Katie Chapin, LCSW, MCAP.
1. What's your practice focus and what kind of clients knock on your door ?
My practice focus is both wide ranging and rather specific. I say that it is both because I work a great deal with people with addictions, depression, anxiety, trauma, perinatal mood disorders and serious mental illness. While that sounds wide ranging, I find that many of the people who seek to work with me share the same thing in common; they are living in a world that is full of disconnection and distractions and they are craving connection to themselves and humanity as a whole.
2. Tell us about yourself.
My background is in agency work in child welfare, substance use treatment and trauma treatment programs. While I feel that I have done meaningful work in agencies, I felt constrained by the bottom line of working in a big organizational setting. In my own practice now, I am motivated by the ability to be creative and authentic in my practice. I get to meet people where they are and help them in the way that is right for them, not for the bottom line of an agency.
3. Tell us the story of a patient who you are most proud of helping.
I am proud of all my clients, it takes so much courage to ask for help, but I think of one client in particular who started their sobriety journey at the start of COVID lockdown and it was clear that they had no hope they could change. Little by little, after many stops and starts, they started to see hope. Today, they have maintained sobriety since 2020, have a stable job, their own apartment. They are now planning to enter the field themselves as a therapist.
4. What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a practitioner in private practice?
The hardest thing is not being able to share painful things with a team. It is tough to take in so much pain every day and not be able to share with anyone. In agency work, you get a team that helps to carry the mental load. When you are in private practice, it is just you. People need to really consider that before deciding to start out on their own, especially if you are fresh out of school.
5. What are the top 3 tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a private practice today?\
The top three tips I would give anyone looking to start, run, and grow their private practice is to:
- Make sure you know what you are doing. Do not overestimate your clinical abilities and do not step outside of your scope of practice.
- Don't get greedy and see 11 clients a day. There is no way that you can care for 50 clients on your caseload. You will burn out and your will do something that risks someone's life.
- Charge a normal rate for your time and don't expect to be rich from this. Figure out insurance. It makes therapy accessible even if it is a hassle.