(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Hi, welcome to the Abundant Practice Podcast. I'm Allison from Abundance Practice Building. I have a nearly diagnosable obsession with helping therapists build sustainable, joy-filled private practices, just like I've done for tens of thousands of therapists across the world. I'm excited to help you too. If you want to fill your practice with ideal clients, we have loads of free resources and paid support.
Go to abundancepracticebuilding.com slash links. All right, on to the show. So I've talked about therapy notes on here for years. I could talk about the features and the benefits in my sleep, but there are a couple of things I want you to know about therapy notes that doesn't typically make it into an ad script. First is that they actually care if you like their platform. They don't only make themselves available on the phone to troubleshoot so you don't pull your hair out when you get stuck.
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With over a hundred thousand therapists using their platform, they've been able to stay incredibly successful and they don't have to sacrifice your experience to stay there. You can try two months free at therapynotes .com with the coupon code ABUNDANT. Hi Sophie, how you doing? Hi, good. I'm so glad. Thanks for making this time work. I appreciate it. Well, what would be most helpful today? So I'm pregnant and it's, uh, yeah. So thank you so much.
And I've had my practice for almost four years and it's in like, I think this is the hard part for me. It's in like the perfect spot for me. It feels like more balanced and I'm seeing who I want to see. So leaving it for a little bit seems very hard. And I, I would like to be off for three or four months. I just think I'm like scared to leave it being successful.
And then come like, I'm like, I guess any advice I'm looking for is like how to set it up where I don't know, like the transition back or how best to kind of like prepare to go and then also return. You know what I mean? Absolutely. Yeah. And I've done this in private practice twice now and both circumstances, I was full exactly where I wanted to be and had the same kind of like, Oh, this is okay. Yeah. But I'm like, I feel like this is my baby.
Yeah. Yeah. You know, well, here's the good news is that when I came back and we'll talk about all the steps, all of them. But when I came back, I think I had like two or three spots open when I came back and that felt like, Oh, okay. When I can feel at ease. Right, right, right, right. So yeah. Well, let's talk about the whole process of letting your clients know. Have you let them know yet? Yeah. I like put it off for a whole month, but I'm actively making myself do it now.
So by the end of next week, every single person will know. Yeah. Okay, cool. And when are you due? February 5th. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Oh, Aquarius baby. Okay. Yes. Which is good. I'm a tourist. So here we go. Um, so you'll have probably like late January, early February, somewhere in there. We never know. So that's a good amount of time for them to know and to be able to like talk through any abandonment stuff that comes up or any of that. So you let them know.
And then there's all this paperwork, which we have, I don't know if you've seen it or not in the what to say when course. Yes, I think I did. Yeah. So like all the consents that I used are in there that just make sure you've done the CYA stuff you need to do for your practice. And also just make sure that you're all on the same page, you and your clients. The three to four months off. I find, and I know that this is so hard, but I find it easier for our clients if we're definitive.
Okay. Like I'm going on maternity leave before or up to this date. Yeah. And it will be three months from this date that I return. As long as everything goes according to plan. I will email you two weeks before I return with a link to my schedule. And that way you're not playing phone tag. Right. A link to my schedule so that you can get booked when I return. And I would just set it up that way.
In the meantime, I've got some referrals that I think could be good for you if you want to continue the work that we're doing. Right. You're welcome to stay with these referrals if they're feeling like they're right fit for you after the three months. I want what you feel is best for you. That's my goal. And if you want to return, you'll have that link in your inbox. Okay. So just kind of set it up that way.
And coming from this abundance mindset of almost everybody's going to come back to you because they've been with you longer. They sought you out. This other person landed in their lap because you gave it to them. Right. And I think there was with each kid for me an instance where they stayed with who they were with. And I was like, all right, because I do truly just want them to have what they want and need. Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And otherwise everybody came back.
And then I think one or two people each time was like, I think I'm good right now. So yeah. Okay. That's helpful. And I know I hear that from a lot of people. Yeah. I think it's the preparation that creates that. Okay. Because I also have talked to people who are like, I lost my whole caseload and had to read it completely. But when we talk through what happened, how did it all go down? There weren't clear expectations for the clients. Okay. Would be back at a particular time.
