Starting a group practice as a therapist can feel like a huge leap—but it might be the exact next step you need to create more freedom, alignment, and impact. If you’ve ever felt limited by solo work or craved a bigger vision for your practice, this episode is for you.
In this episode of The Traveling Therapist Podcast, I talk with Rachel Bentley, therapist, coach, and founder of Next Level Private Practice. Rachel shares how starting a group practice as a therapist changed everything for her—giving her more time, space, and the ability to help other clinicians grow. We dive into her journey, the mindset shifts it took, and why this move has supported the travel-friendly lifestyle she now leads.
In This Episode, We Explore…
Connect with Rachel:
Website - https://www.nextlevelprivatepractice.com
Next Level Private Practice Summit 2025 - https://www.nextlevelprivatepractice.com/summit
Email - rachel@nextlevelprivatepractice.com
Connect with me:
Instagram: @thetravelingtherapist_kym
The Traveling Therapist Membership: www.kymtolson.kartra.com/page/travelingtherapistmembership
Revolutionize Your Private Practice with AI Course: www.kymtolson.kartra.com/page/ai
Signup to learn more about life as a Traveling Therapist: https://www.portablepracticemethod.com/free-training
The Traveling Therapist Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/onlineandtraveling/
Bill Like A Boss Insurance Billing Community: www.kymtolson.kartra.com/page/blab
Subscribe to the Podcast:
Apple iTunes | Spotify | Google Podcast | Stitcher | Amazon | Castbox
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Transcript:
[00:00:00] Kym: Hey everybody. Welcome to another episode of the Traveling Therapist podcast. Excited to have our guest here today, Rachel Bentley of Next Level Private Practice.
[00:00:10] Rachel. Thank you for being here. And I always ask this question in the beginning if I have a therapist on how did you go from being a traditional therapist to a traveling therapist?
[00:00:19] Rachel: Yes, Kim, thank you so much for having me. So, I don't know, I think I've always been a bit of a non traditionalist or a non-conformist, so to speak, and I do really love to travel and have tried to figure out how do I incorporate some of the work that I'm doing. Be able to travel myself or really encourage others to travel, because travel for me is really energizing and I've met a lot of cool people in my travels, and so awesome.
[00:00:42] something that I wanted to do. It's just sometimes when we get busy, it's more of a challenge to interweave, but I think it's worth the time and energy in to
[00:00:50] Kym: Yeah. definitely. And building businesses where we can like, try to figure out how to work it in there.
[00:00:56] Rachel: Yeah, try to like integrate the actual business of what we do and to have the travel be valuable in business too, and personally, right? Yeah.
[00:01:06] Kym: Yeah, exactly. So tell us about your journey. 'cause you started out as just like an insurance-based solo private practice practitioner, and now you've got just this whole amazing thing. So I'd love to just talk about your story a little bit and how you went from here to there and how you've sprinkled in some traveling along the way. That'd be amazing.
[00:01:24] Rachel: absolutely. So. I'll condense the first part of the story a little bit because it could be long, but started my private practice in 2019 and in that day, had worked for about 10 years in state government
[00:01:37] Mm-hmm. Of child welfare, did some vocational counseling with folks with disabilities, so spent about 10 years in those systems, so to mm-hmm. Started my practice really as like an exit strategy to leave the systems because things were so profoundly. most of the time there.
[00:01:53] Yeah, yeah, was just if I can just be a solo practitioner and make an equal amount of money, yeah. Exit strategy, right. And I had done, so much relationship building and thought I would be a good one-on-one therapist. And so started the practice and. About six months later, COVID hit.
[00:02:11] Kym: Oh, yes.
[00:02:12] Rachel: of course it changed everything, the way we do everything. And obviously mental health blew up And, when Covid hit, we were a small group of four or five therapists built to that point.
[00:02:23] Kym: Nice.
[00:02:24] Rachel: demand like grew so much as we all know that I felt like, okay, we either have to grow the group so we can serve more, or we have to start turning people away. And it
[00:02:34] Kym: Yeah.
[00:02:35] Rachel: at that time, it felt so, terrible to turn people away, that I began to grow the group. And fast forward six years later, we are a group of about 40 therapists, so we're a.
[00:02:45] Kym: Oh my gosh,
[00:02:46] Rachel: group practice and lots of trials and tribulations along this road
[00:02:51] Kym: yes.
