How Do Therapists Manage Holidays?
At the time of writing this, I’m preparing to take a 3-week break in July 2023, so I thought it would be useful to explain how I manage holidays. I work exclusively in private practice, so I’m fully self-employed and have complete control over when I decide to take time off, for how long, and how often. It’s a privilege that I don’t take for granted, but it took a while for me to embrace the flexibility of being self-employed to its full potential.
In this post, I’ll highlight some of the key things therapists have to consider when taking time off, and I’ll then explain how I manage holidays. Every therapist will have their own individual way of doing this, so my process may be completely different to theirs; this doesn’t mean any of us is doing it “wrong”, simply that we do things differently.
Key things therapists have to consider
When to take time off
Some therapists are very spontaneous in their approach, and will decide that they’re going to take a break a few weeks before taking it. They may have other personal and professional roles that limit the amount of time they can plan ahead for things, so having the flexibility to take a break at short notice works best for them.
Others will plan most of their holidays in advance, often months if not a year ahead. They may do this so that they are able to get an overview of the financial implications of taking time off, as well as making a conscious effort to reduce the chances of burning out by not getting enough rest.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches, and as every therapist’s individual personal circumstances will be unique to them, this will inform how they go about managing holidays. For example, therapists with children are likely to want to have time off with them during school holidays, and this will dictate when they can take a break from their practice.
How much time to take and how often to take it
This is often a tricky balance to maintain, as therapists in private practice have to weigh up the importance of having enough time to rest properly against the financial viability of taking a break. For some therapists, taking short breaks regularly works best, while for others, taking longer breaks less frequently is the most sustainable approach.
Of course, sometimes life happens and things take a bigger toll on us than expected, which interferes with our original plans. Changes in jobs, relationships, home life, health and responsibilities all have an impact on our wellbeing, but taking time off to address them rarely provides us with an actual “break” that enables us to rest.
We all need different types of rest, and having enough time to focus on things that bring us joy helps us to feel recharged physically, psychologically, emotionally and spiritually. Wherever possible, most therapists will endeavour to have a mixture of planned short- and longer breaks throughout the year, and have the flexibility to manage this, thanks to being self-employed.
Managing finances
Ultimately, therapists in private practice are running businesses, and businesses need to make money to be sustainable. In order to make sure that the business will be viable, therapists need to plan how much leave to take based on how much money they can bring in when they are working.
If private practice is their only source of regular income, there will be a greater pressure on the therapist to account for the impact that time off will have on their finances. We need to charge enough and work enough hours to cover our expenses, leave, and to make a living, so it’s a delicate balance (you can read more about how therapists in private practice calculate their fees here if you’re interested).
How I manage breaks in my practice
In my first year of being in full-time private practice back in 2020, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. Covid restrictions were in place and significantly reduced opportunities for travel, and as a new business owner, I wanted to make sure that I was building a sustainable practice. This meant that I put almost all of my available energy into my work, and I ended up working solidly for 8 months without any time off.
Unsurprisingly, I came alarmingly close to burning myself out, and realised that I needed to find a more balanced way to manage my work flow and holidays that would help me to continue to give my clients my best, without jeopardising my own health and wellbeing. Here’s how I’ve learned to manage my holidays since then…
When I take time off, and how much time I take
As soon as I get my planner for the next year (usually sometime in November), I start looking ahead and planning out when I’ll take time off. Over the years, I’ve learned that the sweet spot for me is to take at least 1 week off after every 8 weeks of client work. I also find that taking 3 weeks off in June / July, and again in December / January, helps me to reset and recharge properly, and makes everything feel more manageable.
I make clients aware of this pattern during our initial consultation, and ensure that I email them all well in advance of a break, especially when I will be off for an extended period of time. I’ve found that being predictable with this helps my clients to manage the ebb and flow of therapy, and also enables us to explore whatever comes up for them around the thought of people leaving them for a while.
Why I need to take some longer breaks throughout the year
Being a therapist is an absolute privilege that I don’t take for granted, but it’s emotionally demanding. Every client needs me to be at my best to work with them, and there’s a lot of stuff that goes on behind the scenes and between sessions to enable me to do this. Part of my being able to offer this consistently is to be intentional with my time, and to model taking regular time off.
In 2022, I decided to take what felt like a huge risk and have a 3-week break in the summer for the first time. I worried about so many things, but the key ones were: the impact that it could have on my clients if they were struggling and I wasn’t available for them; how I’d manage financially when my income stopped for several weeks, and if anyone would still want to work with me when I came back.
I took my worries to supervision to unpack them, and doing so gave me such a huge sense of relief! My supervisor pointed out that my clients had coped before they started working with me, and would have other resources to fall back on, in large part because of the work we were doing. She also reminded me that I have a responsibility to my clients, but I’m not responsible for them, and this took lots of the pressure off.
The financial concern was one I needed to take seriously, but being me, I had prepared for a longer break more thoroughly than I first thought! One of the most useful “mantras” I’ve picked up about business is, “There’s always more money”, and I’ve found that this continues to be the case. Yes, it would take a bit of time to rebuild my financial reserves back up once I returned to work, but I could trust myself to do this.
And the worry about no one wanting to work with me when I came back? Well my existing clients were making sure they had sessions booked in for when I returned, and it was an issue that could be addressed by maintaining an online presence to stay visible to potential clients; essentially, continuing to market myself, but being clear about when I’d be available to new clients.
Ultimately, I’ve learned that my own health and wellbeing has to be the number one priority, and as I am my business, I have to be proactive in taking care of myself. Taking extended breaks twice a year has worked wonders for me, and it helps me to avoid falling into old patterns of overworking until I burn out. It also means that I have time to be myself as ‘Emma’, rather than myself as ‘Emma the therapist’, and this helps to maintain my sense of self outside my job.
I hope that this post has given you some useful insights into how therapists manage holidays. At the time of writing this post, I’ve put a pause on taking on new clients until Tuesday 1st August 2023. Once I’m back at work after my break, I’ll post an update about my availability, so do keep an eye out for that if you’re interested in working with me.