Home - Break Free: Your No B.S. Guide to Starting a Private Practice

Are you tired of working for cold, impersonal, corporate practices run by business execs not clinicians? Fed up with mental health apps that care more about shareholder value than patient care?

There has never been an easier time to open a private practice. Start working for yourself and build a practice based on your values, on your terms.

Break Free is your 100% free, no b.s. guide to starting your own private practice.

Start here

In the beginning, it can be overwhelming to know what to do and where to start. If you are not sure where to begin, start here. Read more…

Business Basics

Most counseling and psychotherapy programs do not teach students anything about business at all. You don’t have to have a college course to learn what you need to know to get started. Read more…

Private practice 101

You may have a lot of questions about what are necessary parts of private practice ownership. This is your private practice FAQ. Read more..Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nullam eu dignissim tortor, sit amet bibendum lacus.

Marketing in 2025

Don’t be intimidated by marketing! There are a lot of tricks to make it easy for clients to find you. Read more…

Insurance vs private pay

One of the most difficult decisions that you will face when starting your private practice is whether or not to accept insurance. There are several considerations that go into this

What to diy

There are no shortage of businesses that will charge you hundreds if not thousands of dollars to fill out forms for you. Which services are worth paying for and which should you do yourself? Read more…

FAQ

Do you need a physical fax machine? Should you hire a biller or a receptionist? Is it worth it to rent an office or should you work from home? Here are the answers to some random but common questions! Read more…

Other resources

There’s a lot to learn about running your own business and there are a lot of resources out there. Here are some of our favorites. Read more…

There is too much gatekeeping in private practice

It’s not always overt or even purposeful. Too often, getting experience is about who you know. Networking is difficult for professionals who are neurodivergent or have chronic illnesses, leaving them at a disadvantage for meeting the right people. If you are in a rural area, there may not be anyone at all to teach you what you need to know.

Sometimes, your degree might be “wrong” because professionals want to work with another counselor or marriage and family therapist vs a discipline they aren’t familiar with. Mentorship can be difficult if not impossible to find for some disciplines like social workers, who are incredibly diversified. Break Free wants to help kick down those gates and give the information to the professionals who want and need it. If you are a professional already in private practice willing to mentor a professional in your state interested in starting a private practice at no charge, please

to be added to our growing directory!

How to start a private practice

Who is Break Free?

Stacey Aldridge, LCSW

If you would like to volunteer to mentor a professional in your state, contact us.

The idea for Break Free came from a discussion in a therapist community group. Members of the group were talking about ways that they could make an impact when striking makes little difference for the self-employed. The discussion turned to large, corporate owned companies that provide “therapy” with little value to the clients or the clinicians they employ. Break Free founder, Stacey Aldridge, LCSW, said that she would love to volunteer to mentor someone who wanted to start their own practice and wondered how to spread the word. From that, Break Free was born.

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