Solo vs Group Practice for Therapists | Pros and Cons

Solo vs Group Practice for Therapists | Pros and Cons

FREE Guide: Start a Private Practice in Counseling:
https://tinyurl.com/y9ek9en8

I’ve noticed that many of my videos are geared towards therapists looking to launch their own solo private practice, but I haven’t done much to address the pros and cons of launching a solo practice as opposed to joining a group practice. I’ve had a bit of experience in the three main types of practices available, so in this video I’ll break down the pros and cons to consider with each of these.

LINKS
*Some links are affiliate links. A percentage of purchases come back to me and help my channel immensely!
👉 How to DIY a Therapist Website that Fills your Practice: https://privatepracticeskills.teachab...
👉 Private Practice Skills Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/private-...
👉 All my filming gear: https://kit.co/privatepracticeskills/...
👉 Music I use: https://www.epidemicsound.com/referra...

This video is geared for therapists of all kinds, including psychologists, MFTs, LPCCs, social workers, and others in the clinical counseling field.

Welcome to Private Practice Skills! I’m Dr. Marie Fang, psychologist in private practice. I post videos offering tools I learned the hard way about starting and growing private practice so that you don’t have to.

www.privatepracticeskills.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/PrivatePracticeSkills/
Insta: PrivatePracticeSkills

Music Credit:
"Stardust" by Ikson
  / ikson  

A big question that often comes up when therapists consider private practice is whether it’s best to explore joining a group practice or launching on your own solo private practice venture.

Let’s start with the group practice:

Pros:
No Marketing. Often in a group practice, your referrals and sometimes even your schedule are managed for you. This is great! You can show up on day one and already have clients ready to meet with you.
No Business Savvy Required. Compared to launching a solo practice, this is a huge win! The entire business structure is already set up for you.
Built-In Support. Often group practices have great structures in place, such as built-in consultation groups and easy access to colleagues when you need support.
No Overhead Expenses. You likely just take home a paycheck each month, without needing to pay rent or cover other expenses.

Cons:
Lower pay. Since in a group you are employed by the group owner, they receive a cut of your client rate. Not only do they take enough to cover their overhead, but they’re likely making a pretty profit in exchange for doing all the branding and marketing on your behalf. Often employers will take 40% of your client rate, leaving you with about 60% left to keep before taxes.
Less Autonomy. Often in group settings someone else is in charge of your schedule as far as what kinds of clients you work with. Depending on the group, you may not have much say as far as who you meet with.
Likelihood of Burnout. Though this is a tendency both in group and solo practices, it seems to happen much more commonly in group practices. This is often a byproduct of employers focusing more on the bottom line rather than your self-care.

If you’re interviewing to join a group, be sure to know what type of work environment and what cut of your rate you get to keep before agreeing to join!

Okay, now let’s talk about solo practices:

Pros:
You’re in Charge. And when I say you’re in charge, I mean you’re in charge of EVERYTHING: Your rate, your schedule, your brand, what clients you work with. You have full authority over every aspect of your business.
Higher Pay. Since you’re in charge of setting your rates and making decisions about your expenses, most therapists in solo practice earn significantly more income per hour than in group practices.
Easy to Dip your Toes In. You don’t have to dive in full-time to launch a solo practice. It’s really easy to sublet a room for cheap to get your toes wet and see how you feel before diving in full-time.

Cons:
Requires Business Savvy. Private practice is in every way a business. You either need to get trained on how to run a business or you need to be willing to pay someone to help you with the business side of things.
More Isolating. Many therapists in solo practice feel isolated. This option requires intentionality as far as making sure you have healthy community supports and consultation resources.
Greater Risk. In a solo practice, if your business goes south, you go south with it. Some people find this risk too big of a burden to face and prefer to have the security that comes with working in a group.
Slow Build

I mentioned that independent group practices can offer a happy medium between these two options. The independent group practice allows you to work in a group setting, while legally you are fully in charge of your own business.