And since most of our clients battle with at least some level of anxiety. Yes. Yeah. It just helps them to have a date and to know that that date might shift, that there's flexibility with the date based on how things are going for you postpartum and for your baby postpartum. Right. But like all things going according to plan ish it's, this is the timeline. Right. Okay. Okay. That's helpful because it's funny.
I do feel like you're like inkling is to be like, I mean, could be three, could be two, probably four. You know what I mean? Yeah. Cause you just, I have no idea. And I also think too, because it's my first, I have literally no frame of reference. You know what I mean? Absolutely. Yeah. I don't know. Wild. It's wild. And you know, having worked in agencies, I'm sure you've worked with people who had six weeks off. It wouldn't have been enough for me. People make it work.
Like really ordinary people are making this work. But I would definitely recommend more since you are the boss and you can do a lot. Yes. I know. It's such like the funny double-edged sword of private practice where you're like, I did this so I could have more time off. What is wrong with me? Right. Right. You know? Yeah. So it might be like leaning into that. Maybe if you're thinking three to four months, maybe three and a half months.
Yeah. And that way, if you're like, I'm ready to get back on the horse early, which is unlikely. Right. But if you're like, I'm really, well, I don't know. With my second, I was kind of chomping at the bit, um, with my first, I was like perfectly ready at three months. It was like the perfect magical timing, even with postpartum depression. I don't know how that works. I know some people say it helps them, you know? Yeah. I don't have a constitution to be at home all day either.
And I also don't, I'm not a patient person and babies require that. Yeah. Yes. We will have to have help. Me and my husband will both still be working and, you know, all the things. And again, like, unless I don't, I mean, I'm prepared for like whatever I'm going to feel. Cause I have no idea. You know what I mean? That's the other thing. It's like, I'm like, who knows how I'll feel, you know, but I typically am the same. Like, I don't like slowing down. It doesn't feel comfy for me.
And I like going and being super busy and you know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah. And, and because that's how you're wired and how you've done life so far, there is going to be a gut punch of you will do one thing in a day and that's kind of your limit. Like you did the dishes and for somebody who is driven and get shit done, it can be really hard and you can beat yourself up unnecessarily. So go ahead and start with the low expectations of yourself now in terms of productivity.
Yeah. And for your partner too, because it's, you know, nobody's getting sleep. Right, right, right. Yeah. And we will be zombies. Yeah. And it all gets better, you know, like again. So I think that I prepared everything I needed.
I also, in that, uh, what to say one course I've got, like the, if you go into labor early and unexpectedly, like a therapist friend can sign a BAA long before this happens and have everybody's information to communicate with them, that you will not be showing up for sessions. Okay. Most of the time people, like, if you recognize, like, I think this is labor, you can send those emails. You might want to have the draft in the hopper. Just make sure you don't make sure you BCC.
So then you don't have to work on a HIPAA complaint. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. So you can have it all ready to go so that it's not stuff you're having to like think through while you're a new parent. Yeah. Enough of a cluster. Right. Okay. That's helpful. So then with the coming back piece, it's like basically the two weeks before that I would already have set the expectation that clients would be expecting.
Yeah. Yeah. And if you don't hear from people after a week, send a, have a follow-up email ready, like in your drafts, ready to go to those people. Okay. And you can also reach out to your primary referral sources. If there are three people that you frequently get referrals from, send an email and be like, I'm coming back from maternity leave in two weeks. Currently my current clients are returning to my calendar, but I may have a couple spots available if you have anyone.
Okay. And that way you've got potential referrals coming in as well. Yeah. So like my population is teens and young adults and I'm a little, like I don't, I have literally no idea like what my new schedule will be right now. I'm four days a week, but I have assumed, I mean, I assume I'll probably go down to three. Did you like run into issues with reformatting your schedule? Cause that's like another thing that I'm kind of anticipating of the change, you know, of just like what that looks like.
And like, you know, my availability, of course, like cannot be the same. Like there's no way, you know what I mean? Yeah. And I actually did the opposite. I went from three long days to four shorter days because of childcare. And because of pumping. And there are all these things that until the baby was born, I didn't know what my schedule was going to be. Right. Exactly. And so to have some flexibility around that, cause when you send that email to your clients, you'll be pretty clear.
