I've become a firm believer that meeting individually with each therapist on your team at least once a quarter is one of the most important things you can do as a leader. Not a hallway chat. Not a 5 or 10 minute check-in between sessions. A conversation that you initiate with intentionality, that's longer, and purposeful, even if it doesn't have a formal agenda every time.

What worked when I started my first group practice isn't what works now. Not because either of us did it wrong back then. The ground underneath all of us has shifted, and a lot of the advice still floating around out there was written for a landscape that doesn't exist anymore.

I talk to a lot of group practice owners who are avoiding a conversation with someone on their team right now. Not because they don't know something needs to be said. They know. They've known for weeks, sometimes months. They're avoiding it because they're scared of how the other person is going to take it.

As therapists, we are vulnerable people by trade. We value depth, connection, and the courage it takes to be seen. So when we step into leadership, it makes sense that we carry that value with us. We assume that to lead well, to be trusted, to be real with our teams, we have to be vulnerable with them too.

Every decision you make about your practice culture, your onboarding, your expectations, your tone in a team meeting. All of it shapes how your associates experience their work. The question is not whether you are influencing your team. You are. The question is whether you are doing it intentionally.

Leadership is not about abandoning your team. It is about building capacity, clarity, and accountability. When you step in too quickly, you may unintentionally take away opportunities for others to learn, stretch, and succeed.

AI isn’t replacing the need for clarity. It’s rewarding it.

Search behaviour is shifting from short phrases like “counselling near me” to nuanced, human questions such as “I need a counsellor specializing in infidelity”

Many group practice owners intentionally prioritize culture, connection, and community. Depending on the practice, this might include peer consultation groups, regular team meetings, shared trainings, or team events like holiday parties. Sometimes it’s as simple as seeing colleagues in the hallway between sessions and knowing you’re not doing this work alone.

I know that for many practice owners, wintering feels emotionally risky. Productivity is quantifiable. Rest is nebulous. Growth is visible. Wintering is inward.

But here’s the thing every mature business eventually learns:
Scaling requires seasons.

Too many group practice owners I talk to feel like they’re scraping by on “humidity.” They’re holding everything together with sheer determination but never feel fully nourished or resourced.

One of the themes Alison and I talked about is how unprepared many of us feel when we first step into leadership. You can be an excellent clinician — deeply skilled, empathetic, and effective in the therapy room — but that doesn’t necessarily translate into being ready to lead a team, manage people, or handle the business side of practice.