A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A PRINCIPAL PSYCHOLOGIST

I was called to write this post with two people in mind…

One, for the Clinician currently working in a group private practice. Why? Because I too often hear and read comments by clinicians about ‘greedy practice owners’ whom are lining their own pockets to the detriment of their clinicians. I am a group private practice owner, and I am honest when I say that yes we do hide a lot of things from you (to protect you and because it is our job to carry the risk) but the one thing we don’t do is line our own pockets.
Two, for the Group Private Practice Owner whom has the life described below. I know what it is like. I’ve been there and I’m here to tell you that it does not have to be this hard.

5:30am: The alarm goes off. I sit up and reach for my laptop that is on the bedside table – exactly where I left it last night at 11:45pm before going to bed and right after a wrote a number of Client Reports that had been overdue. I open up my internet browser and go straight onto the Westpac Internet Banking Site. I need to check how much money settled overnight as today is payday. I have to pay a team of 12 Psychologists and 3 admin staff members. A total amount of just under $18K. I look at my account with the amount of $12 597 staring at me. I’m short – big time – and the payment has to be put through no later than 5pm today. I was hoping an overdue Third Party Payment would have come through, but nothing yet. I feel the anxiety rising within me, but I take a few deep breaths and distract myself by making my morning coffee.

6am: Wow, I’m lucky today. It’s 6am and the kids are still sleeping. I can actually have my coffee in peace, but will have to multi-task by checking my emails. I scan my inbox to find 3 emails that will only require a quick response – at least I’ll have a feeling of accomplishment having done them.

6:30am: The kids are up. So off to be a mum.

8:30am: Walk into the practice after having dropped the kids at school. I’m first to arrive at the practice so I switch on the lights, the aircon and all the other little things to make the space feel warm and welcoming for the first team member and clients to arrive.

9am-12pm: I see 3 clients back to back. I so LOVE seeing my clients. In that time, I forget about the stuff on my to do list and are able to just be there in the moment helping them – such an awesome reminder of why I do what I do.

12pm: It officially my lunchtime but before I can eat I quickly hop back into the Westpac Bank Account to see if the money has hit my account. Fu&k – nothing! My mind is starting to problem-solve where I’m going to get the money from should that Third Party Payment not come through by 5pm. I could pay some team members from my personal Credit Card or I could check my house mortgage to see if I have any funds in there that I can use. Either way, I’m most definitely NOT getting paid this week. I feel too anxious to eat now, so I check in with reception to see how their morning has gone.

12:30pm: Reception reports that a highly irate client is demanding that I call her back asap, as she is very unhappy about being charged a no-show fee for an appointment she missed without cancelling this morning. I ask for some history and Reception tells me that we have already waived 2 cancellation fees for this client. I decide to take the bull by the horns by ringing the client and explaining our policy. The conversation ends with the phone being put down in my ear after being told she is never coming back. I spend the next 20 minutes second-guessing my decision. The Psychologist in me is concerned about the client and her ongoing need for therapy whilst the Business Owner in me knows that if clients don’t attend we don’t get paid and after having waived a similar fee now twice before this is going to continue happening if I waive it again. I absolutely hate this part of the job.

12:30pm: I get a call from my husband whom is having his lunch break at work. His first question to me is: what are we having for dinner? I’m immediately worked up. Really? Really? You call me to ask that? Dinner is THE furthest thing from my mind right now! I cut the conversation short by saying unless it’s a very urgent issues, he will have to wait to tonight to chat. Although not really feeling hungry, I force myself to eat something whilst writing up notes from my morning clients and doing some prep work for their next sessions.

1pm: Supervision time with one of my clinicians. Within the first 5 minutes she is in tears. I ask what’s going on. She tells me her diary is full of empty appointments and she is worried that she won’t be earning enough this fortnight to pay her bills. My mind immediately jumps to a conversation I had with this exact clinician not 4 weeks ago, when she was in here crying because she was feeling overwhelmed with her caseload and asking me to instruct reception to stop giving her any new clients. At the time, I recommended we don’t and explained why – including the fact that what normally happens when we do this is that in 4 weeks time she will have gaps in her diary!! But she insisted, so I put a stop on new clients. What is it with Psychologists I think? They are NEVER happy. I really want to remind her of all this and speak my mind, but I don’t want to come across as insensitive so I don’t. Whilst feeling frustrated on the inside that I am now expected to problem-solve a situation that she has created, I agree to instruct reception to prioritise giving her the new client referrals coming in over the next couple of days. This eases her anxiety and we continue with supervision.