You'll be like, okay, I got to pump at 10. I got to pump it too. Or else my boobs are going to explode or leak everywhere. You know? Yeah. So you'll have more of a clear indication. And I packed those tighter than I should have. Okay. I made them instead of having lunch, the eating disorder therapist had two pumping sessions where I ate while I pumped. Right. And it was a tight 30 minutes each. And so as somebody who me and pumps didn't do so well, I would get like ducks and things like that.
And it was painful. I just did not leave myself enough room. And then I got rigid about it and didn't create more space for myself when I should have after I realized it wasn't working. So don't be me. But like I pump for 20 minutes and then it was like a quick, like I got to clean all the pump parts or get them in the fridge or do whatever in a way that just had it. Like my breaks were frantic. Right. Which also probably reduced my milk supply. Yeah. So leave space, I guess is my advice.
Is my advice is like leave more space than you think you're going to need. Like if you can pay your bills working a little bit less at first, maybe it's fine if three people don't come back and just leave that space. Because having to have child care for the first time, you know, I was kind of dependent on nannies where we lived in Seattle because you needed to get on the list for a daycare, like before you got pregnant. Yeah. I definitely want to go the nanny route as well at first.
I mean, yeah. So, okay. That's good to know where when you're coming back, that would be kind of included in like that, that two week back email. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And you can just set your schedule if they're able to schedule within it. You don't need to say I'm no longer working until whatever time. Yeah. You could just have their time available and they can figure it out.
Okay. Okay. Yep. I'm like, it's so funny because it's like, you're trying to do all this preparation because that is like naturally, of course, what feels so warm and fuzzy to me. Yeah. But there's no way, you know? Yeah. There's also this like weird ball of clay that I'm staring at. I'm like, we'll see what, how it forms, you know? So that's good. I think it's good for me to hear this now. So that like when I'm in it, I can go back to this too and be like, okay, like what, you know what I mean?
What am I supposed to do with all of this? Because my third piece for you, which is kind of related, but I've been one. So the last time I raised my fee was like two years ago. And with working less and like not having as much availability, I want to raise everybody just up to my current fee, which I would say like probably 60% of my case loaders all paying my full fee, which is 250. I have like, you know, maybe a couple people at my very first fee of like 175.
And then everybody else is between like 200 and 225. Am I so crazy for thinking that I should raise people? No, I raised my rates. I let them know before I went on maternity leave, but I raised my rates for when I returned as well. Like, I think it's like, okay, there's already, everything's already changing. Right. So that's kind of how I feel. I'm like, maybe I just do it now. You know what I mean? Or like let them know in that.
Okay. Everybody knows now here are like full practice updates for you. Like, you know what I mean? Yeah. And you could, I mean, you could raise it for January. Yeah. Or you could rate, like, let them know now that when you return, but I think strategically, it might make more sense to raise it in January, like have it start in January because that way the people that stay are likely the same people who are going to stay through your maternity leave. Like they're going to come back, meaning.
Right. And I mean, it also depends on your financial situation. If you can afford to lose one or two people before maternity leave, then it also could give you just a little bit more breathing room. Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Because I feel like it's like the two parts. It's like the abundant mindset makes me feel like, of course I should do that because that makes sense. And like, I know I'm going to be more spread thin than I even like understand what that means currently.
And then the more scarcity part of me is like, oh, I don't want to like add another change where people can more easily feel like, well, you know, Sophie's going to be out. And also like her fees so much higher, even though for most people, it would probably be a $25 to $50 raise. You know what I mean? Yeah. And that's a really reasonable rates. Yeah. I mean, my therapist just did that and she went on maternity leave and I was like, yes, girl. Uh-huh. Yeah. You know?
Yeah. But I'm like, I get it. You know, I'm like, I know we're all out here just trying to do our best, you know? So I'm just like to my clients who obviously aren't in like this space. I'm just like, oh, am I like asking too much or you know what I mean? Well, people at that price point can. I mean, it's really rare for them to not be able to do $25 more. Yeah. And similarly with $50, you might lose a few with the $50 or one or two, but also maybe not. Okay. Well, that makes you feel better.
And I was thinking to January because two years ago when I raised it was in January. So it also feels kind of like on schedule almost, you know what I mean? Yeah. I think it's a really smart idea for us to like even build into our informed consent that we raise rates every January. And that way it's, we don't chicken out on it. Um, and like clients have an idea it's coming.
