Psychotherapist Start-Up Kit

How-To Guide on Work, Life, and Licensure, for Those Starting in the Mental Health Field

A Professional Development Course**

Start off as a new therapist in the strongest way possible with this course. If you feel this course does not positively equip you towards this, we offer a full refund if you contact us within 30 days of purchase!

For our instructor, David Hall, helping new therapists start well is one of his passions. He was 25 years old when he graduated with his Master in Marriage and Family Therapy in 2006. His masters program had given him good clinical training, but he had little-to-no guidance as to how to build his career, nor even a very good understanding of most of his career options. He stumbled forward, making some wrong turns, but generally finding paths for positive growth. Since then, David has worked as a therapist in 2 states, had jobs in treatment centers and group practices, completed a doctorate, earned multiple clinical licenses and certifications, served on a state association board, and started a psychiatry practice, a counseling clinic, and a teaching/consulting business. He has learned a lot, and wants to share his experience with you in this course which comes with a lifetime access to all of its current material and future up dates.

This course is for new clinicians in the mental health profession, as well as for those who are wanting to better navigate their options in their careers. On top of the lecture material, you will receive access to helpful forms and checklists to help you in the process. Areas covered include:

  • Setting Expectations and Potential Income
  • Exploring Clinical Work Options
  • Considering Different Locations and Work Travel
  • Resume/Vitae Writing (Templates Included)
  • How to Approach Employers
  • Considerations in Finding a Supervisor (Supervision Tracker Included)
  • Working Through Getting Licensed
  • Finding Therapy Specialties and Niches
  • Setting Self-Care Routines
  • Pros and Cons of More School
  • Cultivating Outside Sources of Income (see bonus lecture**)
  • Setting Up as a Business.

**This is a non-Continuing Education (CE) course.


Your Instructor


S. David Hall, PsyD
S. David Hall, PsyD

Dr. Stephen "David" Hall Jr. (PsyD, LMFT, LPC-MHSP-AS, CST, NCC) is the education director for PsychMaven, serving as one our primary teachers and heading up content and direction for the organization. He has been working as a counselor/psychotherapist since 2005 and holds clinical licenses in Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling, he also has specialized training in sex therapy, substance use disorders, and clinical hypnosis. Dr. Hall built up personal counseling practices in both Tennessee and Georgia, and in 2015 he led the start-up of an independent psychiatry clinic, Haven Family Psychiatry, and then built his current group therapy practice, Haven Counseling Center. Dr. Hall maintains a counseling/psychotherapy caseload and supervises postgraduate therapists through his practice. In 2011, Dr. Hall founded the Narrative Institute to provide workshops and seminars on story-craft and applied narrative theory for mental health therapists, other professionals, and the general public. In the years since, he has organized and taught professional continuing education and general trainings on narrative in psychotherapy, practice building, cultural trends, social dynamics of technology, professional ethics, and other mental health topics; having done live trainings throughout the United States and in the United Kingdom. In 2019, the Narrative Institute became one of the founding component institutes of PsychMaven. Dr. Hall has also worked as a business and clinical consultant in recovery and treatment center start-ups, an adjunct graduate professor, and has served as the president of the Tennessee Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (TNAMFT), the state division of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). For more on Dr. Hall, visit www.davidhallpsych.com.


Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 30 days and we will give you a full refund.
Does this course offer continuing education (CE) credit?
As this is one of our courses that is focused on business development, we are not able to offer CE credit for completing it. But please check out some of our other courses to earn CE hours.

This course is closed for enrollment.