Designed for anyone contemplating or presently established in private mental health practice, this book provides the answers to 50 pertinent questions concerning private practice. Questions were culled from a survey of graduate students in psychology, as well as experienced psychotherapists, psychiatrists, social workers, mental health counselors, and marriage and family therapists. Topics include: (1) degree/credentials needed to enter private practice; (2) experience needed to enter private practice; (3) the amount of money one can expect to earn in private practice; (4) the advantages and disadvantages of being in private practice; (5) the possibility of keeping a full-time job and starting private practice on a part-time basis; (6) whether master-level practitioners can compete with doctors in the private arena; (7) requirements for licensing mental health practitioners; (8) will private practice be a good fit; (9) malpractice insurance; (10) resources needed to start a practice; (11) the status of hospital privileges for nonphysicians; (12) marketing; (13) specialization or generalization; (14) typical patients/clients in private practice; (15) advantages of solo versus group practices; (16) charging clients; (17) sliding fee schedules; (18) insurance; (19) status of prescription privileges; (20) most common malpractice threats; and (21) managed care. (Contains 21 references.) (CR)