I Left Public Service to Start a Therapy Private Practice: What My First Year Has Taught me

I left my nearly 12-year career in public service on May 30, 2025, and founded Summerland Psychology soon after. My virtual doors opened for services in late August 2025. As I approach the one-year anniversary of this major career transition, I’ve been reflecting on lessons learned.

Starting a small business has been exhilarating, anxiety-laden, exciting, and frustrating – sometimes all at the same time.

I will also note that, despite completing 11 years of higher education, I went into private practice receiving precisely zero hours of training on business management. There have been plentiful learning curves in the past year, to say the least.

Here’s what’s surprised me in my first year of owning a psychology private practice.

I was concerned about the potential for isolation, but I’m more connected to community than ever.

At my previous job, I worked on two integrated mental health teams, and was part of robust psychology service at the hospital. I was in constant communication with my teammates daily, even during the four years that I worked fully remotely. If I had a question or needed to consult, I could connect with someone within a few moments. Even though the stress of Microsoft Teams probably took a few years off my life, I enjoyed daily banter and gif sharing with my coworkers.

I was concerned that solo private practice could feel isolating, particularly as my practice is fully online and I work from home.

My experience has been so different than my worried mind predicted.

I initially felt ambivalent about networking due to my introverted nature, but I’ve had such a positive experience with it. I’ve reframed networking to community building, because that’s what it is: forming new connections. I have met so many other small business owners in Tacoma, Seattle, and beyond – psychologists, other therapists, PTs, dieticians, psychiatric nurse practitioners, menopause specialists, naturopaths, psychiatrists, fitness studio owners, real estate agents, and others. I’ve felt supported and championed, and it has inspired me to think of how I can pay that forward to others in my circle.

As a bonus, because I’ve done so many networking meetings, I now know where the best latte is in Tacoma (the cardamom latte at Three Hearts Café in Hilltop). Honorable mention goes to the hot chocolate at Olympia Coffee.

I also have a wonderful circle of former VA psychologist colleagues who are also in private practice, which has been so helpful for both clinical and business consultation (shout out to Dr. Kelly Dickinson at Pathwise Psychology for her leadership in establishing these connections!).  

Additionally, since I’m working fewer overall hours compared to my public service work schedule, I simply have much more free time – which means I have more time to see friends. I go for a walk or run with a friend almost daily. I also have much more emotional and mental bandwidth to see friends in the evenings or on weekends.

Overall, private practice hasn’t been isolating in the slightest – it just requires some effort and attention.

I feel a little stupid every day, which is part of the process.

I’m constantly pushing myself outside my comfort zone as a new business owner, whether that’s attending networking meetings, making social media posts, peppering my accountant with questions such as “what is bookkeeping,” posing for headshots, recording a 15 second video for my Psychology Today profile (truly the most painful experience of the entire business-- if you know, you know), stating my fees and pricing schedule out loud, and submitting blog pitches.

I have felt awkward more times than I can count, and my imposter syndrome thoughts constantly flare up.

And yet – this discomfort is not a bad thing; it’s a sign that I am doing something new and different.  

Fortunately, the comfort zone does not say static. If I continually work at the same task, the discomfort eases with time. Tasks that felt impossible, confusing, and insurmountable back in August now feel easy. It has been helpful for me to pause and look backwards every now and then, so that I can truly appreciate how far I’ve come.

The clinical work feels like a dream.

The best part of establishing my own private practice has been getting to choose the exact type of clinical work that I want to do.

I end a clinical day feeling energized and excited versus drained and depleted. I recently came back from work after a week off, and felt truly eager to see my clients again.

In fact, the clinical side of things has been the easiest part of the past year – it’s the business management aspects that have required the most effort.

I’m a better psychologist when I’m physiologically comfortable.

Imagine that! My home office is set up well, with a window, appropriate temperature, soft lighting (I never, ever use the “big light”), and plants galore. I also have appropriate amounts of time in my schedule for exercise, time outside, sleep, and nourishing meals that I don’t have to scarf down while frantically multitasking.

Because I’m attending to the basic needs of my human body, this translates to being present, focused, calm, aware, and more authentically myself during my clinical visits. These are qualities that make for a great therapist!

Routines are even more important.

After almost 12 years in a healthcare system with very rigid work hours, I had a rock solid routine with respect to exercise, sleep, socializing, hobbies, and other parts of life. It was a demanding schedule, but I had been doing it for so long that I did not have to give it much thought.

Going from a highly structured work schedule to one that was completely unstructured (or self-structured) felt like emotional whiplash. It felt particularly challenging at the start where I had open availability pretty much daily; as my schedule has filled up, this has eased somewhat.

It has been helpful to reset anchor points in my day, such as waking up at the same time daily despite having a variable schedule, or sitting down for administrative work when I have openings in my calendar.

I was well-equipped to set solid business boundaries.

I exited public service as I entered my “mid-career” era (i.e., more than 10 years of post-licensure practice). I have had enough reps in where I know precisely what I need to thrive in my work life, such as:

-            4 day workweeks (I take Fridays totally off of clinical work and meetings – some administrative work gets done, but it’s on my schedule)

-            Working during daytime hours only (no evening appointments)

-            My practice is fully virtual (I love working from home; having a commute is a huge stressor for me)

-            I take time off regularly and set my rates to account for this

I did not toil over any of these decisions; they felt like no-brainers. I would not have come to these choices as easily as an early career psychologist.

You have to trust the process… and yourself.

This has been the hardest one for me, as someone who is goal-oriented and loves results.

Starting a business is much like growing a garden, where there may be weeks or even months of hard work before literally anything happens.

It has been difficult some days to internally motivate myself to haul 50-pound bags of mulch around the metaphorical garden (especially when it involves feeling a little stupid).

And yet, the garden cannot grow without the effort.

But then one day, plants start sprouting. They grow a little bit every day, but sometimes it’s hard to appreciate the progress when it happens so slowly.

Then, something blooms and it takes my breath away.

I am here for these moments. I’m here for all of it, actually.

There’s still so much work to be done in the garden – it never stops – and, it’s amazing to pause and see what I have created, piece by piece, from nothing.