EHR Downtime Plan for a Small Therapy Practice
An EHR downtime plan gives a small therapy practice a one-page routine for the first hour, temporary notes, client contact, recovery, and testing.
Matthew Sexton, LCSWRead article
private practice
Still neon
27 articles, newest publications first. Browse this subject or search the full archive.
4 articles in the wider archive have updated wording and source notes. The other 164 have not been fact-checked as part of this review. Older topics and links are retained to keep existing articles findable.
Close the Month With a Practice Decision Log
A therapy practice monthly review works best when it ends in writing, not conversation. Set aside about an hour, look at four operating areas, and turn what…
Matthew Sexton, LCSWRead article
Build a Coverage Plan Before You Need Time Off
A therapy practice coverage plan is a short written document that says who handles your clients, your messages, and any urgent situations when you're…
Matthew Sexton, LCSWRead article
Know the Cost of a New Service Before You Announce It
Before you post about a new group, workshop, or specialty service, work out the full therapy practice new service cost: one-time setup, recurring monthly…
Matthew Sexton, LCSWRead article
Turn Repeated Admin Questions Into a Practice Playbook
For one week, write down every administrative question that comes up more than once, in the words people actually use. Sort them into a handful of buckets,…
Matthew Sexton, LCSWRead article
Run the Practice in One Weekly Owner Hour
Block one uninterrupted hour every week for therapy practice weekly operations, and use it for nothing else. Spend the first 10 minutes scanning what…
Matthew Sexton, LCSWRead article
Your Practice Needs a Stop-Doing List Before It Needs Another App
Find duplicate work, unclear approvals, and unused reports before buying another app for a therapy-practice workflow that needs simplification.
Matthew Sexton, LCSWRead article
Build the Referral Handoff Before You Add Another Referral Source
Map a reliable therapy-practice referral handoff before adding another directory, ad, or referral partner to an unclear intake process.
Check Capacity Before You Create More Demand
A practical capacity check for therapy-practice owners who want marketing to match their real openings, administrative time, and response path.
Matthew Sexton, LCSWRead article
The Friday Landing Note for a Small Therapy Practice
A five-field Friday planning routine for therapists who want to leave Monday a clear administrative starting point without rebuilding the week.
Matthew Sexton, LCSWRead article
AI Capacity Planning for Therapists: Model a Sustainable Caseload Before You Fill It
A practical, human-reviewed way for therapists to model caseload, cancellations, payer mix, overhead, taxes, and time off with de-identified assumptions.
Matthew Sexton, LCSWRead article
How to Build a Private-Practice Business Plan With AI Without Letting AI Make the Decisions
AI can organize market research and test business scenarios, but a therapist still has to choose the practice model, capacity, risk, and boundaries.
Matthew Sexton, LCSWRead article
Use AI to Build a Therapist Referral Network Without Automating the Relationship
AI can map public referral opportunities and keep follow-up from disappearing. Trust still has to be earned by a clinician.
AI Therapy Laws by State: The Burden Lands on Your License
AI therapy laws by state: 43 states filed health-AI bills in 2026, but only six Counseling Compact states issue privileges. The rules attach to your license.
Matthew Sexton, LCSWRead article
Home, Suite, or Screen? A Therapist's Office Decision by Caseload Stage
Your office decision is a math problem disguised as an identity problem. Hourly sublease vs. monthly suite vs. home vs. fully virtual — the break-even math, the homeowner's-insurance trap nobody warns you about, and the cross-state licensing wall.
Matthew Sexton, LCSWRead article
What to Charge Per Session in NY/NJ/CT (and Why You're Probably Underpricing)
New York's average private-pay session runs about $176 — but after tax and overhead you keep only 55-65 cents on the dollar. The real ranges for NY/NJ/CT, the insurance-vs-private-pay math, and how to set (and raise) a rate without guilt.
Matthew Sexton, LCSWRead article
How to Build a Therapy Website With AI: Tools, Privacy and Accessibility (2026)
A practical starting point for choosing an AI website builder, drafting useful pages, and reviewing privacy, notices, accessibility and search basics for a therapy practice.
How I Use AI to Run My Therapy Practice's Back Office
58% of small businesses used generative AI in 2025, up from 40% a year earlier. Here is how a solo therapist runs the whole business side, website to video, with AI.
Matthew Sexton, LCSWRead article
How Therapists Actually Get Their First Clients in 2026
53% of psychologists have no openings and the average one gets 8.8 seeker contacts a month. Where therapy clients actually come from in 2026, channel by channel.
Matthew Sexton, LCSWRead article
How to Set Your Private-Practice Therapy Fee in 2026
Therapy sessions average $139 nationally and $176 in New York. Set your 2026 private-practice fee with real market data, no-show math, and the fee-raise payoff.
Matthew Sexton, LCSWRead article
How to Start a Private Practice in New York (2026 Guide)
$260 in state fees for a solo PLLC, a mail-only form, and a 60-day law vs. a 6-month reality: the verified 2026 steps to start a private practice in New York.
Matthew Sexton, LCSWRead article
What Is VibeCheck.luxury? The Between-Session Companion, Explained
The VibeCheck.luxury EMR is currently in beta. Email for more information.
Matthew Sexton, LCSWRead article
Private Practice AI Stack for Therapists in 2026
AI monthly use among therapists nearly tripled to 29% in one year (APA, 2025). What the 29% use, what it costs, the compliance gaps, and what the 71% wait for.
Matthew Sexton, LCSWRead article
Insurance Credentialing: The 90-to-120-Day Limbo
A licensed therapist can wait 90 to 120 days before an insurer lets them bill, per the AMA. That wait thins networks and breeds the ghost networks patients hit.
Matthew Sexton, LCSWRead article
Too Many Clicks: The Tax Your EMR Charges Every Session
An ER doctor clicks 4,000 times a shift; outpatient clinicians spend 16+ minutes in the EHR per encounter. The click tax is a design choice, not a clinician failure.
Matthew Sexton, LCSWRead article
EHR Documentation Burnout Made You an Unpaid Transcriptionist
Clinicians average 13.5 hours a week on documentation — the top driver of therapist burnout. The fix isn't a chatbot. It's software that signs under your name.
Matthew Sexton, LCSWRead article
VibeCheck.luxury: The Between-Session Companion for Therapists
The VibeCheck.luxury EMR is currently in beta. Email [email protected] for more information.
Matthew Sexton, LCSWRead article