EP. 305 The Fully Booked Therapist Standard 6: Why Showing Up to Get Coached Is the Decision That Changes Everything

Knowing what to do in your business and actually doing it are two different things. I’ve watched therapists collect the right information, calculate their numbers, and make solid plans, only to stay stuck because they keep waiting for confidence before making a decision.

That’s why I believe showing up to get coached is one of the standards of a fully booked therapist. Self-coaching matters, and I talked about that in the previous episode, but there comes a point where you need another set of eyes to help you see what you cannot see on your own. Coaching creates that opportunity.

Whether you’re the one asking for coaching or you’re learning by watching someone else work through a similar challenge, being present changes how quickly you move from hesitation to action. The therapists who continue growing are not the ones with perfect questions or polished answers. They are the ones who keep showing up, making decisions, and applying what they learn.

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What Does It Mean to Show Up and Get Coached?

Showing up to get coached means actively participating in the coaching process so you can make better business decisions and take action.

When I talk about showing up, I mean more than attending a coaching call. It’s being willing to raise your hand, ask for help, and let someone help you uncover what’s actually keeping you stuck. Sometimes that means getting coached directly. Other times, it means paying close attention while someone else works through a challenge that looks a lot like your own.

Inside Foundations, every Tuesday we meet for a live coaching call where members can volunteer for Hot Seat Coaching. We focus on the specific issue that’s holding them or their practice back. Depending on what’s needed, we might use self-coaching tools, work through emotions, ask questions, or examine the thoughts that are driving the problem. The goal is to get beneath the surface so the next decision becomes clear.

Showing up also includes listening to coaching call replays with intention. Rather than consuming information passively, I encourage therapists to identify one idea they can apply immediately in their own practice. Coaching becomes valuable when it changes how you think, decide, and act.

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Why Coaching Helps Therapists Make Better Business Decisions

Coaching helps therapists make better business decisions by turning awareness into action.

I recently watched this happen with one of my clients, Brian. He had already done the work to determine that his rates needed to increase. His numbers supported the decision, and he knew exactly what he needed to charge. The only problem was that he wasn’t acting on it.

During one of our weekly coaching calls, Brian wasn’t even the person in the Hot Seat. He was listening while another therapist worked through a similar fear. As he watched the coaching unfold in real time, something clicked. Before the call ended, he raised his rates in his scheduling system and emailed every client about the change.

That’s one of the reasons I believe showing up matters, even if you never ask a question. You’ll often hear someone describe the same thoughts or fears you’ve been carrying. Watching another therapist move from uncertainty to clarity helps you recognize your own patterns and decide what to do next.

The goal of coaching is not to eliminate fear before you act. The goal is to understand what’s creating the hesitation so you can make the decision anyway. Once you see the thought that’s keeping you stuck, the next step becomes much easier to take.

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Why Therapists Get Stuck Raising Their Rates

Therapists get stuck raising their rates because fear often carries more weight than facts.

Raising your rates is one of the most common topics that comes up during coaching calls. It isn’t usually because therapists don’t know what to charge. Most have already gathered their numbers, looked at their expenses, and determined what their rates should be. The challenge is making the decision to follow through.

The thoughts behind that hesitation are remarkably consistent. Therapists worry that clients will leave, that no one will book another appointment, or that charging more somehow says something about their value as a person. Those thoughts create fear, and fear can make waiting feel like the responsible choice.

During coaching, we slow those thoughts down and look at them directly. I remind therapists that their rates are based on facts and data, not on their worth as a human being. Your value does not increase or decrease because you change your pricing. Once you separate those two ideas, it becomes much easier to make decisions based on your business instead of your fear.

That doesn’t mean the discomfort disappears. It means you recognize what you’re feeling, decide what you want to do, and move forward anyway. That’s how therapists stop delaying important business decisions and start building practices that reflect the value of the work they provide.

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What Does Waiting Cost Your Therapy Practice?

Waiting to make a business decision creates real costs that continue to grow over time.

If you’ve known for months that your rates need to increase but keep waiting until you feel ready, every appointment you book at your current rate represents income you’re choosing not to earn. That isn’t hypothetical. It’s money your time, skills, and expertise already support, yet you’re leaving it on the table because a feeling has more influence over your decision than your data.

The cost isn’t only financial. Every month you delay is another month you’re postponing the practice you’re capable of running today. You’re delaying the schedule built around the rates you’ve already determined are appropriate, the clients who are willing to pay them, and the business you’re trying to create.

I’ve found that therapy practices grow at the pace of the decisions their owners are willing to make. Many of those decisions feel uncomfortable, especially at first. If you’re never making uncomfortable business decisions, there’s a good chance your practice isn’t changing either. Growth requires deciding before certainty arrives.

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How Foundations Helps Therapists Grow Through Coaching

Foundations helps therapists grow by combining coaching, accountability, and consistent action over time.

Showing up is bigger than attending a weekly coaching call. It includes watching replays with intention, completing your weekly reports, tracking your numbers, participating in the community, and applying what you learn between sessions. Every part of the process gives you more information about your business and creates opportunities to receive coaching that is specific to where you are.

One of the biggest misconceptions I hear is that therapists think they need everything figured out before joining a coaching program. They believe they need a perfectly articulated question or a complete understanding of what’s wrong before they can ask for help. That’s not how coaching works. You can bring the messy situation, the uncertainty, or the feeling that something is off even if you can’t explain why. My job is to help you uncover what’s underneath it.

The therapists who make the most progress are rarely the ones with the most polished problems. They’re the ones who are willing to be honest about where they are, try the coaching, and come back to talk about what happened. Every time they repeat that process, they become more confident making decisions in their business.

Showing up becomes a habit, and that habit compounds over time. As you continue making decisions, taking action, and learning from the results, your business grows alongside your ability to lead it. That’s why showing up to get coached is one of the standards of a fully booked therapist.

Showing up to get coached is a decision that changes how you run your business. It gives you a place to work through the thoughts that keep you stuck, make decisions with confidence, and take action before you’re completely comfortable. Over time, those decisions build the practice you’ve been working toward.

If you’ve been waiting until you know more, feel more confident, or complete one more training before focusing on your business, consider whether it’s time to make a different decision. The business you’re trying to build depends on your willingness to think like an owner and act on what you already know.

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Ready to Build Your Practice Instead of Collecting More Training?

You’ve spent years developing your clinical skills. You’ve completed certifications, learned new techniques, and become better at helping your clients. What most therapists were never taught is how to build and run a successful business.

Foundations is a 12-month coaching program designed to help therapists make that shift. Together, we work through the standards, improve your pricing, build your policies, and develop the business skills that support a consistently full practice. You stop starting over and begin making decisions that move your business forward.

If you’re ready to join a room where you can get coached, receive accountability, and build your practice alongside other therapists doing the same work, visit https://www.heatherhammel.com/foundation. If you join before August 16, I’ll also send you the printed Foundations workbook.

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