12 Business Books I’d Recommend to Therapists in Private Practice
If there is one thing that therapists love, it’s a new book !!
Summer is a good time to read something that gives you a bit of perspective, especially if you’re setting up, growing, or quietly rethinking your private practice.
Maybe you’re going on holiday, taking a slower week, or finally making space to read something that isn’t a clinical manual.
When I was writing A Therapist’s Guide to Private Practice: Building a Values-Based Business (shameless plug for my book), I found myself returning to the same question again and again:
How do you build a private practice that is ethical, sustainable and still feels like you?
How do you build something that works financially (pays the bills), clinically and personally?
The books that helped me most weren’t all written for therapists. Some were about branding. Some were about money. Some were about creativity, confidence, marketing and freedom.
But each one gave me something useful.
So if you are setting up, growing or rethinking your therapy practice, these are the business books I would recommend.
1. A Therapist’s Guide to Private Practice by Sarah Rees (me)
I’m starting with my own because this is the book I needed when I was setting up in private practice. It’s about building a therapy business that works financially, clinically and personally.
Not just “how do I get more clients?”
But:
How do I charge properly?
How do I market ethically?
How do I manage risk?
How do I avoid burning out?
How do I build something that reflects my values?
Private practice isn’t just a business. It’s also a clinical container. That’s why it needs to be built carefully. A Therapist’s Guide to Private Practice
2. The Freedom-Based Business Method by Natalie Ellis
I’ve just finished this; it’s new out, this is especially useful if private practice has started to feel less free than you imagined. Because that can happen.
You leave employment for more autonomy, then find yourself working evenings, replying to messages at weekends, squeezing people in and feeling guilty every time you rest.
This book is a good reminder that freedom has to be designed. I’ve altered how I do a few things in my business as a result.
For therapists, that might mean clearer boundaries, better systems, fewer offers, more spacious working hours, or a practice that supports your life rather than consuming it.
The Freedom-based Business Method
3. Brand Brilliance by Fiona Humberstone
This book helped me understand that branding is not just about logos, fonts and colours. It is about clarity, and therapists/clients need clarity.
When someone lands on your website, they are often anxious, overwhelmed or unsure. They need to understand quickly:
Who are you for?
What do you help with?
What do you want them to feel?
What is the next step?
Good branding helps your practice feel coherent, trustworthy and reassuring. It helps the right people recognise that they are in the right place.
4. Hashtag Authentic by Sara Tasker
Sara’s book is about creativity, online presence and building community; she was my coach when I was starting Therapists Corner and taught me so much about building a community.
I think this book is especially helpful for therapists who feel awkward about being visible online. Because visibility does not have to mean oversharing. It does not have to mean performing. It does not have to mean turning yourself into a brand in a way that feels uncomfortable.
It can simply mean allowing people to understand your voice, values and way of working. That might be through your website, blog, Instagram, Substack or newsletter.
People refer to people they trust. This book helped me think about how that trust begins online.
5. Rebuild: How to Thrive in the New Kindness Economy by Mary Portas
Mary Portas introduced me to the idea of building a business around kindness and values. That thinking went on to become a really important part of my own book.
Therapy businesses should not be built on pressure, urgency or manipulation.
They should be built on trust.
A values-based private practice asks:
What do I want people to feel when they come across my work?
Do my fees, boundaries and policies reflect my values?
Is my marketing honest and clear?
Is this business sustainable for me as well as helpful for my clients?
Values are not a fluffy extra; they will shape your whole practice.
Rebuild: How to Thrive in the New Kindness Economy
6. Two Weeks Notice by Amy Porterfield
Amy Porterfield has brilliant on online business.
When I was establishing my own private practice, I learned so much from her podcast. Later, she became one of my coaches and mentors, and I was lucky enough to interview her for my previous Ask the Therapist podcast.
What I took from Amy’s work was the importance of structure and keeping things simple- a great book if you are still planning to leave the NHS.
7. You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero
Money is one of the biggest blocks therapists face in private practice. Many of us carry guilt around charging, raising fees or wanting a decent income.
We underprice.
We overgive.
We avoid looking at the numbers.
We feel bad for wanting our work to be financially sustainable.
Of course, money mindset is not everything. There are real-world pressures too.
But the beliefs we carry about money do shape our business decisions. This book helped me think more directly about the stories we tell ourselves around earning, charging and wanting more.
You are a Badass at Making Money
8. The Diary of a CEO: The 33 Laws of Business and Life by Steven Bartlett
Most therapists are not trying to build a huge company. But there are useful ideas here around communication, attention, discipline, decision-making and building trust.
For therapists, the takeaway is not “hustle harder.”
It is:
Know what you are building.
Understand who you are helping.
Communicate clearly.
Build trust over time.
Make decisions instead of endlessly circling.
That is useful whether you are growing a therapy practice, a Substack, a supervision offer, a course or a training business.
9. Playing Big by Tara Mohr
This is a brilliant book for therapists who know they are capable of more but keep shrinking back.
And I think a lot of us do this.
We wait until we feel more qualified.
We tell ourselves the market is too crowded.
We worry about what colleagues will think.
We keep our ideas small because visibility feels exposing.
Playing Big is helpful if you are stepping into a new role, writing, speaking, creating offers, launching something or allowing yourself to be seen as an expert.
Private practice often asks us to become more visible than we feel comfortable.
10. Company of One by Paul Jarvis
I love this book because it challenges the idea that bigger is always better.
Some of us want a small, sustainable, values-led practice that gives us enough.
Enough income.
Enough freedom.
Enough meaningful work.
Enough space to have a life outside the therapy room.
That is allowed.
This is a helpful book if you want to grow intentionally, rather than constantly chasing more.
11. This Is Marketing by Seth Godin
This book is useful because it reframes marketing as a service. Marketing does not have to be about shouting louder, persuading people or making exaggerated promises. At its best, marketing helps the right people find the right help.
It asks:
Who is this for?
What do they need?
What problem are they trying to solve?
How can I communicate clearly and honestly?
That feels like a much more ethical way for therapists to think about being visible.
12. Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
This is one of the most practical books on the list.
If you avoid your numbers, get to the end of the month wondering where the money has gone, or feel anxious every time tax is mentioned, this is worth reading.
Therapists need simple systems for managing:
Tax
Expenses
Profit
Pay
Savings
Quiet months
Private practice income can fluctuate, and that can feel stressful if you do not have a clear way of managing it.
This book gives you a simple structure, and for many therapists, structure around money creates a lot more safety.
These books have helped me think about values, freedom, money, confidence, visibility, branding, marketing and sustainability.
Because being in private practice asks us to wear more than one hat.
We are clinicians, yes.
But we are also business owners, decision-makers, marketers, money managers, boundary-setters and sometimes reluctant tech support.
A good private practice is not just one that fills your diary.
It is one that supports your clients, your values and the life you actually want to build.
I’d love to know what you’d add to this list. It doesn’t have to be a business book, if you’ve read something brilliant recently, pop it in the comments. It’s summer, after all. A bit of balance is always good.
This is a great list! I’d recommend reading Profit First early on, I only read it recently (after being in private practice for 10 years) and its transformed how confident I feel about finances and getting a profit building up. Lucy Werner’s Hype Yourself is a great little book on pr for solo practitioners if I may add one!
I love this! Some of these books I already had but I’ve now just brought the rest so thank you! Whilst looking for the profit first book I found another one - ‘profit first for therapists’ based on the profit first principles, how fab!