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NOTES FROM THE EDITOR

The right fit is not the problem

For years the foundational strategy work I did with private pay practices was based on the understanding of the "Ideal Client". Specifically, I relied on 3 categories to understand who the best fit was:

• What type of people you prefer to work with
• The type of people that can pay your rates
• and the type of people you actually have access to

By defining this person, we could define their pain points, their desired outcomes, and why you, as a clinician, are the best choice for them.

In a more stable referral environment, this framework did its job well. It helped practices clarify fit and communicate it with confidence.

But that framework worked when people took the time to read, compare, and understand a practice before reaching out.

Today, people encounter therapy practices through search results, directories, map listings, AI summaries, and partial snippets. It often happens before context or trust has been established. Decisions are made earlier, with less information, and filtered by platforms that don’t understand nuance.

This is where the traditional ideal client framework starts to fall short, and not because fit no longer matters, but because the environment in which fit is interpreted has fundamentally changed.

What changed

Fit hasn’t become less important. People simply decide it sooner than they used to, often before there’s been any real opportunity to build trust through conversation.

After years of public education about therapy, many clients arrive already familiar with what therapy is and what they’re looking for. As a result, their decision-making process is quicker.

That speed shows up in how people search: brief Google snippets, local results, short summaries, and increasingly, AI-assisted conversations, all of which encourage fast interpretation with limited context.

What it means for you

While clarity still matters, it’s shifted from being primarily about who your ideal client is to how your practice is understood at the moment someone decides whether to reach out.

Practically, this looks less like “I’m the best fit for anxious millennial women” and more like being immediately understood for what someone is dealing with when they’re deciding to reach out.

Fit still matters. What’s changed is when it gets evaluated. As decisions move earlier in the process, first impressions now carry more weight than they used to, often before there’s time for trust, explanation, or nuance.

If you have questions or are curious, reply to this email.

See you next week,

Avivit

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