WP154 | 10 Years In: The 5 Most Beneficial Shifts In My Private Practice - Podcast Takeover with Amy Dover
If you’ve ever wondered, “What’s the one move that would actually change my practice?” this episode is for you.
I’m handing the mic to my friend and colleague, Amy Dover, LMFT—a wise, in-the-trenches group practice owner and consultant. In just a few minutes, Amy unpacks the five decisions that most transformed her practice over the past decade: hiring that first therapist, getting real about insurance panels, saying yes to consulting, moving from 1099 to W-2, and—most importantly—prioritizing spiritual rhythms that sustain it all.
You’ll walk away with clarity, courage, and your next right step—whether you’re solo or already leading a team. And if you’re a solo owner ready to hire, listen for Amy’s mastermind details starting November 6.
Grab your coffee, open your notes app, and hit play—this one could reshape your next season.
The 5 Decisions Amy Says Made the Biggest Difference
1) Hire the first therapist—and stop carrying it alone
Early in her journey, Amy took the leap from solo to group because the need outpaced her schedule. It wasn’t polished or perfectly planned, but it expanded access for clients, relieved pressure, and nudged her into leadership. Faith note: growth required trust—trusting God, trusting a teammate to represent the practice, and trusting herself to lead.
Ask yourself: What would it look like to create one new clinical seat this quarter?
2) Invest in a consultant (even if you’re years in)
Podcasts, books, and Facebook groups are helpful—but a wise guide collapses your timeline, challenges blind spots, and protects you from expensive mistakes. Amy wishes she’d invested earlier; the ROI showed up in systems, confidence, and sustainability.
Try this: List your three biggest friction points (hiring, insurance, culture, finances). Which one could a consultant help you resolve in the next 60 days?
3) Make insurance serve the mission
More panels aren’t always better. Amy learned to track reimbursement, negotiate rates, and step off misaligned panels—even when it ruffled feathers. That clarity lowered burnout risk and stabilized margins.
Pro tip: Run a quick payer audit. For each panel, capture average reimbursement, admin load, denial rate, and therapist morale. If a payer fails two of the four, it’s a candidate for renegotiation or removal.
4) Move from 1099 to W-2 to build a real team
The 1099→W-2 transition brought new systems (payroll, HR, accountability) and a culture shift—shared values, deeper commitment, and clearer expectations. It wasn’t easy, but the result was alignment, stability, and a healthier sense of belonging.
Hiring lens: Tie interviews to mission, core values, and clear role scorecards. Culture clarity beats charisma.
5) Prioritize spiritual rhythms like your P&L depends on it
Because it does. When Amy anchored daily time with God—Scripture, prayer, worship, accountability—she led with more peace, wisdom, and endurance. Your practice’s culture will mirror the condition of your heart.
Rhythm to test this week: 20 minutes of quiet each morning with an index card:
Gratitude: 3 lines
Scripture: 1 verse to carry
Decisions: 1 hard decision to pray over
Your Next Right Step (Choose One)
Capacity: Draft and post a job description for Therapist #1 (or #next).
Clarity: Book a consult to tackle one thorny issue (hiring, insurance, or culture).
Cashflow: Run a 30-minute payer audit and mark one panel for renegotiation.
Culture: Write your top three core values and share them at your next team touchpoint.
Calling: Block 20 minutes each morning for Scripture and prayer—no skipped days for a week.
Links and Resources
Email Amy directly at amy@wisepracticeconsulting.com
Looking for support and connection: Join the Wise Practice Community
Learn More about Wise Practice Consulting
Connect with Wise Practice on Instagram
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[00:00:00] Whitney Owens: Hi, I am Whitney Owens. I'm a group practice owner and faith-based practice consultant, and I'm here to tell you that you can have it all. Wanna grow your practice, wanna grow your faith, wanna enjoy your life outside of work, you've come to the right place. Each week on the Wise Practice Podcast, I will give you the action steps to have a successful faith-based practice while also having a good time.
Now, let's get started.
[00:00:29] Jingle: Where she grows your practice and she don't play. She does business with a twist of faith. It's Whitney Owen and Wise Practice Podcast, Whitney Owen and Wise Practice Podcast.
[00:00:48] Amy Dover: Hey everyone. Welcome back to the podcast. I'm Amy Dover, LMFT Group Practice owner and consultant with Wise Practice Consulting. Before I hop into the episode today, I wanna tell you about a mastermind group that I will begin on November 6th. It will run for six months, and it's for solo practice owners who are interested in growing into a group practice and who would like to hire their first therapist by the end of the six months and maybe even an admin.
I keep this group to 10 people or less because I want there to be plenty of time for teachings, hot seats, and feedback. We work on systems, paperwork, hiring and interviewing, money mindset, marketing, insurance, financials, and all the things that need to be in place to grow from a solo to a group Practice.
