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Starting a practice

How to choose between starting a private practice or joining group practice

Here are the benefits and drawbacks to consider for each.

March 13, 2025 • Updated on March 13, 2026

7 min read

There’s no one best way to work as a therapist — which is part of what makes mental health care so appealing as a career path. If you’re just starting out in the field or you appreciate a collaborative environment, you may prefer working at an established group practice. But if you’re interested in the business side of mental health care or value autonomy and flexibility, you may consider pursuing a solo private practice.

Either option could be a great fit for you, depending on your skills, personal preferences, and career goals. Before venturing out into a group or starting a private practice, consider the potential benefits and drawbacks of each so you can make an informed decision about your career.

Key takeaways

  • Therapists can choose to work for themselves in solo practice, or join a structured collective of therapists in group practice.
  • Solo practice means greater flexibility and unlimited career growth — but also more isolation and administrative burden.
  • Therapists in group practice enjoy support from colleagues, a built-in referral network, and off-loaded administrative work, but at the expense of autonomy and full earning potential. 
  • The right choice depends on your values, preferences, and career goals.

How to choose between starting a private practice and joining a group practice

Starting a private solo practice or joining a group practice comes with unique pros and cons. Both private and group practices fall under the category of “private practice,” but it’s up to you to determine whether you’d like to venture out on your own or join an existing group private practice. Before you make a decision about which one to pursue, it’s important to consider the potential benefits and challenges of each.

The benefits of starting your own private practice

Flexibility 

Being your own boss comes with many perks, including flexibility. In private practice, you can set your own work days and hours, scaling back to avoid burnout or increasing as you grow your case load. No need to request time off, either — as long as you give your clients ample heads up and budget accordingly, you can take time off when you need it.

Income potential 

Group practices often refer clients to therapists, but they also typically take a percentage of your therapy fees. Without this overhead, owning your own private practice can increase your income potential, with the added bonus of seeing as many clients as you want to.

Career growth 

As a private practice therapist, you can be in charge of the direction of your career. Whether you want to host workshops to educate other therapists or lead therapy groups in addition to solo sessions, private practice offers the benefit of more autonomy with business decisions.

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The challenges of starting a private practice

Isolation 

If you enjoy working on your own, then you may appreciate the solitude of private practice. But if you like to collaborate with colleagues (or just chat with another human between sessions), the isolation of private practice may be challenging for you. 

Legal requirements 

Owning your own business is a big responsibility. On top of attaining a business license and registering as a tax entity, you’ll also need to invest in malpractice insurance to protect yourself from potentially costly liabilities. 

Extra administrative work 

Solo practitioners are tasked with all additional admin duties, in addition to seeing clients. Unless you hire dedicated staff, you’ll need to market your business to grow your client base, get credentialed with insurance panels and submit your own insurance claims, and handle all the budgeting and payments required to run a business — just to name a few of the extra responsibilities. 

There are ways to lighten this administrative load, though. Working with a partner like Headway can free up valuable time and energy. Headway’s all-in-one platform is designed to streamline the administrative work of being a therapist, offering marketing through our provider directory, fast and free credentialing, an EHR for simplified client communication and documentation, plus billing and claim support and guaranteed bi-weekly payments.

The benefits of joining a group practice

Supportive environment 

Professional support from other therapists can be invaluable, whether you need clinical advice or a pep talk after a particularly difficult session. Group practices offer built-in community, so you won’t have to face the sometimes challenging work of therapy alone.

Fewer administrative burdens 

If you’re not particularly interested in the business of being a therapist, or you’d rather focus on clinical work, then group practice could be a better fit. In a group setting, someone else will handle many time-consuming tasks, like scheduling, credentialing, and billing.

Client referrals

Rather not stress about SEO-optimized websites or after-work networking events to get more clients? In a group practice, you can focus on the work of therapy with your clients while the practice refers new ones to you.

The challenges of joining a group practice

Limited income 

Working in a group practice may mean limited income for you as a therapist. Many group practices take a percentage of their therapists’ fees to cover overhead expenses, such as billing and marketing. 

Less flexibility 

Being part of a group practice means you’ll likely have to adhere to organization structure. For example, you may need to get vacation time approved by a supervisor in the practice or work on days you’d prefer not to. 

Less autonomy 

In a group practice setting, you might not get much choice about the type of clients you see or diagnoses you work with. Further, you might need to follow the practice’s clinical policies and guidelines for how you work.

It can be tough to determine which path is right for you, but taking time to reflect on your values as a therapist and the pros and cons of group vs. private practice can help guide you toward the right choice — even when that decision is choosing both. 

Some therapists join a group practice for the ease of simply seeing some clients while they are simultaneously setting up a private practice. By seeing their own clients in the evening, they can start building their caseload. If you’re in this position, Headway can help you jump into only doing private practice.

Headway supports your career in any path

Deciding whether to go it alone or join a group practice is an important decision for any therapist. Regardless of which path you choose, however, Headway is here to make the road ahead smoother. 

Providers starting their own private practices can reduce time-consuming administrative work by partnering with Headway, enjoying benefits like fast and free credentialing, a comprehensive EHR, and built-in marketing (and networking) through our provider directory. 

Therapists in group practice, meanwhile, can boost their earnings thanks to Headway’s enhanced reimbursement rates and guaranteed, competitive bi-weekly payments. We can’t decide for you whether it’s better to practice on your own or with others. But we can guarantee we’ll be here for you, no matter how you choose to work.

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This content is for general informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute clinical, legal, financial, or professional advice. All decisions should be made at the discretion of the individual or organization, in consultation with qualified clinical, legal, or other appropriate professionals.

© 2026 Therapymatch, Inc. dba Headway. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission.

Starting a practice