The Private Practice Lab is designed specifically for driven therapists, counselors, and mental health professionals like you who are ready to take the leap into entrepreneurship and create a thriving, sustainable practice that aligns with your values and vision for your life.

The Private Practice Lab is for any helping professional who aspires to build their own practice. While we proudly offer continuing education credits for Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs), Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs), and social workers, our courses are open to all mental health professionals regardless of their licensing status or career stage.

For participants who choose not to pursue continuing education credits, you are still able to take the course. You won’t have to take the post-assessment test.

At The Private Practice Lab, we believe that every therapist deserves access to the business education and practical knowledge needed to succeed as an independent practitioner. Too often, exceptional clinicians remain trapped in systems that lead to burnout, underpayment, and professional dissatisfaction simply because they lack the business skills to create their own private practice.

Our mission extends beyond individual success stories. We're committed to transforming the mental health field by empowering therapists to build practices that not only serve their communities effectively but also provide sustainable, fulfilling careers for the counselors themselves. When therapists can avoid burnout and create work environments that energize rather than drain them, everyone benefits – the professionals, their clients, and their communities.

The Private Practice Lab recognizes that most mental health professionals entered the field to help others, not to become business owners. That's why we've created a program that bridges the gap between clinical expertise and business knowledge. We understand the unique challenges facing helping professionals, from ethical considerations in marketing to managing the emotional labor of running both a business and providing therapeutic services.

Our couse is specifically tailored to address the real-world concerns that keep talented therapists from pursuing private practice. We cover everything from the initial business planning and marketing and SEO to developing sustainable client acquisition strategies and creating systems that support both professional growth and personal well-being.

We believe that meaningful work shouldn't come at the cost of burnout, unhappiness or financial stability. Through The Private Practice Lab, you'll learn how to structure your practice in a way that honors your clinical values while building a robust, profitable business. You'll discover how to set boundaries that protect your energy, implement systems that reduce administrative burden, and develop pricing strategies that reflect the true value of your expertise.

The Private Practice Lab isn't just about starting a business – it's about creating a professional life that sustains and fulfills you for years to come.

You can expect a comprehensive plan to start a private practice! The whole mission behind Allyssa Powers is to make business education accessible for therapists, counselors and social workers. We were never taught any of this in school! We are here to inspire and educate, so anyone who wants to own a private practice CAN do it without breaking the bank.

If you've been dreaming of breaking free from the constraints of community mental health or a group practice and you want to build a private practice that truly aligns with your values and lifestyle, the Private Practice Lab is designed just for you. This comprehensive CE course for therapists addresses the gap between what you learned in graduate school and what you actually need to know to create a thriving, sustainable practice. We understand that many therapists feel unprepared for the business side of private practice, which is why this continuing education for counselors focuses on practical, actionable strategies that will have you feeling confident and prepared to finally take the leap.

The journey begins with something often overlooked in other training programs: helping you create a compelling vision for your practice. You'll learn to shift away from the community mental health mindset that may be holding you back and instead define what success looks like for you personally. Together, we'll explore questions like: How many hours do you actually want to work? What income would allow you to feel financially secure? How do you want to feel after each session with your clients? This isn't just about building any practice—it's about building the right practice for you, one where you won't become a bad boss to yourself and where healthy boundaries are the norm.

Once your vision is clear, we dive deep into the business fundamentals that can feel overwhelming when you're figuring them out alone. You'll gain confidence in everything from naming your business and choosing between S-corp and LLC structures to obtaining your NPI number, securing liability insurance, and setting up HIPAA-compliant email and phone systems. We'll walk through setting up your office space (whether physical or virtual), selecting the right EHR system, establishing a business bank account, and even getting professional headshots that represent you authentically. By the end of this section, you'll have a clear roadmap for all the administrative pieces that seemed so overwhelming before.

The financial aspects of private practice don't have to be intimidating, and this CEU course for therapists breaks down everything you need to know about managing money in your practice. You'll learn practical bookkeeping strategies, understand your tax obligations, and make informed decisions about whether to work with insurance or focus on self-pay clients or a mix of both! We'll also explore how different EHR systems can support your financial management, helping you choose tools that work with your business model rather than against it.

