Are you a fresher who feels Anxious to start private practice?
Most students in the country are worried about the the stability and financial security, or job opportunities while going through their education.
Though these concerns are valid to certain extent but most freshers feel inadequate/anxious about beginning to work as a therapist. Moreover immediately starting the private practice seems to be a daunting task as well.
Here are few suggestions to help you work through this:
1. Get trained during your bachelors or masters, complete internships and work with an experienced Psychologist.
2. Choose trainings/internships wisely, don’t do it for just a certificate that might look good on CV (even if it’s my training). Do it for learning and working on your skills.
3. Give yourself an year to work through kinks w.r.t your private practice, it works differently for every individual and therefore you’re bound to make mistakes, so be compassionate to yourself as well as take it one step at a time.
4. Every person around you is part of your network, don’t be quick too judge anyone and invest in maintaining good relationships (learnt that the hard way).
5. Private practice is like owning a small business, there is some amount of investment that you have to make, therefore, keep that in mind while choosing the same.
6. Invest in Supervision with a professional you feel safe, and are okay to be open as well as vulnerable. Therefore, choose your supervisor wisely, there are multiple parts to the discussions held between you both and they sometimes can also be personal in nature.
7. Get in the habit of learning through multiple mediums such as books, articles, research papers, videos or even podcasts.
8. Focus on learning, unlearning and relearning about yourself, the society, culture and more!
9. Private practice is rather isolating so don’t be hesitant to reach out. Create a support system through peer supervision and nurture your personal relationships too.
10. Finally, get tech savvy and try to digitize your work as much as possible, from note making to tracking your finances, get help from other professionals, seniors and industry experts.
Most students can feel blank and it is very common feeling you go through, when beginning just after the completion of your studies. It’s Okay to feel this way and the best way to work through it is reach out to an industry expert or a professional with similar expertise.
If you think I forgot something, surely add more suggestions in the comments below. Have queries? Comment it below and I will surely try to answer them.
Thank you!