Running a practice

How to develop and retain top clinicians in your group practice

Learn real-world strategies to keep your clinicians supported, satisfied, and eager to stick with your practice.

December 12, 2025

7 min read

Running a group mental health practice means balancing a lot at once — growing your client base, maintaining quality care, and supporting the clinicians who make it all possible. But with today’s workforce shortages and rising burnout, keeping top talent has never felt more challenging.

We’re taking a closer look at why clinician development and retention are essential to your practice’s success, as well as how you can create an environment where your providers can flourish, stay engaged, and deliver their best care.

Why clinician development and retention (really) matter

Given the ongoing shortage of mental health professionals, the mental health workforce is stretched thin — and they’re also in-demand. “It’s a really competitive hiring industry,” says Brighid Gannon, DNP, PMHNP-BC, co-founder of Lavender. “There are more opportunities for providers than there are people.”

This imbalance makes retention non-negotiable for practice leaders — especially since, when clinicians leave, it disrupts more than staffing. High turnover has a direct impact on client relationships and your continuity of care.

“Clients often follow their provider or don’t transition over to a new provider within your practice,” Gannon explains. For that reason, losing a clinician often means losing their caseload, along with the trust and stability your practice worked so hard to build. It becomes disruptive to your business, Gannon adds.

It’s tough to prioritize retention without also prioritizing clinician development. Investing in your team’s growth helps you build the kind of environment where clinicians want to stick around. “Continuing education and mentorship are hugely important for attracting and retaining mental health providers,” says Gannon. “And those are also the providers you want to hire — those who care about their professional development.”

What makes retention challenging?

Even when practice leaders understand the importance of clinician retention, achieving it is a separate challenge. Talent shortages are one major factor, but so is the ongoing prevalence of remote work. While these setups are convenient, they can take a toll on the sense of connection and belonging that many providers crave.

“Culture and community are very important to providers,” says Gannon. “They don’t want to work in a silo. They want to have contact with their colleagues.”

It’s not even always about getting advice or formal consultations — there’s a lot to be said for casual conversations and the opportunity to decompress with somebody who truly understands. “This is hard work that involves a lot of emotional labor,” Gannon continues. “If you don’t have contact with other professionals, it can feel very lonely.”

The data backs this up. According to Gallup, remote workers report significantly higher levels of loneliness than those who work exclusively on-site. So, when practice leaders don’t make an intentional effort to build connection and community, it’s easy for clinicians to feel unsupported — and to start looking for that sense of belonging elsewhere.

Practice in-network with confidence

Simplify insurance and save time on your entire workflow — from compliance and billing to credentialing and admin.

Talk to a practice consultant

Understanding when your clinicians need more support

Improving retention requires that you’re proactive — and that means paying attention to early warning signs that a clinician could be feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, or unsupported. Some of the most common indicators include:

Falling behind on documentation or administrative tasks. This can signal burnout, disorganization, or feeling spread too thin.
An increase in client complaints or cancellations. When clinicians are struggling, it often shows up in the client experience first.
Withdrawal from team communication. If a provider stops joining case consultations, team meetings, or informal check-ins, they may be feeling isolated or disengaged.
Noticeable shifts in mood or energy. Irritability, fatigue, or loss of enthusiasm can point to emotional exhaustion — especially in such a high-empathy field.
Reduced interest in professional development. A once-motivated clinician who stops seeking feedback or training opportunities might be losing their sense of purpose.

While it’s tempting to jump into action, reacting too quickly (or harshly) can backfire. “These are the moments when it’s really important to create a supportive, non-punitive environment,” Gannon adds. Providers should feel safe coming forward when they’re struggling, without fear of judgment or disciplinary action.

How to strengthen clinician development

You don’t just need to recognize when clinicians are struggling — you need to build systems to help them grow, stay engaged, and see a future within your practice. Development strengthens your team’s skills while also creating a supportive culture that keeps your clinicians invested. Here are a few strategies to help you get started:

