Prosper in Private Practice

Prosper in Private Practice Hi, I'm Claire!.

I have over 10 years experience as a self-employed Therapist and I am passionate about helping mental health professionals thrive in private practice, without experiencing burnout

I use AI in my business, and I know that’s a fairly loaded sentence in therapist spaces.I’m not here to convince anyone ...
02/09/2026

I use AI in my business, and I know that’s a fairly loaded sentence in therapist spaces.

I’m not here to convince anyone they should be using it. There are real concerns — environmental impact, privacy, ethics, and how clients might be using it around their mental health. I get why therapists feel strongly about those things, and I think those conversations matter.

But there’s a separate conversation worth having too: how AI might help with the non-clinical side of running a practice.

Because unless you happened to come into therapy with a background in business, marketing, tech or management, almost nothing prepares you for the rest of it. Build a website. Write the copy. Understand SEO. Create content. Keep on top of admin. Do the research. Write the policies. Manage enquiries. Market yourself. Learn yet another bit of software. Then somehow find the time and headspace to actually be a therapist as well.

We’re often told to just be authentic, write from the heart, create useful content — and I agree with all of that. I just think we underestimate how much time and energy it actually takes.

That’s the bit of AI I’m interested in.

Can it help with the repetitive admin? Help me get through research faster? Take on some of the technical jobs I’d otherwise have to outsource? Turn something I’ve already written or taught into a different format, instead of starting again from a blank page?

And yes — AI creates a lot of slop. I’ve made plenty myself 😂

But it frustrates me when the whole conversation gets reduced to bad AI flyers and generic ChatGPT captions, because there’s more to it than that.

For me this was never about handing over clinical judgement, or replacing the human part of therapy. It’s about whether the non-clinical load of running a practice can be a little lighter. And if that leaves more time and energy for the work that actually needs us, I think it’s worth exploring.

That’s where I’ve landed on it, anyway.

I’d be curious where other therapists are with this — are any of the tools in the carousel actually helping, or is there something else that’s made a real difference in your practice?

There was a time when a mediocre website, a directory listing and maybe a page were genuinely enough to keep th...
01/09/2026

There was a time when a mediocre website, a directory listing and maybe a page were genuinely enough to keep the enquiries coming in. It felt manageable. Almost simple, looking back.

Then social media happened, COVID happened, and online therapy became normal rather than niche. Suddenly the person who might book with you wasn’t just down the road. They could be anywhere.

The pool got bigger, and so did the noise.

And now there’s another shift happening.

Clients are turning to AI to make sense of what they’re struggling with, to search for therapists, and sometimes even to ask outright for recommendations. They’re arriving in the room already holding language, theories and conclusions they may have formed through conversations with AI.

At the same time, people are more cautious with money. They’re taking longer to decide, comparing therapists, speaking to several people, and thinking more carefully about the cost of therapy.

So yes, private practice feels harder for many people right now.

I think this may be one of the most challenging seasons I’ve seen in 14 years of practice.

But I also think this is part of what happens when the wider world changes. We’ve adapted before. We adapted to websites, to social media, to online therapy, to SEO, to becoming far more visible and public than therapists ever really had to be before.

Now we’re working out what AI means for private practice.

That doesn’t mean you need to become an AI expert, or use every new tool that appears.

But I do think AI literacy is going to matter.

Enough to understand how clients are using it, how search is changing, where the risks are, and where it might genuinely support you in running your practice.

Not so you can chase every new thing, but so you can make informed decisions about what matters and what doesn’t.

If you want me to filter the noise for you, comment **NEWSLETTER** and I’ll send you my free fortnightly AI update for therapists — what’s changing, what matters, and what you can probably leave well alone.

28/08/2026

AI is producing a whole spectrum of reactions among therapists at the moment.

Some are fascinated by it. Some are quietly excited about what it might make easier. Some are deeply uncomfortable about where it’s taking the profession.

And a lot of people are somewhere in the middle — curious and wary at the same time, and wondering how on earth you’re meant to keep up with it.

Because it is moving quickly. New tools, new research, ethical questions, shifts in how clients are using it, and now questions about how we might use it ourselves on the non-clinical side of practice.

I don’t think you should have to spend hours a week working out which bits of that actually matter to you.

So I started the fortnightly AI & Practice Notes newsletter. Every two weeks I pull together what I think is genuinely relevant to us as therapists and explain, in plain English, what’s happened and whether it has any implications for your practice. No tech-speak, and no assumption that you want to use any of it.

I should probably say where I’m standing. I use AI myself, mostly on the business side of practice, and I’ve had pushback for talking about it publicly. I’ve decided to keep talking about it anyway. Not every therapist needs to be using this stuff — plenty won’t, and that’s a legitimate position. But clients are bringing it into the room regardless, and it’s already sitting inside the tools we book, transcribe and meet on.

If you’d like to be kept in the loop, comment NEWSLETTER below and I’ll send you the details.

This comment was left underneath an advert for my upcoming AI & Ethics training for therapists, and it really made me st...
25/08/2026

This comment was left underneath an advert for my upcoming AI & Ethics training for therapists, and it really made me stop and think.

