187: Building a Sustainable Private Practice During Perimenopause: Scheduling, Systems, and Self-Compassion
What happens to your private practice—and your finances—when perimenopause hits and you just don’t feel like you used to?
As therapists and health practitioners, we’re used to holding space for others—even when our own capacity is changing. If you’re noticing changes in your energy, focus, or mood and wondering how to keep your practice (and your finances) healthy, this episode might be just what you need.
In this episode, I break down the real impact of perimenopause on therapists, from brain fog and fatigue to the tough decisions about reducing your caseload or raising your fees.
I share some practical ways to adjust your schedule, automate your money systems, and, most importantly, ask for support so your business and finances work with your new reality. Remember—your practice can and should support you through every season of life!
(00:04:14) Perimenopause’s Impact on Therapists
(00:07:59) Align Business with Current Reality
(00:12:15) Prioritize Time, Health, and Money
(00:15:11) Streamline Finances, Seek Support
(00:18:33) Money Clarity for Therapists
If you’ve been noticing a shift in your health, energy, or focus as you move through your late 30s or 40s—especially the ups and downs of perimenopause—you’re not alone.
Let’s be honest: perimenopause comes with a “whole list of not fun”—from hot flashes and brain fog to headaches, irritability, and unrelenting fatigue. If your capacity isn’t what it used to be, please know that adjusting your expectations and routines isn’t just okay—it’s necessary.
Listen in for practical steps to create more ease in your schedule, value your expertise as your career progresses, and make sure your money truly supports you through this transitional season. I encourage you to create a clear system and habits for yourself, so you don’t have to think fresh every time you sit down to work on your money. Having a nice, clear checklist of the tasks that you do whenever you do money time will help clear mental barriers and make the best use of the energy you have in that moment.
(00:15:37) “Let’s reduce the cognitive load associated with your finances when that cognitive energy right now would probably better serve you somewhere else because it might be in more limited supply than it used to be.” – Linzy Bonham
Here are 3 key takeaways for therapists in private practice:
Linzy Bonham is a private practice therapist turned money coach who helps private practice owners and health professionals feel calm and in control of their finances through her coaching at Money Nuts & Bolts and her podcast Money Skills for Therapists.
It all started when she saw her extremely skilled colleagues struggle with the money side of business. Some had even left private practice, or were avoiding starting one, because the financial side was too stressful.
So Linzy decided to help therapists and health professionals develop peace of mind about their money. Since so many were never taught these skills, she focuses on the “how” of making the business side of private practice doable, and even super satisfying.
About Page: https://moneynutsandbolts.com/about/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linzybonham/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moneynutsandbolts/
Linzy Bonham [00:00:00]:
What do you do in your private practice and what do you do with your finances when you are not feeling like you used to, when you are no longer having the health and the vitality that you used to? And we know that after menopause you are going to feel better, feel different, but a lot of these symptoms will recede. But it might be again many years that you have these symptoms. Welcome to Money Skills for Therapists, the podcast that helps therapists and health practitioners in private practice go from money confusion and shame to calm clarity and confidence with their finances. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by numbers or avoided looking at your business money, you’re in the right place. I’m Lindsey Bonham, therapist turned money coach and creator of Money Skills for Therapists. Before we jump in, check out my free On Demand masterclass. You’ll find the link in the show notes or@moneynutsandbolts.com under masterclass. It’s the best first step to finally feeling empowered with money in your private practice.
Linzy Bonham [00:00:55]:
Let’s get started. Hello and welcome back to the podcast. Today’s episode is a solo episode where I’m going to be digging into perimenopause and private practice finances. I’m going to be talking today about perimenopause in general, which is something that is showing up a lot in the folks that I serve in Money Skills for Therapists and Money Skills Group practice owners, who, many of whom are women in their late 30s, early mid-40s. Perimenopause becoming very, very common experience. I’m going to talk about perimenopause, what the symptoms are. I’m going to talk about how they impact us in our private practice, how they impact our finances and our ability to work on our finances. And then what you can do if you find yourself in this place where perimenopause is popping up and changing the way that you can show up in your private practice and changing how money is looking in your life.
Linzy Bonham [00:01:52]:
So I think it goes without saying, but I’m going to say it. This is not a medical podcast. I am extremely not a doctor. I am smart in other ways, but there is no way I would ever get through med school. So as you’re listening to this episode today, I’m going to be talking about some of the symptoms of perimenopause. But if you are experiencing these things, of course talk to your doctor about these symptoms. I will say myself that I went to a healthcare professional thinking, thinking I had perimenopause and I actually had Something else. So it’s always good to get a second opinion when you do have symptoms like the ones that we’re going to be chatting about today coming up to make sure that you actually know what the problem is and you can get the appropriate treatment for your actual medical condition.
