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# How to Determine the Niche of Your Private Practice

Susan Day
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June 18, 2017

## How to Determine the Niche of Your Private Practice

Once you decided to start your own private practice, you might think that a general ‘open door policy’ is best - to make sure you have enough clients to keep the practice going.

However, accepting everything and everyone might not be the best approach.

## Broader doesn’t mean Better

Being a ‘generic’ therapists makes setting up a practice a lot more difficult. Starting from picking the right name, to creating appropriate documentation, to understanding the legal implications. Overall, experienced therapists say that practices without a specialty often close down in the first 18 to 36 months.

How to Determine the Niche of Your Private Practice

## Focus, Focus, Focus

This is the beauty of having a private practice - you are your own boss, and you have the freedom to choose which population, disorder or treatment technique interests you the most. That is the one you want to focus on. It will also make practicing a lot easier, as you will become an expert in the field and are able to even crack the tough cases soon. Delving in deep, rather than scratching the surface, can be a satisfying experience in the world of therapy.

## Helpful Questions

It is a sad truth of life that we don’t always know what we want to do. Ask yourself these questions to understand what kind of practice you want to open:

What populations would you like to serve? Who should your clients be?

What disorders would you like to treat - generally speaking? What treatment modalities are you envisioning?

Which communities would you like to be working with? Do you have a special connection to them?

What expertise/training/experience/passion do you have?

What sets you apart from therapists offering similar services?