[00:02:53] Rachel: and sort of managing a group of this size. but along along that road, I really wanted to start connecting with other group practice owners. And, you know, I just feel. That this work, being a therapist is isolating, but also being a practice owner.
[00:03:10] And so I started seeking out opportunities, conferences, retreats, summits, where I could meet other folks.
[00:03:17] Kym: Amazing.
[00:03:18] Rachel: that's really when the traveling sort of started, I
[00:03:20] Kym: Mm-hmm.
[00:03:21] Rachel: maybe three, three-ish years ago,
[00:03:24] Kym: Nice.
[00:03:24] Rachel: some of that out and started connecting with other people that were also group practice owners and my travels and. That of course helped to build the business. I met some other private practice consultants that have profoundly helped me on the journey. And, but that's when the traveling started
[00:03:40] Kym: Mm-hmm.
[00:03:41] Rachel: when sort of the evolution of my consulting company next level started because as I
[00:03:47] Kym: Nice.
[00:03:48] Rachel: and began to sustain my group after. of the chaos of covid sort of stabilized. People started saying, wait a minute, how'd you do this? How do you manage these logistics? how do you do billing? You know, there was just so many questions
[00:04:02] Kym: Mm-hmm.
[00:04:03] Rachel: I was sort of unofficially consulting already,
[00:04:05] Kym: Right.
[00:04:06] Rachel: I have to actually like figure out what my offerings are for consulting, figure out what my
[00:04:11] Kym: Mm-hmm.
[00:04:12] Rachel: put some boundaries around it to try to balance and navigate. Group practice ownership and consulting. And still, I still continue to see a handful of clients as well. So,
[00:04:21] Kym: So, yeah, that, that's so amazing. And you know, people talk about this all the time and I just wonder for you, like you get to that crossroads, right? It's like, okay, I've got a full caseload. What do I do? Do I expand? Do I just continue to see like 30 or 40? Do I try to build maybe a side hustle, to not have to do so many one-to-ones?
[00:04:39] So what was like that decision point for you where you were like. You know, this is looking like it's getting really robust. It's time to expand. What made you decide, I'm gonna start hiring more clinicians, doing that sort of thing, versus maybe just keep your caseload and maybe do a consulting thing.
[00:04:53] Like what, influenced you to do that? Because I think a lot of people get to that crossroads, and even for me, people say all the time, well, don't you have a group practice too? And I'm like, no, I never wanted to do that. Like I never had the desire to do that. But I just wonder, like for you, what made you decide to go that way versus maybe the other way with this stuff? ' and get stuck. Mm-hmm.
[00:05:10] Rachel: and maybe this is unique or not, maybe you've heard others say this before, but because we started really growing the practice in this sort of like covid, chaotic, panic sort of state of the country and the world, really wasn't thinking a lot about. At some point, I want to own a large group practice. At some point I wanna be a consultant. Like I
[00:05:31] Kym: Mm-hmm.
[00:05:32] Rachel: just thinking about. How to help people in that moment. And I didn't even think much about, well, but what will it mean when you're a group of 40 versus a group of
[00:05:41] Kym: Wow. Mm-hmm.
[00:05:43] Rachel: because infrastructure had to change. I had to hire people to help me run the practice, and I really wasn't thinking about any of that which sounds little bit wild right now,
[00:05:51] Kym: Well, it, it makes sense though.
[00:05:53] Rachel: But it,
[00:05:54] Kym: It's that saying like, build the plane as you're flying or whatever. I don't know how the saying goes, but it's like, yeah.
[00:05:59] Rachel: Yeah. And so it was more about like, how can we help more people? Which, you know, is, noble, but also, isn't what should be completely guiding the decision making for such a large business. Right?
[00:06:10] the business was big, we had to then go back and build all the infrastructure for a big group. And that was really painful. And I know for some people they didn't make it through that,
[00:06:20] Kym: Mm-hmm.
[00:06:21] Rachel: maybe they weren't profitable enough or they were too financially indebted, or
[00:06:25] Kym: Mm-hmm.
[00:06:26] Rachel: their clinicians or like, you
[00:06:27] Kym: Yes.
[00:06:29] Rachel: So I wish it was like, oh, strategically I'm gonna remain solo and be a
[00:06:34] Kym: Yeah.
[00:06:34] Rachel: be a group practice owner, because at that time I didn't even realize. How much profit we would make or not make. I, I just
[00:06:41] Kym: Yeah.
[00:06:41] Rachel: to help folks.
