How to Change Your Therapy Private Practice Niche Without Losing Your Mind
Sometimes you put all this energy into creating a therapy niche. You do all of the things talked about in the previous blogs. You work so hard on your niche, but suddenly or slowly, you come to the realization that this niche isn’t really for you.
Often, we change our niche because something in our lives has changed, and the new niche hits too close to home. Or you might slowly realize that your niche was too intense or required too much energy as it was. Or you discover you are not enjoying working with your niche the way that you thought you would.
Now what do you do?
Examine Your Reasons For Changing Your Private Practice Niche
Before you make any huge adjustments, let’s look at your why and how we can use this information. We’ll use the information to help you hone down your new niche so that you can create a private practice that works for you.
I know you might feel like the change needs to happen now- especially if you are burned out or dreading each day you work- but knowing this information will save you time and energy as you go.
Look at your reasons for wanting to change;
Is the intensity of your current niche overwhelming? For example, did you realize trauma is too much, or do you really not like couples?
Did the niche become too personal, either because your life changed or your clients are too similar to something from your past? Like, did you decide to work with addiction but then realize addiction was present in your family?
Are you looking at other therapists’ practices and feeling jealous because things look easier for them? Do they seem to be making more money faster than you are?
Is this a rough patch or true misalignment? Does this niche really not work for you, or have you had a batch of clients who were really struggling?
Once you are really clear on your reasons, we can identify what you really need. We can tell if you need a gentler population, a full pivot, to buckle down with your marketing, create a little more variety in your niche, or even to screen prospective clients better.
Take some time with this because knowing why you are changing will help you know where you need to go from here.
Is Now the Right Time to Change Your Niche? Personal, Professional, and Financial Considerations
Just because you know you need to change and you know your why doesn’t mean it has to happen now. For many therapists, the timing matters, and sometimes the best thing you can do is wait a bit.
Let’s start with the personal stuff. Are you going through a major life transition or even just a small transition that’s making a lot of waves? You might have just had a baby, be getting a divorce, buying a house, it might be summer, or the holiday season. Adding a niche change in the middle of that might be a little bit too much. This is not something you want to consider when you are already stretched thin, and the overwhelm might be part of why you are considering a change.
Give it a little bit until things have calmed down, then you can start making changes.
When it comes to the professional part of things, look at where you are in your practice. Are you brand new and still getting your name out there? If you’ve only been marketing your current niche for less than six months, you might need to adjust your marketing a bit, but it might not be time to change it completely. Especially, if your reason for the change is that it doesn’t seem to be making any traction.
If you’ve been doing it a while or you just hate working with this particular group, then it is probably time for a change.
Another thing to consider here is the money part of things. This can feel really scary to think about. Do you have a financial cushion to weather a slow period if you hit one? Have you just raised your rates, and are you waiting for new clients to come in at this price? This is another one of those places that you might need to wait a bit and see what happens. Take some time to build up a nest egg.
You don’t want to make a sudden change when you aren’t financially stable. On the other hand, a slow change might be in the cards, but that’s a decision we are going to make a little bit down the line.
Remember, there is never going to be a perfect time. But there are better and worse times. Look at where you are and decide if the reason you are stalling is because you aren’t ready or because it isn’t a good time right now.
If it isn’t a good time, keep thinking about it and give yourself a couple of months to get stable before you start.
Small Change or Complete Pivot?
Now that you’ve looked at the reasons and the timing, it’s time to figure out what kind of change. We consider this now because it determines how you will approach marketing the shift in your niche.
A small change is when your new niche builds on or is adjacent to your current niche. For example, you might be a therapist who is working with Law Enforcement Couples, and you might decide that you are going to work with first responders or only LGBTQIA+ Law Enforcement couples. Or you might decide that you want to add couples work as an individual therapist. It might be something like going from trauma to EMDR only. They feel like a natural progression of what you are currently doing.
A complete pivot is exactly what it sounds like. It’s going from working with kids to adults struggling with addiction. Or it’s going from Law Enforcement couples to parents of kids with Down syndrome. This type of change can mean that you might be starting over in a lot of ways.
If you are having difficulty distinguishing between the two, think about how you would communicate the change to referral sources. Would you be able to say I’m adding seeing blank to my practice? Or are you going to need to say I’m completely changing to blank?
This is important because with a slight shift, you can build on the work you’ve already done to build referrals and a reputation. But a complete pivot, you are going to have to build up a new referral network based on your new niche.
It’s good to know what you are getting into when you start.
