BOUNDARIES IN PRIVATE PRACTICE

Maybe you are responding to emails at 1am. ​Maybe you feel the crunch on your time. Or you feel the pressure to try to make money constantly. Maybe you are worried about making the mortgage or rent payment or other bills because referrals were low this month. Private practice may involve different daily stressors because of wearing multiple hats all at once. There is a risk for potential burnout if time boundaries and other boundaries are not in place or their lines are fuzzy.

Some potential stressors or questions could include: Should I take insurance or not? Or which ones should I apply for? How do I apply for insurance contracts? Should I offer late hours or morning hours or both? Should I work on weekends? Do I have the money to hire an assistant? Do I need an accountant? How do I manage my income and keep track of it? Which EHR should I use? Should I offer in person or online counseling or both? Do I need a niche? Do I need to pay myself through payroll and how does that work?
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Feeling torn about the above can lead to a lot of running around and feeling overwhelmed. I have been there. I think the answer to the above questions are, it depends on what you want and what your plan is as well as your business structure. A good accountant can also help with managing many of the above questions and networking with other counselors can help to answer many of the other questions.

I think that exploring your interests and what you want to offer in private practice is part of this process. I think that taking time to plan is also a piece of the puzzle. Also downtime in private practice can be a good thing and can give you an opportunity to plan for the next step or to consider offering a new service. Rolling with the ebb and flow of private practice can help reduce stress. Resisting the temptation to panic or catastrophize can be difficult but acknowledging that we too as counselors sometimes face this can help to reduce the fear. Together we can work this out and make a plan of action that is workable.

I often have to use strategies to coach myself such as identifying the stuck thought and noticing and applying the more helpful thought, using relaxation strategies, building mindfulness, taking breaks and taking time off if needed. We need to make sure we are taking time to heal and recharge.  Maybe we need to schedule in a walk in a park, sitting outside, reading a fun book, zoom meetings with friends. This pandemic has been difficult for counselors too and we need to make sure we are taking care of ourselves as we support others.