Masterminds are my favorite because of the group aspect and encouragement and accountability that comes with it. If you're interested in more information, check out www.wisepracticeconsulting.com/masterminds. Okay. This episode is part of the four part podcast takeover that Whitney has graciously allowed me to do, and I'm so glad you're here today.
In this episode, I wanna share with you the five things that have been the most beneficial for me to do in my practice over the past decade. Now, these things aren't just tips or strategies. They're things that truly shape the way I serve my clients, lead my team, and live out my calling, while also growing me emotionally and spiritually.
Now, if you've been in practice for any length of time, you know that there are ups and downs, learning curves, mistakes, breakthroughs, blessings and bruises. And when you're also, we faith into your work, it adds another layer of both responsibility and opportunity. You know, over the last 10 years I've made, uh, lots and lots of decisions, but it was really hard to kind of narrow down.
The the five that I thought would be really good for today's episode, but I think I found them. So I hope that these five things that benefited me also inspire you, whether you're just starting out in practice ownership or if you've been in it for a long time. All right, number one, the first thing that benefited me was hiring my first therapist and becoming a group practice.
It shifted from being a solo practice to a group practice very quickly. I'll be honest, I didn't know what I was doing. My practice had been open for three months. This was in January of 2015 when I opened. So by the, by March of 2015, I had more work than I could handle. I didn't want to turn people away, so in my mind, I automatically was like, okay, I guess I just need to hire somebody.
So I did not much more thought around that other than the paperwork, the start date, and the fee split. As I began my practice as a contractor practice. Now, I didn't know what I was doing, but God put people and resources in my path. Even in the beginning, that helped me and I've made a lot of mistakes along the way, but making that decision opened the door to so much growth.
Suddenly, I wasn't carrying it all alone. Clients had more options, and I knew they were getting good care. The practice started to feel bigger than just me. So looking back, I see how much faith that step required. It wasn't just a business decision, it was a spiritual one too. It meant trusting God with the growth, trusting someone else to represent the practice, and trusting myself to step into a leadership role, even if I didn't recognize it at the time.
All right, number two. Another game changer that benefited my practice was investing in a practice consultant for way too long. I thought I had to figure everything out on my own. I read books. I listened to podcasts. I joined Facebook groups, and while those were very helpful, they weren't enough. I'm a huge reader, so I spent several years reading every business book I could get my hands on, but it just didn't quite get it all for me.
So when I finally hired a consultant, shout out to my girl Whitney, who understood both the counseling world and the unique aspects of faith-based practice. It was like a weight lifted. I didn't have to reinvent the wheel. I had someone to ask hard questions, challenge my mindset, and push me to see the bigger picture.
It's funny because I used to tell Whitney when we were consulting like Whitney, I don't like it when you punch holes into my reality and my logic. A good consultant is going to tell you whether your ideas are any good or not, and the ones that aren't, they will challenge you on to maybe make them better.
But either way, a, a good consultant, just like a good therapist, is going to challenge things that may be a little distorted when you're looking at your practice and what changes you wanna put in place, as well as the things that would be beneficial. But when the, the process of consulting was happening, I just didn't feel alone anymore.
I've been feeling very alone as a practice owner for a long time, and I'm a little embarrassed to say that I was eight years in to practice ownership and I had a group practice of 16 therapist and two admin when I hired my first consultant. My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. The investment paid for itself many times over in confidence in business systems and in helping me grow without burning out.
Even when I face the challenges of transitioning a practice. If you're on the fence about consulting, I can honestly say it was one of the most beneficial things I've done for my practice. Alright, number three. The third thing that was beneficial for my practice is how I approach insurance. I've always been an insurance-based practice and early on I thought the goal was to get credentialed with as many panels as possible, but over time I realized that being on the wrong panels can actually drain a practice more than help it, and maybe even at times lead to therapist burnout.
I had to get really thoughtful about which panels aligned with our mission and supported the financial health of the practice and which ones we needed to come off of. That wasn't always easy. It meant running numbers, looking at reimbursement rates, and thinking long-term about sustainability. It also meant upsetting people, therapists, working for my practice, clients, community members, and sometimes referral sources.
But at the end of the day, I had to think about what was best for the practice. Another big piece was finding my voice to negotiate. For a long time, I just assumed insurance companies set the rules and I had to follow, but I learned to advocate for better rates, to ask questions and to push back when things didn't add up.
I like to share a story of one big insurance company here in my area that kept bullying me. Yes, I know bullying can be a strong word, but it's true. They were bullying me to sign a new contract with them a few years ago. It was actually, it began in 2020. During, during the COVID Pandemic, so their reimbursement rates were already terrible, and we had a lot of clients who were using that insurance, but I refused to sign a new contract.
I ended up contacting my local congressman to get his office's help with this insurance company, and his office did help me. They backed off for a little while. Unfortunately, I ended up having to come off of that insurance panel a couple of years later because they started their shenanigans again. But making that decision was no longer difficult, and I had found my voice.
