Start a private therapy practice
Is private practice for me?
When you work within an organisation your practice is supported practically, emotionally and financially, except sometimes this changes with cuts in funding and changes in systems. Maybe you have worked in organisations for a long time and have dreams of working in more creative ways to meet the needs you see in clients. Perhaps you yearn to be free of the worry that there won't be funding to renew your post for another year. Maybe you are qualified but working in an area where there are no local organisations that offer therapy, so private practice seems the only alternative to a long and health-sapping commute.
Whatever your reason for thinking about moving into private practice, you will have questions about how it might work, how fast it can get off the ground and earn you a living, and what you must do to get it running legally and ethically.
Step one
Download this free guide describing what it is really like to work in private therapy practice & the things you need to consider.
Step two
Join me in a half-day seminar to explore what your own private practice might look like. Explore your vision for a therapy practice, build a sense of your unique offering, and pin down the practical steps you will need to take to create your own unique practice.
Where and when
IN-PERSON SEMINAR
Saturday 19th July 2025
11am - 4pm
Tower Mains Therapies
18E Liberton Brae, Edinburgh EH16 6AE
COST: £55 (includes lunch, tea & coffee)
ONLINE SEMINAR
Saturday 1st August 2025
1pm - 4.30pm
COST: £48
Step 3
Join a 3-month programme of practice development support. For £75 per month (total of £225 for the programme) you will be able to access fortnightly online meetings that combine practical exercises focusing on all the topics you need to cover to get up and running in private practice.
You will have access to:
- Fortnightly 1.5 hour evening meetings
- Email support as needed
- Peer support as you build your practice
- Support to think in detail about what you want to offer, who your clients will be, what you will charge, premises, and what structures you will need to put in place
- Support to think about how you want your work to feel
You will leave with:
- The start-up tasks that you need to get up and running completed
- A plan in place for continuing to build your practice
- Templates of documents you can adjust for use in your unique practice
- Peer relationships that can carry you beyond the programme
This programme is an antidote to worry and procrastination. Don't just think about getting up and running. Really do it, and do it confidently with clarity & purpose.
When I first built a private therapy practice, I did it before the internet was good enough to help with information or knowledge. I cobbled together a practice that worked but was probably legally wobbly and didn't bring in enough income for me to leave part-time employment.
The second time I came into it having built a play therapy charity along with a colleague and had learnt so much about the structures that are needed to underpin safe and effective practice. Armed with this knowledge I knew I could do it. However, I wasn't prepared for the sleepless nights - my reaction to not knowing when it would take off, or whether I could continue to manage financially while it did. I also hadn't predicted how hard I would work to keep things going, and how much this would impact my family life.
Then I read the Pumpkin Plan and breathed a sigh of relief. The things I worried about and struggled to get my head around were similar to so many other business owners. For the first time I could see what I had to do and how to do it. I still make mistakes but I am proud of the practice I have created and feel it reflects my values and reaches the people I want to support.
I trained to be a Pumpkin Plan Business Growth Strategist so that I could bring some of that relief to other people, but most of all I feel passionate about the skilled support therapists bring to people who are struggling. When we build practices that are efficient and effective we project two things out into the world - we embody the calm and passion we hope to help others find because we are not struggling ourselves, and we promote our professions positively in the world.