Jul 6, 2026 · 17 min · 9 segments
Most therapists think doing the heavy lifting means working longer hours, seeing more clients, or constantly adding new certifications. In this episode of The Fully Booked Therapist Podcast, I explain…
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Heather HammellHost
Now, when I say heavy lifting, I wanna be really clear right from the start about what I do not mean.
I don't mean grinding harder or staying later or doing more and more things that are already exhausting you.
Heavy lifting the way I mean it here is something very specific, and I think when you hear that, you might realize that you've been doing a lot of hard work, yet possibly going in the wrong direction.
When I was running my hands-on therapy business, the heavy lifting was never the treatment itself.
I knew how to do that work like the back of my hand, and I was super good at it, and those were my thoughts about it, right? That part, the table work, the hands-on skill, that was not where I needed to put more effort or more effort in.
Not the surface problem they came in with per se, but, like, the real reason they were there.
What motivated them to finally book that appointment? Or what were some of the underneath issues causing their symptoms when they were booking their appointment? Getting to that took skill and repetition and a willingness to ask better questions every single time, and the willingness to do the heavy lifting to get to the point where I became the person who could answer those very specific questions.
It was taking what I then understood about their problem and turning it into a clear treatment plan, saying things like, "Here's what I can do for you," or, "Here's how we are gonna solve this together, and here's what I need from you." Saying all of that loud and directly without overexplaining to the wrong direction or without letting the client really, like, off the hook, in a sense, before they had a chance to say yes.
And then it was getting the appointments on the schedule, not just the next one, but all of them that were recommended in their treatment plan.
Building that plan, putting it in the calendar, making it real and making it concrete so the client had a clear path forward, and I had a full schedule.
Where are you making sure that the client experience is smooth from start to finish? Where are you working out all of the glitches or all of the hiccups that create no-shows or late cancellations or clients showing up in a way that is not what you intended for them to show up in? That is heavy lifting, right? It's the understanding.
It's the offer that you make, and it's the commitment to the client experience where you are making sure that it is smooth from start to finish.
I had to do this over and over and over again until it became just how I run my practice, and it's how I run my coaching business as well.
Like, what are the frictions? What are the things that I need to do in order to make it easy for my clients to succeed? That is the heavy lifting.
Doing the heavy lifting means putting in the reps and the work to fully understand what your client wants and what they need, and then doing something with that understanding, not just uncovering it and then, like, rolling over and going to sleep.
Now, when I say heavy lifting, I wanna be really clear right from the start about what I do not mean.
I don't mean grinding harder or staying later or doing more and more things that are already exhausting you.
Heavy lifting the way I mean it here is something very specific, and I think when you hear that, you might realize that you've been doing a lot of hard work, yet possibly going in the wrong direction.
When I was running my hands-on therapy business, the heavy lifting was never the treatment itself.
I knew how to do that work like the back of my hand, and I was super good at it, and those were my thoughts about it, right? That part, the table work, the hands-on skill, that was not where I needed to put more effort or more effort in.
Not the surface problem they came in with per se, but, like, the real reason they were there.
What motivated them to finally book that appointment? Or what were some of the underneath issues causing their symptoms when they were booking their appointment? Getting to that took skill and repetition and a willingness to ask better questions every single time, and the willingness to do the heavy lifting to get to the point where I became the person who could answer those very specific questions.
It was taking what I then understood about their problem and turning it into a clear treatment plan, saying things like, "Here's what I can do for you," or, "Here's how we are gonna solve this together, and here's what I need from you." Saying all of that loud and directly without overexplaining to the wrong direction or without letting the client really, like, off the hook, in a sense, before they had a chance to say yes.
And then it was getting the appointments on the schedule, not just the next one, but all of them that were recommended in their treatment plan.
Building that plan, putting it in the calendar, making it real and making it concrete so the client had a clear path forward, and I had a full schedule.
Where are you making sure that the client experience is smooth from start to finish? Where are you working out all of the glitches or all of the hiccups that create no-shows or late cancellations or clients showing up in a way that is not what you intended for them to show up in? That is heavy lifting, right? It's the understanding.
It's the offer that you make, and it's the commitment to the client experience where you are making sure that it is smooth from start to finish.
I had to do this over and over and over again until it became just how I run my practice, and it's how I run my coaching business as well.
Like, what are the frictions? What are the things that I need to do in order to make it easy for my clients to succeed? That is the heavy lifting.
Doing the heavy lifting means putting in the reps and the work to fully understand what your client wants and what they need, and then doing something with that understanding, not just uncovering it and then, like, rolling over and going to sleep.
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