Building Your Private Practice:
A counselor's guide to launching a successful business
A 2-day live, interactive workshop with 2 highly-qualified counselors
Over two live, interactive days, we’ll walk you step-by-step from “I have no idea where to start” to a concrete plan for opening or strengthening your private practice.
Friday, May 1st, 2026 & Saturday, May 2nd, 2026
Time: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm PST.
Location: Online via Zoom
If these dates don’t work for you but you're interested in the training, let us know! We’ll add you to our waitlist to be the first to hear about future sessions.
Who is this training for?
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Graduate students and associates who are curious about private practice
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Early-career clinicians ready to launch
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Established therapists who want to restructure, raise fees, or realign their practice with their values
Does this Sound Familiar?
When you picture private practice, you you feel a mix of excitement and dread.
One minute you’re dreaming about flexibility and freedom; the next, you’re frozen wondering:
Where do I even start?
What if I mess up the legal or money parts?
Can I really make this work as a single earner / parent / associate / student?
We see you. And we don’t want you to do this alone.
This training is an invitation to take the next step with support—where we walk alongside you, help you build what you're envisioning, and create a practice that feels like yours, not a carbon copy of someone else's.
Your Facilitators
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Frankie Lemmons
LMFT, LMHC and Supervisor in Training
Counselor, supervisor, mentor, and supporter, who loves supporting people as they explore identity, heal relational wounds, and build lives rooted in connection and wholeness.
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Dr. Michelle Engblom-Deglmann
LMFT, Professor and Supervisor
Counselor, supervisor, professor, mentor, cheerleader and genuinely in love with supporting people in their journey to learning, loving, healing, and living a more balanced life.
Building a private practice is easier when you learn from people who have walked the path before you. We bring diverse, real-world experience building and sustaining private practices through both growth and challenges, and are committed to helping clinicians create sustainable, meaningful careers.
But why choose to work with us?
Depth + experience. Dr. Michelle brings nearly 25 years in the field as a licensed counselor (OR/CA), supervisor, and professor, with a strong grounding in ethics, systems thinking, and training.
Real-time, lived experience. Frankie is a BIPOC clinician licensed in Washington and Oregon who built a profitable, flexible private practice right out of graduate school—while prioritizing parenting and work-life boundaries.
Values-aligned support. We care about you as a whole person, not just as a provider. We talk frankly about identity, money, burnout, and boundaries.
Practical tools. You’ll see examples of how we structure forms, workflows, and money systems—and leave with templates you can adapt immediately.
We will cover
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Foundations of your practice
EIN, business structure basics, email, phone systems, and choosing what actually matters at your stage.
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Business structures, de-mystified
Understanding Sole Prop vs LLC vs S-Corp in plain language, and where to start.
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Money that feels aligned
Budgeting, taxes, working with/without insurance, and setting fees that reflect your worth—without abandoning your values or your community..
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Self-of-the-Therapist exploration
How personal history, identity, family beliefs, boundaries, and internalized narratives shape how you show up in business.
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Ideal client & aligned marketing
Defining who you serve, how they find you, and how to share what you do clearly and passionately.
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Step-by-step launch planning
Practical workflows and sample documentation to adapt immediately.
You’ll walk away with
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A written launch (or re-launch) plan that maps out your next steps clearly
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Multiple guided worksheets and exercises to help you design a practice that fits your goals.
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Sample language for documents, intake forms, boundaries, fees, and communication (adaptable to your practice)
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A clearer understanding of the money landscape—fees, insurance vs private pay, budgeting essentials, and how to make aligned financial choices moving forward
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Tools to support confidence, clarity, and sustainability in how you show up as a business owner
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Community connections with other therapists building practices with intention
Tiered investment in your practice
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Students
$200
For current graduate students in marriage and family therapy, clinical counseling, or related mental health fields who have ever been curious about private practice.
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Associate Level Professionals
$300
For pre-licensed clinicians practicing under supervision (associates, interns, residents, or candidates depending on state).