[00:06:43] Kym: I love that. I mean, I, I do the same thing. get this calling. It's like, okay, everybody's asking me about this. It's like, I've gotta put it out there without even thinking like, will people actually buy this? Like, what should the price be? How am I gonna create this thing? It, it does just feel like a calling sometimes that you just have to put it out there.
[00:07:00] Rachel: and, I think one of the reasons aside from people were already asking me to consult, another reason I really wanted to sort of structure the consulting company was because thought, wow, I don't wanna have someone else go through this. Like, say you're a solo owner now, and you say, Hey, I wanna grow into a group practice.
[00:07:16] first of all, what is that vision and why do you have that vision? look at your whys, look at the impact you're trying to make and have a process. like first build the plane and then fly the plane, so to and so if I can help someone do that versus the way that I did it,
[00:07:32] Kym: exactly.
[00:07:33] Rachel: that I wanted to the consulting work.
[00:07:36] Kym: That makes a lot of sense. So you know, I don't know if you've found this, but for me, right, you start talking about stuff that you're doing and then it starts to attract people and they start asking you questions. Well, how'd you do that? 40 clinicians. Oh my gosh. And then it evolves into this consulting business
[00:07:52] Rachel: that's really how it happened. It wasn't like this, you know, few years ago. Someday I'm gonna
[00:07:56] Kym: Yeah.
[00:07:57] Rachel: and this is what we're gonna be doing.
[00:07:59] Kym: That's cool. So what all do you do with the consulting and how did you decide, I love talking about this stuff, like the consulting business. What all do you offer? Is it just evolved based on the needs of the people you're trying to help? Could you tell us about it and the structure and that sort of thing?
[00:08:12] Rachel: Yeah, definitely. So it has evolved because this was new terrain for me to think really specifically about like marketing
[00:08:20] Kym: Mm-hmm.
[00:08:20] Rachel: marketing pricing. It's just different in the group practice where we take insurance and we don't have to really, aside from
[00:08:27] Kym: Yes.
[00:08:27] Rachel: or a deductible, we're not having these conversations.
[00:08:30] Kym: Mm-hmm.
[00:08:30] Rachel: I did work with a marketing consultant. That really sort of had this head for, you know, business, not necessarily our type of business, but like, I'm a marketing business consultant and these are the things you have to do. These are the things you can and cannot do. some of it resonated and some of it didn't.
[00:08:47] So I'll say now and I've sort of evolved this over the last couple of years, but now, the consulting company really focuses in three areas or three levels of private practice. So I work with the folks that are like just starting out, that just wanna get a solo practice off the ground,
[00:09:03] Kym: Yeah.
[00:09:04] Rachel: stages,
[00:09:06] Kym: Nice.
[00:09:06] Rachel: I do, how do I do it, what order do I do it in? So I kind of call those folks like the startup group. And then I also work with. What I call the solo plus group, which are the solo practitioners that wanna move into group practice and like kind of building that plane before we fly it. And then I also work with group practice owners, but I call this area like the sustain area. So I sort of have like the
[00:09:29] Hmm. The Solo Plus, and the sustain. with group practice owners, I really help them look at sustainability. Mm-hmm. What you're doing currently sustainable? do we need more infrastructure? Do we need more systemization? Because I noticed before I actually define these three areas and the way they're defined on the website, that group owners were coming to me and saying, so I have this large group and. There's some chaotic things happening, and I'm
[00:09:54] Mm-hmm. Sure how to navigate or manage this. So that is typically the work, like helping 'em. They sort of did what I did. the plane is being built currently, but
[00:10:04] Yeah. A current group happening, and so those are the three areas that I focus in on and ironically, the marketing consultant told me back then, have to pick one. You can't work with all three, which
[00:10:17] Kym: Lord, I hate that.
[00:10:19] Rachel: And I was like, well, but I like aspects of working with
[00:10:22] Kym: Yeah.
[00:10:23] Rachel: And so I really do work with all three and I have a Facebook group The next level, mental health private practice, Facebook group, long name. But I started really started sort of building a community in that Facebook group and I. sort of where the consulting business started. And I did start paying attention to who were the folks in there, what kind
[00:10:43] Kym: Mm-hmm.
[00:10:43] Rachel: were they asking? And I sort of broke it down into kind of these three levels that I described, like that's what most people are asking. Like one of those three areas.
[00:10:52] Kym: I love that. Yeah. Just using your audience, so to speak, to guide you along with what you're creating. Mm-hmm.