Linzy Bonham [00:02:31]:
So let us dig into the symptoms of perimenopause, which are a whole list of not fun. Basically, perimenopause in a lot of ways can be summed up by you feel crummy, you experience potentially hot flashes and night sweats, your sleep is disrupted, you’re not sleeping as well as before, it’s hard to fall asleep, it’s hard to stay asleep. You are experiencing fatigue and exhaustion, mood swings, anxiety, irritability, like low mood depression, you know, the terrible highs. The terrible lows can come with perimenopause, brain fog, which of course is really relevant when it comes to our work and our money. So having trouble with memory, having trouble with concentration, focus, word retrieval might be challenging. That’s something that I know I myself have been having challenges with lately. Despite not being in perimenopause, your PMS might get way worse. So you might be used to mood swings around certain points in your cycle, but they become much more pronounced.
Linzy Bonham [00:03:30]:
So like way more irritable, way more tension going on. Headaches can be another part of perimenopause and a whole bunch of other physical discomfort, which is a little bit less relevant for what we’re going to talk about today, but certainly lead to, again, you feeling just a whole bunch of crummy things like heart palpitation, breast tenderness, bladder problems, low libido. So you’re having less fun. Vaginal dryness and then also changes to your body. So weight gain, you know, you might be noticing your body changing and looking ways that it has never looked before. Change in body shape, it’s a lot. And one of the things about perimenopause is it can go on for a long time before you actually go into full menopause. So I know a friend of mine was diagnosed with perimenopause.
Linzy Bonham [00:04:14]:
She was in her early 40s and her doctor said it could be eight or 10 years of this. So it is a lot to weather for a long time in terms of how this impacts our work. Of course, when we are feeling bad, when we’re feeling sick or ill, we can’t really show up as our best selves, right? If you’re having cognitive fogginess, especially word retrieval issues, if your brain is just not feeling as sharp A lot of what we do as therapists is we sit and we work to be fully present and access all of these different aspects of our brain and draw on all of these things that we know about the person sitting in front of us, and also the things that we know about therapy and our natural intuition and skills. Being a therapist involves almost, you know, if we were going to use a computer analogy, having many, many programs pulled up at the same time in your brain to be able to be as effective as possible with the person sitting in front of you. And perimenopause is going to interfere with that, right? Fogginess, headaches, fatigue, exhaustion, all of these things are going to make it harder for you to show up feeling like really the best version of yourself as a therapist and in your life as well, but definitely in your work. You also might be way more tired and have lower capacity for clients. So not only are you not able to show up as the therapist you really want to be and know that you can be in certain times, but also you might just not be able to work like you used to. It might be way more challenging to see those like 15 to 20 clients a week that you used to when you are feeling depleted and drained and foggy and physically uncomfortable.
Linzy Bonham [00:05:50]:
This obviously has a big impact on our money as self employed people, right? When we’re not feeling well, it is harder to push ourselves to see more clients. The capacity that you might have had to see clients when you were feeling good in your 20s and your 30s, you might have been able to see 15 or 20 clients a week, no problem. That is impacted when your health is not good. And that in private practice literally impacts our income. Right? We make less money when we see less clients. And you might not have that option of just pushing yourself harder like you used to. It’s also harder to do the big picture work in your business when you are struggling with brain fog and challenges with focus and executive functioning. That big picture thinking requires us to be grounded and really zoom out.
Linzy Bonham [00:06:37]:
And kind of similar to the computer analogy that I just used in terms of being a therapist for big picture thinking, we also need to have multiple programs kind of pulled up in our brain at once. But those programs are going to be more about taking perspective on our numbers, having our numbers pulled up and thinking about what’s happening with our clients and what’s happening with marketing and what are the messages that you’re getting that big picture strategic thinking also takes a lot of cognitive brain power that might be hard to access when you are Experiencing symptoms of perimenopause. So what do you do? What do you do in your private practice? And what do you do with your finances when you are not feeling like you used to, when you are no longer having the health and the vitality that you used to? And we know that after menopause, you are going to feel better, feel different, but a lot of these symptoms will recede. But it might be again many years that you have these symptoms. So the first thing is to zoom out and accept your new reality. It’s really easy as humans and in business to have set a certain norm or standard for ourself of like, this is what life looks like, this is how many clients I see a week, this is how much money I make. And then make that be the norm to which you always have to be holding yourself to and striving. Sometimes we have to stop and adapt and we have to accept our new situation.
