MHM#15 Growing your therapy practice with authentic relationships 

It's very common to feel hesitant about reaching out to potential referrers. 

Most people shudder when they think of networking. I certainly do :) 

However, as a solo therapist, developing relationships with referrers is an important part of building your caseload. 

With such negative connotations around networking,  it’s helpful to reframe it. 

So much ‘business and marketing speak’ can make therapists believe they need to learn new skills, when in reality a lot of your core strengths as therapists are key to growing your practice - one of these being your ability to connect with people and build relationships.

What you’re actually doing when “networking” is developing professional friendships. 

The relationships you form with referrers should be with people you genuinely enjoy spending time with—people you’d be happy to have a coffee and a chat with. These might be professional relationships, but ideally, they’re ones that will last for many years.

And building these relationships isn’t just about referrals; it’s also about providing mutual support. As a solo therapist, no one else truly understands what life is like for you, especially in the early days when you’re learning to run a practice. Other solo therapists get it and that understanding and support is invaluable. 

Why do I recommend solo therapists connect with other solo therapists? Therapists who work within a group practice tend to refer within, but solo therapists need to refer outside their practice when they see people who might not be the right fit or are outside their area of expertise.

3 steps to finding and connecting with other therapists

1. Search for complementary therapists

Start by using Google, Psychology Today, or other directories to find 5 solo therapists who specialise in something complementary to you. For example, if you're a child therapist, look for family therapists. If you only see individuals, search for couples therapists. If you specialise in neurodiversity but don't do testing, find a therapist who does. 

If you see clients in-person, look for therapists who also provide in-person therapy in your local area.

If you only provide teletherapy, look for therapists who also provide teletherapy in the same location. 

2. Email them inviting them for an initial meeting

Once you've identified potential therapists, email them inviting them for an initial meeting to discuss collaborating and supporting each other. Let them know that you read their website and love what they’re doing. Express that you are looking to build relationships with therapists who specialise in their area so you can refer clients to them - this is very important as we want to ensure they know that it’s going to be a valuable use of their time. 

Email Structure:

• Hi [First Name] 
• I’m [Your Name], [who are you and what do you do].
• [A statement/fact to quickly build trust/demonstrate expertise].
• As you would know, [a sentence that relates specifically to what they specialise in/work with in their practice].
• I really liked [ highlight something that you read/noticed about them so it's  personalised ].
• Call to Action: Let them know you'd like to meet to explore ways of collaborating and supporting each other.

And here is an example of how to apply the above structure to an email. Please note I am not a therapist :) so the example might not be clinically correct. 

Hi Jessica

I hope you’re well. I’m a psychodynamic psychotherapist providing in-person therapy in Carlton. 

My practice is dedicated to helping high-functioning women dissolve obstacles created by childhood trauma, and create a more meaningful life free from limitations. 

As you would know, addressing and healing from trauma can start to shift and change dynamics in romantic relationships, and I often have women ask if I can recommend a couples therapist.

I really loved reading your approach to couples therapy, and the importance of considering past traumas of individuals within a relationship.  

I am reaching out to see if you’d like to meet to explore ways of collaborating and supporting each other. I’m happy to drop into your practice, meet for coffee, or chat via Zoom—whatever works best for you.

You can learn more about my practice here: [link to website]

I look forward to hearing from you.

Warm regards

Remember, not everyone will reply to you - that’s very normal. But the more you personalise the email and demonstrate why it will be a good use of their time, the more likely they will reply.

3. Have the initial meeting

Unless you work very close to each other, I think an initial Zoom chat is a better use of time while you’re determining if they’re a good fit and worth investing time developing a relationship.

The initial meeting is really like a first date. Ask lots of questions and be curious to see if you're the right fit for each other. Consider:

• Is there potential for cross referrals?
• Did you enjoy the chat?
• Can you see yourself having a long-term professional friendship with them?

If your answer is yes to these, then the next step is to proactively nurture the relationship. I’ll go into the specifics of this and how to do this in next week’s article.

For now, start searching and reaching out to 5 therapists.