[00:10:58] Rachel: definitely. And so I have some different offerings under mm-hmm. But smart. Are the, broad areas I love it. Yeah,
[00:11:09] Kym: And before we hit record, we did get in Louise a little bit. This is kind of like geeky, like entrepreneurial stuff to anybody listening. If you guys aren't already doing this stuff, you, you eventually. Come upon this when you start trying to like offer other services.
[00:11:23] It's like, how much do I give away for free and how much do I charge people to do this? So I would love if you're up for a talk about that struggle, that decision tree around that. 'cause it's still, even to this day, a struggle for me.
[00:11:35] Like, how much do you give away and how much do you, charge for this stuff. So I'd love to talk about that to help anybody else that might be in that place now or in the future.
[00:11:43] Rachel: Yeah. No, for me, that was really hard people have always accused me of being overly generous. That's hmm. Same. Cause I wanted to kind of offer everything for free because I had been offering everything for free. I had been going to ah.
[00:11:58] my brain picked, so to speak, and I had been sharing lots of information with like, say, close friends that wanted to start practices. And so when I sort of think about, well, what, what was going on in your head? Like what was involved, what was so hard about this?
[00:12:11] Actually? Think that when we put ourselves out there, we have a Facebook group or a website and we're offering sort of paid based consulting services to therapists or practice owners or maybe any business owner when we put ourselves out there, we're gonna get judged yes.
[00:12:28] And I think the first few times I got some harsh criticism or judgment. I was like, whoa, wait, am I wrong? Am I making a yes. Should I not be charging this much? Or what are other people charge? Or like what?
[00:12:41] I got confused because I thought, well, why would anybody raise a complaint when I am. Yes. Of free, valuable resources and content. So I think that criticism sort of like played a role in me hesitating somewhat or second guessing myself or doubting myself. So I think that might be a barrier for folks, right?
[00:13:03] Kym: Absolutely. And you know, people don't see, a lot of times I think all the free, you know, they just see that you're asking for money, and it's like, oh my gosh. Like the free Facebook groups, right? Like, I don't know if you've experience this, but you know, occasionally, right?
[00:13:16] I'll have a partnership or something and I'll ta I'll say add everybody in the Facebook group and literally you guys, I mean this is really a lot of information, but the other day I did an add everybody. 'cause it was something I was so excited about. I was like, this is amazing. I cannot wait to share this.
[00:13:30] I didn't add everybody. And some guy replied back with the middle finger emoji. Under my, at everybody and was just like, basically F you for tagging him in the, at everybody. And it's like, that stuff, I mean, it takes me like half a day to recover from that stuff still, you know, because I'm still a little triggered about it.
[00:13:49] 'cause it's just like, oh my God. First of all, you know GI don't know about you, but I have eight Facebook groups and it's like, take so much time and energy and free moderation help and. Thoughtfulness to, to be responsive and time to answer questions. It's like so much free, energy you put in this to help people.
[00:14:06] And then occasionally you might ask, for a paid product, you know, put a paid product out there and you get responses like that. It's just so upsetting. For me anyway. I don't even know how I got down that, but hearing you say that, it just like reminded me of that the other day. I was like, gosh, you know, just an add everybody, somebody getting tagged when they didn't want to, you know, or whatever.
[00:14:26] It just invokes that response and it's just, it's really tough to find that balance between, you know, how much do I push people or direct people towards like these paid offerings versus, you know, just like, oh, here's another free handout, or here's exactly how you do exactly what you're looking for, you know?
[00:14:43] I'll put all my, my energy into it and not charge a thing for it. You know? It's super, it's really hard.
[00:14:48] Rachel: that it is, and it's almost this like, well, if you're charging anything, you're just i, or yeah. To make the profit off someone's back or, and you know, it reminds me of like. Sometimes with therapists, they'll struggle around talking with clients, even if it is insurance based
[00:15:07] Mm-hmm. A copay or a balance. If you do private pay, it's a whole yes. Yeah. If I ask people for money, maybe they're gonna think something about mm-hmm.
