Group Practice Circle

A 5-month closed group for clinicians ready to make the leap into owning a group practice.

You will gain all the tools, information, and resources you need to launch a group practice immediately. You will learn the difference between private practice and group practice and why a leadership mindset is crucial to the success of your group practice. 

You’ll walk away knowing…

  • How to hire and onboard a team of clinicians.

  • How to build the operations that is the foundation of your business.

  • How to market your group practice and build a strong team culture.

What is the Group Practice Circle?

A small, business consultation group of no more than 10 clinicians guided by Vanessa Newton who will provide you with a collaborative space to learn how to transition into and/or grow your group practice while nourishing the person and the entrepreneur in you. The group will meet virtually every two weeks and is intended to be a supportive space for you to begin the work on your own while also allowing you to ask the tough questions, support the successes and struggles around being a leader and group practice owner and encourage each other to thrive!

This is perfect for you if…

  • You are a passionate clinician and perhaps you’re starting to tire of feeling like you have to go at it alone. 

  • You seek the guidance and support of someone who has successfully been through it.

  • You understand that things take time and there is a process for everything but if you are committed to doing the work, anything is possible. 

  • You also long for a community of like-minded clinicians who are ready to start the group practice journey alongside you!

Group Practice Circle includes:

  • 90-minute group sessions every other Friday, 9-10:30am CST

    (10 sessions total)

  • A copy of my From Solo to Group: How to Build a Group Practice workbook and a Brave & Well journal

  • Access to a private Slack community of Group Practice Circle members for the duration of our time together

    (5 months total)

  • Special discounts on Brave & Well products

  • Exclusive access to our online Group Practice Circle portal. It’s packed with templates, scripts, and resources to help you set up your business right away!

  • Exclusive access to schedule 1-on-1 business consultations with Vanessa after GPC concludes to keep the momentum and support going

The Curriculum

01

Identify Your “Why”

Building a group practice is hard—and it is so, so worth it. There will be tough moments and setbacks, and especially in those moments, it’s helpful to have a core purpose that helps to guide the way. If we are to decolonize the mental health industry, it starts here. We’ll dig into what drives you and how to use that as fuel for every other decision you make.

02

Define Your Values + Craft a Mission & Vision Statement

With your “Why” firmly rooted in your heart and mind, we’ll use that as inspiration to define the core values for your business. From there, we’ll create a mission and vision statement. These statements are powerful messages to the world about what you stand for. If your mission is the heart and soul of your business, your vision is the future you dream of.

03

Create Your Group Practice Infrastructure

Everyone chooses to set up their group practice differently. There are many ways to do it. Getting clear on the type of practice you want to lead will help inform what you build. The systems you choose at first might change over time, but you’ve got to start somewhere! In this lesson, we’ll get into the nitty gritty of systems and software that are foundational to your group practice.

04

Before You Hire: Logistics & Legal Stuff

What’s the difference between PLLC, LLC, and S-Corp, and what is the best structure for you? We’ll touch on the high-level differences between each so that you feel better equipped to ask the right questions when you meet with an attorney. We’ll also go over all the paperwork you need before your first hire, and you’ll even get templates to customize and take to your attorney!

05

Build a Budget for your Vision

Now that you know the vision and overall structure for your business, let’s build a budget that can turn that dream into a reality! We’ll go over setting up your tax structure, support you in fleshing out both a group practice budget and a personal budget, determine your monthly cost per clinician, and define your compensation structure.

06

Find the Right Fit: Hiring and Onboarding

Ensuring that you are hiring someone that is in alignment with your mission, vision, and values is a crucial step. After this lesson, you’ll understand what positions you’d like to ideally hire for, who your ideal clinician is to round out your team, what application process will help you find those ideal team members, and how to effectively recruit, interview, and onboard.

07

Step Into Your Role as the Leader + Visionary

When you move from solo practice to group practice ownership, there is a shift within the role you are playing in your business—you become the leader of a team. Part of building a sustainable business is by learning to delegate and focus on systems and structures that allow the business to run with or without you. We’ll chat mindset shifts and practical systems to help you do so.

08

Tell the World + Build Your Network

Once you’re clear on your vision, your ideal team, and your role as leader, you’re ready to shift into marketing and sharing with the world. In this lesson, we’ll define your brand identity and positioning within the larger therapy community so that it’s clear to others who you are and how exactly you are unique. We’ll define your differentiating factors and prepare your launch plan!

09

Create a Sustainable Work Environment

An important aspect of building a group practice is developing a strong team culture and benefits package. Not only that, but how are you intentionally bringing equity into the communications plan and leadership team decision-making process? We’ll chat about creating an equity framework to further support decolonizing the mental health industry.

