How to inform clients about using AI notes in your practice (and free template)
You did it. You navigated another year of deep clinical work, held space for countless transformations, and managed the complex, often unseen machinery of a private practice.
As the calendar year winds down, the instinct is often to rush into the next set of goals.
But, before you open that 2026 planner, you deserve a moment to pause, reflect, and honor the work you’ve done.
SimplePractice partnered with Heard to create the 2025 Year-End Practice Reflection Guide—a free, fillable PDF designed specifically for you, the private practice clinician, to close out your year with intention, clarity, and zero judgment.
Heard is a financial platform designed specifically for therapists, offering bookkeeping, taxes, and practice-management support so clinicians can run their businesses with confidence and clarity. As the experts in financial planning, they've helped design a financial pulse check that will help you get a realistic look at your past year.
You've earned this pause
Before you dive into 2026 planning, give yourself permission to acknowledge what you've already accomplished.
You showed up for your clients when they needed you most.
You navigated the complexities of insurance, documentation, and practice management.
You held boundaries (even when it was hard).
You continued learning, adapting, and refining your clinical skills.
That deserves recognition.
It deserves reflection.
It deserves a moment of pause before you sprint toward the next goal.
The therapists who build sustainable, fulfilling practices aren't the ones who push hardest—they're the ones who pause regularly to notice what's working, what's not, and what small adjustments would create meaningful change.
What makes this guide different
It's designed by people who understand private practice. We know that "increase revenue by 30%" means nothing if you're already maxed out on sessions. We know that "improve work-life balance" requires actual operational changes, not just better boundaries in theory.
It's judgment-free. There are no "shoulds" in this guide. No comparisons to other practices. No pressure to have achieved certain milestones. Just honest questions and space for your real answers.
It's fillable and private. This is your confidential space. Fill it out digitally, print it and handwrite your responses, or use it as a framework for a reflective journaling session. However you engage with it, this is for you—not for social media, not for accountability partners, just you.
It's immediately actionable. You won't finish this guide feeling overwhelmed by a 47-point action plan. You'll have clarity on one or two meaningful shifts that would actually improve your day-to-day experience of practice.
The power of the therapeutic pause (for yourself)
In session, we encourage clients to slow down, notice patterns, and reflect on what’s serving them and what isn't. But when do we, as practitioners, take that necessary clinical pause?
Your private practice is not just a business. It’s a living, breathing system fueled by your energy and expertise. Rushing from one year to the next without a structured review is a fast track to burnout. This guide is your dedicated space to turn your clinical wisdom inward.
This isn't just a checklist—it’s an intentional practice review.
We’ve broken down the guide into three crucial sections to give you a holistic view of your practice's health, ensuring you set intentions based on reality, not aspiration alone.
Part 1: Clinical and practice reflection
This section shifts the focus from your clients’ progress to your own fulfillment and sustainability. It’s about noticing the subtle patterns that define your professional life.
What brought you fulfillment? Pinpointing specific modalities, client populations, or session formats that filled your cup helps you prioritize scheduling and marketing for a more joyful 2026.
Boundary Reality Check: How did your boundaries truly hold up? Did after-hours communication creep in? Did you say yes to draining referrals? Honest reflection here is the first step toward stronger boundary setting next year.
The Big Shift: If you could change one thing about your clinical week—just one—what would it be? This forces you to name the highest-leverage adjustment for your well-being.
Part 2: Financial and operations pulse check
For most therapists, managing the business side is the biggest source of friction. This section transforms abstract concepts like "revenue" and "admin time" into clear, actionable data points.
Financial snapshot: Did your practice income support your life the way you needed it to? Be honest about what services were most sustainable and where unexpected expenses cropped up. Use these insights to inform fee adjustments and saving goals for 2026.
Operations reality check: Where does your time really go? By naming the administrative friction points (documentation backlogs, difficult scheduling, etc.), you can finally identify the one task you need to streamline or automate.
Tax prep check-in: A quick, gentle checklist to ensure you’re not scrambling in Q1. Having a record of expenses and estimated payments now saves tremendous future stress.
Part 3: Intentions and small next steps
Forget those massive, overwhelming resolutions. This section is dedicated to small, sustainable shifts that honor your energy and align with your values.
The goal isn't to do more—it’s to do what matters.
You’ll define what you want more of (e.g., margin between sessions, certain client populations, creative approaches) and what you want less of (what's simply not serving you).
Then, you'll commit to one single, sustainable shift you can implement in Q1 2026, complete with identifying the specific support or resource needed to make it stick.
Ready to create a 2026 practice that truly serves you?
You deserve a practice built on intentional design.
Download the 2025 Year-End Practice Reflection Guide today—it’s your confidential space to honor the last year and design a sustainable, fulfilling year ahead.
How SimplePractice streamlines running your practice
SimplePractice is HIPAA-compliant practice management software with everything you need to run your practice built into the platform—from booking and scheduling to insurance and client billing.
If you’ve been considering switching to an EHR system, SimplePractice empowers you to run a fully paperless practice—so you get more time for the things that matter most to you.
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