[00:15:17] uncomfortable, or But the reality is, and my actually, my virtual assistant that I work with that helps me create content, she said to me, she said, Rachel, like you offer. So
[00:15:29] Yes. And if people can't see that, yes, they're not your people. Exactly. And the people that really want the information are gonna be willing to pay for it. And I, I'll always i. Story to people, like if they're doing a call with me to decide if we're gonna consult, I'll say, I. I worked with several consultants along the way, and I was happy to pay them for their knowledge because they knew more than I did about a
[00:15:54] Yes. Yes. There was so much value me honoring their expertise, like I. I really never thought twice, and I know you have to be in a financial position to mm-hmm. Sure. Are not and that that's okay and they can access the free stuff,
[00:16:10] Mm-hmm. In the financial place to pay for a consultant, can be so much value. Kim, the other thing we might combat a little bit too is there have been some consultants that maybe were scammy or trying to make the buck but I think that's in any industry,
[00:16:28] Kym: Yeah.
[00:16:29] Yep.
[00:16:29] Rachel: hard for folks to really, you know, are you credible? What are you actually offering? You know, is this actually a value or is it a scam? I know that some people have that skepticism as well.
[00:16:39] Kym: Yes,
[00:16:40] Rachel: it's
[00:16:40] Kym: absolutely.
[00:16:42] It's hard
[00:16:43] Rachel: how to navigate it all.
[00:16:45] Kym: Yeah, and you know, I, I see this meme occasionally, I just saw the other day. It's that thing around, like, if you're not willing to give away 80% of what you know for free, you can't expect to charge the other 20% or something like that. I don't remember the exact saying, but it's like, you know, if you're getting into this, field, you know, you have to be willing to give away 80% of your knowledge for free to develop that like nurture, trust factor with your audience to get them to know that you're knowledgeable, you know, all of that.
[00:17:11] Rachel: Yeah, and that's,
[00:17:12] Kym: So,
[00:17:13] Rachel: heard that stat, but I'm like, wow, I need to reflect on that. What do I think about
[00:17:17] Kym: yeah.
[00:17:17] Rachel: I don't know what my ratio is right now, but I am, you know, I have typically every month I do a free training called Lunch with Rachel. It's on the website as well, and I
[00:17:26] Kym: Nice.
[00:17:27] Rachel: of private practice topic. Free and people can show up and you know, and I know that that's one way that people can see, oh yeah, Rachel's credible or knows what she's talking about. But even in something like that, like that takes a lot of time and energy to create the content for that and to be available and to put that in my schedule.
[00:17:45] And I'm not complaining 'cause I
[00:17:47] Kym: No, I get that. Mm-hmm.
[00:17:49] Rachel: you know,
[00:17:49] Kym: Mm-hmm.
[00:17:53] Rachel: much work that goes in behind the scenes.
[00:17:55] Kym: exactly. And I hear you I hope nobody's taking it like we're complaining. It's just, it's a hard world to navigate and I think a lot of people see like other therapists making like money doing side hustles and that sort of thing, but they don't always know like the other side of it.
[00:18:08] Like it, it really, there is a lot of stuff that goes into trying to figure it out. Just like with building a group practice, I'm sure it's like there's so many complicated nuances to decide. You know, with, with even starting a group practice, I'm sure insurance, not insurance, telehealth, brick and mortar, benefits, no benefits.
[00:18:26] There's gotta be so many decision points for people.
[00:18:29] Yeah.
[00:18:30] Rachel: evolving and are really for. on the practice side of things, we're in a new era now where like referrals are harder to get, so we have to beef our marketing strategies up. It's harder
[00:18:41] Kym: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
[00:18:42] Rachel: many folks hiring, so
[00:18:43] Kym: Yes.
[00:18:44] Rachel: we're in a different bit of a marketing position than we were say post COID, and I have seen some folks struggling with that as well.
[00:18:52] It's just, and our market can change and evolve and. Technology can play a role, I think a positive role.
[00:18:58] but it, our market shifts all the time.
[00:19:02] Kym: Yeah.
[00:19:02] Rachel: you might think, oh, I have it figured out and the strategy I have in place is gonna work and help keep all my clinicians full. And then I. The tide turns and there's like a new corner to turn to figure out, okay, how do we continue to sustain and be successful?
[00:19:17] it's the same with solo ownership. it's, it's ever evolving piece, right? Mm-hmm.
[00:19:22] Kym: Yeah. You would think it would get easier at some point, but it really doesn't
[00:19:25] Rachel: Yeah. I
[00:19:26] Kym: times change. Yeah. There's just always something happening it seems like, you know? And we didn't talk about this at all, but I, I'm curious, like as a group practice owner, what do you like, how do you feel about, like a clinician that comes and wants to work for you, but maybe they're like.
