I’m thrilled to introduce to you Stephanie Adams, LPC – my very first guest blogger on Private Practice Toolbox. Stephanie’s passion for counseling and develop multiple streams of income, like offering online counseling and webinars, and self-publishing her first book are impressive. For all of you shrinks who’ve been thinking about writing a book, I hope Stephanie’s guest posts will encourage you to take action!

photo credit: Mark J P

Among therapists, “multiple streams of income” is a phrase with buzz. For good reason: though we all love our one-on-one work with clients, it gets nerve-wracking to rely solely on “dollars for hours” income. Those times when a client gets sick – or we do – can mean a major hit to our paycheck.

That’s why more and more, smart therapists are looking to diversify their methods of earning income. Self-publishing a book for your main client group is one excellent means of doing just that.

Continue reading… »

The physical “space” you work  in says a lot about you. Does your office space appeal to your ideal client? Does it speak about your tastes and preferences? Would you be willing to give other shrinks a tour of your office? Why or why not?

Every time a new client comes into my office they comment on my denim couch. It feels cozy and casual, which is how I want my clients to feel when they’re in my office. The color scheme of the office decor coincides with our logo and website colors…and that’s no accident.

I thought it would be fun to peek into the offices of private practitioners to share ideas and get inspiration. So, if you’re willing to let the world (or the readers of this blog) see YOUR office space follow these simple steps by Feb. 29th, 2012.

Continue reading… »

Do you have a Twitter account for your practice but you’re not sure how to get more followers? Do you feel like your tweeting into thin air and no one is “listening”?

Here are a few tricks I’ve learned that have help me grow my Twitter following and promote your private mental health practice online and build your professional identity.

1) Search and follow

Use the search box at the right top of your Twitter homepage to search your specialty areas and interests. Follow people who are tweeting helpful and relevant info relating to your practice areas and let them know that you like what they’re sharing online.

Continue reading… »

The Rev. Christopher L. Smith, LCAC, LMFT, LMHC

The Reverend Christopher L. Smith combines his spiritual insight as an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church with impressive mental health and marriage and family therapy training in his New York City private practice Seeking Shalom.

Christopher offers a variety of mental health, EAP, and consultation services with the overarching theme of helping clients and professionals seek peace in their life. See how Christopher balances his ministry and private practice.

Why did you decide to open a private practice?
As someone who has been gifted in different ways and who enjoys the peace that comes from balancing different interests, I was interested in working on a part-time basis and to preserve some degree of flexibility.  The easiest way to do this while being able to maintain control over the way I would practice in helping others was to formalize my own practice.

Formalizing a practice in the same building that I also serve as a pastor both added a degree of efficiency in my work as well as adding to the quality care in a community (Harlem and Washington Heights) that was lacking in some of the services that I offer.

Continue reading… »

1) If you build it they will come

One of the most difficult challenges of private practice is finding consistent referral sources. Come up with a marketing plan and secure a few referral sources before you hang up your “shingle.” (Read Private Practice Marketing Made Easy)

2) My only overhead expense will be leasing office space

Not so. Plan on buying software for billing and record keeping, malpractice insurance, business license, incorporation fees, professional consultation, website costs, paper goods, furnishings, marketing materials…

Continue reading… »

Last week I spoke to group of local therapists on “Marketing Your Private Practice” and a record number of people attended the presentation. Why? Because therapists in private practice feel ill-equipped and uncomfortable with the business aspects of private practice.

It’s rare that a marketing course is included in a mental health graduate school curriculum, and few internships and practicums offer marketing mentorship. In my graduate program in social work, just the words “private practice” were treated as “bad words,” as if making money while helping people was somehow morally wrong.

For some therapists  the word marketing brings up feelings of anxiety, even dread. “I am not comfortable with self-promoting,” I’ve heard many therapists say.  “I’m not in this for the money so I hate to think that I have to market my services.”

Over nearly 10 years in private practice I’ve learned that marketing isn’t as difficult or scary as it sounds. Most therapists already have the relationship skills that make marketing effective. You’re already good at building relationships and communicating. You just need to apply your skills differently.

Continue reading… »

If you’re a graduate student in the mental health field planning on going into private practice, here are a few things that you won’t learn during your program. Most of what I learned about psychotherapy and private practice came after I graduated.

After 17 years of practice, here are a few things I wish I’d known earlier:

1) Clients don’t care about your degree

I’m rarely asked what degree I hold or what school I attended. I’ve found that very few clients know the difference between an MSW, MFT, PhD, MFCC, PsyD or any other degree. What clients really want to know is that you’re qualified to do therapy, and if you can help them.

Continue reading… »

Ashley Eder, LPC & Angel

Meet Ashley Eder, LPC and her therapy dog “Angel.” While I know therapists who’ve brought their dog into the therapy office occasionally (it wasn’t necessarily “therapeutic” for colleagues or clients) Ashley is the first therapist I’ve met who uses a therapy dog as a purposeful tool in clinical practice.

It makes sense that certain clients would feel at ease and find contact with a dog to be calming during therapy sessions. In her Boulder, CO private practice, Ashley specializes in body-centered psychotherapy and mindfulness interventions to treat somatic complaints, such as body image, self-harm, chronic pain, abuse recovery, and eating disorders in young adults in their teens and twenties.

In addition to her clinical practice Ashley provides counselor education, training, community building and supervises other counselors toward licensure. See how Ashley spends her day balancing family (she’s a mom of one) and her clinical practice.

A Day In The Life

January 23, 2012

6:50AM

Wake up to the sound of my 15 month old son chattering to himself in his bedroom. He is currently my alarm clock, and this is excellent arrangement when he sleeps past 6AM. I listen to him babble and do a quick first check of email to see if there is anything I need to know heading into my day.

Continue reading… »

(C) www.russdixonphotography.com

I have four children. Luckily, I still like the names my husband and I gave them. Their names fit them. Their names aren’t too common or too weird. Like naming a child, choosing a practice name that fits can be a difficult process that brings up anxiety for therapists. You want your practice name to be an accurate reflection of you, as a therapist, and also appeal to your ideal clients.  You don’t want to regret your decision down the road, right?

Ten years ago I wrestled with the question of what to name my practice. Funny enough, it was just one month after my 3rd child was born and we  didn’t name him for a couple of days because my husband and I couldn’t agree on his name. The name he’d picked for our son, Joshua, was a fine name but it just wasn’t him. He was Owen, not Joshua. I don’t regret taking a couple of days and “going to bat” for the name that fit my son.

I don’t regret the name I picked for my private practice either. I wrestled with a few different practice options and settled on Wasatch Family Therapy. Here are some common questions about naming your practice and some insight into how I made my decision.

Continue reading… »

During my graduate school practicum placements I never had to think about the financial aspect of seeing clients. Billing specialists took care of collections. That was their job. After graduation I worked in a private practice setting where I was required to ask clients directly for…money.

It was awkward at first to have clients share their pain with me, open their hearts, and be so vulnerable, and then ask them to pay me.

Adding to my money anxiety was the fact that I was charging the same rate as my clinical supervisor and I didn’t believe my services were worth it. My supervisor helped me gain confidence by explaining that clients aren’t just paying for my time and skill, but they’re also paying for her years of expertise. I hadn’t thought about it from that perspective before.

Continue reading… »