Community and peer support for solo providers

As a therapist, you know all about the importance of support, including when it comes to navigating an emotionally challenging career. But let’s be honest: Too many therapists take their own need for support for granted, and don’t seek out community and peer support as often as they should.

Peer support for therapists is crucial for protecting yourself against burnout and compassion fatigue. It’s also key to building a successful and thriving practice. Gathering a community and peer support system is essential when you’re a therapist just starting out, but it can also be an important asset at any point in your therapist journey.

This guide will cover everything solo mental health therapists need to know about community and peer support, including why they matter, how to find solid peer support services, how to build your own peer support group, and much more.

How can community and peer support help solo mental health providers?

Being a therapist is one of the most enriching and validating careers out there, but it’s also one that can be emotionally intense. Adding to that are all the intricacies of starting and maintaining a lucrative practice, dealing with the business and promotional side of practice, and maintaining a healthy work/life balance.

On top of all this, being a solo provider can be isolating. After all, your whole business is, well, just you. This is one of the primary reasons why community and peer support for solo therapists is necessary, says Grow-affiliated provider Heather Rafanello, a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW). “Community is everything for solo practitioners, especially if you practice virtually,” she says.

Peer connections aren’t just vital for gaining fresh insights and answering tough clinical questions. These connections are important for nourishing your soul, says Rafanello — and yes, therapists definitely need that too. “Being able to decompress with folks in the field who understand the nuances of this work is essential to ensure that we can sustain the weight of this work,” she says. 

What professional and personal challenges do solo providers face?

Each therapist is unique, but there are some challenges that most solo therapists face. Probably the most common one is burnout. In fact, if you look across multiple studies, you’ll see that 21-67% of mental health providers experience high levels of burnout. One recent study, for example, found that 62% of surveyed behavioral health employees experienced moderate or severe burnout.

Burnout usually happens when other challenges aren’t addressed, since unaddressed problems tend to build and build until they reach a breaking point. Some of the other common challenges faced by solo therapy providers include:

• The stress of working with people who may be experiencing intense emotions or mental health emergencies
• Vicarious trauma
• Compassion fatigue
• Managing the nonreciprocal nature of the therapy relationship
• The demands of professional and ethical responsibilities
• Clinical isolation
• Not being able to share all the details of work stress with family and friends
• Issues with boundaries and work/life balance
• Stress related to business and administrative tasks 

What are the benefits of community and peer support?

Sharing your struggles with peers or your therapy community can be extremely beneficial. First and foremost, these are people who do what you do day in and day out. They get it, and they get you. Being part of a peer community is like having co-workers, even as a solo business owner.

But it’s more than that, too. Peer and community support has the potential to:

• Improve your clinical decision-making and offer perspectives on tough clinical cases
• Offer emotional resilience, an understanding listening ear, and solidarity
• Provide opportunities for professional and personal growth, learning, and skill development
• Help with business growth by sharing in accountability, motivation, best business practices, and practice sustainability
• Prevent burnout by offering emotional support, reducing isolation, and providing a safe space to “vent”

Maybe the best part? Research has found that peer support groups may help increase clinician effectiveness and promote client well-being.

What’s more, research found that when therapists start peer consultation groups, they experience perceived increases in clinical efficiency, personal wellness, and connectedness to the larger therapy community. These benefits were found to be most robust among therapists who lived in rural, isolated areas. 

What types of peer support are available for solo providers?

There are several different kinds of peer support out there for solo providers. Some are more formal; some are put together by small groups of therapists; and some are found in online forums.

Peer support and community options include:

• Formal clinical supervision groups, usually led by senior clinicians
• Peer consultation groups, usually formed with members who share similar case loads or practice similar types of therapy
• Professional associations, including the American Psychological Association (APA), National Association of Social Workers (NASW), and state/specialty-specific therapy associations that host member communities
• Paid communities run by coaching organization or peer support specialists that provide peer support services and tips for starting and maintaining a clinical practice
• Online communities through various venues, including social media platforms and listservs

How can Grow help?

Grow is your partner in professional growth, and when you become a Grow therapist, you gain access to a built-in community support system. Our provider community allows therapists to connect with other likeminded therapists for advice, support, resources, and insights. We also offer a full-event schedule, which includes self-care sessions and continuing education unit (CEU) opportunities.

As soon as you’re onboarded, you have access to this forum for free. You’ll find the provider community in your Grow Therapy portal. Once inside, feel free to introduce yourself, share any questions or concerns on your mind, and start connecting with therapists in Grow’s supportive community.

Designing and joining effective peer consultation groups

One fantastic way to cultivate support in the field is to form a peer consultation group with other therapists. Starting a group from the ground up may sound overwhelming at first, but it’s actually simple.

Based on the article linked above, here are some tips for setting up a successful group:

• Keep the group to a manageable size, usually about 4-6 members
• Don’t elect a formal leader; instead keep things democratic and non-hierarchical
• Hold regularly scheduled meetings, with a blend of informal and formal, process-oriented elements
• Make sure all members are on the same page about ethics, privacy, and confidentiality standards for discussing client cases

Research has found that the most successful peer consultation groups:

• Are supportive, but don’t shy away from sharing constructive feedback
• At the same time, don’t rely too heavily on “advice”
• Aren’t afraid to discuss the dynamics of the group when needed 

Are there any ethical or legal considerations in peer support?