10

Support for YOU!

Setting boundaries is always important work, and it is especially so in this growth moment for you and your business. In this lesson, I’ll share some of my hard-won lessons in feeling like I had to do it all myself and not delegating soon enough. We’ll also make space for you to create a sustainable schedule and develop your radical self-care plan.

  • “Starting my group felt very lonely. I had a business coach but they weren't that helpful with the emotional side and anxieties that were coming up for me. After a discussion with Vanessa, I gave the group a try and found like-minded people in similar situations who were all willing to lift others as we climbed rather than compete and cut down.”

    — Ashley "Elle" Staats, PhD, LMFT-S, CST-S, Owner & Therapist at Bellwether Counseling Collective

  • “The best part about working with Vanessa is that she's an absolute bad ass. She's warm, funny, relatable and extremely knowledgeable. She strikes a terrific balance between being humble and sharing her challenges running a large, successful group practice with being confident, trust-worthy and a reputable expert in what we need to do next. She is both student and teacher and that creates a very safe space for us.”

    — Jessica Warner, MA, LPC-S, Owner & Therapist at Dove + Wolf

  • “...as a brown bodied fem presenting identity I was never expected to be a business owner and therefore was not taught the basics. I know how to do therapy and how to assist people in their healing journey, but in order to create access for others I must also be able to create access for myself and that takes community.”

    — Alyssa Cedillo, LPC-S, RPT-S, IP-CST, Clinical Director and Owner of Tree of Life Counseling Center

  • “I feel supported and genuinely cared for in our group as we discuss our success and challenges. I'm really happy I joined and it will be one of the reasons I will be successful in my own group.”

    — Rochell Denise Clay, MA, LPC, RYT, Owner & Therapist

You will receive…

  • 90-minute group sessions every other Friday, 10am-11:30pm CST (10 sessions total). The Fall cohort begins August 2024!

  • A copy of my From Solo to Group: How to Build a Group Practice workbook and a Brave & Well journal

  • Access to a private Slack community of Group Practice Circle members for the duration of our time together (5 months total)

  • Special discounts on Brave & Well products

  • Exclusive access to our online Group Practice Circle portal. It’s packed with templates, scripts, and resources to help you set up your business right away! 

  • Exclusive access to schedule 1-on-1 business consultations with Vanessa after GPC concludes to keep the momentum and support going

A Quick Recap:

The Investment


$100 per group session + a one-time registration fee of $100 for the Group Practice Workbook and Brave & Well journal 

Total — $1,100

*You will be charged for each group session as it occurs regardless of whether you attend or not. 

**Calls will not be recorded to protect the confidentiality of all participants.

The next cohort for Group Practice Circle begins August, 2024. Would you like to join us?

Frequently asked questions

  • In addition to the 10 group sessions, you also receive access to a private Slack community of Group Practice Circle members for the entire duration of our time together. Before we start, I’ll email you a digital copy of my From Solo to Group: How to Build a Group Practice workbook and a Brave & Well journal. You'll also get access to the exclusive Group Practice Circle member portal where you'll see scripts, templates and resources specialized for group practice ownership. You’ll also receive special discounts on Brave & Well products.

  • To reserve your spot, you’ll be charged a $100 deposit upfront. From there on out, you’ll be charged the per session fee of $100 after each meeting, regardless of whether you attend or not.

  • All sessions are virtual via Zoom. In order to protect the confidentiality of the group members, there will be no recordings. However, there will always be a follow-up email with resources and notes after each session.

  • Yes! It’s a 5-month commitment, and we follow a defined curriculum shared above. I have found this to be the best approach to support clients to really allow them to work through the materials at a reasonable pace and prepare them to launch into group practice.

  • No, I would advise against it. During each session, I’ll be able to give more context about each lesson, so it’s best to do the homework in the workbook after we meet.

  • No, this workbook is just for you and is an integral part of the work we’ll do together in the Group Practice Circle. If you think it could be a good resource for a colleague, please encourage them to join the waitlist to join the next Group Practice Circle cohort!

  • I have intentionally decided not to record our calls so that we can truly protect the container we create and everyone feels as though they can share freely. If you are unable to make a call, you will still receive the follow-up email with any resources and notes from that session, and you can also connect with me and the other group members in our Slack channel. There is no other way to make up that group unless you schedule an individual business consultation with me.

  • If you are in the contemplation stage, if you've already started your group practice and are needing help refining your business model, or maybe if you just need support on what to focus on next whether it be marketing, networking, billing, etc. The beginning stages of group practice can look different for everyone, but I would say that all of these stages would make you a great fit for Group Practice Circle.

The next cohort for Group Practice Circle begins September 2024.

There are 8 spots available. Is one yours?