Her academic background includes a Ph.D. from Wayne State University, a postdoctoral fellowship and faculty role at Yale University School of Medicine, ongoing leadership positions on the American Psychological Association’s Continuing Education Committee, and publishing over 40 peer-reviewed articles.
Visit SimplePractice and connect on LinkedIn. Find out more about Lindsay!
In This Podcast
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What led to the report’s creation and publication
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The most important thing to understand about private practice now
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The report’s most surprising discovery
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How to design your best practice with report findings
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What your EMR should do for you
What led to the report’s creation and publication
I came from a background, as many of us do … [in] medical settings. I worked in community mental health. I worked in places where we knew, we see, and there’s data collected and reported out about what’s happening, and about the impact that those systems have – we hear it. (Dr. Lindsay Oberleitner)
Private practitioners do incredible work every day, but because so much of that work happens independently, it can be difficult to see the bigger picture across the profession.
Sometimes the crucial overlaps or gaps in care can be missed, and it was for this reason, alongside many others, that the data collection and publication of the Annual State of Private Practice Report came to fruition.
We don’t pay enough attention to how critical independent practice is to everything across the field, and to how much of healthcare – mental healthcare – occurs in this community of clinicians, and it deserves to be elevated, both because we need to see what’s happening, and we need to understand the needs of the community a little better to be able to address [what’s needed] so that people don’t get burned out … and are getting access to what they need to make their business thrive. (Dr. Lindsay Oberleitner)
The most important thing to understand about private practice now
One of the report’s biggest takeaways is that there is no single blueprint for running a successful private practice.
Every community has different needs, and independent practitioners are uniquely positioned to respond to them.
This is the power of private practice and why I find that piece so meaningful, is you’re part of your community … You know it and you’re embedded. It’s so different when you can understand the community you’re serving [because] you are part of it. (Dr. Lindsay Oberleitner)
The flexibility of private practice allows clinicians to build services that fit both their clients and their own professional goals.
The report’s most surprising discovery
While there remain improvements to be made, the core discovery that surprised Lindsay the most across all of the data points she studied was that private practice owners are, on the majority, quite happy.
Sure, there may be stress and issues at times because the job itself has many moving parts to take care of, but independent practice owners can structure their schedules, and build their work life balance around their personal world.
How to design your best practice with report findings
I think sometimes when we’re starting, and I’ve been there, you’re so worried about getting started and how to build that you don’t think about: “What do I want? Who do I want to serve?” and get excited! … So being able to start with that passion and match it, do it, and believe in yourself to build to that. I think that’s where we see people say, “I’m fulfilled when ….” (Dr. Lindsay Oberleitner)
Rather than following someone else’s model, build a practice that starts with the specialties that energize you and then make smart decisions in these areas:
- Offering virtual, in-person, or hybrid services
- Accepting insurance, private pay, or a mix of both
We have to find what works for us, so part of what I’d take from the report is … you can have a successful practice, but it’s got to start from that passion of, “I’m excited about it because this and this work for me!” And then you can push through all of the rest. (Dr. Lindsay Oberleitner)
What your EMR should do for you
Your EMR should make your life easier for you, not harder! It should bring in as much as it can in-house for you, and it should reduce as many pain points for you as an independent practice owner as much as possible.
Find and use the technology that supports you in your work the best.
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Resources mentioned in this episode:
Visit SimplePractice and connect on LinkedIn. Find out more about Lindsay!
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Check out these additional resources:
- Building Great Lakes Online Counseling: The Behind-the-Scenes Work That Builds a Practice | POP 1388
- Practice of the Practice Network
- Group Practice Launch
- Group Practice Boss: www.practiceofthepractice.com/grouppracticeboss $149 a month
- PoP Group Practice Owners Facebook Group
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- Practice of the Practice Network
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