# What Nobody Tells Therapists About Building a Private Practice with Katie Fortunato

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-scenic-route-with-victoria-steward-7782802/what-nobody-tells-therapists-about-building-a-private-practice-with-katie-fortunato
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-scenic-route-with-victoria-steward-7782802/what-nobody-tells-therapists-about-building-a-private-practice-with-katie-fortunato.md
Podcast: [The Scenic Route with Victoria Steward](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-scenic-route-with-victoria-steward-7782802)
Published: 2026-05-06T16:07:51+00:00
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Duration seconds: 2369

## Resource

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…

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## Transcript

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