Because whether we like it or not, people are already using AI for emotional support. Some are using it alongside therapy, some between sessions, and some are arriving having already asked ChatGPT about diagnosis, relationships, trauma, or even what their therapist should be doing.

And some are choosing it instead of therapy.

As therapists, we can see the concerns: inaccurate information, sycophancy, reassurance seeking, emotional reliance, privacy, and something sounding empathic without actually understanding or feeling anything.

But we also have to acknowledge why people are using it.

It’s available 24/7. It’s free or low cost. There’s no waiting list. And the more somebody uses it, the more personal that interaction can start to feel.

Do I believe that’s the same as human therapy? No.

There are all those little subtleties of human connection: the shift in expression, the change in tone, the pause before someone answers, what isn’t being said.

But I also think it would be naive to assume that because AI can’t replicate that, it won’t impact our profession.

I use AI every day and it has been incredibly useful in supporting the non-clinical side of my business. I don’t believe this technology is going back in the box.

But using AI as a business tool is very different from using it for mental health support.

So will AI replace therapists?

Honestly, I don’t know.

The optimist in me hopes that as our world becomes increasingly digital, people will value human connection even more.

But will demand for therapy stay exactly as it is as these tools become more accessible, personalised and capable?

I don’t think any of us really knows.

What I do think is that we can’t sit in denial about it. Our clients are already using these tools, so we need to understand them, address the elephant in the room and be willing to have these conversations.

Do you think AI will change the demand for human therapy?

AI is already in the therapy room.Not because therapists have decided it should be, but because our clients are already ...
20/08/2026

AI is already in the therapy room.

Not because therapists have decided it should be, but because our clients are already using it.

They’re asking ChatGPT for advice, reassurance and emotional support. They’re using it to make sense of difficult conversations, relationships and feelings. And increasingly, they’re bringing those conversations into therapy.

At the same time, therapists are trying to work out what responsible AI use looks like in our own work, where confidentiality and informed consent fit, and what the updated BACP Ethical Framework means in practice.

I’ve been using AI in the business side of my own private practice for around three years and I genuinely find it incredibly useful.

But I also think the bigger questions deserve much more space than “AI is brilliant” versus “AI has no place in therapy”.

That’s why I’m bringing a group of therapists together in Shoreditch on Friday 2nd October for an in-person CPD day on AI & Ethics in Private Practice.

The morning is about the wider ethical and professional conversation — client use, confidentiality, informed consent, boundaries, professional responsibility and where our ethical guidance sits.

Then after lunch we’ll get practical, with laptops out, looking at how AI can support the non-clinical side of private practice without handing over the parts that need to remain human.

The early bird rate is £119 until Monday evening.

And because I’m flying over from Belfast for this one, I’d really love your help reaching therapists who are actually within travelling distance.

If you know a therapist in London, Essex or the surrounding areas who might want to be part of this conversation, tag them below. 👇

20/08/2026

I’ve been following Kym Tolson for quite a while now.

When I first started properly exploring AI, I went looking for other people talking about it in a way that felt relevant to therapists.

What I mostly found were male “bro marketer” types talking about hacks, productivity and making six figures while you sleep. 😬

Then I found Kym.

A therapist, a woman, and someone having conversations about AI in a space that still felt very male-dominated, but in a way that actually made sense for our profession.

I joined her Clinical AI Club over a year ago and have learned so much from her. So I was thrilled when she agreed to speak at my summit in June, and genuinely honoured when she later invited me onto her podcast, Run Your Private Practice with AI.

We talked about the hesitation therapists can feel around AI, the opportunities it creates, and the importance of exploring it without falling into either “AI will solve everything” or “AI is terrible and we shouldn’t touch it”.

We also talked about ADHD brains and AI, using it for personalised resources, blogs, newsletters, research and interactive tools, and why therapists don’t have to force themselves into a version of social media that makes them miserable.

And, naturally, we ended up getting very excited about apps, assessments, lead magnets and all the things therapists can now create that would previously have needed a developer and a much bigger budget.

I really loved this conversation.

If you’d like the full episode, comment LISTEN and I’ll DM you the link. 👇

19/08/2026

Please excuse the slightly heavy breathing in this video. Apparently walking through a park while talking at the same time now counts as cardio, which is probably a sign I need to work on mine. 😂

One of the biggest things that holds therapists back in private practice is marketing. Being visible gives them the complete ick, and the thought of “selling themselves” can feel uncomfortable, pushy and completely at odds with the work they do.

Last week, one of my community members reminded me of something I’d said before that had really stuck with him: serve, rather than sell.

And I think it’s such a useful way of looking at marketing.

Instead of asking, “How do I sell myself here?” try asking, “How can I serve the person I want to work with?”

If you’re writing a social media post, what would be genuinely useful for them to hear? If you’re writing a blog, what might help them understand something they’re struggling with? If you’re reaching out to another professional, how could what you do be helpful to the people they support?

You already have so much knowledge. You care deeply about the people you help, and you probably have hundreds of things in your head that would be genuinely useful to someone struggling with the very thing you specialise in.

