Plenty of good therapists end a session with "you've got the booking link." A lot of those clients never book again.

"Sporadic therapy doesn't lead to particularly great results."

Elana Sures owns Open Space Counselling in Vancouver and North Vancouver: two locations and 20+ therapists. She also founded Group Practice Performance, a consulting company built around her online course, the Client Retention System.

Daniel and Elana talk about why clients drift after a few sessions, why the fix starts with how confident the therapist is, and what a practice owner can change in intake, the first session and team training so clients stay long enough to get better.

In this episode:
→ Why therapists are trained to hold back, and what that does to rebooking
→ Clients who see therapy as a one-off, and the physical therapy comparison that changes that
→ What to say when a client's benefits or insurance run out
→ Building confidence by asking anyway, even when you're nervous
→ Intake forms that set up the therapy before the first session
→ The first three sessions, "the story underneath the story," and the 8-session minimum
→ Why she wouldn't sell therapy packages even if it were legal
→ Leading your team on retention without feeling greedy or corporate

Thinking about selling your practice one day, or bringing in a partner to grow it?

Chapters
00:00 Meet Elana Sures
01:09 Why therapists struggle to keep clients
03:27 Clients don't know what therapy is
06:38 Therapist leadership and owning your expertise
08:24 Where confidence comes from
10:15 Your batting average will never be 1,000
11:08 Inside the Client Retention System
14:34 Intake forms built for retention
17:08 The first three sessions and the 8-session minimum
18:42 Why therapists can't sell packages
21:26 Where to find Elana

About Elana: Owner of Open Space Counselling and founder of Group Practice Performance → https://grouppracticeperformance.com

About Daniel: Buys mental health practices and helps owners sell -founder of Fireside Strategic.

Connect with Daniel → https://linkedin.com/in/danmking

Nothing in this episode is legal, tax or financial advice.

#GroupPractice #PrivatePractice #ClientRetention

Amanda Landry never planned to run a 100-clinician practice. It grew anyway.

"We hired two directors to clean it up. The numbers never changed."

Amanda is the founder of Caring Therapists in Florida: 12 locations, 100+ clinicians, about 8,000 sessions a month across therapy, testing and medication management. She also runs My Private Practice Collective, an online community for therapists growing their own practices.

Daniel and Amanda talk about how she went from solo therapist to CEO, the operating system that got her from 30 clinicians to 100, and why she thinks small group practices should get organized before consolidation reaches them.

In this episode:
→ How a second location opened only to cut a one-hour commute
→ Walking away from her own caseload after maternity leave and stepping in as CEO
→ Running a group practice on EOS: KPIs, scorecards and a meeting cadence for every department
→ What happened when two marketing directors never moved the intake numbers
→ The playbook for opening new locations, and the marketing mistake to avoid in a new market
→ Where referrals went after the 2020 to 2025 boom
→ Referral partners that fit: pediatric groups, schools, police and fire departments
→ The goal of 25 locations, and why acquisitions are part of the plan

Thinking about selling your practice one day, or bringing in a partner to grow it?

Chapters
00:00 Meet Amanda Landry
01:48 12 locations, 100+ clinicians, 8,000 sessions a month
03:58 Building a big practice by accident
07:02 From therapist to CEO
08:03 Running the practice on EOS
10:07 Two marketing directors, no change in the numbers
13:58 The playbook for opening new locations
16:39 Where the referrals went after 2025
18:00 Picking referral partners that match your model
22:20 90 referral sources then, 900 now
24:33 The Chamber of Commerce and local search
25:21 The next stage: 25 locations
27:06 Consolidation and acquisitions in group practice

Mentioned: Traction by Gino Wickman (the EOS book) | Asana

About Amanda: Founder of Caring Therapists and My Private Practice Collective → https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandapattersonlmhc/

About Daniel: Buys mental health practices and helps owners sell theirs. Former M&A lawyer. Co-founder of Fireside Strategic.

Connect with Daniel → https://linkedin.com/in/danmking


Nothing in this episode is legal, tax or financial advice.

#GroupPractice #PrivatePractice #ExitPlanning

A practice can have a great year and still be leaking.

"You can pour a bunch into ads for marketing, and it looks really pretty on paper. And how long will that last?"

Alyssa Morales is Chief of Staff at Breksey, which supports group practices with intake, marketing, analytics, coaching, billing and credentialing. Before that, she was an executive director.

Daniel and Alyssa talk about the number most owners forget to track when they plan to grow and sell: churn. Of clients and of clinicians.

In this episode:
→ Why revenue and leads don't tell you if your practice will last
→ Why client trust starts at the first phone call, not the first session
→ How one burnt-out intake team drives away clients and clinicians
→ What keeps clinicians from leaving for 5 or 10% more somewhere else
→ Automation vs the human part: why you need both

Thinking about selling your practice one day, or bringing in a partner to grow it?
Talk to Daniel →

Chapters
00:00 Meet Alyssa Morales
00:56 The number most practice owners don't track
02:13 Client trust starts at the first phone call
06:46 Why therapy clients need systems that still feel human
10:36 How intake affects clinician retention
11:51 Hiring and training: the business side clinicians never learn
13:43 Why practices need clinical and business minds
16:30 The "steal a skill" question for your leadership team
18:39 Running a practice that stays relational
20:59 Automation vs the human part

About Alyssa: Chief of Staff at Breksey → https://breksey.com

About Daniel: Buys mental health practices and helps owners sell theirs. Former M&A lawyer. Co-founder of Fireside Strategic.

Connect with Daniel → https://linkedin.com/in/danmking

Nothing in this episode is legal, tax or financial advice.

#GroupPractice #PrivatePractice #ExitPlanning