2pm: I’ve just finished supervision and have left my office door open. Another clinician pops their head in and asks: we are getting paid today aren’t we? I’m thinking geez, it is only 2pm and legally I have the right to pay you at the latest 5pm (close of business) today. Why do you even need to ask this question? Do you think I don’t know it is payday? Have I ever paid you late before? To which the answer is – Never!! Do you think I’m not under enough pressure as it is that it is important for you to remind me? But again, I can’t say this as I will be perceived as a real bitch. So I just smile and say: of course it will be done by the close of business.

2:30pm: I sit down to check my emails. A full 67 emails has come in since this morning. Ah well, better get started, I have 30 minutes before my next appointment. But before I can open even one email, Reception walks in. There is an urgent call from a GP whom is on hold regarding an actively suicidal client and they want to know from me who can see the client today. Whilst waiting for the call to come through I quickly check the diary to see which psychologist is available today. No one. Everyone is fully booked and you know what that means….. I take the call and support the GP with what to do and agree to see the client myself at 5pm, after I have seen my

3 and 4pm clients. And then I realise that I have forgotten to book the kids into after school care for today. I quickly ring and get through – thank God – only to get a lecture about how they really should NOT be booking the kids in, as it is too last minute and they have staff ratios to manage etc etc – I basically switch off whilst listening to the lecture and when they take a breath I ask: can you take them or not? They agree. Win for the mum. Next moment, I think Fu$k, haven’t put the pays through !!!! I quickly pay what I can from Westpac (that darn Third Party Payment is no-where to be seen) and I pay the rest of the team from my personal Credit Card. Will worry about how I will be paying MY bills later.

3pm-5pm: I see my two scheduled clients.

5pm: I see the emergency suicidal client. I’m acutely aware of managing my session time, as Outside School Hours Care closes at

6pm: Luckily the practice is literally only 10 minutes away from the school. I finish right on the dot at 5:50pm. I literally pick up all my stuff in my arms and rush out the door, mindful that Outside School Hours Care charges you BY THE MINUTE for every minute you are late for pick-up.

6pm: I walk in and notice my 3 kiddies. They are the last ones there. I can feel the mother’s guilt well up inside of me. My positive thinking psychologist voice tries to make me feel better by saying, well at least they had all the one-on-one attention for the last 30 minutes! But of course, my youngest will remind me that mum, we are the last ones here – wow, how easy is it to break a mother’s heart. I have no come back to that other than to dish out a big hug.

6:15pm: McDonalds it is for dinner and once again I’m the best mum there is!

6:45pm: Arrive home and its dinner, bath, homework and bedtime.

9pm: The kids are all in bed and I have a shower. I know if I don’t shower now it might not happen and the mornings are just too full on.

9:15pm: I walk downstairs to the home study and start working on a new marketing flyer and ways of distributing it. No marketing means no clients so this is a priority.

10:15pm: I check the bank account. That darn Third Party Payment has finally gone through. Awesome I think, but then I notice the date on the statement and realise that rent is due in two days – well there goes that money! Anyhow, we live to fight another day.

10:30pm: I finally get to my emails. I do a quick scan to identify any priorities and spend the next hour responding.

11:30pm: OK, time to switch off before I can fall asleep. I write down my top 3 priorities for tomorrow to get those out of my head. I put on my Mindfulness CD and try my best to drown out the worries about money, my team, ensuring consistent new referrals to the practice, my marriage, my kids, the list goes on and on……

This was my life for the first 3 years of my practice.
Crazy right !?

If you are still on this hamster wheel of pressure, where the one day just flows into the next, then I want to invite you to step the hell off.
Take one day out of your schedule to spend with me and I will show you what private practice can be like.
You deserve to at least give yourself the chance of change, the chance of a better life and of a better future. Join me at my Private Practice Success one-day workshop happening very soon. To Register visit:  www.private-practice-success.com