Summarizing current research makes great blog article topics and helps you stay informed about relevant studies in your field of practice.
Since we celebrate Valentine’s Day this month I want you to pick a current research study related to love and relationships for your Therapist Blog Challenge #3 topic. Summarize the study, then add your take on it. You may want to discuss why you picked this study, how your readers can apply the study’s findings, what surprised you about the study, and what you learned. I can’t wait to see what you come up with. Get blogging!
Feel free to find your own love-related studies or choose from these news stories on recent research from PsychCentral News:
Less than one year ago Leticia Reed, LCSW opened her private practice in Long Beach, CA. Find out what resources and tools have helped Ms. Reed muster the courage to open her own practice, what she’s learned from clients, and how she manages her roles as “therapist” and “business owner”.
Tell me about your private practice…
I opened Reed Behavioral Solution in March of 2012. My practice mission is: “Helping individuals, couples and families achieve hope, healing, wellness and freedom. Empowering my clients to leave better than they arrived is what drives me to provide the best and most effective services. I specialize in women’s empowerment and trauma, although I provide a wide range of services to other populations in my practice. I also offer Christian counseling for those seeking spiritual connectedness as a means of coping and regaining a sense of purpose and hope.
Ending sessions on time or charging more for extended sessions not only models good boundaries, it’s good for your business.
What’s the big deal about giving a few extra minutes to your clients? After all, we are in this field to help others and we are generous souls by nature, right? Yes, we are. However, an on-going pattern of giving away a few minutes each session adds up over a year’s time.
Let’s say you see 10 clients for 50 minute sessions per week= 500 minutes. If you go over 10 minutes with each client you’re doing 600 minutes of therapy and only being paid for 500 minutes. That means you’re giving away 100 minutes of therapy every week. After one year of giving away 100 minutes every week you are giving away 5200 minutes of free therapy. 5200 minutes is the equivalent of 104 free 50 minute sessions every year. If you charge $115 per session your practice is giving away $11, 960 of free therapy a year!
Getting and keeping clients is a common struggle for private practitioners. Here are 6 potential barriers to a full practice and what to do about them.
1) You’re not keeping the clients you have
It takes a lot less time, money, and energy to keep a client engaged in meaningful therapy than to find a new client. Keeping clients engaged in the therapeutic process requires additional skills. New skills might include setting expectations during the initial session that therapy is an on-going process. Recommend that new clients schedule ahead 3-6 weeks (depending on your assessment of their need during the first session) instead of scheduling one week at a time.
Just six months ago Pennsylvania licensed professional counselor Barbara Flor opened her private practice. What inspired Barbara to take the leap into being her own boss? What challenges and joys has she experienced in the process? Read on.
Tell me a little about your practice…
I am a sole practitioner with an office in my home, in Mechanicsville, Pennsylvania. I live on several acres surrounded by tranquil farms and tree-lined properties, so it’s a very peaceful, private setting. I provide individual, family and group counseling for children, teens and adults with an emphasis on improving interpersonal relationships and family dynamics. My years of experience as a school counselor, educator and victim’s rights advocate, gives me strong insight into issues affecting women, children and families as a whole.
Blog about your favorite quote and how it can inspire your readers to do something differently.
Thanks for the great response to therapist blog challenge #1! I’m impressed by your creativity and inventiveness. If you’re just joining us for the blog challenge, please continue to post your challenge #1 posts and jump in on this new challenge #2
This one will be easy and fun. Pick your favorite quote and let it be the inpsiration for your next blog post. I’ve posted a handful of my favorite quotes for you to use if you’d like. You are welcome to use the graphics below in your blog posts too. I created these cool, shareable graphics with the iPhone app InstaQuote (my favorite new app). OK, that’s it for challenge #2. Get blogging!
Talk to thousands about your practice by submitting content for Private Practice Toolbox.
I’ve written a lot about the importance of content creation in building a professional online presence, creating value for website visitors and social media followers, and establishing yourself as an expert in your specialty area.
Incoming links to your practice website boost SEO, boost traffic, and establish credibility. It’s always better to create content for larger websites. Well, here’s your chance to shine. I want to feature you on THIS blog in 2013! Here are 4 ways you can be featured:
1) Pitch a guest blog
I’m always looking for guest posts from qualified individuals from a variety of fields who can share insights about how to run, manage, market, and thrive in private practice. I recently started working on my PhD and I’m not able to blog as often as I used to. I’m open to posts from professionals outside the mental health field as well. Attorneys, accountants, SEO experts, marketing, website design, interior design…If your expertise can help private mental health practitioners build successful businesses, pitch away!
Writing articles for high-traffic websites can help you grow online presence and your practice.
Content creation is crucial for building an online presence, particularly on your own professional blog on your private practice website. In addition to creating content for your own small website, you may want to start strategically writing for other websites, too. Seek out higher-traffic sites to write for
If the thought overwhelms you, don’t stop reading quite yet. Some of the benefits of writing or blogging on other sites as part of your private practice marketing strategy are:
Getting more back links to your own site which increases traffic and boosts SEO
Increase name/brand recognition
More credibility as a trusted expert
Opportunity to educate and build awareness of important issues
And best of all, you can re-purpose the content and post it on your own website
Write a professional blog post on a topic that millions of people are already searching for.
For our first 2013 therapist blogging challenge I want to you to provide your unique professional perspective on a top Google search topic or story. It can be local, national, or global.
Apparently, millions of people are searching for people, sports and entertainment in the US. The following topics are from a list of Hot Google Searches (US) on Jan. 6, 2013:
Build your practice and attract more clients to your practice by creating regular content on your private practice website. I’ll make it easy for you!
Welcome 2013! I tell my private practice consulting clients is to have an integrated blog on their private practice website and become a regular online content creator. Potential clients are searching online for your services and I want them to be able to find you more easily. Here’s how blogging can help.
