Private practice is often the ultimate dream for the mental health professional.

After years of training and education, the top of the mountain includes an office, a desk, a chair, and a couch.

If we are really lucky, some of us will experience the joys of a private waiting room, a reception area, and perhaps a suite of offices.

After that, I think many mental health professionals experience the same feelings that many people with just a high school degree feel.

It’s easy to feel limited, even with your advanced training and education.

Being a mental health professional is a very focused and specific career as a result of very specific and focused training and education.

Many people in the workforce today are stuck!

And it’s not a far stretch, albeit different, that you might feel like a high school graduate.

Does this sound familiar to you at all?

Go to school Get your degree Do an internship Do your postdoc (for some) Get your license Here’s your career Make some money

If this doesn’t sound familiar to you, I highly encourage and recommend that the next book you purchase and read is: “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” by Robert Kiyosaki.

This one book can change your entire understanding and outlook on the traditional messages we are often taught as a result of being dedicated, high achieving students.

In a nuthsell, Kiyosaki shares a personal message, based on both experience and belief, that these traditional methods are not a blueprint for success and financial freedom today.

They may have worked in the past…

…But they will not ultimately work today.

In fact, he suggests that this type of mentality is risky behavior.

For the mental health professional, the risky behavior is believing that your degree and training alone will set you up for success and financial freedom.

I am not suggesting or speaking to you about being a millionaire or billionaire.

I am talking about having an advanced degree, and still living paycheck to paycheck.

Is this why you went to graduate school?

Consider life after graduation:

Student loan payments High, personal cost of education Low entry-level salaries High costs of living Personal health insurance costs

A salaried job is likely not going to cover your expenses.

Even with a higher education degree, you you will likely need to find other sources of revenue…

Fortunately for you, your training serves as a gateway to success and financial freedom.

As a highly trained provider of healthcare, psychoeducation, and therapy, you are positioned for a life of unlimited success.

Psychology (and related fields) are the gateway to:

Speaking Writing Counseling Coaching Consulting Education Sales Research Presentations

The list is long and wide…

The choice is yours.

Allow your training and education to be a gateway to success in private practice.

By: Rory Stern