Setting a rhythm for a therapy practice that honors our needs as we support others’ is one of the keys to sustainability in this unique work that asks us to show up with our whole selves.

What quantity of sessions is sustainably within your capacity?

16 sessions a week (4 sessions a day, 4 days a week) is my full capacity.

Any more would be beyond my capacity without sacrificing the high quality of my therapeutic work and my own well-being.

How many clients can you see in a day before you feel the quality decline? How many clients can you see in a week before you begin to feel your reserves depleting? Setting aside all other considerations for now, what is an ideal full practice for you, radically accepting yourself exactly as you are?

How much space between do you need?

I need a half hour between sessions (my available time slots are 10:00, 11:30, and 1:00).

Most therapists have 50 minute sessions on the hour (10, 11, 12, 1), but my sessions are technically 53 minutes (for insurance purposes) and I prefer a 10 minute window of flexibility to curate the ending of each session very intentionally (my clients walk away from their sessions feeling safe and supported, clear and confident). It is essential for me to complete the required case note immediately following each session, so I need time between sessions to complete that task fully—it’s what my mind needs to be fully cleansed and open to each client. Additionally, this amount of time between allows for bio breaks (using the bathroom requires a walk from my office, through my property, back to the main house) and bite-sized administrative tasks (limited chunks of time actually increase productivity for boring tasks). It also allows for my own nervous system self-care and regulation, cleansing my emotional palette between sessions so I can show up for each client refreshed.

How much space between do you need based on session length, note-taking, billing, transitions, and physical, practical, and emotional needs?

When is sustainable for you to show up for sessions?

My work hours are Monday-Thursday, 10-2.

My hours of availability are based on my natural rhythm (I thrive with a slow morning) and parenting responsibilities (I have child-free time during this window and have to leave by 2:30 for school pickup).

Within what rhythm do you naturally thrive? What other responsibilities must you hold space for in your schedule? If you could work any time, when would you work?

It’s also worth considering when your ideal client is available. If you love working with teachers, they won’t be available for therapy during school hours. A therapeutic space is an overlap in the Venn diagram of needs where you and your client meet. While I find that therapists more often need reminders to include their own needs, let’s also not forget to include our clients’.

Where is sustainable for you to show up for sessions?

I work from a detached home office where I hold sessions virtually.

Seeing clients in person adds the expense of an office and requires a commute. Plus real pants (no thank you). It can also provide a separate space for you and a powerful experience of connection and co-regulation for the client.

There are benefits and costs to both formats and your needs and preferences will likely change in different seasons of life and community contexts. So a choice for now doesn’t have to be a choice forever (this is true for all of these questions and considerations).

But for now, what setting best supports the work you are feeling called to do?

What areas of need are sustainably within your capacity to support?

I primarily support moms with anxiety in therapy, specifically around issues like motherhood, gentle parenting, trauma, relationships, life transitions, divorce, perimenopause, and grief.

I also support therapists with supervision for associates in Washington state (coming soon) and consultation for therapists everywhere.

Some clients and content will feel energizing and some will feel draining. What feels enlivening to support will almost certainly evolve over time as you have your own experiences and metamorphose into different versions of yourself. While marketing wisdom encourages us to niche down, I find I do need variety within my specialization. It’s less about finding the one right thing and more about feeling a sense of balance.

What people do you feel inspired to serve? What challenges do you feel gifted in supporting? Are you attuned to a sense of balance within your caseload?

How much admin space do you need for your practice to be sustainable?

The 30 minute windows between sessions is ample time for me to complete the administrative work of running my private practice (and the personal administrative work of managing a family of 5).

Time for the administrative tasks required of therapists is often overlooked as invisible labor and mental load and left unaccounted for—let’s change that. How much space do you need and where will you hold it?

How much creative space do you need to market your practice sustainably?

Fridays are my creative day.

I am presently sitting on my deck, looking out at the majestic evergreen treetops and sparkling water of the Sound, listening to some folksy guitar and birds chirping, feeling the characteristic breeze of summer yielding to autumn, allowing these words to flow through me. Fridays are my day for any of the creative work that serves as marketing for my online business (blog posts, emails, social media content, online courses, products, partnerships, etc.). All of the inspiration builds throughout the week and pours out of me on Fridays. I find that I cannot access this creative flow after sessions with clients (I’ve used up all the magic within the therapeutic work itself), so I accept about myself that I need a separate day for the most creative part of myself to freely play. I experience this as essential to the success of my therapy practice.

How do clients find and fall for you? How do you serve your audience outside of therapy sessions? What form does your creativity take? How much space does it need and how can you support it?

How much personal space do you need to live safely within your capacity?

Let’s embrace a holistic view of our needs that includes holding space for the parts of us beyond our role as therapist. How many hours of sleep do you need each night to wake feeling rested and restored? Food? Hobbies? Friendship? Vacations? Health care? Mapping our needs as a whole person calibrated to wellness allows us to pour from a full cup.

How much income do you need to meet your needs?

My answer to this question is presently in flux as I transition to a new phase of licensure with drastically lower expenses, so I’ll update once I have a solid number to share.

The capitalist question of how many clients we need to earn enough money to meet our needs is where most therapists begin and end this scheduling inquiry. That question is valid, but that question in solitude is a path to burn out. All of the questions we have explored here together help to inform how we expand into filling the income we need. There is creative flexibility around the who, what, when, and where. The hours we have available for client sessions intersect with the rates we charge per session. The expenses within our private practice intersect with our necessary income. We have room to work.

How much money do you need to earn to live a life in which you are thriving? Let’s not shy away from this question. Let’s receive a potential gap as an invitation for growth, but let’s choose to acknowledge it nonetheless (because it exists whether we are acknowledging it or not—let’s not render legitimate struggles to the shadows where we can’t work with them—let in the light).

Designing our schedule as therapists can be a powerful exercise of lifestyle design that harmoniously fosters both our personal well-being and our professional sustainability.

If you could use some guidance or support around how you design your schedule as a therapist, you can book a consultation session here or engage in supervision here (coming soon).