Linzy Bonham [00:07:59]:
And when our health has changed, when our bodies are changing and we don’t have control over that, A big part of making your business work for you and making your money work for you is working with your reality, not working against it. Unfortunately, no amount of willpower is going to change this combination of symptoms that you are experiencing. So with that view of acceptance and really being curious about where you are now, the first thing that you could ask yourself is how can you create more ease in your business? A lot of that is probably going to be around scheduling. What adjustments do you need to make to your schedule to feel as well as you can in this context? Right? Is that putting in like a midday break or nap or walk, Making a longer gap in the middle of the day to help to ground and take care of your body and take care of your mind? Is it ending your workday earlier than you used to? Is it seeing less clients in a row than you used to? Asking yourself these questions of how can my schedule support me now with my body and my mind the way that it is now? And just be curious about what changes would feel supportive, what would make your days feel easier? It might also be reducing your caseload. Right now, you might not have the capacity that you used to have. And when we fight against our capacity, we set ourselves up for burnout. And that is not what you need right now at this point in your life, given that you are in your late 30s and 40s, you probably have a bunch of other responsibilities going on too. So burnout is not going to help your situation.
Linzy Bonham [00:09:35]:
So being realistic with yourself about what do you need your caseload to be right now? Would 12 be a better number for you in terms of sessions a week? Right. What are some tweaks that can be made to keep you from feeling as exhausted? You might have to actually look at increasing some fees to offset the reduced caseload. If you are already a therapist who is out of pocket, where clients are paying you cash and you can easily set your own rates, this would be an easier thing to do. Something else to remind yourself of is at this point in your career, you’re not new, you know what you’re doing, you’ve probably established a niche, you probably have an established caseload. And if you don’t, I’m sure that you have honed a specific clinical niche that would allow you to really establish a caseload of folks who really need what you do and really appreciate what you do and the expertise that you have, not just from having clinical experience, but having life experience. So this is always something that I think of when I speak with clinicians who are more in like middle aged or beyond is, you know, we really have to value what we’re bringing to the table as we get older. We have gained a lot of experience professionally and personally. So it might be looking at increasing your fees or if you are completely paneled with insurance and you’ve realized, I can’t keep seeing the amount of clients that I need to see, but also I can’t be making less money, then it might be a time to think about going cash, pay partially or completely, depending on what you need to do.
Linzy Bonham [00:11:00]:
And this is where it’s really always about being real about your numbers, your financial needs, and how do you set up that practice to meet your financial needs. Right. And this is what we talk about in Money Skills for therapists is having that sustainable practice that supports you with where you are now in this chapter of your life. It might also be creating more spaciousness in your schedule so you can seize on moments where you feel good and, and clear thinking. For instance, having deep work periods blocked off in your week where it’s like, okay, Tuesday morning I have blocked off and that’s a deep work period where I have the opportunity to really get into something, right? And then that time is there. And if it’s a good day, you might find that you do really dig into something and feel good and see yourself make progress thinking about your marketing plan or taking care of some other backend part of your business that really needs your attention. We have to set that time aside to be able to really get in the groove and if you set aside a good chunk of time, even if you can just get in the groove and get your brain working for you for 45 minutes or an hour, you’ve still created an impactful moment for your business where you’re able to work on something. But setting time aside to allow that to happen really helps because you’re probably not going to have quite the sharpness of mind that you might have used to to like do things between sessions.
Linzy Bonham [00:12:15]:
You might have to be more thoughtful about batching your schedule to make sure that there’s enough time for you to work on the business, work in the business, seeing clients, and then also thinking about batching your schedule outside of work. In terms of time for exercise, time, for rest, time to be with friends, to fill up your cup, making sure that you’re really purposely putting in time to replenish yourself when your body is not feeling good, right? You’re kind of like moving against the current physically. We really need to make sure that we are offsetting that with whatever it is that you personally need to take care of yourself. The next piece is thinking about how your money can support you during this time. What do you need now that maybe you didn’t need before? Do you need to commit to doing some sort of regular self care like yoga or Tai chi? Old people love Tai Chi. We’re getting older. Maybe it’s Tai Chi time, I don’t know, right? Be curious about what would feel good now that your money can help to bring into your life, right? Is it getting more healthcare support? Is it buying better food for yourself, giving yourself better fuel? Is it medication, right? Is it looking at hormone replacement therapy? What is it that you need that your money can provide for you, that maybe your money didn’t need to provide for before, but now would really help to support you? Talking to your doctor and your healthcare providers about your support options is gonna help you better understand what your money could do to take care of you. In this chapter of your life, it’s always helpful to stop and ask ourselves, where would your money have the biggest positive impact in your life right now? And when you’re going through a change of seasons, when you’re going through a change in your health, those answers today might be very different than they were three years ago.