But sometimes we turn sharing that knowledge into this big uncomfortable thing called MARKETING, and suddenly it feels sleazy or pushy when it really doesn’t need to.

You’re not trying to persuade someone who doesn’t need therapy to buy therapy. You’re helping the person who does need support to understand something, feel a little less alone, and perhaps realise there’s someone out there who understands what they’re dealing with.

That’s marketing too.

This video is a good example. I was walking to a coffee shop, this thought popped into my head, and I thought it might be helpful for therapists to hear it.

So I recorded it.

Serve over sell. It really can be as simple as that.

18/08/2026

Therapists often assume that being visible online means being constantly visible. Posting. Stories. Reels. Showing your face. Feeding the algorithm.

But there’s another kind of visibility I’m much more interested in — making it easier for the right people to find you when they’re actively looking for help. It’s happening in search — and increasingly in AI.

When someone types “why can’t I stop eating at night” into Google, or asks ChatGPT “how do I find a therapist for ADHD and binge eating,” something decides whether your name comes up. And that something is getting better at reading meaning, not just matching keywords.

So what actually helps you show up? Giving each problem you work with its own clear page. Writing the way your clients genuinely search, in their words rather than clinical ones. Making your website, your directory listings and your Google profile all say the same specific thing about who you help. It’s the consistency across all of it that lets a search tool — human or AI — feel confident enough to put you forward.

None of this is glamorous. It doesn’t give you the little hit of a like or a comment. You do it quietly, you don’t hear anything back for a while, and then months later the right person lands in your inbox saying “I found you when I searched for exactly this.”

That’s usually how it goes. The tasks that give us no immediate feedback are often the ones quietly paying off in the background. Unlike a Story that’s gone by tomorrow, they compound.

Being findable is a much gentler kind of visibility — and it keeps working when you’re not online.

I’ve been thinking quite a lot lately about my relationship with social media, because I seem to be permanently caught s...
12/08/2026

I’ve been thinking quite a lot lately about my relationship with social media, because I seem to be permanently caught somewhere between enjoying it and wanting to launch my phone into the sea.

There are parts of content creation I genuinely like. If I can be dry, sarcastic, make fun of myself or say something therapists are all thinking but perhaps haven’t said out loud, I can really enjoy it.

But the actual environment of social media? I’m much less convinced it’s good for me.

My ADHD brain can lose an astonishing amount of time to scrolling. I go on to post something, get distracted, come out 40 minutes later, then spend another ten minutes being annoyed with myself for doing exactly the thing I promised I wouldn’t do.

And then there’s comparison.

I can be perfectly content with what I’m doing, look at somebody else’s account for five minutes and suddenly decide everyone else has a bigger business, better ideas, nicer graphics and generally a far superior grasp on life.

Very soothing.

What’s interesting is that I know social media is only one part of marketing, and often not even the most important one.

The much less glamorous things — improving your website, answering the questions your clients are actually asking, writing useful blogs, working on your local visibility — rarely give you an immediate dopamine hit.

Nobody comments, “OMG, incredible meta description 🔥”

But those quieter things can keep working for you for months or years.

And I wonder if that’s partly why I keep getting pulled back here. Social media gives us something immediate to measure, even when that measurement makes us feel worse.

I’m also very aware of the irony of turning this reflection into a social media carousel, so clearly I have resolved absolutely nothing. 😆

I am trying, though, to become more conscious of where I put my attention, because I don’t want an app that regularly leaves me frazzled deciding how I feel about my business.

If this resonates, tell me how you manage your relationship with social media.

There’s a reason I talk so much about knowing your ideal client.You absolutely need to understand who you’re trying to r...
11/08/2026

There’s a reason I talk so much about knowing your ideal client.

You absolutely need to understand who you’re trying to reach, what they’re struggling with, what they’re searching for and the language they naturally use to describe what’s happening for them.

But there’s another side of marketing that I think gets far less attention in our profession.

The technical foundations that help all of that brilliant messaging actually get found.

And I completely understand why therapists avoid it.

SEO, AEO, GEO, metadata, indexing, schema, search intent…

It can very quickly start to sound like a language you were never particularly interested in learning.

Because you trained to be a therapist, not a web developer.

But some of these things really do matter.

You could write the most thoughtful, resonant page about exactly the problem your ideal client is experiencing, but if Google doesn’t understand what that page is about, or it hasn’t even been indexed, you’ve got a problem.

And now AI adds another dimension.

We’re moving into a world where people aren’t only typing things into Google. They’re asking AI tools questions, looking for recommendations and using them to help make decisions about where to go for support.

So I think understanding how your online presence communicates what you do — to humans, search engines and AI — is going to become an increasingly important part of private practice marketing.

This is exactly what I wanted to make easier with my AI Visibility Assessment.

It’s self-guided and simple to work through. You’ll get a report showing exactly where to focus first, plus step-by-step guides on what to fix and where, to improve your visibility for AI search — all explained in plain, everyday language.

Very much my preferred approach to technical things:

Tell me where to click.
Tell me what goes there.
Please don’t make me learn coding. 😂

If you’d like the details, comment VISIBILITY below and I’ll send them over.

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