The Surge, the Slump, and the Shift (Episode 30)
The shift into fall offers more than just cooler weather—it brings a unique rhythm for private practice owners. In this episode, I reflect on what I call the “surge season” and how it mirrors the natural cycles of growth, maintenance, and evolution in both our practices and ourselves as clinicians.
We’ll walk through the four key seasons I see therapists experience—launch, growth, maintenance, and evolution—and why naming the season you’re in can offer both clarity and permission. If you’re feeling a shift coming on, if the work that once energized you now feels heavy, or if you’re wondering whether it’s time to evolve your niche, this episode is your invitation to pause, reflect, and recalibrate.
I also share what 2025 has looked like behind the scenes at Walker Strategy Co.—a scrappy, creative, sometimes exhausting season—and how that has paid off in ways that didn’t always feel obvious in the moment. Spoiler: your consistency will pay off, just not always right away.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode:
1️⃣ How to identify which season of practice you’re in—and what to do with that insight
2️⃣ Why returning to a growth phase after reaching maintenance isn’t failure—it’s normal
3️⃣ What to consider (practically and emotionally) when you feel a pull to evolve your niche or services
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Hey there. Welcome back to Marketing Therapy. The day that this episode goes live, yesterday will have been the fall equinox. So today, Tuesday, yesterday, we officially shifted into this new season, and I don't know about you, but I always feel this transition from summer into fall in a really tangible way.
And this year especially, it really feels like a marker. I've shared in past episodes that 2025 has been a year of doing things differently at Walker Strategy Co. The Word of the Year with my team, the unofficial word of the year, has been scrappy. We have been all about innovating and experimenting and creating for the last nine.
It has been so incredibly energizing and inspiring. I feel more connected to the work that I do than I have in years, but let's be honest, it's also a little bit tiring. And now here we are at the Equinox and I'm really feeling the harvest, for lack of a better term of that work. The real fruits of the effort we've been putting in.
And this experience I'm describing to you really mirrors so much of what I see happen for clinicians this time of year, right? We call this the surge season. September surge fall is a really unique time in the life of a practice owner, clients who disappeared over the summer, who couldn't find childcare, who were on vacation, start coming back, new inquiries pick up.
Schedules fill in ways that felt impossible even a month ago. And often that surge is directly connected to the seeds that were planted months ago. I mean I say all the time. The effort you put in today shows up in your results three months from now. And so the effort you put in at the beginning of the summer in the springtime, you are harvesting that now.
The clinicians who stayed connected to their marketing through the summer, who viewed the summer as a time for investment and improvement, who kept showing up, are now hopefully seeing the results of that consistency, harvesting the fruits of that labor. Now, of course, these patterns are not universal. I know that not everyone experiences the summer slump or the fall surge.
But they are common enough that it helps to name them. And then I think invites all of us to look at the fact that there are seasons, whether you mirror the stereotypical ones or not, there are rhythms and cycles of practice, and by reflecting on that, you realize you're not alone in the ebbs and the flows of this.
So that's what I wanna talk about a bit more today, how the seasons of private practice really mirror where we find ourselves in nature. But more than that, how your own growth as a clinician can go through different seasons and to give you some permission to embrace that. So let's talk more about this idea of seasons in private practice, your business, just like nature has its cycles. And in my experience, most therapists move through a couple of distinct ones. The first is that launch season. It is that initial phase.
You first hang your shingle, you press launch on your website. It is exciting. It is full of possibility. Everything is new. You're sort of running on hope and adrenaline. It's a really exciting season of practice. Then comes the growth phase, which can also sometimes probably be renamed as the grind season.
Growth sounds great, but let's be honest, this can be really uncomfortable, right? You're getting traction, but you're not quote unquote there yet. The phone is ringing more. Maybe you're starting to get an inquiry here and there, but not always With the right fit clients, not as many as you need. You're making progress, but it starts to feel uncertain.
This growth season, it really stretches you.
It forces you to trust yourself to take massive action even before you have the evidence to back it up. But then. If you stick with it, you get to the maintenance season, the Nirvana is the place a lot of therapists aspire to where things are working. You look around and you're like, oh my goodness, it's working.
You've got the steady caseload inquiries feel more predictable. You don't feel like you're hustling. For every new client this season is steadier. It feels more sustainable, and there is naturally a deep sense of relief. In that maintenance season. And then finally, the last season I've really observed in the clinicians I work with is a season of evolution.
And this is the one where things shift. This can be realizing your niche has changed. It can be deciding to raise your fees or depa. It can be stepping into group practice or layering in something else intensive. Evolution can feel scary because change always does, but it's also a sign of growth.
It's a necessary part. Now, of course, these seasons aren't linear, right? You don't check one off and then never revisit it again. You might go from maintenance to growth and back to maintenance. You might evolve and then come back, right?