Linzy Bonham [00:13:59]:
So stopping and asking yourself that question now, where would your money have the biggest positive impact in your life? Will give you information on where to direct your money to really take care of yourself. And then the final piece is the finances piece, right? So we’ve just Talked now about the business, your schedule, how to make sure your business, your private practice is taking care of you in this new chapter, how your money can take care of you in this new chapter. And now let’s talk about how your finances, working on your finances can become easier in this chapter because that’s always the other facet of money is like, there’s what money can do for us, there’s how we direct money, but then there’s also like the work of money, working on money. How do we make that easier when we’re not feeling as good as we used to? One thing is to create a clear system and habits for yourself so you don’t have to think fresh every time you sit down to work on your money, about what you need to do. Having a nice, clear checklist of the tasks that you do whenever you do money time. I’m a big fan of having that weekly time where you work on your money, maybe with a backup time if you might, you know, have a bad headache that morning or something else might pop up. But having that regular time to work on your money and have a checklist. Every time I sit down to work on my money, I look at my bank accounts first, I make sure everything looks good.
Linzy Bonham [00:15:11]:
I pay my credit card, I update my budget, I pay my bills, right? Having that clear checklist so that you don’t have to draw on fresh cognitive power when you sit down, but you’re going through your routine takes away some of that mental load. Also, automating more things in your finances, and we talked about this on the ADD episode as well, put more automation into your finances so there’s less of you having to remember that a bill needs to be paid and more of that bill just being paid automatically. Right? Let’s reduce the cognitive load associated with your finances when that cognitive energy right now would probably better serve you somewhere else because it might be in more limited supply than it used to be. And finally asking for help, right? This doesn’t have to be all on you. So many therapists, we tend to be a little bit hyper independent sometimes we want to do everything ourselves. We can struggle with perfectionism, thinking that we’re the only one who can really do something well. But especially when your health is reduced, when your capacity is reduced, think about where you can get support. Who can you bring in to help you? Maybe it’s a bookkeeper.
Linzy Bonham [00:16:17]:
As I’ve said many times, you can’t outsource the responsibility for your money. You’re still the boss of your money. You’re still the boss of your business. You still have to be able to understand those numbers and make great decisions about where that money is going to serve you. But you could have somebody else do the task of putting your money all tidy into a system so that you know it’s all categorized very accurately and ready for tax time. It could be bringing in an administrator to take other kinds of tasks off your plate or to do your bookkeeping. You know, if you have a very simple practice, a virtual administrator might be able to just update your QuickBooks for you or update your spreadsheet for you. What tasks can you take off your plate that will give you back energy that you need right now to take care of yourself, right? And to rest and to replenish yourself while your body is going through this transition.
Linzy Bonham [00:17:03]:
So to repeat those things in terms of making your money easier to work on, have a nice clear system with routines, automate and ask for help, right? As women especially, we are socialized to take care of everybody else when you are not feeling well. It’s also a beautiful opportunity, let’s call it a spiritual opportunity, to invite more help into your life because you need help too. You’re spending your time and energy professionally helping so many people. You’re probably also helping so many other people in your personal life. So accept help and support during this time of your life. If it’s the first time, then it’s going to be a great opportunity for you to grow in this way of bringing more support into your life. So that is my summary. My thoughts on perimenopause and money Sending lots of good energy to all of you who are going through this transition.
Linzy Bonham [00:17:56]:
Health can be a real challenge and folks who have chronic health issues know that. All the things that I’ve talked about are true, as we always when health is not, it’s optimal. Need to be thinking about schedules that take care of us. Need to be thinking about how our money takes care of us. Need to create ease in our financial systems. And for some folks, that has always been true because their health has always been a challenge and their capacity has always been limited. And for some of us, that might be a new transition to get into. But the beautiful thing about having a private practice is you have the flexibility and you have the autonomy to actually set these things up to work for you.
Linzy Bonham [00:18:33]:
So I really encourage you to take that seriously and allow your business and allow your money to take care of yourself. I’m Linzy Bonham, therapist turned money coach and creator of Money Skills for Therapists. If you’re ready to go. From money confusion and shame to feeling clear and empowered, my Free On Demand Masterclass is the best place to start. You’ll learn my four step framework to get your private practice finances finally working for you. Register today using the link in the show notes or go to moneynutsandbolts.com under masterclass. I look forward to supporting you.