Peer support can allow you to discuss tough clinical cases and much-needed support as you navigate them. But paying close attention to ethical and legal considerations is of utmost importance.

Here’s what to keep in mind:

• Share only de-identified information about your clients
• Always discuss your cases in general terms, with a focus on clinical questions rather than personal client details
• If you are using online platforms, use ones that are HIPAA-compliant
• If you are meeting in person, make sure you are meeting in a private setting, so that your discussion can’t be overheard
• Keep licensing board expectations and professional standards in mind when discussing your therapy practice with others 

How do I cultivate emotional and relational support?

As a therapist, you are used to working in a one-way framework of caring, where the therapist cares for their patients and doesn’t expect anything in return. It’s one of the reasons why providers are so vulnerable to compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, and burnout. By the same token, it’s a reason why it can be so challenging to recognize when you need your own care.

Attending to your own self-care is a primary way to build resilience as a therapist. In fact, self-care should be thought of as non-negotiable for therapists. Self-care isn’t just about hot baths and massages. Real safe care is about finding concrete ways to cultivate emotional and relational support.

Here are some tips:

• Assess your mental health and well-being as it relates to your therapy practice on a regular basis
• Seek therapy for yourself whenever needed
• Maintain informal and professional relationships with peers
• Join a peer support group or online support community
• Learn about the vulnerabilities therapists are prone to, such as vicarious trauma and secondary trauma, and make boundaries and accommodations in your practice to protect yourself
• Challenge any stigmas you may have around getting support as a therapist
• Develop reasonable caseloads and healthy expectations around productivity 

What should I know about practice management and career support?

Clinicians sometimes describe aspects of the business side of mental health care as lessons that aren’t taught in grad school. And while community and peer support includes emotional support and navigating difficult clinical cases, it also involves sharing resources for managing your solo practice and offering career support. 

Peer support groups can be a great resource when it comes to:

• Gathering marketing tips, managing practice finances, and sharing which therapy platforms are most helpful
• Navigating health insurance red tape and reimbursement challenges
• Conferring and receiving mentoring about career transitions and specializations
• Collaborating with peers on business opportunities
• Sharing referral networks

How do I use technology to enhance community support?

Technology can be an excellent way to connect with your therapy peers and find a thriving and sustaining community. Places to find these include online listservs (email lists for groups with a shared interest), social media platforms that have practice groups, virtual conferences, and webinars.

Privacy and ethical standards are vital, so make sure to choose groups that utilize technology that’s optimized for confidentiality and HIPAA compliance.

Clinician communities can also be found in practice forums like Grow Therapy’s provider portal, which is a private and secure platform where you can connect with fellow therapists, get answers to common questions about starting your practice, and form real and lasting connections with fellow providers. 

How do I address barriers to seeking community and support?

Even though research points to the critical role that peer support and consultation can play for therapist well-being, research has also found that peer support is underutilized. One national survey found that only about one-fourth of therapists in solo practice engage in peer consultation, despite the fact that 61% of therapists in the survey voiced interest in doing so.

What’s the reason behind these low rates of participation? Well, for one, therapists are simply busy and inundated with the daily responsibilities of their work. But it goes beyond that, too. There are other barriers experienced by therapists, such as:

• Stigma and shame around seeking support as a therapist
• Accessibility, and costs constraints
• Identity and cultural-based barriers to feeling a sense of belonging in a given community

Addressing these barriers begins with identifying why they exist in the first place. Once you’ve done that, you can begin to address them.

It might be helpful to ask yourself:

• Why haven’t I felt comfortable with the peer support groups out there?
• What practical considerations are stopping me from joining a peer support group?
• What type of platform (video-based, in-person, online forum) would work best with my lifestyle and personality?
• What types of therapists do I want to connect with, and where can I find them?
• What resources are available to me right now, such as professional membership organizations, that would point me in the right direction for support?

What are some practical steps to build a support ecosystem?

Building a support ecosystem involves:

• Identifying your need for support as a therapist (e.g., emotional, clinical, business)
• Creating a personal peer support plan for yourself, based on your needs
• Seeking various opportunities for community engagement and integrating them into your weekly routines
• Adjusting your support structure, as needed, over time

Starting your own peer community

Ready to start building a beneficial and sustainable peer community? Here are some tips to get you started:

• Identify a small handful (say, 3-6) of likeminded solo therapy providers
• Come up with a clear purpose for peer support, whether it’s business strategy, emotional support, clinical consultation (or all of the above)
• Make sure everyone is on the same page about confidentiality, ethics, and boundaries
• Come up with a schedule for meeting that works for everyone
• Use tools like shared calendars and group chats for keeping things organized
• Revisit the group’s goals periodically to make sure things are working
• Adjust the group’s goals and strategies as needed

Final thoughts

Being a solo provider doesn’t mean you have to face the challenges of running a practice on your own. Community and peer support groups can offer opportunities to improve your practice, sharpen your business skills, sustain your well-being, and so much more. Collaborating with providers who understand the work and who can appreciate the subtle nuances behind running a successful practice can help you unlock insights with long-lasting effects on your career.