[00:19:39] Yeah, but I actually wanna live in Spain. Is that cool? Do you ever run into that? I,
[00:19:43] you know, I don't usually ask this question, but just curious. I don't even know if you've ever dealt with it before, do you think group practices should like support that type of lifestyle?
[00:19:51] Or is it so complicated from the group practices, like owner's perspective? You know, I'm just curious if that ever comes up for you since we're on the Traveling Therapist podcast.
[00:20:00] Rachel: Well, and I haven't had anyone ask, like,
[00:20:03] Kym: Hmm.
[00:20:04] Rachel: country, I've had folks that like started with us in Michigan and wanted to move to another state.
[00:20:10] Kym: Yeah.
[00:20:10] Rachel: Me, I, I say if you can be mobile and you can work for wherever you want, if your licensure allows for that, obviously there's some logistics.
[00:20:19] Concerned. And as far as, I haven't had anybody ask out of country yet, but it's, I mean, obviously the clinician would have to figure out, and I would have to figure out any tax,
[00:20:28] of that.
[00:20:30] but if it were doable on our side, I would support it. If it weren't something that we're
[00:20:35] Kym: Yeah.
[00:20:35] Rachel: up tons of liability or would put a lot, a ton of risk on the practice, because I do think that people should, I'm big on. of the reasons I own these businesses is 'cause freedom and autonomy is my
[00:20:47] Kym: Yes. Love that.
[00:20:48] Rachel: anyone else's.
[00:20:50] so I would support it if it were, like I said, logistically possible for the practice.
[00:20:55] Kym: cool. Yeah, I, I just always curious, like from the group practice owner's perspective, 'cause we get those questions in the traveling therapist group all the time. People are like, well, I wanna work for a group. I don't wanna have my own practice, but, can I do it from, you know, Australia or whatever.
[00:21:10] So I just, I always wonder about that,
[00:21:12] Rachel: I believe, I don't know this for sure. What I've been told is here in Michigan that the folks that give us our license here, that they won't allow therapists to live outside of the country and still practice, so it may be a state by state rule. Now, please don't quote me on
[00:21:25] Kym: yeah.
[00:21:27] It changes every week, so who knows.
[00:21:29] Rachel: so I don't know that, but
[00:21:31] Kym: Yeah.
[00:21:32] Rachel: I mean,
[00:21:32] if it could all work legally and logistically,
[00:21:35] Kym: That's cool.
[00:21:35] Rachel: support it. And, and this reminds me of, we, we also have interns in our practice and we have really, you know, the colleges and universities here that we've worked with have said. you're willing to let the intern be completely remote,
[00:21:49] Kym: Hmm.
[00:21:49] Rachel: a, you're a huge asset. and we have, because particularly our leadership team, we are all remote. We
[00:21:56] Kym: Yeah.
[00:21:56] Rachel: parts of the state, and I don't think that we have to come in and sit in an office space together to
[00:22:02] Kym: Totally.
[00:22:03] Mm-hmm.
[00:22:03] Rachel: yeah, I'm all about it. If it works. And it works well for the therapist as well? Of course.
[00:22:08] Kym: that's really cool. 'cause we get that question all the time too. Like, can I do my supervision hours from Spain? And we're like, okay, well you have to check with your Licens licensing board. And then there are some insurance companies that actually say to be able to bill, like for the intern billing, supervisory billing
[00:22:22] that you have to be physically present with them in the building at the time that service was delivered.
[00:22:27] And that's state by state insurance, by insurance. But that's always an interesting topic that comes up too.
[00:22:32] Rachel: Yeah. Like figuring all that out.
[00:22:34] Kym: Yeah. Oh my gosh. The logistics. Totally get that . so, before we hit record too, we were talking about you. You have expanded your traveling a little bit and used sort of retreats and summits to travel internationally. I think you said did you say Ireland and some somewhere else? You also went
[00:22:50] Ireland.
[00:22:51] Rachel: Ireland this year, and I'll be
[00:22:52] Kym: Cool.
[00:22:53] Nice. And it sounds like maybe that encouraged you a little bit to develop what you've got coming up in, in Michigan. Right.
[00:23:01] Rachel: Yes, so I feel inspired when I go on these retreats, and
[00:23:05] Kym: Yeah.
[00:23:06] Rachel: time flying internationally this year, which was awesome. Just this awesome experience. So I've done some retreats and summits in the States,
[00:23:13] I. Really felt, I guess, with any of these, whether it be in the states or international, just being around other people that do similar work private practice owners, consultants, I always feel like this energy
[00:23:26] Kym: Yes.
