While the American Psychological Association (APA) does not report data trends regarding when in their careers mental health professionals enter private practice, there is anecdotal evidence that more are taking the plunge earlier than before. To learn more about the reasons behind this trend, Insight spoke with two graduates of The Chicago School’s Psy.D. Clinical Psychology program who recently entered private practice.
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Jeanine Moreland, Psy.D., is the founder and owner of Inner Sanctum Psychology, a therapy practice specializing in treating adults with trauma, anxiety, depression, grief and loss, and relationship issues. Dr. Moreland was a successful advertising executive but longed for work that was more fulfilling and meaningful. She chose psychology, pursuing her master’s degree at The Chicago School. “I was just doing this part time, school part time,” she says. “It still chokes me up: I was in theories class. We were talking about Gestalt, and I thought, ‘This is what I’m supposed to do with the rest of my life.’”
INSIGHT: What inspired you to enter private practice?
DR. MORELAND: Working remotely during my postdoc, I became quickly versed in remote therapy, which fits my lifestyle because I’ve got kids. I knew from experience that I didn’t want a boss telling me what to do. I wanted the flexibility to make my own hours and my own decisions.
INSIGHT: What have been some of your biggest challenges?
DR. MORELAND: I hate the business part of it. All I want to do is therapy. I made an intentional decision that I was not going to develop a group practice to start out. I decided to stay just me and keep it really simple.
INSIGHT: If somebody is considering this step, what advice would you give them?
Dr. MORELAND: I would say the time to write that business plan, even though no one’s going to see it. A plan helps you think through all these questions of what exactly you want to do with your practice.
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Brittany Trauthwein, Psy.D., founded Bridgepoint Psychology Center in 2018. The 16-person practice focuses on grief and end-of-life counselling as well as on operating a training program for practicums and internships, including students from The Chicago School. “Creating a space where clinicians could get involved in that work was really a driving factor of starting the practice,” Dr. Trauthwein says.
INSIGHT: What made you decide to go into private practice?
DR. TRAUTHWEIN: I wanted to be a psychologist since I was 16. Once I got to graduate school, I saw myself as owning a practice from year one. I come from a family of entrepreneurs.
INSIGHT: What’s the biggest challenge of running a practice?
DR. TRAUTHWEIN: Being open and ready to not being clinical all the time. If you really love clinical work and you want to just see clients all day, you have to give some of that up to be an effective business owner.
INSIGHT: What’s your advice to anyone starting their own practice?
DR. TRAUTHWEIN: Don’t be afraid to specialize and find that niche area that drives passion for you. We pride ourselves on having one of our clinicians to declare one or two specialties.
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