For therapists building a thriving solo practice

How to start a private practice, step by step

You don't have to figure it out alone. See every step to open your practice, in order, for your state and license. Then Well Launched writes and builds the hard parts with you.

I'm opening a practice →My practice is already open →

Free to start. No card.

The Well Launched app on a laptop and phone: the workroom with a sample practice and every part of the plan in order on the laptop, and the practice name check on the phone

"It's the on-ramp to starting your own private practice."

Travis, LPC

How to start a private practice in your state

Pick your state and license to see every step, in order, with your board's rules and the official links. Free, no sign-up, no card.

Your state Your license

See my free checklistNo sign-up to start

From our beta testers

"I REALLY liked that even the smallest detail, like creating a folder, is part of your checklist. It's something I would have never thought of."

Fernanda, LPC Associate · beta tester

How it works

Three steps from "where do I start?" to open

Tell us about your practice

Your state, license, and the clients you want to help. In about 10 minutes, your plan builds itself around you.

Follow your plan

One step at a time, in the right order, with every form linked. With Launch, we write and build your paperwork, profiles, and website with you, and you approve everything.

Open, and get found

Your practice is set up correctly, and set up to be found on Google, Psychology Today, and in AI search.

"It is indeed clear what I'm supposed to do next."

Ari, LICSW, beta tester

Plans

Which plan fits you?

One payment, no retainer. Start free, and upgrade anytime: you only pay the difference.

"It removes some barriers to people jumping into a private practice versus staying in a group forever."

Travis, LPC

Opening, and doing it yourself

Blueprint

Every step in the right order, with AI prompts that help you write it all, at your own pace.

What's included

Every step for your state and license, in order, with your board's rules
Every form linked to the official site, with your details saved once, ready to copy
AI prompts that write in your voice, in Claude or ChatGPT
Website pages ready to paste into your own website builder
Fee and cost calculators and every deadline on one calendar
Upgrade to Launch anytime and pay only the difference

$49 founding price one-time$149 one-time ~~$149~~

You build and host your website yourself. You pay for your own website builder, about $200–$450 a year, and your domain, about $15–$25 a year.

See Blueprint →

Opening a practice

Launch

Open in the right order, with your website done for you, not left on your to-do list.

What's included

Every step for your state and license, in order, with your board's rules
Your website designed, built and hosted, with every page written with you
Your brand: logo, colors, fonts and the way you sound
Psychology Today and Google profiles written with you
Intake paperwork and policies drafted for your state
You approve everything before it's used

$149 founding price one-time$299 one-time ~~$299~~

We host your website. No monthly hosting fee. You only pay for your domain, about $15–$25 a year.

See Launch →

Practice already open

Refresh

Fix what's keeping the right clients from finding you, without starting over.

What's included

A review of what you have: your website, Google profile, directories and what AI tools say about you
What works stays. The rest is rewritten in your voice
Your website rebuilt and hosted, with old page addresses forwarded
Google, Psychology Today and directory profiles rewritten
A practice tune-up: fees, insurance panels, paperwork and privacy
You approve every change before it goes live

$149 founding price one-time$249 one-time ~~$249~~

We host your website. No monthly hosting fee. You only pay for your domain, about $15–$25 a year.

See Refresh →

Not sure what needs fixing? Try the free AI visibility check.

Not ready to choose? Start with the free checklist. No card needed. · Compare every plan

Dr. Emily Turinas

I'm Emily, a licensed psychologist, and I've been in your shoes. Seven years of training made me a good therapist. None of it taught me how clients would find me. I learned the business side during maternity leave, a little at a time, with a newborn on my lap and no interest in becoming an influencer to find clients. What finally worked was showing up in search, learning to speak directly to the clients I wanted, and letting AI carry the busywork. Today most of my clients find me through Google and ChatGPT, my caseload is full, and I spend less time on admin than I ever thought possible.

See your free checklist →Read my full story

Dr. Emily Turinas, PhD, licensed psychologist and founder of Well Launched

What's covered

Everything to open your practice and get found

Fitted to your license and state. Start free, and add the rest when you're ready.

Free

Build your practice

Your board's rules · entity, EIN, and NPI · malpractice insurance · HIPAA-ready email, phone, and EHR · every renewal and tax deadline on one calendar

Free starters · drafted with Launch

Paperwork and policies

Informed consent · privacy notice · telehealth and AI-notes consent · Good Faith Estimate · cancellation policy · professional will

Free

Your fee and payment model

Fee calculator · private pay, insurance, or a platform · sliding-scale spots · superbills

Blueprint and Launch

Who you help and your brand

Your focus and your clients' own words · your voice · logo, colors, and fonts with Launch

Blueprint and Launch

Get found

Website pages, designed, built, and hosted with Launch · Google Business Profile · Psychology Today and directories · AI search · local referral partners

Refresh

Already open? Start from what you have

A review of your website, Google, directories, and AI answers · keep what works · pages and profiles rewritten in your voice · your website rebuilt and hosted

"My practice was in desperate need of an update after a few years in practice. I wavered for months on hiring someone to help me relaunch my website, but using Well Launched jumpstarted the process in only a few weeks."

