Why Waiting Lists Don’t Work & The Culture We’re Building at PsyConnect

Writers Bio:

I am Dr Francisco Flores (Dip, PgDip, BSc, MSc, DPsych), Founder of PsyConnect. I am an experienced psychotherapist and Counselling Psychologist with a background in both the NHS, private practice and charities, specialising in a wide range of mental health issues including trauma, addictions, and anxiety disorders. I hold a BSc in Psychology, an MSc in Evolutionary Psychology, a Post Graduate Diploma in CBT, a Diploma in Integrative Counselling and a Doctorate in Counselling Psychology. I am a fully qualified and a

ccredited CBT and EMDR therapist and registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with the UK’s Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). Like all Counselling Psychologists, I have had many hours of personal therapy - this is a key component of our training - and therefore I understand what it is like being a client as well as a therapist.

In private practice, a full caseload often feels like business is going well. But one of the biggest challenges that comes with it is what to do with new enquiries when you’re fully booked. The common approach is having waiting list.

But waiting lists are unpredictable. Sometimes the wait is four weeks, sometimes eight, and sometimes a client drops out, freeing up a spot immediately. The problem is that by the time I finally get back to many of these clients, they’ve already found another therapist.

At the same time, I continue to receive new enquiries, many of whom will also end up on a waiting list that may or may not work for them. It’s an inefficient cycle that leaves clients waiting unnecessarily, therapists with extra administrative work, and opportunities for starting therapy earlier with the first choice of therapist lost.

Why I Created PsyConnect

I wanted to find a better way.

I was fortunate to have colleagues who referred clients to me when they couldn’t take them on, especially those with complex needs such as addictions and emotion regulation difficulties, knowing that I had a background in those areas.

So why not expand that idea into a professional network—a space where therapists could refer clients to each other without requiring clients to reach out to multiple people, hoping for a response?

But PsyConnect isn’t just about referrals. When I worked in organisations, I had access to shared resources - handouts, training materials, and supervision groups. I contributed my own materials as well. I wanted to replicate that same sense of professional collaboration —a platform where therapists can:

• Refer clients to each other instead of leaving them on long waiting lists.

• Share resources - handouts, therapy tools, and professional materials, and online questionnaires (we have 55 questionnaires commonly used by therapists covering the most common, and not so common issues).

• Contribute to the community by organising peer supervision, participating in discussion groups, and sharing professional development opportunities.

The Culture We’re Building at PsyConnect

So far, 125 therapists have joined PsyConnect, and I regularly refer clients to the network and other therapists have started to do the same. The idea is that as more of us use the system the way it was intended, the network becomes more valuable for everyone.

Many therapists naturally refer clients to colleagues when they’re fully booked, while others add them to a waiting list. PsyConnect offers a third, more effective option - one that ensures clients don’t have to wait unnecessarily and that therapists don’t miss out on potential opportunities.

We’re still in the early stages, but as therapists start referring in as well as taking on clients, we’ll create a steady, self-sustaining stream of referrals. That’s the vision, one of reciprocity. 

At the moment, it’s just my wife and I running PsyConnect. We are juggling this with my full caseload, and our two kids (3 and 7 years old). We recently started advertising, but we hope and encourage therapists who naturally have to refer clients elsewhere to refer to their network and see PsyConnect as a more ethical and sustainable way to handle enquiries when not having availability than a traditional waiting list.

In fact, I already explain PsyConnect to my own prospective clients as a kind of shared

waiting list - if I can’t accommodate them in the next four weeks, I offer them a choice: wait for me, or be referred to another psychologist who might be available sooner. Many choose to explore other options, and that feels more ethical than asking them to wait indefinitely.

Benefits for Therapists

• Recover 50% of the commission you pay when you take on a client—by referring clients into the system, you’re balancing out the cost of commissions you pay when accepting new clients from the network.

• Select the clients you are most interested in working with - PsyConnect allows therapists to select clients based on how well they match their skills, availability, and preferences.

• Avoid unnecessary admin - Instead of responding to multiple individual emails, simply provide a referral link and let PsyConnect handle the matching process.

But for this to work, we need therapists to refer into the network. If you’re a member, I

encourage you to start using the referral system - even if you’re fully booked, you can still benefit through commission-based referrals while ensuring clients get the help they need.

If you’re considering joining, this is the kind of network we want to build - one that prioritises collaboration, mutual support, and professional growth.

If you’re a therapist and want to join PsyConnect, you can learn more here: 

https://www.psyconnect.co.uk/therapist-registration

(And if you’re looking for a therapist, start here: https://www.psyconnect.co.uk/therapists)

A simpler way to find the right therapist, or client.

PBI Perspective: 

PsyConnect is a smart solution to a common private practice problem. Long waiting lists often mean lost clients and extra admin. By creating a referral network, therapists can keep clients supported, reduce admin, and even generate reciprocal income, while clients get faster access to the right help. It’s collaboration, efficiency, and ethics all in one.