Relocating your therapy practice can be overwhelming. I’ve just finished the first full month in a new office space. I love it! But to be completely honest the last 4-5 months were very stressful. It would have been easy if it was as simple as just plop myself from my old office into a beautiful new space and know everything would come together perfectly. But, things are never that simple. In today’s post, I thought I’d share a little bit about my experience relocating my practice and also some lessons I’ve learned through the process.
Here’s the quick rundown on the lessons learned. Please read the entire post for more of an explanation of each lesson.
Relocating Your Therapy Practice…..Lessons Learned:
- Take time to make decisions that you are comfortable with, but also trust yourself. Don’t let fear drive your decision-making about your practice location.
- Avoid comparing yourself to others and make decisions that are a good fit for you. Read more about how comparison can steal our joy here.
- Reach out to your support system and trusted colleagues. Bounce your ideas and concerns off of them. Let them believe in you when you are struggling to believe in yourself.
- Consider your clients needs as well as your own when choosing a new space.
- Sometimes it’s worth it to spend a little more money. Invest in yourself and your business.
- You and your clients will be ok. You can handle the transition and are there to support clients through the transition, too.
- Get organized…there are a lot of details to keep track of and a lot of people to notify of your new address. Check out my post on all the logistics to keep in mind as you get ready to relocate your practice.
The longer narrative….On Relocating Your Therapy Practice
Starting in January, I knew I would be definitely relocating my practice on 5/1/17 and was faced with a lot of anxiety about what to do and where to go. At that time, I was doing a hybrid of my private practice and contract work for a non-profit agency (all operating out of the same space). I wasn’t sure if I should take the leap into full private practice or join a group practice and potentially have to give up or scale back my private practice.
I was torn between what I believed would be more consistency, security and shared responsibility going with a group practice versus the independence and freedom to be creative that accompanied jumping fully into my private practice. I know many of you have faced similar dilemmas in your journeys as a mental health provider and that there isn’t one right answer for all of us. After a month or so of agonizing over this decision and discussing all the risks and benefits with a variety of people, I finally came to a decision. I decided to focus 100% on private practice. I knew this was what I wanted to do all along, but I was scared of the possibility of failing. I had some amazing people cheering me on and at times I think they were more confident in me than I was in myself. Once I decided to believe in myself I never looked back. Occasionally a little doubt would pop into my head, but it was fleeting once I finally made the decision.
February was all about finalizing space and notifying all the relevant parties that I was moving. The space was important to me. Since, I had an established client base; I knew that I wanted to stay in the general area where I had been practicing. I found a building that I was interested in that is pretty much my ideal location. I was very close to signing a lease on a small office in the building because I wanted to save some money, but hesitated because it didn’t feel 100% right. I ultimately decided to go with a larger office (in the same building) with big beautiful windows because I couldn’t stop thinking about that space. These windows have ended up being one of my favorite elements of my new space and something that just about everyone comments on. When I have a few minutes between clients, I find it so relaxing to look out the windows and reflect on my day.
In my case, the relevant parties that I notified about my move in February were the non-profit agency and my clients (both private practice and agency clients). This was again anxiety provoking because I obviously couldn’t predict the response of others. I worried about the possibility of losing clients in this transition. Fortunately, my clients are absolutely amazing and expressed their support of me. Most clients followed me. This was also my experience two years ago when I last moved. I logically know that clients will follow a therapist a short distance if they are satisfied with the work being done in therapy, but I have always felt a sense of relief to see it play out that way.
It is difficult to decide how much notice to give therapy clients when making a significant change such as relocating your therapy practice. I decided to give my clients two months notice about the move because I wanted to give the clients from the agency enough time to decide how to move forward with their therapy. For me, it made the most sense to tell all clients and supervisees in the same two week period although the agency clients had the most likelihood of being affected by the change and would need the most time to prepare. The last time I moved, I also gave two months notice and in that circumstance it ended up feeling like too much notice, but the element of having some clients affiliated with an agency wasn’t there at that time.
March and April were busy months as I worked on the preparations to move. This involved cleaning out stuff (decluttering) at my old office, buying new furniture and supplies for the new space (all of my previous spaces were fully or partially furnished), closing out files, notifying insurance companies and helping to prepare my clients for the upcoming transition. My biggest logistical struggle was choosing paint color, which surprised me. In these months, I felt consumed by the preparations and the anticipation of the move. I experienced a mixture of emotions ranging from excitement to sadness to frustration and more.
At the end of April, family and friends started helping me move into the new space. It was absolutely amazing to see the space come together and to start to share the space with others. On 5/2/17, I saw my first clients at 4660 Slater Rd, Suite 220 and the response has been so positive. Some clients did struggle with the anxiety of change, but we were able to work through that. It took me a couple of weeks to get into a new groove and establish new routines in my new space, but in the past two weeks I’ve felt comfortable and content.
As I sat in my office this afternoon, working on the draft of this blog post, I felt 100% settled and at ease. And of course, I took some time to look out those beautiful windows.
Yes, relocating your therapy practice can be overwhelming and there is a lot to keep track of, but if you end up in a space where you and your clients feel comfortable it is totally worth it. And by the way, May has been my highest income earning month of the year to date.
If you need some extra support as you consider and plan for a move, please feel free to schedule a complimentary call. You can claim your call and access my schedule by clicking here.
Sarah