The Steps to Making a Change in Your Therapy Private Practice Niche
Now that we’ve covered everything we need to consider, let’s get to the actual work of changing your niche. Whether it’s a small shift or a complete pivot, it’s time to start communicating the change. I know it feels like it might be awkward, but you’ve done the work to build your network, so it won’t be that hard to communicate this change.
Communicate the Change to Your Professional Network- Your first step is to communicate the change to the professionals that refer to you -other therapists, doctors, attorneys, whoever sends clients your way. The conversation will look different depending on whether you're making a gradual shift or a complete pivot.
As mentioned above, if it’s a gradual shift, you can talk about how you are expanding your practice and the new people you see. It’s an easy conversation about the new service you offer.
If you are making a complete pivot, the conversation is more along the lines of letting them know about the change and how it affects the referrals they send you. Tell them if you will continue to see your old niche during the transition or if you are going to be referring out. Then make sure you communicate the new niche that you will be seeing. Also, if appropriate, you might ask if they know anyone who works with your new niche so you can reach out to them.
Remember, many professionals change what they are doing, so it might be awkward, but it isn’t that strange.
Communicate the Change to Your Audience- I know you are a therapist, and that means you probably don’t have an audience, at least in the traditional sense. What I mean in this step is communicating the change to past clients (we’ll talk about current clients soon) and people who have reached out to you for a consultation (if you track that). Plus, anyone you know personally or in other areas of your life who might be sending you referrals.
For example, you might want to use this as a chance to talk about what you do on your social media. But also reach out to past clients and let them know what you are doing now.
Of course, if you have a professional audience, this is when you would communicate the change to them as well.
Update Your Website and Marketing Materials- This is the part that can feel really overwhelming. For many of us, our website is a representation of a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, so the idea of starting over feels like quite a bit.
First, take a deep breath. Then let’s look at what will really be involved here.
If you are just making a slight shift, you might only need to go through and adjust a couple of words here and there or add a paragraph. If that isn’t the case and the shift is more significant, you might have some writing to do.
The good news is that if the website represented you as a person pretty well in the first place, you will be surprised at how much of your site will stay the same.
Take this a little bit at a time. Start with the home page. Don’t throw all of your old copy out, but read through and see if there is anything that you can save. Get that page where you want it, and remember it doesn’t have to be perfect. You will keep improving your website as time goes on.
When you have your home page complete. Shift your focus to your about page; this page may need very few changes. Then you can rewrite your specialty pages one at a time.
Remember that you probably don’t need to start over 100%.
For more information about rewriting your website, I have blogs and templates to help guide you for every page. Check out that information here.
Once you have your website caught up, it’s time to go through and adjust the rest of your online marketing. For example, your Psychology Today and any other directory you might be on.
Face Imposter Syndrome and Other Mindset Shifts- Once you start updating everyone and everything, the shift starts to feel pretty real. You might start thinking to yourself “who am I to work with ____?” or “I don’t know enough to work with this population”.
This internal voice is normal, but that doesn’t mean you should let it paralyze you.
First, remember that as a licensed therapist, you have the basic skills to work with most issues. If you are changing from working with kids to adults or couples to individuals, you are good to start working with your new niche while you seek out more training.
You already know how to be a good therapist. Give yourself credit for the skills you already have.
If you are moving into something that needs some special training, like kids, trauma, or addiction, it’s probably a good idea to get some training and supervision. But you can start marketing at the same time, as the switch in most cases is going to take time. While you are waiting for the marketing to kick in, you can seek out training and find a supervisor.
You might have all kinds of other feelings about changing your niche. Remember, you can’t take care of your clients if you aren’t taking care of yourself.
Your Current Clients
For most therapists, this is the hardest part of changing their niche. What do you do with current clients from your old niche? There are quite a few possibilities; you can do what feels right for your current situation.
When You Can Transition Your Niche Gradually
If you’re not leaving your niche because of countertransference issues or it’s emotionally unsustainable, you might be able to keep your existing clients through your transition. You can slowly shift your practice, while continuing to see your current clients until they graduate.
There are some pretty big benefits to doing this. You don’t have to refer your clients out, and you will have financial stability while you make the change. It also gives you the time you need to build a reputation in your new niche.
It just doesn’t feel like such a huge change.
But in order to do this, you do need to make sure that you can hold on a little bit longer. If this is not something you can do, then it’s important to make a less gradual shift.
Talking About the Change
It doesn’t matter how quickly you are making the shift; you still need to talk about it with your current clients. It can be really jarring to hear that your therapist no longer works with people like you from someone else. So make sure you have this conversation before you talk about it with too many people
This conversation is awkward, and you may be worried about how it will affect your current clients. You don’t want them to feel rejected or like they aren’t important. Here is how you can have this conversation with the best possibility that they will understand that the shift isn’t about them.
