This month’s Vibrant Therapist spotlight features a therapist that you may know as “The Group Guru”. Katie K. May is a therapist from Philadelphia who owns a group practice focused on serving teens. Running (and filling) therapy groups has been a major part of Katie’s work in private practice and she now supports other therapists in adding therapy groups to their practices.
As you read Katie’s answers to the interview questions, I guarantee you’ll find lots of helpful nuggets of information and tips even if you aren’t interested in adding groups to your practice at this time. Check out my interview with Katie below:
1. Please introduce yourself to the readers and tell us a little about the work that you do.
My name is Katie K. May and I’m known in the therapist community as “The Group Guru.” I went from burned out and buried in paperwork in community mental health to 6+ figures in my first 10 months of private practice working on 12 hours a week by leveraging the power of groups to help my clients. I can fill a group in a week or less… I do it all the time! And now I help other therapists fill groups fast too in my free community and my 6 week Fill Your Group Fast Workshop.
2. How did you decide to first decide to incorporate groups into your practice?
When I worked in a child and adolescent partial hospital program, the focus was on the group treatment. The adolescents especially benefited greatly from the group experience and the peer support and skill-building that took place. Many of them wanted to continue with groups in the outpatient setting beyond their time in the hospital. I knew I wanted to be in private practice for myself and had a special interest in working with the teen population, so I made the decision to start a teen group, given that at that time there weren’t any being offered in the area.
3. What were the challenges you encountered as you first attempted to bring therapy groups into your practice?
Filling that first group had many ups and downs. Should I charge this price or $5 less? Will everyone actually show up? How do I get one or two more? But I trusted the process, tapped into my warm networks, used some hustle and grit with a flyer and Facebook and I got the word out enough to fill that first group of 6 teens! Since then I’ve streamlined my process and created the step-by-steps to support other therapists in being able to fill groups more quickly and easily so they don’t experience the same stressors around filling a new group.
4. Based on your experience, what is the #1 thing a therapist should know when they begin to consider offering groups in their practice?
Definitely be clear on what you’re offering, Know exactly who your perfect-fit client and why they’d want to join. Have super clear intentions and outcomes so you know how to clearly articulate the value of your offer. Ultimately, when you can position group as a way to help people reach their goals more quickly and with a safe support system, the groups will fill themselves.
5. What types of doubt and fears have you encountered in your career and how have you addressed them?
Every time I decided to go bigger, to try something new, to get more visible in my business, there was fear and discomfort associated with it. It’s a natural part of growing and expanding!
What I’ve learned about myself is that when I’m willing to lean into the discomfort and ride with it, I come out the other side feeling empowered. And that feeling of empowerment is intoxicating.
I recognize my doubts and fears and then tell myself a million reasons why it’s going to work anyway. I create “belief ladders” where I’ll notice a thought that’s causing my fear, then write the opposite of that though on the top of a piece of paper, then write all the reasons the positive opposite is true instead.
I’ve created a life narrative (even from childhood) that my success is always on the other side of adversity. And that anytime life feels difficult, it’s because it’s in the middle of a story that has a happy ending.
6. How do you personally manage overwhelm when working on multiple projects?
Netflix! My mind is a gift and a curse. It literally never stops with new ideas and creating new content. I’m constantly writing and have notebooks scattered throughout my house. I find it most effective to schedule in time to not work… like going to pilates classes and getting massages. And then my planned breaks recharge me for more ideas:)
Mostly though taking action on my thoughts has afforded me great successes and because I can simply show up to my groups and support the process of what unfolds in the room, I’m able to enjoy my downtime in ways that work well for me.
7. If you could go back in time, what tip or advice would you share with yourself at the beginning of your career?
Trust yourself. Don’t write that “About” page in the same way as all the other therapists in your area because you think that’s how you’re “supposed” to do it. Don’t wear the blazer and slacks because you think it’s how professionals are “supposed” to dress. Once I let my true self shine in my business, the business side of my practice exploded with success too.
Similarly, I’d remind myself that not everyone has to like me… not even my clients. And sometimes a tough clinical call is in the client’s best interest, even if they hate you for it.
Are you interested in adding therapy groups to your practice?
Check out the below invitation from Katie:
I’d love to invite anyone who’s interested in starting and filling groups in private practice to grab my free 5-Day Jump Start Guide at www.becomeagroupguru.com. I share my step-by-step plan for how to create the ideal that your clients are ready to enroll in today so that you can maximize your impact without adding hours to your already busy schedule!
I’d like to extend a BIG thanks to Katie for participating in the Vibrant Therapist Spotlight!
I am curious, do you see adding groups to your practice as part of your vibrant therapist vision? Leave me a comment below and let me know!
Take Care,
Sarah