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187: Building a Sustainable Private Practice During Perimenopause: Scheduling, Systems, and Self-Compassion
What happens to your private practice—and your finances—when perimenopause hits and you just don’t feel like you used to?
As therapists and health practitioners, we’re used to holding space for others—even when our own capacity is changing. If you’re noticing changes in your energy, focus, or mood and wondering how to keep your practice (and your finances) healthy, this episode might be just what you need.
In this episode, I break down the real impact of perimenopause on therapists, from brain fog and fatigue to the tough decisions about reducing your caseload or raising your fees.
I share some practical ways to adjust your schedule, automate your money systems, and, most importantly, ask for support so your business and finances work with your new reality. Remember—your practice can and should support you through every season of life!
(00:04:14) Perimenopause’s Impact on Therapists
(00:07:59) Align Business with Current Reality
(00:12:15) Prioritize Time, Health, and Money
(00:15:11) Streamline Finances, Seek Support
(00:18:33) Money Clarity for Therapists
If you’ve been noticing a shift in your health, energy, or focus as you move through your late 30s or 40s—especially the ups and downs of perimenopause—you’re not alone.
Let’s be honest: perimenopause comes with a “whole list of not fun”—from hot flashes and brain fog to headaches, irritability, and unrelenting fatigue. If your capacity isn’t what it used to be, please know that adjusting your expectations and routines isn’t just okay—it’s necessary.
Listen in for practical steps to create more ease in your schedule, value your expertise as your career progresses, and make sure your money truly supports you through this transitional season. I encourage you to create a clear system and habits for yourself, so you don’t have to think fresh every time you sit down to work on your money. Having a nice, clear checklist of the tasks that you do whenever you do money time will help clear mental barriers and make the best use of the energy you have in that moment.
(00:15:37) “Let’s reduce the cognitive load associated with your finances when that cognitive energy right now would probably better serve you somewhere else because it might be in more limited supply than it used to be.” – Linzy Bonham
Here are 3 key takeaways for therapists in private practice:
Linzy Bonham is a private practice therapist turned money coach who helps private practice owners and health professionals feel calm and in control of their finances through her coaching at Money Nuts & Bolts and her podcast Money Skills for Therapists.
It all started when she saw her extremely skilled colleagues struggle with the money side of business. Some had even left private practice, or were avoiding starting one, because the financial side was too stressful.
So Linzy decided to help therapists and health professionals develop peace of mind about their money. Since so many were never taught these skills, she focuses on the “how” of making the business side of private practice doable, and even super satisfying.
About Page: https://moneynutsandbolts.com/about/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linzybonham/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moneynutsandbolts/
Linzy Bonham [00:00:00]:
What do you do in your private practice and what do you do with your finances when you are not feeling like you used to, when you are no longer having the health and the vitality that you used to? And we know that after menopause you are going to feel better, feel different, but a lot of these symptoms will recede. But it might be again many years that you have these symptoms. Welcome to Money Skills for Therapists, the podcast that helps therapists and health practitioners in private practice go from money confusion and shame to calm clarity and confidence with their finances. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by numbers or avoided looking at your business money, you’re in the right place. I’m Lindsey Bonham, therapist turned money coach and creator of Money Skills for Therapists. Before we jump in, check out my free On Demand masterclass. You’ll find the link in the show notes or@moneynutsandbolts.com under masterclass. It’s the best first step to finally feeling empowered with money in your private practice.
Linzy Bonham [00:00:55]:
Let’s get started. Hello and welcome back to the podcast. Today’s episode is a solo episode where I’m going to be digging into perimenopause and private practice finances. I’m going to be talking today about perimenopause in general, which is something that is showing up a lot in the folks that I serve in Money Skills for Therapists and Money Skills Group practice owners, who, many of whom are women in their late 30s, early mid-40s. Perimenopause becoming very, very common experience. I’m going to talk about perimenopause, what the symptoms are. I’m going to talk about how they impact us in our private practice, how they impact our finances and our ability to work on our finances. And then what you can do if you find yourself in this place where perimenopause is popping up and changing the way that you can show up in your private practice and changing how money is looking in your life.
Linzy Bonham [00:01:52]:
So I think it goes without saying, but I’m going to say it. This is not a medical podcast. I am extremely not a doctor. I am smart in other ways, but there is no way I would ever get through med school. So as you’re listening to this episode today, I’m going to be talking about some of the symptoms of perimenopause. But if you are experiencing these things, of course talk to your doctor about these symptoms. I will say myself that I went to a healthcare professional thinking, thinking I had perimenopause and I actually had Something else. So it’s always good to get a second opinion when you do have symptoms like the ones that we’re going to be chatting about today coming up to make sure that you actually know what the problem is and you can get the appropriate treatment for your actual medical condition.