[00:23:27] Rachel: just sort of feed off of each other and inspire each other.
[00:23:30] At least That's what I hope for. Not like the, we're in competition with each other stuff, but that like,
[00:23:35] Kym: Oh yeah.
[00:23:35] Rachel: community and build relationships and learn more about each other.
[00:23:39] So I've had so many of great experiences and just felt so like connected and energized in the travel that I. This has been on my mind for a couple of years, but I'm finally doing it this year. I'm gonna host a private practice summit in the
[00:23:52] Kym: Amazing.
[00:23:53] Rachel: Michigan.
[00:23:54] Kym: Yes.
[00:23:55] Rachel: I have my, you know, my little self-doubt part of myself
[00:23:58] Kym: Yeah.
[00:23:58] Rachel: is this gonna work? But I really want to try to bring people together in that way that
[00:24:03] Kym: Mm-hmm.
[00:24:04] Rachel: connected in some of my travel
[00:24:06] Kym: I love that.
[00:24:06] Rachel: I. all private practice folks at, at all the levels. Right. And,
[00:24:10] Kym: Yeah.
[00:24:11] Rachel: thing when we think about people just starting or thinking about starting or our solo to group folks or our group folks, we very rarely sort of integrate or talk to each other or get to know each
[00:24:22] Kym: Mm-hmm.
[00:24:23] Rachel: even some of the private.
[00:24:24] Practice specific conferences I've been to.
[00:24:26] Kym: Mm-hmm.
[00:24:27] Rachel: it's group owners,
[00:24:29] Kym: Yes.
[00:24:30] Rachel: all have value as well. I don't mean that,
[00:24:31] Kym: Mm-hmm.
[00:24:32] Rachel: all together to build community with each other is, my motivation for the summit. But we'll also have 30 plus speakers and CES and
[00:24:41] will be learning and, but I'm just hoping for that community building as well
[00:24:45] Kym: so when is it, where is it and how do people sign up for it if they want to do it.
[00:24:49] Rachel: Yes. it will be at the end of September of this year of
[00:24:53] Kym: Okay.
[00:24:53] Rachel: So
[00:24:54] Kym: Nice.
[00:24:55] Rachel: and 30th. It will be in Grand Rapids, Michigan,
[00:24:58] Kym: Amazing.
[00:24:58] Rachel: be in person at a hotel in downtown Grand Rapids. And I just wanna add up for folks that haven't been to Grand Rapids before it's a really cool, like, diverse city with just like
[00:25:10] Kym: Nice.
[00:25:11] Rachel: and art happening the reason that I chose to have it at this time of year in Grand Rapids is every year they have a huge art exhibition called Art Prize, where folks from all over the world,
[00:25:21] of enter into a contest, so to speak. And the top three artists win pretty big money.
[00:25:26] the art exhibits are spread throughout the downtown area. It's just,
[00:25:30] Kym: Aw.
[00:25:30] Rachel: a cool, cool time to visit the city. And in Michigan it will still be pretty nice weather at that time.
[00:25:36] so I just wanted to add in, that was my, like thinking about timing for the summit.
[00:25:40] But folks can find out more about all of my offerings and the summit at. Next level private practice.com.
[00:25:46] Kym: That's awesome.
[00:25:47] Rachel: right there at the top of the page and along
[00:25:49] Kym: Mm-hmm.
[00:25:50] Rachel: of the offerings.
[00:25:51] Kym: That's cool. So you said 30 Cs and
[00:25:54] yeah.
[00:25:54] Rachel: speakers, but right
[00:25:55] Kym: Oh,
[00:25:56] Rachel: we will have at least 12 ces across the
[00:25:59] Kym: oh, nice.
[00:26:00] Nice. Okay.
[00:26:01] Rachel: day. so we we're approved for social work. The
[00:26:05] Kym: That's amazing.
[00:26:06] Rachel: folks
[00:26:07] Kym: Mm-hmm.
[00:26:08] Rachel: and we're working on NBCC. Right now we're pending for NBCC as well,
[00:26:12] That's a whole other process we could
[00:26:14] Kym: I know, I'm,
[00:26:15] Rachel: about.
[00:26:16] Kym: I just did that for, I have a course that I like co-created with Dr. Lisa Lovelace, and, we just decided like, oh, we should offer CES for this, and I've got all these courses, and I was like, why haven't I done this for all my courses? But then I realized like there's actually some work to it.
