I didn’t get into this field to build a private practice, but I’ve always been fascinated by complicated characters in books and movies. When I was young, I was drawn to media exploring complex human experiences, and a high school psychology course sparked my interest in becoming a psychologist. I wanted to understand what people do and why they think, feel, and behave the way they do. After earning my bachelor’s degree, I worked in a psychiatric hospital with individuals experiencing chronic psychosis, focusing on research and assessment for nearly a decade while pursuing my graduate education. Earlier work as a dance teacher and ESL tutor also showed me how much I enjoyed working with children.
While I was still figuring out what I wanted my career to look like, I pursued both child and adolescent training and assessment-focused training. I worked in school settings providing assessments, counseling, and consultation, while also serving as an instructor for graduate psychology students. Over time, I realized I didn’t just want to be a practitioner; I wanted to build something. I wanted to bring the creative and entrepreneurial parts of myself into my work while creating a place where a team could feel supported. That vision became Coast Psychology, a boutique private practice in Oyster Bay, New York, where our three-clinician team provides psychological evaluations for ADHD, autism, and learning disabilities, along with therapy for children, teens, and adults, including those experiencing anxiety and OCD.
I wanted Coast Psychology to be a safe harbor for clients and a supportive environment for clinicians.
I wanted to build something I could grow, care for, and watch make a difference in people’s lives. Over time, though, I learned that the practice you build to fulfill your purpose can eventually become something you carry instead of lead. What I hadn’t anticipated was how much support I would need to protect the vision I had worked so hard to create.
Finding the Right Administrative Support for My Private Practice
As Coast Psychology grew, so did everything that came with running it. Scheduling, paperwork, billing, compliance, legal, client follow-up, employee support, internal processes, and of course, the work of strategically planning where the practice should go next. I handled all of it. In the beginning, it was difficult to step away without feeling a constant need to oversee what was happening. A significant portion of my week was consumed by daily functions that I didn’t need to do myself, but I didn’t yet have the right administrative support for my private practice.
I knew I needed help, but I didn’t want to bring someone on who would create more work for me, which I think is a common concern for practice owners. When you’re used to doing everything yourself, delegation can feel like another responsibility rather than a solution. It was at that point that another psychologist associate of mine recommended My Freedom VA. Their mental health-specific expertise immediately stood out to me. Our assistant, Onyinyechi Abraham, has a background in social work and is HIPAA trained, so she understood the environment of working within a behavioral health practice. Her support has been invaluable to our team’s operations.
When Onyinyechi first joined our team, we didn’t need someone to just complete tasks. Onyinyechi quickly became a standout member of our practice. If I showed her how to do something, she could usually take it from there. If she didn’t know how to do something, she was willing to learn it. That problem-solving mindset has been invaluable. She is also incredibly detail-oriented. She takes thorough notes, records our trainings, and will often review those recordings before coming back to me with questions. That allows her to work independently and saves me so much valuable time.
We also have very different strengths. I’m creative and relational and I tend to have my hands in a lot of things at once and naturally focus on people and the bigger picture. Onyinyechi brings structure and attention to detail. She remembers what needs to happen, tracks the details, and creates consistency around our processes. That complement has been a major asset to the practice. She has supported everything from scheduling, paperwork, billing, payroll, and compliance to client follow-up, employee support, and social media. More importantly, she has helped us create systems where there weren’t always consistent systems before. She isn’t simply checking boxes. She’s looking for ways to improve the work.
The Power of Stepping Away
I saw the value of that support most clearly when I took a four-month leave from the practice. Before Onyinyechi, stepping away would have been difficult. I didn’t have the same confidence that everything would continue moving without my oversight. During my leave, nothing was dropped. Onyinyechi didn’t miss a beat, and I didn’t have to constantly check in to make sure things were being handled. That gave me something I hadn’t fully realized I needed: peace of mind. For the first time, I had evidence that the practice I had built could operate without me carrying every piece of it. The goal was never to build a practice that depended on me for everything. Instead, it was to build a practice that could serve people well and continue growing. I’ve learned that delegation doesn’t necessarily mean giving up control. It means being intentional about where my time and expertise are most valuable.
If you’re a practice owner who is hesitant to delegate, I would recommend starting small. When Onyinyechi and I began working together, she had one or two primary functions. As trust developed, I gave her more responsibilities. You don’t have to hand over everything on day one. Start with the tasks that consume your time but don’t require your specific expertise. Establish expectations. Build trust. Then expand the role as your practice grows and delegation can scale with you.
How Administrative Support Creates Room for Growth
For private practice owners, administrative support can create more than efficiency. It can create capacity for growth.
I also encourage practice owners to take an honest inventory of their time. Where is your attention going? How much time are you spending on administrative work? What could someone else handle? Where do you want your practice to be, and what is keeping you from getting there? Getting administrative work off your plate isn’t simply about having more free time. That time can become a business accelerant. You can use it to network, build relationships, strategize, support your team, and think about what’s next for your practice.
For me, that is the real value of having the right support. I’m not simply getting hours back in my week. I’m getting the capacity to think about the practice beyond what needs to happen today. I built Coast Psychology because I wanted to create something meaningful. I wanted to care for clients, support clinicians, and create a place that felt like a safe harbor for the people who walked through our doors. As the practice grew, I had to learn that protecting that vision meant I couldn’t carry every part of it myself. Growing the practice meant letting go of the things that got in the way of leading it. For me, that meant building the right administrative support for my private practice so I could focus on what matters most.
About the author
Laura Morizio Polley, PhD is a licensed psychologist in New York specializing in the assessment of children, adolescents, and young adults. She also holds her school psychologist credential. Dr. Morizio Polley has extensive experience working with school-age children, adolescents, and adults. She has expertise in diagnostic assessment, special education systems in schools, social-emotional curriculum development, research, and developmental approaches that honor the whole child. Dr. Morizio Polley has over a decade of experience in assessment with Northwell Health and throughout her training and work as a school psychologist across three different states in both public and independent school settings. She is an adjunct professor for graduate students and a seasoned speaker, having presented the implications of her research work at numerous national professional conventions. She has particular expertise in ADHD, learning disabilities, and anxiety disorders. Dr. Morizio Polley received her MEd and PhD from the University of Massachusetts Boston and completed her predoctoral internship at the Santa Barbara County SELPA through UC Santa Barbara’s SB-PIC program. She finds immense joy in discovering the strengths of each individual she works with to help them feel seen, valued, and capable enough to chase their dreams.