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Licensed Professionals
$400
For fully licensed therapists and clinical mental health professionals interested in starting or growing a private practice.
Inclusive scholarship for Black / Indigenous People Of Colour
We offer one free slot for BIPOC therapists/students in each of our workshops. Please contact us to request this free slot or, when the slot is filled, to be put on the waitlist. We would love to hear from you!
If you’re thinking about private practice, this is where you begin building a practice you don’t just survive each day in — but one where you have room to be free.
What happens next?
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Immediately after registration
Confirmation email with Zoom link and training details.
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Two weeks before the training:
Reminder email with your step-by-step startup guide, two worksheets/activities, and the Zoom link again for easy access.
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The day before the training
Quick “See you tomorrow” email with final reminders, what to expect, and the Zoom link one more time.
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After the training
You'll receive a feedback form. Once you complete it, you'll get your certificate (if applicable) and access to our Google Drive folder with the slides and all additional worksheets and resources.
Frequently Asked Questions
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This training is open to therapists at any stage of their professional journey, including:
Graduate students
Interns and practicum students
Associate-level clinicians
Newly licensed therapists
Licensed and seasoned clinicians
If you are looking for clarity, support, and answers about what private practice can look like — this space is designed for you.
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No — and many participants are not.
You do not need to know with certainty that private practice is what you want. This training is for clinicians who have ever:
wondered what private practice could look like,
felt curious about career options outside of a 40-hour clinical workweek,
questioned whether profitability is possible without insurance or while seeing fewer clients,
or felt stuck believing there are limited career paths in therapy.
Our goal is to provide accurate information so you can make an informed decision about your career, rather than feeling overwhelmed, boxed in, or unsure what options exist.
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PMHNPs and other behavioral health providers may find the business and practice-building foundations helpful.
We also want to be transparent: as a PMHNP, you are not only starting a therapy practice but also a medical prescribing practice. Our training focuses on the business and operational side of private practice and does not cover medical components such as:
DEA registration
Prescribing systems or laws
Medication management workflows
Lab coordination
Medical billing or coding
While we have general familiarity through colleagues, neither facilitator operates a prescribing practice, and we want to be clear about the scope.
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Participants continue to receive support after completion, including:
Ongoing access to the full training Google Drive resource library
The option to retake the training in a future cohort at no additional cost as a refresher
Optional consultation sessions with facilitators for additional 1:1 support
Access to supervision opportunities:
Frankie — supervision available in Oregon and Washington
Dr. Michelle — supervision available in Oregon
Business development, practice questions, and implementation support can continue to be discussed within supervision or consultation spaces.
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Training materials are shared through Google Drive so participants can receive updates and added resources over time.
You have two options for accessing training materials:
Option 1 — Create a free Google account (recommended)
Training materials are housed in Google Drive so participants can access resources, templates, and receive ongoing updates after the training.You do not need a Gmail email address. You can create a free Google account using your existing email address (work, Outlook, Yahoo, etc.). We provide an instruction sheet to all participants.
This option allows you to:
Access materials anytime
Receive updated resources automatically
Keep everything organized in one location
Option 2 — Receive materials as a ZIP download
Materials can be sent as a downloadable ZIP file upon request.Please note: ZIP downloads will not receive future updates or added resources.
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Yes. Participants receive worksheets, templates, planning tools, and implementation resources designed to help translate learning into actionable steps within their own practice.
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CE credits for this training are currently available only to licensed therapists in Oregon.
To receive CE credit, you’ll need to:Attend the full training live
Complete the course evaluation at the end of the workshop
If you have questions about eligibility or documentation, please contact us.
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Please note that all registrations are non-refundable. We are unable to offer refunds for cancellations for any reason, including scheduling conflicts, illness, or unforeseen circumstances.
If you are unable to attend, you may transfer your registration to another participant. To do so, please notify us at least 2 days prior to the event with the name and contact details of the new participant.
By registering, you acknowledge and agree to this cancellation policy. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to having you at our training.