Private practice is a fairly big step, not to mention a bit intimidating. For me, it is the next logical step after going back to school, changing careers, and finally registering as a psychologist. Logical, however, does not necessarily mean straight-forward.

Do you know that feeling when you’ve worked really hard for something and you don’t want to mess it up? Well if you do then you can understand both my excitement and my apprehension about moving into this unfamiliar territory. If, by chance, you find yourself in a similar predicament, I invite you to join me in the excitement and to be a part of sorting out the ambiguities involved in opening a private practice.

Over the next year, I will blog about my experience of starting a private practice; these are my views and experiences and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA. I have a plan and am sharing it with you to make myself more accountable to my timeline. This spring and summer, I will speak to colleagues in private practice, do some research, and learn about how to be an entrepreneur. Spring and summer are all about making informed decisions. I hope to get my feet wet in the fall by starting my practice small and ironing out at least some of the wrinkles – because there will be some. If all goes well, I should have some momentum by winter and even as I write that, I realize how vague my plan for winter is at this point. By this time next year, I hope to be blogging with you about what my mistakes have taught me and how great it was to go on this adventure together.

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA