Four surprising principles for a regenerative psychology practice.

Why the hacks and tactics only get us so far.

Do you ever find that the summer's change of pace and scenery can lead you to more reflection on your practice?

Here I am sweating and red faced as I reflected on the importance of understanding general principles in private practice. 

Some background - I took this selfie to mark the end of my first 5km run since experiencing significant muscle damage caused by COVID in March 2020. Although I’ve had to recover from post viral syndrome before, this experience with post exertional malaise (PEM) was uncharted territory for me.

My old running coach, Dr ‘Mad Dog’ Mike Schreiber, passed away suddenly in November 2014 and nearly 10 years later, I'm still putting what he taught me back to good use to live a good life.

That got me thinking on this run how a year of learning with him had upskilled me for life.

You see, Mike was ‘old skool’ and he had taught me the general principles of training to run, which are:

• Four runs a week is twice as good as three, and three is the minimum.
• Start more slowly than you think you should.
• Run the second half a couple seconds quicker than the first.
• Run the last 50-100m like your pants are on fire. 

When I was training with him, those 4 principles took me from zero to running 54km around the mountains of North Wales.

They look almost too simple from the outside but their power comes from tapping into fundamental building blocks that can be used to navigate the world when everything around us seems unfamiliar.

In these days of wall to wall, easy-to-consume hacks, working from general principles often get overlooked. 

Yet, with the world being so volatile, uncertain and complex, learning general principles in your practice is a game changer.  

Last week it was graduation for our most recent cohort of psychologists on The Psychology Practice Accelerator (TPPA). What I loved was hearing them talk about feeling confident that they now have what they need to successfully diversify, to bring products and services to life in a way that is restorative and regenerative to themselves and to the clients and communities they serve.

‘If this one doesn’t work, or if it stops working, or if I stop enjoying it, I can change and that won’t be a problem. I will know how to do that.’

That’s because the focus in TPPA has been on exploring, experiencing and embodying the general principles of a regenerative practice, not the latest hacks.

Hacks and tactics have a limited shelf life and the more uncertain and unpredictable the world, the more often we need to retrain. Great business model for some.. but not very regenerative.

Learning general principles builds our capability for flourishing, even in an uncertain future. Capability we share with those around us, creating an upward spiral of thriving.

The four first principles we focus on in TPPA are:

Weaving stories: Story is the essence of our psychology practices and where we meet ourselves, our clients, what has been in the past and what can be in the future. Any time our practice isn’t ‘working’ for us, it’s usually because we’ve abandoned our search for our essential story threads and settled for cliché i.e. somebody else's story.  

Creating community: We believe community is not just another word for ‘online audience’ and therapy at scale is community, not an app or an online course. At the heart of a flourishing and regenerative psychology practice is community, built on connection, resourcing and reciprocity. We've also built community into the heart of TPPA through our lifetime Alumni community membership.

Designing with and for people within planetary boundaries: That’s why we don’t talk about 10X this or 7-8 figure that. We focus on designing IN connection and designing OUT consumption. Designing in what you and your clients need to thrive and designing out burnout and exploitation. Designing with and for people, not doing psychology to and on people.

Courageous leadership: Standing for something meaningful to you gives you the power to face your worries around visibility. 

These four principles empower us to navigate uncertainties and build a practice that is not only successful but also sustainable and fulfilling. 

As you continue on your journey, remember that understanding and applying these principles will provide you with the resilience and adaptability needed in today’s ever-changing world.

If you’re ready to transform your practice and make a lasting impact, we invite you to explore more about TPPA. Discover how these principles can be woven into your work, creating a regenerative and thriving practice for yourself and the communities you serve.

Thank you for being part of our community. We look forward to supporting you on this journey of growth and transformation.

Kind regards,

Wendy

Wendy Kendall C.Psychol AFBPsS

Chartered Occupational and Coaching Psychologist

Inspiring Psychology Practices

P.S. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or if you’d like to learn more about how TPPA can support your practice. We're here to help! Just hit reply and ask away.

p.p.s. We will be back with our associate offers and CPD offers in the autumn after the summer break. If you'd like to add your associate and CPD offers for psychologists to our newsletter, join our Inspiring Psychology Practices group on Facebook (yep, we're Old Skool like that too..)