Why private practice is different (and why you need the business side)

If you’re a Canadian psychotherapist considering starting your own private practice, now is the perfect time to plan your approach for developing and expanding your business. Too many clinicians dive into private practice with enthusiasm, solid clinical skills, and minimal preparation on the business side! That’s where collaborating with a dedicated consultancy like The Private Practice Consultants. can make all the difference. Here’s why hiring them is a smart move and how they help you avoid the common rookie mistakes many therapists make.

You’ve been trained to help people heal, listen, respond, and adapt. That’s a significant achievement. However, managing a private psychotherapy practice also means running a small business. This includes setting fees, designing intake and consent procedures, navigating provincial regulations (and private-pay versus insured workflows), marketing yourself (digital presence, referral networks), managing finances (taxes, bookkeeping, profit versus overhead), defining your niche and target clients, and building systems to prevent constant overwhelm.

Skipping or rushing any of these steps can cause problems like low client numbers, unclear branding, inconsistent income, burnout from doing all the admin yourself, or just managing to keep the doors open instead of building a thriving practice.

What the Private Practice Consultants bring to the table and here’s how their support can help you:

Canadian-Context Expertise

As a Canadian consultancy, they comprehend provincial regulatory frameworks, insurance and benefit systems, tax treatment for Canadian self-employed clinicians, and Canadian marketing realities (language, culture, referral networks). This leads to fewer ‘guesswork’ moments and costly mistakes.

Clear, Actionable Roadmap

Rather than simply saying “just go figure it out,” they offer structured support: what to do first (setting up your business entity or structure, defining your niche), how to price your services, designing intake, consent, and record-keeping procedures, setting up your website or directory listings, and attracting clients. Starting with clarity helps you begin confidently and efficiently.

Avoid Common Pitfalls

·      Unclear niche (“I’ll see anyone”)

·      Vague or absent marketing or referral strategy

·      No financial planning, risking debt

·      Underpricing, leading to unsustainable income

·      Lack of systems, which causes admin overload

·      Burnout from missing boundaries, self-care, or sustainable scheduling.

Saving Time and Money

The setup phase of a practice can be slow and costly, with lots of trial and error. Investing in expert guidance can speed up the process and prevent losses from mistakes such as ineffective marketing, mis-pricing, or inefficient workflows.

Building a Practice that Supports Your Life

You want a private practice that integrates into your life, not one that makes you a slave to the business. This involves designing your schedule, setting boundaries, determining your ideal number of clients, and developing your vision for the practice—solo versus group, passive income, workshops, and more. All of this helps you create a sustainable practice for years to come.

What you gain: stronger foundation, fewer surprises

Let’s imagine two therapists who both launch solo practices in Canada.

• Therapist A goes it alone, relying on their skill as a good clinician and figuring out their business as they go. After six months, they haven’t clearly defined their niche, are practicing at full capacity but still feeling “busy but broke,” spend hours on admin each week, feel anxious about inconsistent income, and dread marketing.

  
  

• Therapist B receives support from PPC. They obtain guidance on choosing a focus, setting prices, clearly building their website and online listings, creating systems for intake, records, and billing, developing referral pathways, and designing a schedule that fits their lifestyle. Their caseload grows steadily, income becomes more predictable, administrative tasks remain manageable, and they feel confident rather than overwhelmed. Which scenario sounds better? Pretty clear.

Key reasons to get help from the Private Practice Consultants

• Get it right from the start: The earlier you establish sound systems and foundations, the fewer “corrections” you’ll need to make later (saving time and money).

• Avoid trial-and-error burnout: Having someone guide you reduces the risk of getting stuck in “I should have done that differently” mode.

• Focus on your zone of genius: You are trained as a therapist. A business partner teaching you the business allows you to spend more time doing therapy and less time reinventing the wheel.

• Scale more easily: If growth, adding associates, or transitioning into a group practice is your goal, having the right business mindset and systems early on will make the process significantly smoother later.

• Stay aligned with your professional values: Since PPC is tailored for Canadian therapists, they understand the nuances of professional rules, laws, ethics, private pay, and insurance in Canada. This will help you structure your business properly without compromising your clinical principles.

A word about cost vs value

Of course, hiring a consultancy costs money. But compare that expense to the costs of months of slow growth, marketing missteps, fees set too low, burnout cleanup, lost hours doing admin instead of therapy, and delayed profitability. Often, the “cost” of not hiring help is much higher in ways that are hidden. If you invest in yourself early, you’re choosing to build a sustainable practice rather than hoping things will “figure themselves out.”

Final thoughts

Starting a private psychotherapy practice is an exciting career move, but it can also be quite complex. The clinical skills you have developed over the years are essential, but they are not enough on their own. You also need to understand organizational planning, business strategy, marketing, and Canadian-specific protocols. That’s precisely what The Private Practice Consultants provide. 

If your goal is to build a practice that’s thriving and aligned with your lifestyle and values, hiring PPC isn’t just a “nice to have”; it could be the difference between a practice that struggles and one that flourishes from the start. For more information, please contact us at: https://www.theprivatepracticeconsultants.com/contact

Who we are

Amanda Bacchus, MSW, RSW, RP, RMFT-SQ

Amanda is the co-founder of the Private Practice Consultant.  She spent years learning how to balance the business side with the clinical work, and now Amanda wants to pass on her knowledge, helping other clinicians build successful private practices.  Amanda approaches her work with a realistic view while using humour. 

When Amanda could not find a job that aligned with her clinical passion, she opened a solo practice in 2007.  With websites an anomaly and social media on the verge of existence, Amanda had to learn to attract clients through networking and print advertising.  Amanda began her practice without a business plan and with the promise from Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) to send clients.  Not satisfied with the limited pay, Amanda became determined to learn everything there was to know about building a private practice, including marketing, building an attractive profile, website design, and finances.  

In 2016, Amanda founded the Vaughan Relationship Centre, a group practice that specializes in helping people improve their relationships.  This was an entirely new learning curve.  Amanda learned how to create a group practice on a shoestring budget, the legalities of contracts, hiring contractors and employees, and the ethical obligations of a group practice owner. Amanda is also a visiting professor at the University of Guelph's Advanced Certificate in Couple and Family Therapy Studies, where she teaches Building a Thriving Private Practice.

Amanda learned to develop her practice the hard way, but she wants to help clinicians avoid these frustrations and learn from her missteps, creating prosperous private practices with ease.  

You can find out more about Amanda's psychotherapy group practice at: https://vaughantherapy.ca

Andrew Sofin, MA, RP, TCF, RMFT

Andrew is the co-founder of the Private Practice Consultants. Andrew comes from an entrepreneurial background and knows the rewards and struggles of running a business. Andrew is passionate about helping others build practices from nothing.

Andrew is the founder and clinical director of Couples Retreat at Ocean Coral and co-founder of the Brief Crisis Therapy Institute.  He also co-founded the Belmont Centre in 2004, which offers individual, couple, and family therapy. He is a visiting professor at the University of Guelph's Advanced Certificate in Couple and Family Therapy Studies, where he teaches Building a Thriving Private Practice. His previous professional experience includes many years working in hospitals, residential programs, and private practice in Massachusetts.

Andrew began working with the Canadian Association for Couple and Family Therapy (CACFT) in 2005, when it was a subunit of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT).  When he became president of CACFT in 2016, he helped facilitate the separation from AAMFT, becoming the first independent national association for Couple and Family Therapists in Canada.  

You can find more information about Andrew's therapy practices through his website: www.andrewsofin.com