Offer continuing education opportunities: “We are American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) accredited, so we offer continuing education every month,” Gannon says of her group practice, Lavender. She notes that development of clinical skills is particularly important to providers, so it’s helpful to focus at least some of your offerings on those. Even a modest investment in CE credits or in-house learning sessions can go a long way toward keeping clinicians engaged and confident. Headway providers get access to a robust suite of continuing education opportunities; these free CE courses are offered in partnership with PESI.
Start a mentorship program: Structured mentorship creates connection, guidance, and accountability for newer clinicians — and it’s a powerful retention tool, too. “At Lavender, we have a nurse practitioner (NP) mentorship program where we assign a mentor to the new graduate psych NPs,” Gannon shares. “That’s been a really good selling point for attracting new NPs.”
Encourage providers to take on students or interns: Mentorship is just as valuable for the mentor, particularly for clinicians who are eager to explore management roles. “That’s a great place to start in leadership as a clinician,” says Gannon. “It’s also a great place to give back to your profession.”
Provide clear career pathways: In larger or growing practices, clinicians want to understand how they can advance. Offering transparent career paths to various positions “helps them know there’s a pipeline to leadership or administrative roles,” Gannon explains. This clarity boosts motivation and keeps clinicians from feeling stuck or stagnant.

How to improve clinician retention

Development plays a key role in retention, but it’s not the entire picture. Ultimately, solid retention isn’t about a single policy or perk. It’s about creating an environment where providers feel seen, heard, and supported in doing their best work. Here are a few strategies to help you get there:

Offer competitive pay: Many times, improving retention means returning to the basics. When Lavender was having retention issues early on, exit interviews revealed a common theme: compensation. “It came up over and over again,” Gannon says. “People would say, ‘We love Lavender and we love the culture, but the pay is not enough.” Once Lavender could afford to increase pay and stay competitive in the market, turnover dropped dramatically.
Focus on culture: Lavender invests heavily in culture, including an annual retreat to bring everybody together. But Gannon notes that even small steps can help. For example, Lavender sends everyone a welcome package when they start and also has two employee groups: a book club and a wellness club. “They’re pretty unstructured groups, but it’s a way for people to spend time together,” she explains.
Ensure adequate work-life balance: Burnout is a growing problem across the mental health field, with one-third of psychologists reporting feeling burned out. To support balance, consider giving clinicians more autonomy over their schedules and caseloads. At Lavender, for example, there are no strict productivity expectations about how many patients providers need to see.
Give providers a voice: Creating formal feedback channels shows clinicians that their opinions matter. “We have an NP council that meets every six months,” says Gannon. This gives providers a chance to share ideas, highlight challenges, and contribute to practice-wide decisions. It improves engagement and also helps leadership stay in touch with the real-world experiences of clinicians.
Provide access to relevant tools: Offering high-quality clinical resources and technology can make a meaningful difference in clinician satisfaction. “Having access to clinical decision-making tools like UpToDate has been a big selling point,” Gannon notes. Platforms like Headway also help by removing administrative friction, freeing clinicians to focus more on care (and less on paperwork).

Remember it’s rarely one single initiative that drives retention. “It’s all of these things in combination with each other,” Gannon emphasizes. Together, they signal to clinicians that your practice values their growth, input, and well-being — and that’s what makes them want to stick around.

How Headway supports development and retention

When it comes to supporting clinician development and retention, culture and compensation carry a lot of weight — but so does capacity. If clinicians are bogged down by billing, paperwork, and administrative tasks, it’s harder for them to focus on what matters most: their clients and their own professional growth.

This is where Headway helps. Headway offers a suite of continuing education opportunities through Headway Academy. By streamlining insurance workflows and automating administrative tasks, Headway also reduces the day-to-day friction that can lead to burnout and turnover. Need proof? Clinicians at one practice reported spending 50% less time on insurance verification and billing with Headway, freeing up valuable hours for patient care and professional development. With less stress and more support, your clinicians can do their best work — and stay committed to your practice as it grows.

Headway helps your clinicians thrive as your practice grows

Headway gives clinicians more time and energy for client care, continuing education, and meaningful collaboration — while also giving practice leaders the tools they need to scale efficiently.

Talk to a practice consultant

This content is for general informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute clinical, legal, financial, or professional advice. All decisions should be made at the discretion of the individual or organization, in consultation with qualified clinical, legal, or other appropriate professionals.

Running a practice

9 therapist referral networks for finding new clients

Here’s how to find and schedule more clients using therapist referral networks and online directories.

When can a therapist break confidentiality, as mandated reporters?

While therapists have an essential responsibility as mandated reporters, it’s challenging to navigate. Learn when a therapist can and must break confidentiality.

How to have a great 15-minute therapy consultation

There’s no official guidebook for this important milestone in the therapy journey, but here’s a start for structuring it.