Ari, LICSW, beta tester

You were trained to be a therapist. Not to run a business.

Grad school taught you to be a good therapist. It didn't teach you which entity to form, what your board requires in your ads and paperwork, what to charge, or how clients will find you. Going it alone usually costs three things: months of googling, rules you didn't know about, and a practice the right clients can't find.

A softly lit doorway into a calm therapy office

How to start a private practice, in order

The same order Well Launched walks you through, from your board's rules to your first client. Each step shows roughly how long it takes and what it costs. For your state's exact rules, see private practice rules by state.

"I'm quite impressed with how thorough the information is, and how the legal requirements are specific to the state I'm licensed in."

Ari, LICSW, beta tester

Check your license and your board's rules

Before you spend money, confirm you can practice independently under your license. Then read what your board says about how you advertise and keep records.

1 to 2 weeksFree

See your state's board rules →

What's involved

Advertising: the title you must use and the claims you can't make
Records: how long you keep them, and in what form
Telehealth: which states you can see clients in (PSYPACT and the Counseling Compact can help)
Business names: some boards restrict them

Decide who you help and how clients pay

"Adults with anxiety" is a start. "Adults with anxiety and burnout in high-pressure careers" is something a person can recognize themselves in, and something Google and AI tools can match you to.

1 to 2 weeksFree

Insurance platforms compared →

What's involved

Your focus: the people you help, in their words
Private pay, insurance, or a mix: this decides your fee, your paperwork, and how fast you're paid
Taking insurance? Credentialing often takes 3 to 6 months, so apply early

Name it, then set up the business

Do these in order so you don't redo them. Many therapists form a PLLC or professional corporation, and some states require a professional entity for licensed work.

1 to 3 weeks$0 to $500

Do therapists need a PLLC or LLC? →

What's involved

Check the name with your state, as a domain, and on Google Maps
Form your business: state filing fees usually run $50 to $500 ($300 in Texas)
Get your EIN from the IRS: free, about 10 minutes
Open a business bank account from day one
Get your NPI: free, and many forms ask for it

Protect yourself

Malpractice insurance comes before your first client; insurance panels and platforms require it. Compare quotes with the same limits and deductible.

A few days$400 to $900 a year

Malpractice insurance for therapists →

What's involved

Malpractice (professional liability): about $730 a year on average for counselors and $871 for psychologists (Insureon)
General liability if you see clients in an office
A professional will naming who contacts your clients if you suddenly can't

Set up HIPAA-ready systems and paperwork

Choose tools once. Your EHR, email, and phone each need a signed business associate agreement (BAA), and switching later is painful.

2 to 4 weeksAbout $50 to $165 a month

Good Faith Estimates, explained →

What's involved

An EHR for notes, scheduling, and payments: about $30 to $100 a month
HIPAA-ready email and phone, not personal Gmail or texts
Intake paperwork: informed consent, privacy notice, cancellation policy, telehealth consent
A Good Faith Estimate for clients paying out of pocket
Bookkeeping, and money set aside for quarterly taxes

Set your fee

Work backward from what you need to earn, not from what the therapist down the street charges. Count your real costs, taxes, time off, and the sessions you'll actually hold.

About an hourFree calculator

Try the therapy fee calculator →

What's involved

The formula: (take-home + costs + taxes) ÷ sessions you'll really hold
Break-even check: at $3,000 a month in costs and a $150 fee, 20 sessions a month just cover expenses
Review it yearly, and raise it for new clients first

Get found, and start early

This is where most therapists lose the most time. Search engines and AI tools need weeks to months to notice a new practice, so build visibility while the paperwork is still in progress.

2 to 4 weeks to set up1 to 3 months to show up

Local SEO for therapists →

What's involved

A simple website that says who you help, where, your fee, and how to book
A Google Business Profile if you see clients in person
Psychology Today (about $30 a month) and one or two other directories
The same facts everywhere, so AI tools trust them
Bing Places, because ChatGPT's search draws on Bing

Open, then keep it running

Start with a manageable caseload, review your numbers monthly, and build a weekly rhythm for notes, billing, and marketing.