And I think it's important to say that out loud because a lot of times therapists get discouraged when they feel like they're back in growth season after they thought they'd hit maintenance. And if I can just tell you from my own experience, that is hard. It's hard to go from maintenance back to growth, but it is so incredibly normal.
It's just part of the rhythm of business ownership. Every season has a role, every season has its lessons, and none of them mean you're failing.
One of the most powerful ways to really understand these seasons is to think back on your own ebbs and flows. Even if you're newer in this journey, you've likely seen this. I'll share one from my own business this year. I mentioned that fall. I'm really feeling this shift in a unique way. Earlier in 2025, right around January, February, I noticed that the things we had always done were not working the way they always had.
Kind of like when your client's coping skills don't work the way that they used to. Strategies that used to feel like a sure bet weren't anymore, and I had a choice. I could either keep pushing the same old way, which was comfortable, but not doing what I wanted it to, or I could step into a new season.
And that's really when I named this, our scrappy year, our year of experimenting, of trying things we never tried before, of being willing to fail, being willing to innovate even when it was uncomfortable. And as I mentioned before, this wasn't always easy. It was incredibly tiring at times. Not everything we did worked and it required a lot of me and my team, but what I realized is that slow or uncertain seasons don't mean you've already given your best and that it's all downhill from here.
If you've ever shifted from that maintenance back into growth and. I've been tempted to believe that this means something is wrong. It's easy to think if you have reached a stage of maintenance before or of success that you now feel like has changed, that you did the best you could.
You are not capable of doing anything else new or better than what you have. And if there's anything I've learned this year. It means that you're being invited to grow here and that there is more you can do, but you have to believe that you have to believe you are capable of more of trying something different, of doing things better.
Now, here we are months later and I can see the fruits of our scrappy season. We just had our most successful, confident copy launch ever and welcomed in a cohort of incredible new students earlier this month. That's one example, but none of what we've experienced happened because of luck or because the market magically turned around.
Spoiler alert, it didn't, but because of the work we were willing to put in for months before this, and this is exactly how it plays out for the therapists I work with as well,
summer can feel slow. Clients are gonna cancel. And if you let yourself believe the story that no one's starting therapy right now, it's really easy to get discouraged in that season. But like we talked about, the therapist who kept showing up this summer, who stayed connected to their marketing, who kept their mindset healthy, they're the clinicians likely now experiencing that false surge.
The seeds planted in June or July aren't harvested until September or October. And when you understand that rhythm, it not only helps you stay the course, but it also reminds you that slow and stuck are not the same thing that momentum is often building beneath the surface where you can't quite see it yet.
Now. It's not just your practice, right? As a business that goes through seasons, but you as a clinician do too. A really common shift I see clinicians go through is shifting from working with children toward working with. Now if you have experience or expertise in working with children or teens, you know that once you get known for that, it's hard to get unknown for it.
But so often, especially in confident copy, students will join us when they're realizing I want to make a change here. Their life stages change, their schedules change, their energy changes, and the work that once felt energizing can start to feel draining. And I always encourage those clinicians to listen to that.
Because remember, anytime you're looking at an opportunity to evolve as a clinician or as a practice, the work you've done up until now only informs what you do next. The work you did with children and teens makes you a better clinician for adults, right? It doesn't go away. They're not separate, but it improves and informs the work that you're stepping into.
If you spent years supporting kids and families, you are a stronger and more nuanced therapist for adults because of it. Nothing is wasted here. This is in that evolution phase where it's all part of it. It's all part of your journey toward the clinician you are and are becoming. Another example of this that stands out to me just happened recently, actually this week I was on a kickoff call with a confident copy plus student.
That's where she goes through confident copy. Then we build her website for her. And as we were looking at her current site together, I was asking her, is this still the work you want to be doing? And she paused and she said, you know what? I really don't enjoy couples work. And that is such a common moment, sort of a reckoning, realizing I can do this, but it doesn't light me up.
It takes courage to say that out loud because changing direction, it's terrifying. It can feel like you're leaving something behind. You're suddenly excluding someone you could work with. You're abandoning a skill. You've invested time and energy and, but I've seen over and over again that when clinicians finally embrace that shift.
They step into their work with a whole new level of energy. And that energy matters. It impacts how you show up in sessions. It impacts the clients you attract. It impacts the sustainability of your practice and your time in this field. So just like your business goes through seasons, please allow yourself to as well.
If you have felt that nudge, the sense that What once fit doesn't anymore. Please know that that's normal. It's allowed. It's not a failure. It's not a betrayal of your past work. It's simply an invitation into the next version of you, and honoring that evolution might be the exact thing that keeps you thriving in this field for a long, long time.
I know that knowing that though is not the same as actually doing it, because even when therapists know they're ready for a shift, it doesn't mean they feel good about it. In fact, I see guilt and fear be incredibly common at this juncture. What if I confuse people? What if I lose the reputation I've built, which is very legitimate?