The next section focuses on finding and marketing your niche—because as we'll discuss, clients want to work with specialists, not generalists. You'll learn how to identify specialties that genuinely interest you and avoid oversaturated areas like general anxiety and depression. Don't worry if you're not sure about your niche yet, we'll show you how these can evolve over time and why they don't have to feel like permanent decisions that define your entire career.

Marketing doesn't have to mean constant social media posting or pushy sales tactics. This continuing education for counselors program teaches sustainable marketing approaches that feel authentic and manageable. You'll discover the power of local SEO (which is much easier than you might think), learn to optimize your Google My Business account, and understand how to ethically gather reviews. We'll cover everything from getting listed in school directories and building valuable backlinks to guest blogging opportunities and even how to use AI to support your content creation without losing your authentic voice.

Beyond marketing basics, you'll get hands-on guidance for building your online presence. Whether you choose Squarespace or WordPress for your website builder, you'll learn the basics of creating a site that converts visitors into clients. We'll also discuss how to use platforms like Psychology Today effectively and explore whether social media marketing aligns with your goals and energy levels.

The systems portion of this program is where everything comes together to create a practice that runs smoothly without overwhelming you. You'll learn to set up efficient processes for managing waitlists, conducting intake calls, and screening potential clients to ensure good fit. We'll explore email funnels that nurture potential clients, organizational systems for client records and notes, and how to set up self-scheduling so clients can book appointments without constant back-and-forth. Importantly, we'll also cover safety protocols and how to refer out appropriately when clients aren't the right fit for your practice.

Networking often feels daunting, but it's one of the most powerful tools for growing your practice organically. You'll discover strategies for finding and engaging with local professional groups, joining online communities that support your growth, and building genuine relationships with colleagues. Plus, you'll have access to our exclusive lab forum where you can connect with other therapists on similar journeys, ask questions, and share insights.

What makes this CEU for counselors truly special is our commitment to keeping the content current and relevant. Through our bonus content section, we continuously add new resources as the field evolves, ensuring your investment in this education continues paying dividends long after you complete the initial coursework. This isn't just about earning CE credits—though you'll certainly do that at a fraction of the cost of traditional programs. It's about gaining the confidence, knowledge, and community support you need to build a private practice that serves both your professional aspirations and your personal well-being.

By the end of this program, you'll have moved from feeling overwhelmed by the idea of private practice to having a clear, step-by-step plan for creating the therapeutic career you've been dreaming of. You'll understand that building a successful practice isn't just about clinical skills—it's about creating sustainable systems, authentic marketing, and boundaries that allow you to do your best work while living a life you love outside the therapy room.

Want even more details on “The Private Practice Lab”? Visit the webpage with all the details, linked here!

We're here to help you determine if our courses meet your continuing education requirements! You can easily check by visiting our "State Requirements" page, where you can search either by your state or by your specific license type.

Currently, we hold approval from NBCC, though each state and license type has unique requirements. We always recommend double-checking with your state board, as regulations can change frequently. Generally, most LPC's (licensed professional counselors), MFT (marriage and family therapists) and LISW (licensed independent social workers) are able to take our courses for continuing education credit.

If you're interested in our CE courses, but we don't yet have approval from your licensing board, please don't hesitate to reach out and let us know! We're committed to making our continuing education courses as accessible as possible. We hope to continuously explore opportunities to serve additional helping professionals in our field.

If you already have a private practice, but are interested in the marketing and SEO portion of the training, we are offering that section to be purchased on it’s own. Please go to the “Marketing + SEO Lab” webpage for more details on all that is included.

This continuing education course is presented in a convenient "home study" format, featuring pre-recorded content rather than live instruction. We've designed all of our CEU courses this way to provide you with maximum flexibility, allowing you to learn at your own pace and progress through each module when it works best for your schedule.

The price details of "The Private Practice Lab" are coming soon!