Book Review: "Therapy Private Practice"

I connected with Jackie on LinkedIn as a fellow art therapist. She writes a lot of essays about various topics, such as being an art therapist, being autistic, and wisdom of how she does her work. I was delighted to receive her book on establishing a successful private practice, and wrote a brief review below.  If you are a therapist or provider of any kind, I would recommend that you check out her book to help your practice and yourself thrive!

“Therapy Private Practice: Creating a private practice that enriches you as a human and therapist” 

by Jackie Schuld, LPC, ATR-BC, REAT

As an art therapist who works in private practice part-time, this is the book I wish I had available to me when I thought about venturing into the private practice world. Rather than going solo, however, I ended up joining a group practice, which helped with a lot of the whys and wherefores I didn’t have time for or was ready to learn to do myself. I am still a part of that group practice, and it works for me since I do it very part-time on the side, but I was still quite interested to hear Jackie’s take on creating a private practice that works for you in case I decide to move over to solo practice later on.

One thing I appreciated right away was that the Table of Contents is listed both in page order and in topic order.  As a Gold/SJ, that made me very happy, especially if I want to reference something later, it will be easier to locate via topic. Topics that she covers include beginning your practice or changing what kind of practice you have, financial advice, marketing, meeting your own needs, policies that will support your practice, and even thought patterns that impact you.

Another thing that I appreciate about this book is that the chapters are short essays that are very readable.  Sometimes it’s hard to sit down and read a lengthy book that gets into the weeds (which can be just what we need at times), and this book gives us bite-size pieces to chew on and consider.  Jackie makes it clear that she is your cheerleader in making a practice that helps you – as well as your practice – to thrive.

Some of the chapters are about giving permission to make adjustments to make a practice that fits you and not necessarily what other people think it should be. Others advocate for art therapy and counseling as a field and not selling ourselves short with all of our time, investment, experience, and expertise. She wants all therapists to figure out how they work best and thrive with that, even if it may not make sense at first. Things don’t have to be the status quo, and there are ways to have a successful practice without self-sacrificing so much, as people in helping professions are so wont to do. Accessing resources, finding supports, setting boundaries and limits, finding your own niche, playing to your strengths, and the like are paramount to establishing – and maintaining – a successful practice, however you may define that to be.

Part of the content that also struck me is her line drawings that illustrate the book, which I am so happy she included (as an art therapist, I think we are drawn to that), many of which remind me of Shel Silverstein’s artwork from “Where the Sidewalk Ends” and his other poems.

Jackie’s book covers a lot of cogent topics related not only to private practice work, but also work within the mental health setting that gives good food for thought. It may be time to reinvent our work so that we will not burn ourselves out and better meet the needs of our clients, which is why we went into mental healthcare in the first place.  Will everything in the book apply to you and your situation?  Probably not.  However, it is a great read that will give you different perspectives and insights that can help you be the best – and more replenished – therapist that you can be.