What if clients stop coming altogether? And I think underneath all of that is often a feeling of betrayal. Like you're somehow walking away from the clients you've been known for, the version of yourself you've been so comfortable in. But again, you're not starting from scratch here. You're not erasing your past.
Everything you've done has made you the clinician you are today,
and that is in service to your clients and to you. Because again, when you are showing up, energized and aligned, your clients get the best version of you. They feel it and they benefit from it. And one other thing, if ever you're considering, quote, unquote abandoning a service, you used to be known for kids, couples, whatever it might be, just 'cause you don't feature something in your marketing doesn't mean you'll never get a call about it again.
If you've been known for working with teens, people are still gonna call you for it. You can decide if you wanna take that on. So rather than viewing this as black and white, I encourage you to view your next steps in your marketing as aligning with what is most important to you now,
and get comfortable with the idea that that can change.
Evolving your niche, evolving yourself doesn't close doors. It simply focuses your energy where it matters most, and that focus can lead to better outcomes and a steadier caseload and more sustainability for you as a clinician. So if you right now are sitting at this turn of seasons and in that tension.
Of maybe who you were or what your practice was before and what you'd like it to be. Now, I hope this episode can be a little bit of a permission slip for you. You are allowed to evolve, you're allowed to shift,
you're allowed to want something different. And you're capable of it.
So if you're sitting here listening right now, I encourage you to take a moment and ask yourself, what season am I in? Are you in the launch season full of possibility and hope the growth season stretched a little uncomfortable, but making progress even if you can't see it yet? Maintenance. Things are steadier and more predictable, you're breathing a little bit easier, or are you an evolution, sensing a shift, and getting ready for change?
Of course, there is no right or wrong answer here, but I do think naming it can be powerful and once you've named it, ask yourself, what can I appreciate about the season I'm in right now? I think often when you are in those earlier stages, it's very easy to just want to get to the next one and not so much to slow down and name what you can appreciate about where you are right now.
Ask yourself, how can I make the most of this season knowing it won't last forever. It won't, even the maintenance, it won't last forever. So how can I make the most of this right now? And finally. Ask yourself, if I gave myself full permission, what would I be excited to claim right now?
Now, if you are sitting here in that tension, one other question to ask. If it's time to shift, how do you know it's the right time? For most clinicians, there are two clues. The first is your energy. Do you still feel lit up by the work you're doing, or are you dragging yourself through sessions that used to excite you?
The other thing to look at though is your data. Look at your caseload, your fees, your inquiries. Sometimes the way you feel and what's actually happening on paper aren't aligned. Are you pressuring yourself to grow when in fact you could be enjoying maintenance? Are you running in overdrive because you're afraid it's gonna all disappear?
I heard from a clinician last week who's fully booked. She has 15 sessions per week, but she booked 17, and she's afraid to stop taking on new clients because she's afraid it's all just gonna go away. Look at the data. Could the data offer some security or some guidance on whether you need to shift seasons or not?
Now neither of these answers your energy or your data are gonna make the decision for you, but they can give you a clearer picture.
Know that this isn't black and white. This is not an all or nothing decision. You can upregulate and downregulate your marketing as you move through these seasons. It's a dimmer, not an on and off switch.
Don't think of your seasons here as a rigid path, but instead as a rhythm, you can learn to work with a rhythm that helps you build a practice that is sustainable and aligned and write for you even as you evolve as a clinician.
So as we wrap up here today, here's what I want you to take away. Seasons are inevitable. There will be times of growth, there will be times of maintenance, of slowdown, of change, and you will never stay in one season forever. So remember that if you are in a slower or stuck season right now, it's just that a season, it will shift, but you are not powerless in the meantime.
You are still in the driver's seat. You can still choose how to respond, how to make meaning of it. And what actions you'll take to move forward.
And if you've been feeling a nudge to evolve, maybe that's an evolution in your niche or in your services. Adding intensives, scaling to a group, no longer working with children, whatever it might be, consider this permission to do that. Whatever you do, I hope you can find some appreciation for the season you're in right now and trust that the work you're doing will bear fruit in time. I'm so glad you were here today. Happy fall to all of you. Enjoy a pumpkin spice latte or whatever treats you enjoy. And I'll see you in our next episode.
Resources & Links Mentioned:
Confident Copy: walkerstrategyco.com/cc
The Walker Strategy Co website: walkerstrategyco.com
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About Marketing Therapy
Marketing Therapy is the podcast where therapists learn how to market their private practices without burnout, self-doubt, or sleazy tactics. Hosted by Anna Walker—marketing coach, strategist, and founder of Walker Strategy Co—each episode brings you clear, grounded advice to help you attract the right-fit, full-fee clients and grow a practice you feel proud of.
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