The top 5 challenges to establishing a busy practice
Emma Murphy, Eating Freely Founder, answers the five most common challenges that practitioners bring up during her masterclasses.
1. "I'M A JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES, MASTER-OF-NONE!"
Many people are drawn to re-training as a coach, nutritionist or therapist out of their own experience of a health issue or challenge. It's a common myth that once qualified, you'll pick a snazzy name and logo for your practice, and your diary will be filled with clients in no time!
The reality is that initial training as a coach, nutritionist or therapist is foundational and VERY general. In order to be a truly effective practitioner, you will need further specialist training so you have a niche, stand out from others and can offer real, transformational change to a specific client type with a specific health challenge.
One of the most common issues across the board is emotional/binge eating. When clients have gut issues, anxiety, low mood, or are struggling with infertility, diabetes, thyroid or inflammation - the most common underlying or co-occurring issue will be emotional or binge eating.
It has taken me 15 years to get to where I am now - that's over 12 years in practice myself, 7 years of training other practitioners, and 6 years of running Eating Freely. It doesn't happen overnight, and any 'train with us and fast track your way to a 6-figure practice!' pitch is a flat out lie, unless you happen to have come from a strong marketing background prior to retraining.
The one true way to steadily and consistently build a successful practice is to niche down, specialise and become a trusted authority in a specific area. Having done it myself, and with many of our licensed practitioners following in my footsteps, we give you the highest quality training, short cuts to practice growth and the clinical skills you need to bring about transformational change to clients.
2. "I'M ON A CONSTANT HAMSTER WHEEL OF TRYING TO GET NEW CLIENTS AND EARN RELIABLE INCOME"
As a coach, therapist or nutritionist, we are generally taught to let the client lead the process. This means many practitioners work from session to session, allowing the work each week to be led by whatever the client comes in with. Let me tell you, as a veteran practitioner of 15 years - this is NOT what your clients want! They want you to take control of the process, they want to feel safe in the knowledge that you know what you are doing, and they will get relief from what's been impacting them - often for years.
Having a structured methodology or framework, and offering a time limited program that focuses specifically on that key problem for that client is key. This is why specialising is so critical to having a successful, busy practice. Because if you are 'just another generalist' posting generic, vague health advice and inspirational quotes on your website and social media, you will be lost in the noise of all the other generalist practictioners doing exactly the same thing!
3. "I OFFER WEIGHT LOSS SUPPORT, BUT SO MANY CLIENTS ARE EMOTIONAL OR BINGE EATERS, AND I WORRY THAT I DON'T KNOW WHAT I AM DOING, OR AM OUTSIDE MY SCOPE IF I WORK WITH THEM!"
What we call 'emotional eating' is very often Binge Eating Disorder, which is a defined Eating Disorder in the DSM V. So it really is important to have training in this area in order to be confident you are working within your scope of practice. But is it worth taking specialist training?
- 30% of adults seeking weight loss support meet the criteria for Binge Eating Disorder.
- 38% of Type 2 Diabetes patients meet the criteria for Binge Eating Disorder.
- Up to 60% of bariatric patients meet the criteria for Binge Eating Disorder. Up to 80% of bariatric patients had at least one adverse childhood experience (trauma), which is the key trigger for a lifetime of emotonal eating.
- Binge Eating Disorder impacts men almost as much as women - 40% of sufferers are male.
- Binge Eating Disorder is estimated to impact 1 in 20 adults, or 5% of the population. And just to be clear, that is not just the white, female 'western' population - it's present in EVERY culture, creed and skin colour. Disordered eating support is disgracefully lacking in diversity and inclusivity, and this is something we're very committed to changing.
Emotional Eating and Binge Eating Disorder is a significantly misunderstood, under-diagnosed and under-served area. It is hidden in plain sight in every area of obesity related health, and the millions of adults it affects are very poorly supported, if at all, by the current healthcare system. There's little to NO specialist support baked into any medical or healthcare services for T2D, bariatric surgery or even weight management services.
We're on a mission to ensure that anyone, anywhere, regardless of means CAN get the support they need to finally resolve an often decades long experience of being misunderstood, judged, shamed and not supported, all because they learned how to eat to self-soothe in response to a childhood or early adulthood adverse or traumatic experience.
You can be part of our mission and movement - and best of all, this WILL set you apart and give you a significant advantage in growing your practice as a specialist in this huge, under-served niche.
4. "I AM STRUGGLING TO TURN MY ACADEMIC LEARNING INTO PRACTICAL TOOLS AND INFORMATION FOR MY CLIENTS. I'M NOT CONFIDENT I REALLY KNOW WHAT I'M DOING AND SPEND A LOT OF TIME 'RESEARCHING' OTHER INFORMATION."
I am going to be candid - what you are taught and what you actually do in practice are often VERY different! What we are generally taught are theoretical constructs and guidelines based on research studies. That information is hard to apply to Mary or John sitting in front of you, with a busy family, demanding job, several mysterious ailments that seem unconnected and a growing disillusionment in their doctor's ability to help them feel better.
Equally, whilst the theory of coaching and therapy is to allow the work to be client led - the reality is your client is in pain, they are struggling and they want practical, actionable support so they can feel better, function better and get on with their life with more energy and mojo!
Our training is the ultimate in practical, applicable support. And after training hundreds of practitioners from many discplines from health coaches to medical doctors, we KNOW our tools, supports and interventions WORK for clients, and for you!
We teach you a lot of underlying theory and understanding of the roots of emotional and binge eating - your practice with this client group MUST be trauma informed for a start. Crucially, we also give you a structured framework and methodology, with all the tools and resources you need to confidently deliver that learning in a practical progam format to clients.
Just this week, one of our licensed practitioners messaged me on our Slack channel. She'd had a discovery call with a potential new client. The client emailed her after the session and said "Thank you so much (name), I already feel better having taken this step. You made me feel so seen."
That's what happens when you have a specialist program, for a specific type of client, with a particular challenge or struggle. You speak their language, it resonates, and they believe in you as the person to help them finally solve their long standing issue.
5. "I AM OVERWHELMED BY 'ALL THE THINGS' I HAVE TO DO TO GET A PRACTICE UP AND RUNNING - WEBSITES, MARKETING, FEES, SELLING MY SERVICES... IT'S A LOT!"
Most health coaching, therapy or nutrition training programs leave out the most important aspect of all - the 'how' of setting up a practice!
This is why we offer a Licensing option to practitioners. When you join our international network of Licensed Eating Freely Practitioners, you are making a very smart decision to fast track your way to establishing your practice.
From your practical 12 week implementation sprint through the 'Business of Coaching' program, to our centralised marketing which brings clients to our website for our practitoners, and "done for you" programs for individual clients, group coaching and 1 day workshops - we've done it all, so you don't have to.
Plus you have monthly meetups with your fellow practitioners, ongoing clinical support and feedback from our trainers, and further continuing education training to continue deepening your skills and fast tracking your way to becoming that trusted authority within your chosen niche.
Best of all? There's no hard sell from us. You can start by simply joining our training, and you have the option to upgrade to licensing at the end, when you've experienced the depth and quality of the training and support we offer.
Our training alone will set you apart with a new specialist skill and program to offer clients. But if you are passionate about supporting adults who struggle with emotional eating and binge eating disorder, if you value support and community as part of your work and growth, and you want to be part of a movement that is on a mission to change healthcare and make a real difference - then we will welcome you to our network.
