Your practice deserves its next chapter
I’m Sam, and I help therapists build sustainable practices rooted in the kind of care they believe in.
LPCC
Supervisor
Group Practice Owner
Founder of Once Upon a Practice
Built from the real side of practice ownership
Before Once Upon a Practice, I spent years in community mental health and later built CLE Counseling and Wellness Center, a group practice rooted in accessible, insurance-based care.
I know what it’s like to care deeply about the work while also carrying the business behind it: the systems, supervision, team growth, insurance questions, constant decisions, and “wait, am I supposed to know how to do this?” moments that come with building something from the ground up.
Once Upon a Practice was created to give therapists the kind of support I wish more of us had along the way: honest guidance, practical strategy, and a place to talk through the business side of helping people without pretending it’s always simple.
Chapter 1
Community Mental Health
Chapter 2
CLE Counseling & Wellness Center
Chapter 3
Once Upon a Practice
Mental health care should be accessible. Therapists should be supported. And building a practice should not require losing your sanity in the process. I believe you can accept insurance, serve your community, build strong systems, and still create a business that actually sustains you. That kind of practice does not happen by accident. It takes strategy, structure, and support from someone who understands both the clinical side and the business side.
Practice ownership can be purposeful and sustainable
Accessible care matters
Insurance-based care can be part of a thoughtful, sustainable practice model.
Systems protect your energy
The backend of your practice matters just as much as the work happening in the room.
Therapists need support too
You do not have to figure out every business decision alone.
Support for the parts of practice ownership no one really teaches you
Running a practice asks a lot of therapists. You’re holding clinical work, business decisions, client care, documentation, insurance, marketing, money, systems, growth, and your own actual life at the same time.
Once Upon a Practice helps you make sense of the pieces, choose your next step, and build a practice that feels more clear, supported, and sustainable.
A few things that might come up if we work together
I’m a dog mom, Disney adult, Marvel nerd, and firm believer that business support can be practical without being boring.
When I’m not thinking about practice ownership, insurance systems, trainings, or what therapists need to feel less alone in the work, I’m probably spending time with my people, loving on my dogs, advocating for my grandparents, or finding a way to bring a little more magic into the everyday.
Because yes, we can talk strategy. But we can also be real humans while we do it.
Ready for your next chapter?
You don’t have to keep trying to figure out the business side of practice ownership alone. Whether you’re looking for coaching, training, or a place to start sorting through what comes next, Once Upon a Practice is here to help.