[00:26:30] It's not that easy, especially the A SWB. Right. Like getting the social work.
[00:26:34] Rachel: social work seemed to be a little tougher, so,
[00:26:37] Kym: Yeah.
[00:26:37] Rachel: I actually am an LPC, I'm a counselor, so it made it even tougher for me to get a SWB approval.
[00:26:44] Kym: Yeah.
[00:26:45] Rachel: um, I network a lot with our local NASW, the national I. Social worker folks in Michigan. they're actually good friends of mine and,
[00:26:53] The NASW in Michigan has approved the summit.
[00:26:55] And my understanding from them, folks need to check on their state, but usually when one
[00:27:00] Kym: Hmm.
[00:27:01] Rachel: approves it, all the states will accept it. So
[00:27:03] Kym: Yeah.
[00:27:04] Rachel: about that. And as an LPC, I'm working through the NBCC process with that. In itself is a whole other story. Have single program approval so far, and I'm working on getting the provider approval so I can
[00:27:15] Kym: That's cool.
[00:27:17] Rachel: So that's pending. I
[00:27:19] Kym: Nice.
[00:27:20] Rachel: be before the summit starts.
[00:27:22] Kym: That's amazing. Yeah.
[00:27:24] Rachel: frontier to try to go
[00:27:25] Kym: Yeah.
[00:27:26] Rachel: Yeah.
[00:27:26] Kym: my friend Megan Gunnel, she's also a Michigan native. I don't know if you know her, but she runs the Thrive, the Thriving Therapist Facebook group, the Thrive Summits and all that stuff. I remember, like, I was on the committee to help with like the, the CEEs like a couple summits ago,
[00:27:40] and it was kind of wild, like.
[00:27:43] You had to do the exact right wording for every, like if there was a period missing, they'd send it back and tell you you had to correct this and that, and a hyphen here. And there had to be the same hyphen had to be on the website. Like it was like very tedious. I was super surprised about that.
[00:27:58] Rachel: yeah. And I what the social worker, the NASW shared with me is the NBCC is even more strict now. I don't know. They
[00:28:05] Kym: Wow.
[00:28:06] Rachel: are strict, but like
[00:28:08] Yeah. But
[00:28:09] Kym: I think it was the NBCC that was given a lot of the feedback. Yeah, yeah. Sorry not to cut you off.
[00:28:14] Rachel: no, no, I'm sorry too. I, I just have to give a plug to NBCC though, because they did work with me and it was just a few little tweaks to get
[00:28:20] Kym: Oh, nice.
[00:28:22] Rachel: and so
[00:28:22] I made it through.
[00:28:23] I know sometimes it's hard to make it through. It may depend on
[00:28:27] Kym: Mm-hmm. Yeah, exactly. Well you are doing so many amazing things and thank you for just coming on and telling everybody about it. I think that summit sounds so cool. So you already have the speakers for the summit. Is it sort of like, just like all different types of private practice stuff Nice.
[00:28:46] Rachel: on the, on the summit landing page on the
[00:28:49] Kym: Oh, nice.
[00:28:50] Rachel: the way that I'm thinking about it, or my vision for it is that we have a mix of like clinical and business development for
[00:28:56] Kym: Nice.
[00:28:56] Rachel: because again, we wanna attract people at all levels.
[00:29:00] Kym: Mm-hmm.
[00:29:00] Rachel: just anyone that wants to come together as private practice folks.
[00:29:05] So you don't have to be an owner necessarily. You can be just working in private practice too,
[00:29:10] Kym: Cool.
[00:29:11] Rachel: to give, and we're gonna have quite a few sessions about, you know, alternative income streams, for
[00:29:16] Kym: Nice.
[00:29:17] Rachel: But we're gonna be looking at the clinical and the business side and really trying it was, sort of a wild experience because I had so many folks apply to speak. I had to turn quite a few folks away
[00:29:28] I'm excited about our lineup and the people that we'll have there. And just us all being in a room together at the same time is gonna be awesome.
[00:29:36] Kym: That's so cool.
[00:29:38] Well, thank you for sharing all this and creating such amazing things for therapists. There's just, you know, you said something earlier about like, we should all collaborate and not be competitive and that sort of thing. There's just so much need out there. So it's just really cool to hear just you building and putting all this stuff out there into the world, and I'm sure the listeners will appreciate that too once they go take a look. Rachel, Thanks for coming.