We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sarah Torti. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sarah below.

Sarah, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about how you went about setting up your own practice and if you have any advice for professionals who might be considering starting their own?

When I first started my solo private practice, I had no idea how to run a business. I previously worked for several years in the treatment/rehab setting, which looks quite different than an outpatient private practice. In private practice, you are not only providing direct patient care, but you are now in charge of all the administrative work, marketing, networking, and collaborating with multidisciplinary providers—all while establishing the structure of your business. As a solo practitioner, the pace and relational flow holds different demands and at the end of the day, it can be a lot to manage and sort through.

While I truly loved working in the treatment setting and thrived off of the energizing pace, the close proximity to other treatment team providers, and even the challenges this setting provided, I had to a unique opportunity to join some seasoned colleagues in their office space and felt like it was time to make the leap.

One of the most helpful parts of this transition, was having support and guidance from mentors who were already running their own private practices. In hindsight, I wish I had gotten even more formal consultation and learned more about the business side early on, instead of learning everything on the fly. When I was in grad school, I learned absolutely nothing about running a business, as mental health graduate programs focus more on clinical care. This led to some growing pains of having to learn fast in an ever changing field. Additionally, the clinical mental health landscape has shifted vastly over the past 15 years ago. Many of us in private practice have had to hold an ongoing ability to adapt and be flexible with all the changes that have unfolded over time in health care. For example, a couple of things that are commonly used now (electronic medical records, virtual telehealth, & social media) were not available or used by therapists when I first started. Now, these widely used technologies are helpful tools for managing a business, marketing, and have widened access to care. For anyone who is just starting their business, I would encourage you to find a mentor, or business coach to support you as you learn the lay of the land. Ask for help when you need it, put structures, and social supports in place, so you can focus on the parts of the work you enjoy most.

Sarah, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My curiosity about mental health started in the early 2000s in high school and early college. As an athlete who was involved in competitive sports, I experienced and observed how mental health care was seemingly undervalued and not considered in sport environments. During that time, many seeds were planted that later evolved into a passion for prioritizing total well being, including mental health. Fast forward, my first job out of college was at a residential treatment center that specialized in treating eating disorders and other mental health struggles. I worked there for several years while going to grad school to pursue Clinical Mental Health Counseling. I found that working in a residential treatment setting provided a rich learning environment. From getting to work day to day on a multidisciplinary team, to walking with clients of all backgrounds and clinical presentations, it held endless opportunities to learn and grow. After graduating, I worked as primary therapist throughout the continuum of care: Residential, PHP, and IOP before starting my own outpatient practice in 2012. I started my practice in Green Hills and later moved it to Franklin in 2021.

In my current practice, I offer outpatient therapy services for teens and adults of all genders and backgrounds. My practice offers relational care, evidence based therapies, and individualized care plans. My practice focuses on working with those that struggle with eating disorders/disordered eating, relationship issues, identity/spiritual struggles, grief & bereavement, anxiety disorders, co-addictive behaviors, and underlying trauma.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

I definitely have no regrets about my chosen profession. The field of mental health is growing and evolving and there is such a need for more clinicians in this field. It is a field that requires a love of learning, a genuine desire to help others, and a commitment to ongoing personal growth.
If I was not a therapist, I think I would explore more creative outlets related to floral design or something artistic ! Working in my garden is a huge passion of mine that is also one way that I nurture myself outside of work.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson that I had to unlearn early on is that “your work part of self is only ONE part of you, but it’s definitely not all of you.” After working in an inpatient treatment setting straight out of college and post grad, I was burning the candle at both ends. Ironically, sometimes treatment settings that hold space to take care of others, don’t always have the best systems in place to take care of their providers. As a young eager therapist, I got into a rhythm of overworking and over identifying as a therapist early on. This created a lot of extra stress as I was always trying to figure out adulthood, life transitions, and my own personal grief of losing a parent. My eventual transition into private practice really allowed me to get more balance and perspective, but this took some time to iron out. Although this is a common struggle, I think that a key to longevity and burnout prevention in a helping profession is having a strong sense of self and interests outside of your work. In addition, for therapists specifically, staying current and curious with your own therapeutic process is also essential.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sarahtorti.com
• Instagram: @sarahtorticounseling
• Facebook: Sarah Torti Counseling

Image Credits

Kelli Barnette Photo (head shot)!