Linzy Bonham [00:02:31]:
So let us dig into the symptoms of perimenopause, which are a whole list of not fun. Basically, perimenopause in a lot of ways can be summed up by you feel crummy, you experience potentially hot flashes and night sweats, your sleep is disrupted, you’re not sleeping as well as before, it’s hard to fall asleep, it’s hard to stay asleep. You are experiencing fatigue and exhaustion, mood swings, anxiety, irritability, like low mood depression, you know, the terrible highs. The terrible lows can come with perimenopause, brain fog, which of course is really relevant when it comes to our work and our money. So having trouble with memory, having trouble with concentration, focus, word retrieval might be challenging. That’s something that I know I myself have been having challenges with lately. Despite not being in perimenopause, your PMS might get way worse. So you might be used to mood swings around certain points in your cycle, but they become much more pronounced.
Linzy Bonham [00:03:30]:
So like way more irritable, way more tension going on. Headaches can be another part of perimenopause and a whole bunch of other physical discomfort, which is a little bit less relevant for what we’re going to talk about today, but certainly lead to, again, you feeling just a whole bunch of crummy things like heart palpitation, breast tenderness, bladder problems, low libido. So you’re having less fun. Vaginal dryness and then also changes to your body. So weight gain, you know, you might be noticing your body changing and looking ways that it has never looked before. Change in body shape, it’s a lot. And one of the things about perimenopause is it can go on for a long time before you actually go into full menopause. So I know a friend of mine was diagnosed with perimenopause.
Linzy Bonham [00:04:14]:
She was in her early 40s and her doctor said it could be eight or 10 years of this. So it is a lot to weather for a long time in terms of how this impacts our work. Of course, when we are feeling bad, when we’re feeling sick or ill, we can’t really show up as our best selves, right? If you’re having cognitive fogginess, especially word retrieval issues, if your brain is just not feeling as sharp A lot of what we do as therapists is we sit and we work to be fully present and access all of these different aspects of our brain and draw on all of these things that we know about the person sitting in front of us, and also the things that we know about therapy and our natural intuition and skills. Being a therapist involves almost, you know, if we were going to use a computer analogy, having many, many programs pulled up at the same time in your brain to be able to be as effective as possible with the person sitting in front of you. And perimenopause is going to interfere with that, right? Fogginess, headaches, fatigue, exhaustion, all of these things are going to make it harder for you to show up feeling like really the best version of yourself as a therapist and in your life as well, but definitely in your work. You also might be way more tired and have lower capacity for clients. So not only are you not able to show up as the therapist you really want to be and know that you can be in certain times, but also you might just not be able to work like you used to. It might be way more challenging to see those like 15 to 20 clients a week that you used to when you are feeling depleted and drained and foggy and physically uncomfortable.
Linzy Bonham [00:05:50]:
This obviously has a big impact on our money as self employed people, right? When we’re not feeling well, it is harder to push ourselves to see more clients. The capacity that you might have had to see clients when you were feeling good in your 20s and your 30s, you might have been able to see 15 or 20 clients a week, no problem. That is impacted when your health is not good. And that in private practice literally impacts our income. Right? We make less money when we see less clients. And you might not have that option of just pushing yourself harder like you used to. It’s also harder to do the big picture work in your business when you are struggling with brain fog and challenges with focus and executive functioning. That big picture thinking requires us to be grounded and really zoom out.
Linzy Bonham [00:06:37]:
And kind of similar to the computer analogy that I just used in terms of being a therapist for big picture thinking, we also need to have multiple programs kind of pulled up in our brain at once. But those programs are going to be more about taking perspective on our numbers, having our numbers pulled up and thinking about what’s happening with our clients and what’s happening with marketing and what are the messages that you’re getting that big picture strategic thinking also takes a lot of cognitive brain power that might be hard to access when you are Experiencing symptoms of perimenopause. So what do you do? What do you do in your private practice? And what do you do with your finances when you are not feeling like you used to, when you are no longer having the health and the vitality that you used to? And we know that after menopause, you are going to feel better, feel different, but a lot of these symptoms will recede. But it might be again many years that you have these symptoms. So the first thing is to zoom out and accept your new reality. It’s really easy as humans and in business to have set a certain norm or standard for ourself of like, this is what life looks like, this is how many clients I see a week, this is how much money I make. And then make that be the norm to which you always have to be holding yourself to and striving. Sometimes we have to stop and adapt and we have to accept our new situation.
