They *do* teach business in social work school.

When you were in graduate school for counseling or social work, did you think you’d be opening a private practice one day? If you were contemplating opening a private practice at some point, did your graduate school offer business courses on launching and sustaining a profitable small business? Regardless of your field, and particularly if you graduated more than 10 years ago, I’m guessing the answer to this is likely no.

In graduate school, you learned the critically important foundational clinical skills needed for counseling individuals, couples, families, and groups (if you chose the clinical track). You learned how to work in teams (thanks to all those group projects!) You learned how to think critically, conduct effective research, utilize evidence-based programs and practices, and if you’re lucky, you learned how to develop and evaluate your own programs. You learned the things you need to be (mostly) helpful interns and practicum students, to know what additional trainings and certifications to seek out once you graduated and were provisionally licensed, and (hopefully) how to survive the first several months of your first agency job out of grad school.

Now that you’ve been fully licensed for a bit, put in some years at an agency, and gotten some advanced clinical training under your belt, you might find yourself thinking about starting a private practice. Chances are, you aren’t sure where to start. You might be afraid to leave the stability of a steady paycheck and company-provided health insurance without any clue of how to make your private practice successful.

But here’s the thing: change is coming! Clinical graduate schools are increasingly seeing the need to prepare their students for the world of entrepreneurship. The Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis even created the first social entrepreneurship program in the country to be cross-listed between a school of social work and a school of business. So, when I was asked by The Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis to lead a professional development workshop on this critically important topic, I was ALL IN.

Perfect for the therapist who is thinking about starting a private practice, those who are struggling to grow their private practice, those who went to graduate school at a time when they didn’t teach business courses, and those who want to love their private practice again, this workshop will provide an overview of strategies for making your practice sustainable (and enjoyable) for years to come. I hope you’ll join us on July 19th.