Ongoing

Get the free checklist →

What's involved

Ask every new client how they found you, and write it down
One calendar for license renewal, CE, entity reports, and taxes
An S-corp election later, once profit is steady (ask a CPA)

Time and money

What it really takes to open

Typical numbers for a solo, telehealth-only practice. They're ranges from published pricing, so get your own quotes.

$1,000–$6,500first-year cost for a telehealth practice; most land near $2,500 to $3,500

2–3 monthsfor many private-pay therapists to open, working part time

4–6 monthsif you take insurance, because credentialing is slow

1–3 monthsfor Google and AI tools to start showing a new practice

The timeline

Weeks 1–2Board rules, your focus, payment model

Weeks 2–4Entity, EIN, bank, NPI, malpractice

Weeks 3–6EHR, email, phone, paperwork, website

Months 2–3Open; Google and AI start showing you

Months 3–6Insurance approvals, if you take it

The costs

The required pieces are malpractice insurance, an EHR, and HIPAA-ready email and phone. Your EIN and NPI are free, and an office is optional. Most of the cost is monthly, not up front.

Want your own total? Try the startup cost calculator. For the details, read how much it costs to start a private practice, what malpractice insurance costs, how much to charge for therapy, and how much therapists make.

Item	Typical cost
EIN and NPI	Free
Business entity filing	$0–$500 once
Malpractice insurance	$400–$900 a year
EHR	$30–$100 a month
HIPAA-ready email	$7–$15 a month
Website you build	$200–$450 a year
Psychology Today	About $30 a month
Office rent (optional)	$500–$3,000 a month

Free resources

Free tools to start with

No sign-up needed. They run in your browser, and nothing you type is saved.

Therapy fee calculator

Your per-session fee from real costs and working weeks.

Open →

Startup cost calculator

Your first-year total, and what your website really costs.

Open →

Rules by state

Board rules, ads, CE, entity filings, and AI-note laws.

Open →

Psychology Today counter

Check every profile box against its limit.

Open →

See all free tools

AI for private practice, used ethically

Built by a licensed psychologist, with your clinical judgment in charge. Marketing and admin AI never sees client information. Clinical AI, like note-taking, is used only inside HIPAA-compliant tools that sign a BAA, with your client's informed consent, and you review every note.

Well Launched at a glance

What it is: a step-by-step program that helps licensed therapists open and grow a solo private practice: business setup, paperwork, fees, HIPAA, your website, and getting found on Google and in AI search.

Who it's for: licensed mental health professionals in the U.S. and Canada, including LPCs, LMFTs, LCSWs, psychologists, registered psychotherapists, counselling therapists, and social workers.

Built by: Dr. Emily Turinas, PhD, a licensed psychologist in private practice in Austin. In the past four months, all but two of her inquiries found her through Google or ChatGPT.

Your state, your license: your board, filing office, and requirements are filled in for where you practice.

Plans: one-time payments, no retainer. Blueprint $149, Launch $299, Refresh $249 (for practices already open). Grow, for ongoing visibility, is $29/month. Founding members (first 50, until November 20): Blueprint $49, Launch $149, and Refresh $149.

Refunds: 7 days, no questions asked.

How to start a private practice: common questions

How long does it take to start a private practice?

Many private-pay therapists open in 2–3 months, working part time. Taking insurance usually adds time, because credentialing often takes 3 to 6 months.

How much does it cost to start a private practice as a therapist?

A solo, telehealth-only practice usually costs about $1,000 to $6,500 in the first year, with most landing near $2,500 to $3,500. An office adds about $500 to $3,000 a month in rent.

Do I need an office to start?

No. Many therapists start telehealth-only and add an office later. Check your state's telehealth rules and which states your license covers.

Do I need to take insurance?

No. Private pay is simpler and faster to start. Insurance can fill a caseload faster in some areas, but it means credentialing, lower rates, and more billing work. Many therapists start private pay and offer superbills.

Will referrals be enough to fill my practice?

For most therapists, no. Referrals help, but most people research a therapist themselves on Google or by asking AI before they reach out. Plan to be easy to find from the start.

How do I start a private therapy practice with no business experience?

Follow the steps in order: check your board's rules, set up your business (name, an entity if it fits, EIN, NPI, and a bank account), choose HIPAA-ready tools, set your fee and payment model, get malpractice insurance, prepare your paperwork, then build your website and get found. You don't need business experience, just the right order.

Business education, not legal, tax, or clinical advice. Your state board's rules come first.

Sources

Your step-by-step plan for a calm practice launch.

Get the free private practice checklist, your first step into the Well Launched Workroom. Free, no sign-up to start. We never ask for client information.

Get the free checklist