Linzy Bonham [00:07:59]:
And when our health has changed, when our bodies are changing and we don’t have control over that, A big part of making your business work for you and making your money work for you is working with your reality, not working against it. Unfortunately, no amount of willpower is going to change this combination of symptoms that you are experiencing. So with that view of acceptance and really being curious about where you are now, the first thing that you could ask yourself is how can you create more ease in your business? A lot of that is probably going to be around scheduling. What adjustments do you need to make to your schedule to feel as well as you can in this context? Right? Is that putting in like a midday break or nap or walk, Making a longer gap in the middle of the day to help to ground and take care of your body and take care of your mind? Is it ending your workday earlier than you used to? Is it seeing less clients in a row than you used to? Asking yourself these questions of how can my schedule support me now with my body and my mind the way that it is now? And just be curious about what changes would feel supportive, what would make your days feel easier? It might also be reducing your caseload. Right now, you might not have the capacity that you used to have. And when we fight against our capacity, we set ourselves up for burnout. And that is not what you need right now at this point in your life, given that you are in your late 30s and 40s, you probably have a bunch of other responsibilities going on too. So burnout is not going to help your situation.
Linzy Bonham [00:09:35]:
So being realistic with yourself about what do you need your caseload to be right now? Would 12 be a better number for you in terms of sessions a week? Right. What are some tweaks that can be made to keep you from feeling as exhausted? You might have to actually look at increasing some fees to offset the reduced caseload. If you are already a therapist who is out of pocket, where clients are paying you cash and you can easily set your own rates, this would be an easier thing to do. Something else to remind yourself of is at this point in your career, you’re not new, you know what you’re doing, you’ve probably established a niche, you probably have an established caseload. And if you don’t, I’m sure that you have honed a specific clinical niche that would allow you to really establish a caseload of folks who really need what you do and really appreciate what you do and the expertise that you have, not just from having clinical experience, but having life experience. So this is always something that I think of when I speak with clinicians who are more in like middle aged or beyond is, you know, we really have to value what we’re bringing to the table as we get older. We have gained a lot of experience professionally and personally. So it might be looking at increasing your fees or if you are completely paneled with insurance and you’ve realized, I can’t keep seeing the amount of clients that I need to see, but also I can’t be making less money, then it might be a time to think about going cash, pay partially or completely, depending on what you need to do.
Linzy Bonham [00:11:00]:
And this is where it’s really always about being real about your numbers, your financial needs, and how do you set up that practice to meet your financial needs. Right. And this is what we talk about in Money Skills for therapists is having that sustainable practice that supports you with where you are now in this chapter of your life. It might also be creating more spaciousness in your schedule so you can seize on moments where you feel good and, and clear thinking. For instance, having deep work periods blocked off in your week where it’s like, okay, Tuesday morning I have blocked off and that’s a deep work period where I have the opportunity to really get into something, right? And then that time is there. And if it’s a good day, you might find that you do really dig into something and feel good and see yourself make progress thinking about your marketing plan or taking care of some other backend part of your business that really needs your attention. We have to set that time aside to be able to really get in the groove and if you set aside a good chunk of time, even if you can just get in the groove and get your brain working for you for 45 minutes or an hour, you’ve still created an impactful moment for your business where you’re able to work on something. But setting time aside to allow that to happen really helps because you’re probably not going to have quite the sharpness of mind that you might have used to to like do things between sessions.
Linzy Bonham [00:12:15]:
You might have to be more thoughtful about batching your schedule to make sure that there’s enough time for you to work on the business, work in the business, seeing clients, and then also thinking about batching your schedule outside of work. In terms of time for exercise, time, for rest, time to be with friends, to fill up your cup, making sure that you’re really purposely putting in time to replenish yourself when your body is not feeling good, right? You’re kind of like moving against the current physically. We really need to make sure that we are offsetting that with whatever it is that you personally need to take care of yourself. The next piece is thinking about how your money can support you during this time. What do you need now that maybe you didn’t need before? Do you need to commit to doing some sort of regular self care like yoga or Tai chi? Old people love Tai Chi. We’re getting older. Maybe it’s Tai Chi time, I don’t know, right? Be curious about what would feel good now that your money can help to bring into your life, right? Is it getting more healthcare support? Is it buying better food for yourself, giving yourself better fuel? Is it medication, right? Is it looking at hormone replacement therapy? What is it that you need that your money can provide for you, that maybe your money didn’t need to provide for before, but now would really help to support you? Talking to your doctor and your healthcare providers about your support options is gonna help you better understand what your money could do to take care of you. In this chapter of your life, it’s always helpful to stop and ask ourselves, where would your money have the biggest positive impact in your life right now? And when you’re going through a change of seasons, when you’re going through a change in your health, those answers today might be very different than they were three years ago.