Yeah. Yep. Okay. And then do you, I'm sure this is probably covered somewhere, but do you typically give 30 days or like, what's, I don't even remember the last time I did it, how much time I gave. I usually get four to six weeks. Four to six weeks. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. And since you're also like, boom, I'm also going to be out. I might do six weeks. Like I might give them just a little bit more time. Yeah. But I think you're going to be fine. Okay. Good. Are you sure? I'm pretty sure.
I'm pretty sure. If it follows the pattern that most of my students, you know, have followed, it'll probably be fine. And I feel like a lot of this is coming from just like, we're, and I just saw like your email talking about this, which was like, so like literally what was on my brain, but is lately or not even lately, probably in like the last six months. Like I've totally noticed that things have slowed a little, you know, which is, which is fine.
But it, I think that combined with maternity leave, I'm like, oh my God. And of course I picked the worst time to go. You know what I mean? Yeah. I don't know. So is there anything that you notice as far as like people who are, my fear is like rebuilding so much, you know, which who knows if that will even happen, but also like with how things have shifted, as far as like the pace of being able to get clients like quicker or not as quick as we used to, you know what I mean?
Yeah. I mean, I think coming from you have already found success. So like looking at the things that have brought you that success, it's probably not all five marketing strategies that you did, right. It's probably two or three. And so it would mean when you return, if you need more clients, just going hard on those two or three and letting go of the others, just putting all of the energy you have for work specifically and keeping that home work life as distinct as possible.
But putting the work energy you have into those things. Okay. So the tactic is pretty much the same. It's just that obviously the expectation is things are a little bit slower. Yeah. It's a little bit slower. You have to just be more intentional. Right. Like 2021, you could like write a blog post every now and then. And like, that might help, but now it's like, no, you need to write that thing at least once a week and it needs to release on the same day and you need to SEO that sucker.
And, you know, there's just more intentionality if you want to, if you want to build at the same pace as the past, otherwise you can just kind of just expect it to be a little slower. Yeah. Okay. That's helpful. And I guess I'll know, you know, when I, where I'm at, I mean, when I'm on the other side of it too, of like even how much and how quickly I want to get back to things. You know what I mean?
Yeah. Cause I think that that's like another piece that I just have no idea of anticipating of how fast I'll even want to come back or, you know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah. So it might be, it might be really nice if some clients fall off. Yeah. Cause everything is going to be different when you return.
Yeah. And, and I would say also with all the gentleness around like not being productive during mat leave, also being gentle with like, you're not, you're not going to be your a hundred percent go, go, go therapist in session when you return. And that's okay. You're still great. You're still a great fit for that client. You're still going to help them progress and move forward, but you might be at 80 % a lot of days. Yeah. It's still great.
But I know most therapists I've talked to, and it was certainly my experience too, of this, like, I feel dumb. Why can't I therapize like I used to, but my clients weren't complaining and they were still progressing. So. Okay. That's helpful. Yeah. Yes. I have had moments of that already. So I can't imagine what it'll be like on the other side. But okay. Well, I think those were most of my questions. So very helpful.
I feel a lot better and I'm glad that I have this to like, come back to in reference to when I'm like in the thick of it. And like we, what it was, you know what I mean? And I have like the longest blog post on earth about maternity leave and private practice. Have you seen that? I think I, I think you DMed it to me on Instagram. So I think, but it's just something I need to go back and look at for sure. Yeah. Awesome. Yeah. So I will look at that and revisit kind of the forms and things.
Cause I think that's another piece of it where I'm like, Oh, it's like really here. Like I need to move on some of this stuff. Yeah. Because we've got the holidays, which basically means we like lose an entire month at least of life. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. And then we'd be like, Oh, wow. It is literally here, you know? Absolutely. Crazy. Okay, cool. Well, thank you so much. I appreciate it. And yeah, feel, feel a lot better with a, with a plan, of course. Very cool. Sounds good.
Yeah. And congratulations. I hope it is wonderful and incredible and that you get great rest after too. Yes, me too, girl. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Take care. Bye. If you're ready for a much easier practice, therapy notes is the way to go. Go to therapy notes.com and use the promo code abundant for two months. If you're listening, you probably need some support building your practice. If you're a super newbie, grab our free checklist using the link in the show notes.
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