The Owner’s Truths
The Part No One Tells You About Owning a Group Practice
The Parts of Group Practice Ownership No One Talks About
By Laura Kietell, MSW, LCSW – Psychotherapist & Owner of Thrive Counseling Services
“As the owner of Thrive Counseling Services, the most difficult part of my job is not clinical work. It’s not paperwork. It’s not insurance panels.
It’s people.
More specifically, it’s caring deeply about the people who work here and wanting to give them more than I financially can.
I wish I had unlimited funds to pay my employees. I truly do. If I could hand out salaries that matched the value, heart, and emotional labor therapists give every single day, I would do it without hesitation. But private practice is not a gold mine in that way. The margins are real. The math is real. The limits are real.
And reconciling that reality with how much I value my team is, without question, the hardest part of owning this business.”
What Thrive is a gold mine in, however, is something that doesn’t show up on a paycheck:
- Supervision that is invested, personal, and growth-oriented
- Autonomy in how clinicians practice
- A relaxed, respectful, non-toxic work environment
- Flexibility that honors life outside of work
- A place where gossip is not tolerated and kindness is expected
- A space where people are treated like professionals and humans, not production units
I cannot always compete with large agencies or hospital systems on pay. But I can compete on culture. I can compete on mentorship. I can compete on peace.
And I pour myself into making Thrive a place where people feel safe to work, to learn, to grow, and to be themselves.
That matters.
Because therapists are human beings first. They are not billing machines. They are not productivity numbers. They are people who sit in small rooms all day holding the hardest parts of other people’s lives.
They deserve to be cared for too.
So while I may not have unlimited funds, I offer something I believe is equally rare in this field: a workplace where you are respected, supported, and trusted.
That is the heart of this practice.
And protecting that heart is the most important job I have.