Linzy Bonham [00:13:59]:
So stopping and asking yourself that question now, where would your money have the biggest positive impact in your life? Will give you information on where to direct your money to really take care of yourself. And then the final piece is the finances piece, right? So we’ve just Talked now about the business, your schedule, how to make sure your business, your private practice is taking care of you in this new chapter, how your money can take care of you in this new chapter. And now let’s talk about how your finances, working on your finances can become easier in this chapter because that’s always the other facet of money is like, there’s what money can do for us, there’s how we direct money, but then there’s also like the work of money, working on money. How do we make that easier when we’re not feeling as good as we used to? One thing is to create a clear system and habits for yourself so you don’t have to think fresh every time you sit down to work on your money, about what you need to do. Having a nice, clear checklist of the tasks that you do whenever you do money time. I’m a big fan of having that weekly time where you work on your money, maybe with a backup time if you might, you know, have a bad headache that morning or something else might pop up. But having that regular time to work on your money and have a checklist. Every time I sit down to work on my money, I look at my bank accounts first, I make sure everything looks good.
Linzy Bonham [00:15:11]:
I pay my credit card, I update my budget, I pay my bills, right? Having that clear checklist so that you don’t have to draw on fresh cognitive power when you sit down, but you’re going through your routine takes away some of that mental load. Also, automating more things in your finances, and we talked about this on the ADD episode as well, put more automation into your finances so there’s less of you having to remember that a bill needs to be paid and more of that bill just being paid automatically. Right? Let’s reduce the cognitive load associated with your finances when that cognitive energy right now would probably better serve you somewhere else because it might be in more limited supply than it used to be. And finally asking for help, right? This doesn’t have to be all on you. So many therapists, we tend to be a little bit hyper independent sometimes we want to do everything ourselves. We can struggle with perfectionism, thinking that we’re the only one who can really do something well. But especially when your health is reduced, when your capacity is reduced, think about where you can get support. Who can you bring in to help you? Maybe it’s a bookkeeper.
Linzy Bonham [00:16:17]:
As I’ve said many times, you can’t outsource the responsibility for your money. You’re still the boss of your money. You’re still the boss of your business. You still have to be able to understand those numbers and make great decisions about where that money is going to serve you. But you could have somebody else do the task of putting your money all tidy into a system so that you know it’s all categorized very accurately and ready for tax time. It could be bringing in an administrator to take other kinds of tasks off your plate or to do your bookkeeping. You know, if you have a very simple practice, a virtual administrator might be able to just update your QuickBooks for you or update your spreadsheet for you. What tasks can you take off your plate that will give you back energy that you need right now to take care of yourself, right? And to rest and to replenish yourself while your body is going through this transition.
Linzy Bonham [00:17:03]:
So to repeat those things in terms of making your money easier to work on, have a nice clear system with routines, automate and ask for help, right? As women especially, we are socialized to take care of everybody else when you are not feeling well. It’s also a beautiful opportunity, let’s call it a spiritual opportunity, to invite more help into your life because you need help too. You’re spending your time and energy professionally helping so many people. You’re probably also helping so many other people in your personal life. So accept help and support during this time of your life. If it’s the first time, then it’s going to be a great opportunity for you to grow in this way of bringing more support into your life. So that is my summary. My thoughts on perimenopause and money Sending lots of good energy to all of you who are going through this transition.
Linzy Bonham [00:17:56]:
Health can be a real challenge and folks who have chronic health issues know that. All the things that I’ve talked about are true, as we always when health is not, it’s optimal. Need to be thinking about schedules that take care of us. Need to be thinking about how our money takes care of us. Need to create ease in our financial systems. And for some folks, that has always been true because their health has always been a challenge and their capacity has always been limited. And for some of us, that might be a new transition to get into. But the beautiful thing about having a private practice is you have the flexibility and you have the autonomy to actually set these things up to work for you.
Linzy Bonham [00:18:33]:
So I really encourage you to take that seriously and allow your business and allow your money to take care of yourself. I’m Linzy Bonham, therapist turned money coach and creator of Money Skills for Therapists. If you’re ready to go. From money confusion and shame to feeling clear and empowered, my Free On Demand Masterclass is the best place to start. You’ll learn my four step framework to get your private practice finances finally working for you. Register today using the link in the show notes or go to moneynutsandbolts.com under masterclass. I look forward to supporting you.
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