Episode Details

What happens when you do everything the right way and still burn out? You try again. And again. Until you finally stop trying to fit yourself into someone else's blueprint.

Katie Fortunato is a Licensed Professional Counselor and EMDR therapist who built her practice the way she was told to... and hit the wall every single time. School counselor. Pivot in an unplanned direction due to COVID. Air Force Academy position. Group practice. Private practice. And at every stop: burnout, because the model she was handed wasn't built for her.

In this conversation, Katie and Victoria talk about what it actually takes to build something sustainable: starting with what you need (not what someone else did), figuring out your real number before you set any goals, and why the identity shift from clinician to practice owner is the part nobody warns you about.

If you are a therapist thinking about private practice, this one was made for you. And if you are not a therapist but you have ever tried to build something using someone else's rules and wondered why it kept breaking, this one is for you too.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Welcome and introducing Katie Fortunato
00:41 Who Katie is now: LPC, EMDR therapist, and coach for therapists
01:14 Where it started: the straight-line plan and the first detour
03:19 Five years as a school counselor: the promise vs. the bureaucracy
04:19 Selling everything in February 2020... and then COVID happened
07:17 The scenic route to private practice: Air Force Academy, group practice, and the moment she finally said yes
10:07 Knowing what you are worth and refusing to accept less
12:13 Year one of private practice: why the model she inherited nearly broke her
15:21 Her methodology: why the number has to come from your life, not from industry averages
18:27 Therapist pay, martyr culture, and the internal message that says you don't deserve more
22:03 The group program: building with a cohort instead of building alone
31:02 What she wishes she had told herself at the start: vision first, build second
37:11 The founders cohort: what is open, how long, and what founders get
38:31 Where to find Katie and wrap

ABOUT KATIE
Katie Fortunato is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) | EMDR Therapist | Group Practice Owner | Coach for Therapists Building Private Practices

Learn More:
Instagram: @katiefortunatocoaching
From Clinician to Practice Owner: Build, Launch & Grow for Therapists Facebook Group
To Learn More About Katies Group Program: Book a Call

ABOUT VICTORIA
Victoria Steward is a Financial Empowerment Coach and Certified Profit for Keeps® Coach who helps senior women in tech and engineering build the financial clarity and career confidence to leave corporate on their own terms. After 20 years as a civilian engineer for the U.S. Navy, she took the scenic route to get here... and she's been reaching a hand back ever since.

On LinkedIn: @victoria-steward-coaching

On Instagram: @victoria.steward.coach
Website: victoria-steward.com

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