I was determined to stand up for myself in the practice, and it didn't cause me the anxiety that it had in the past. So developing a clear insurance strategy has made us stronger financially. It's brought better alignment with the practice's values, and has helped me lead with more confidence and really be wise about how I make insurance decisions about the practice.
All right, number four. Another beneficial shift that I made in the practice was transitioning from a 10 99.
Some of you have heard me talk about this on the podcast before, or if you've done any kind of consulting with me or mastermind, you know, a little bit of my story with that. But if you've ever been through a 10 99 to W2 transition, you know it's not for the faint of heart. I did this in 2024, my ninth year of practice ownership when I was a seven figure practice and had a team of 15 therapists.
It meant creating new systems from the ground up, payroll benefits, HR policies, scheduling, accountability structures, and it wasn't a one and done process. I had to build, test, and rebuild until we found what worked for our team, particularly around the area of interviewing and hiring. Whew. I really had to work on that.
But the biggest change wasn't just LAIs logistical, it was cultural. So moving to a W2 mi, I wasn't just hiring contractors who were loosely connected to the practice. I was building a true team with shared values, deeper commitment, and a stronger alignment to our mission. I was also able to get serious in how I integrate my faith into my practice.
And my interviewing and hiring policies are dialed in to my practice's, mission statement, and core values. This has been a game changer for my practice. The transition also helped to prune some of the folks who were no longer aligned with the practice's values, and it created space to rebuild the culture.
So yes, moving from 10 99 to W2 required more responsibility on my part, but it also created stability, consistency, and a healthier culture where people felt like they belonged, not just worked. That shift has been the hardest by far, that I've made in private, in practice ownership, but it has been the most rewarding.
There's, there's sort of like this before W2 and after W2 that I kind of see in my mind that sort of splits my practice ownership journey the first nine years and now the post nine years, and I have to say the post nine years, even though I'm only a year into that, it has been. I find I find more joy in coming to, to the practice and, and doing the Lord's work every day.
Just the, the entire culture of my practice has shifted and it has been such a breath of fresh air, and I feel like the practice is in alignment with God's goals and what he wants me to be doing for him again. And it feels so good, guys. All right, number five, finally. Maybe this is the most important piece, the most, the most beneficial thing I've done is I prioritized my own spiritual growth.
So early on in practice ownership, I was very focused on building the practice and serving clients, growing, growing, growing. Gotta get it done, grind it out, and oftentimes I put my personal walk with God on the back burner. But over time I learned that my spiritual health is directly tied to the health of my practice.
I had to make space for prayer, scripture, worship, and accountability, not just as things I tell clients and team members to do, but as rhythms in my own life. When I'm spiritually grounded, I lead better. I listen better. I carry less stress and more peace. I have been implementing a daily quiet time with God for years now, and that time alone with him is crucial for my mental clarity, my decision making, and my ability to show up for my team As a practice owner, your spiritual growth isn't optional.
It's essential because the culture of your practice will flow outta the condition of your heart, and I found that when I put God first, he gives me wisdom, clarity, and endurance for every other part of running this practice. So there you have it. The five most beneficial things I've done in my practice over the past 10 years, hiring my first therapist and becoming a group practice, hiring a consultant, honing in on an intentional insurance strategy, transitioning from 10 99 to W2, the new systems and culture, and finally prioritizing my own spiritual growth.
Looking back, I can honestly say each one of these choices has not only helped my practice, but has also kept me grounded in my calling. If you're a faith-based counselor or practice owner, I'd encourage you to reflect what would make the biggest impact for your clients, your team, and your own heart and growth.
Do you feel God leading you in a different direction for your practice? What have been the most beneficial things that you have implemented in your practice thus far? Solo or group? And what can you continue to do to make those beneficial shifts in your practice? Thanks for spending time with me today.
I hope that you found it helpful. I'd love it if you'd share this with another practice owner walking a similar journey. And if you're interested in consulting for your private practice, send me an email. My email is amy@wisepracticeconsulting.com. Uh, hope you guys have a great week, and I'll see you next time.
[00:14:07] Jingle: So click on follow and leave a review and keep on loving this work we do with Whitney Owen and Wise Practice Podcast, Whitney Owen and Wise Practice
[00:14:21] Whitney Owens: Podcast. Special thanks to Marty Altman for the music in this podcast. The Wise Practice Podcast is part of the Site Craft Podcast Network. A collaboration of independent podcasters focused on helping people live more meaningful and productive lives.
To learn more about the other amazing podcasts in the network, head on over to site craft network.com. The Wise Practice podcast represents the opinions of Whitney Owens and her guests. This podcast is for educational purposes only, and the content should not be taken as legal advice. If you have legal questions, please consult an attorney.
