If you have ever asked yourself “Should I Have A Waitlist in Private Practice?”, be sure to watch this video that goes over my opinion as a private practice owner.

Nice to meet you, I am Alexandria Theordor, MSW. As a marketing coach and mentor for mental health professionals, I specialize in helping therapists grow their practices through authentic and ethical marketing strategies. By focusing on blogging, SEO, and email marketing, I guide therapists to attract clients who genuinely resonate with their expertise, fostering meaningful connections and long-term success. My mission is to support you in building a practice that not only thrives but also remains sustainable and fulfilling—without the stress and burnout that often come with the journey. Learn more about me and my services here.

Transcript: Should I Have A Waitlist in Private Practice?

Note: This video is transcribed using AI therefore some errors have occurred in the transcription of this video.

Hey, I wanted to talk a little bit about the idea of having a waitlist for your private practice. There are pros and cons to it. Some people do it, but I personally don’t and I’ll go through kind of my reasons why. Before I go into depth, I’m going to start with a little disclaimer that again I don’t use a waitlist in my practice, so the information I have is slightly biased. If you are seriously considering using a waitlist, I would find and talk to people who are doing it to see what works and what doesn’t for them so you can make an informed decision. The idea of a waitlist is you are full or pretty much close to full, which is great. But people keep calling, so what do you do with them? Because at some point, the current clients that you have are going to discharge or might take a leave of absence.

Any good business owner would want to fill that spot so they’re not losing revenue. It naturally makes sense to have a waitlist, but the difficulty with it in regards to private practice is that if people are seeking therapy and depending on your clientele, they’re probably in some type of crisis. Now hopefully they’re not in a safety issue, and if that’s the case, a waitlist is not an option. You get them directly to the emergency services that they need.

But even if somebody is not suicidal/homicidal but is in an emotional state of peril, having them on a waitlist, you have to really weigh out the ethics of it. Is it fair? If it’s a matter of a week or two, then okay, that seems a bit more reasonable, especially if the client knows up front that they won’t be able to see you for a first session until a particular date. There’s an expectation, and then if that’s the case, making sure that they have 1) appropriate referrals if they’re willing to wait, and 2) resources for if they change their mind and need somebody immediately, or if the situation escalates, how can they either reach out to you or some type of crisis number to get kind of bumped up for immediate service? You don’t want somebody sitting there in pain with this hope that they’re going to be seen but yet there’s no formally signed contract, they’re not actually your patient, but there’s like this verbal handshake kind of thing going on.

That’s the big reason why I don’t do a waitlist. I refer people out. What I’ve found with that is people are thankful for me connecting them with somebody who is a good match and it can help them immediately. So even if they don’t work with me at that point, they might come back at a later point if, for whatever reason, they need additional services, or the first person wasn’t a perfect match, or they would refer me to a colleague or a family member that needs help down the road, and at that point, I might be taking clients.

Some things to consider when you’re doing that – I again don’t from an ethical kind of standpoint, but I do know many people that do – if you are going to have a waitlist, have very clear expectations with the client or potential client how long that waitlist is. You want to make sure that they have proper resources if in the meantime they are in need of help, that they can get the help that they need, whether it is with a different counselor or emergency crisis services. You need some way to be in maybe not frequent contact with them, but at least connecting with them so you can check in with them. Hey, X spots are available or anticipating that it’s going to be a couple more weeks.

Check in with their kind of mental size. Is that still an appropriate likely time for them to wait, or do they need services now? And then also finding a way to prioritize on the waitlist who you’re seeing right. It’s not entirely fair if someone’s been waiting for three weeks, but then a crisis comes in. Like obviously you have to manage the crisis, but then what about that person that’s been waiting for three weeks that keeps getting pushed back and pushed back? So again, things to consider.

There are benefits to it because then you’re constantly full in a sense, but you do want to make sure that you’re treating people ethically and kindly because we’re in a specific profession where safety is a priority, not just physical but that emotional piece. So again, reach out to people who are actively doing it if it’s something you want to consider. Long and short, I don’t do it. I just send out quality referrals, and Good Karma tends to gift me back when I need it most. Hopefully, it gives you a little insight into what might work for you.

Should I Have A Waitlist in Private Practice? Show Links

As a marketing coach and mentor for mental health professionals, I specialize in helping therapists grow their practices through authentic and ethical marketing strategies. By focusing on blogging, SEO, and email marketing, I guide therapists to attract clients who genuinely resonate with their expertise, fostering meaningful connections and long-term success. My mission is to support you in building a practice that not only thrives but also remains sustainable and fulfilling—without the stress and burnout that often come with the journey.

Below is a sample of what I have to offer, if you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me via email at hello@stresslesstherapist.com.

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