Starting a Private Practice is the podcast where we talk with therapists about the real, unglamorous decisions behind building a practice that works: who you say yes to, who you refer out, what you charge, and what you do when the thing you built stops feeling good.
This episode is about a measure of success that almost never makes the list. Not caseload, not income, not a new program; whether the clients in front of you right now are actually getting better. Diana came into private practice from county mental health, where you take the next person on the list, and she kept doing exactly that. Clients ghosted, canceled, dropped out without closure, and she concluded she was a bad therapist. What changed was not a marketing overhaul. It was screening in her consult calls, asking clients every couple of months whether therapy was working, and getting honest about the two things she does best. Kelly Higdon hosts.
What You'll Hear
00:00 Introduction and topic overview
02:38 Finding the Right Client Fit
07:17 Consultations and Outcomes Check-Ins
09:03 Learning from Client Feedback
15:09 Defining Clinical Success
15:44 Working Through Imposter Syndrome
18:48 Finding Your Niche and Community
About Diana
Diana is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Menifee, California, working with anxiety disorders and complex trauma. She is an EMDRIA Certified Therapist and trained in Internal Family Systems, and she sees clients in the Menifee, Lake Elsinore, Riverside, and Temecula areas as well as across California by telehealth. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from California State University, Fullerton and her master's in counseling with an emphasis in marriage and family therapy from Pepperdine University. Before private practice she worked in a private hospital and then for the county, where she built the clinical range (and the billing and documentation habits) she still runs on. She offers a free fifteen-minute phone consultation.
Website: https://www.dianakoenenlmfttherapistmenifee.com/
Book a consult: https://www.dianakoenenlmfttherapistmenifee.com/contact
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diana-koenen-80642836/
EMDRIA listing: https://www.emdria.org/directory/people/diana-koenen/
Resources Mentioned
EMDR International Association (EMDRIA): https://www.emdria.org/
IFS Institute, Internal Family Systems trainings: https://ifs-institute.com/
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/EREvVypKgxo
Read the blog post: https://www.zynnyme.com/blog/taking-every-client-private-practice
zynnyme free trainings, books, and Business School for Therapists: https://www.zynnyme.com/
Want the Kind of Support Kelly and Diana Talk About?
Business School for Therapists is our flagship program for therapists ready to build a practice that supports the life they actually want. It is a blend of live coaching and self-paced curriculum, plus a community of clinicians who normalize niching, real fees, and clinical depth. Twenty years in, it is the work we wish someone had handed us when we were spending our own weekends figuring this out. Learn more: zynnyme.com
Listen, Subscribe, and Leave a Review
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/starting-a-counseling-practice-with-kelly/id1398391639
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7K8TQ13vJL4L3IvtWLLXV3
Stay Connected
Website: zynnyme.com
Blog: zynnyme.com/blog
Instagram: instagram.com/zynnyme
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/2456942
Pinterest: pinterest.com/zynnyme
Facebook: facebook.com/kellyandmiranda