If you are keeping the old clients on your caseload, I would start by telling them that. Then, no matter what the next steps are, reassure them that it doesn’t have anything to do with them or the work that you are doing together. Then explain what is happening.
When You Need To Refer Out
Sometimes you can’t keep working with your current niche, even just for now. It might be because you are too burnt out or that your life circumstances have made your current niche unsustainable.
When this happens, keep conversations with current clients as simple and honest as possible. Do your best to help them know that it isn’t about you and share what you can without going into too much detail (I know this is controversial, but in this case I think it’s important).
Something along the lines of “Due to unforeseen circumstances, I am changing the focus of my practice. I want you to have the best care possible, so I am having to refer my current clients out to therapists that I trust and whom I know will be a good fit for you.”
Then your work is to find therapists that you feel good about sending your clients to. When you find them, do what you can to provide a warm handoff. Give your clients some options of therapists, and when they pick one, offer to get a release signed and call to talk to the therapist.
This can help the clients whom you are referring out to feel important and cared for. Even though you can’t work with them anymore, you are still doing the best you can for them.
Remember, referring clients out when you can’t do your best work isn’t abandoning them. It’s making sure they get the best experience possible and can continue to make progress.
Your clients deserve a therapist who can be present, and sometimes that is no longer you.
It’s very normal and even typical to have some grief and guilt about this transition. In some cases, you’ve been working with these clients for years. Make sure you let your clients know that all of the feelings that they have are normal, and make sure you are creating a safe space for them to process it with you.
How to Market When You Are Making the Transition Slowly
If you aren’t completely sure about your new niche or you know you can keep your current clients for a while, a slow transition is exactly what you need. This does take patience, but it is a lot less scary, and you aren’t changing everything overnight.
When you make the transition slowly, you can slowly adjust your marketing. You have the time to slowly adjust your marketing, test it out, and make sure you are attracting the right ideal clients.
You can afford to only take clients in your new niche because you are stable with your current clients.
You do still need to be strategic and consistent with your marketing efforts.
It is important to decide whether you are going to take a mix of old niche and new or if you are going to slowly transition over to only taking the new clients. This will help you to be strategic and target your marketing.
Making this Transition Quickly
If you are in a situation where you can’t see your current clients much longer and you need to make this happen quickly. You are going to have to make a big push in your marketing efforts.
Instead of taking this one step at a time, you are going to want to do it all at once. Focus on the marketing that has given you the most return on your investment.
But really do everything you can to move your new niche forward.
This can be really exhausting, but remind yourself that this really is just a push; you won’t be marketing this hard forever. You need to get a little momentum started, and then you just need to focus on maintaining what you‘ve built.
It’s a fresh start, and you get to start seeing your new niche pretty quickly.
Getting Help
If you are feeling overwhelmed with everything that needs to happen to get your new niche off the ground, you can always reach out for help. There are people who can help you rewrite your copy, write emails, and help you manage announcements on social media ( I do the first two and can help you find someone to do the last).
The part you have to be involved in is the in-person networking. But if having someone help with the other stuff saves time so you can do the networking, everyone will be better off.
It might be worth investing in the help so you can get your new niche off the ground quickly.
Thinking Realistically
If you have been in the position where you have had to let go of your clients, I’m sure you are feeling rushed to really get going again. But this process will take some time. Remind yourself what it was like when you first started, with the reassurance that you have more experience, and even though you are completely starting new with your niche, you are not starting at zero.
Still, you aren’t going to have a full caseload tomorrow, and it’s important to remind yourself of that. At the same time, you will get there if you just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
It’s also important to be realistic about what you can do. Remember it really is more about consistency over a short period of time.
Moving Forward with Your Niche Change
It isn’t easy to change your niche, but you have everything you need. The most important thing is that you are taking care of yourself and doing what you need to do to make your practice fit your life.
Remember, you don’t have to do this perfectly. It’s about progress, not perfection. It’s better to get out there than to sit around worrying about your website being perfect.
You can’t be your best therapeutic self if you are burnt out or triggered by your clients. You deserve a practice that feeds you as well as your clients so that you can be the best therapist and person you can be.
Need Help Rewriting Your Website and Marketing Materials?
One of the most time-consuming pieces of your niche refresh is updating your website and other marketing materials. I know this can feel like a lot and can be emotional because of the amount of time you probably spent writing it the first time.
If you are ready to get professional help so you can focus on the other parts of your transition, I’d love to help. I love showing off who you are and what you do, so you can build a practice that serves you, so you can serve your clients.
Reach out here to learn how I can help with your refresh.