Writing and publishing can help you establish credibility, build your professional reputation, and position you as one who makes lasting contributions to your profession.  All of these can, in turn, contribute to your success  in private practice.

Whether you are still in graduate school or you are already hard at work out in the professional world, if you are in need of online tools to help you format your works in APA style, here are some resources for you:

• APA Style
• Purdue Online Writing Lab
• Ohio State University APA Citation Guide
• University of Minnesota Library’s Quick Study on Citing Resources Using APA Style

If you have other online resources related to APA formatting, I hope you will share them below!

Tags: APA Format, Documentation, Website

Although I’m not a fan of  “manualized” treatment of clients, according to professional standards of care and the American Counseling Association’s Code of Ethics (Section C on Professional Responsibility), a professional counselor has a “responsibility to engage in counseling practices that are based on rigorous research methodologies.”

Here are some online resources to help you quickly identify researched based methodologies:

• Society for Clinical Psychology’s Website on Research-Supported Psychological Treatments

• Evidence-Based Behavioral Practices

• National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence

• SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices
  

• Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies
  

And, if you happen to know of other online resources for evidence-based treatment in counseling, I hope you will share them below!

Tags: Ethics, Website

Now that you know that you need to engage in clinical consultation on a regular basis and you know how to put your own peer consultation group together, do you know what is supposed to happen during your meeting with your consultation group? You actually have lots of options but my point is that you need to plan ahead of time how you want your meetings to proceed.  Otherwise, it can end up looking more like a clinical coffee klatch than clinical consultation.

Start with the end in mind. Consider what you want to accomplish at your meetings.  Do you want feedback from your peers?  Do you want to learn about a  particular theory or methodology?  Do you want to formally staff cases?  Are you looking for resources for a particular client?  All of these are possible but you’ll need to structure your meetings accordingly.

It’s about you and your performance. Clinical consultation is an opportunity for you to seek and receive feedback about your performance from other professionals that you respect.  Give some thought to how you (and the others in your group) want to receive that feedback.  Is the culture of your consultation group such that unsolicited feedback is acceptable?  Do you need to be invited to provide difficult feedback before you actually do so?  Some might say that by virtue of simply being in a consultation group, that all feedback is welcome.  However, unless stated up front (and again as new professionals join you), you will need to state it if that is the case.  This is especially important for those who are not familiar with the use of consultation groups.

Present clinical cases professionally. If you are going to focus on formally staffing cases (and even if you are not), you may find it helpful to agree upon a structure for presenting your cases to your group.  There is no one “right” way but agreeing ahead of time will make sure everyone is covering the basics.

Share the time. One of the decisions to be made is how will you share the time you have allotted for your consultation group. Does everyone get a chance to share?  Or, are a select few participants assigned to present cases?  You don’t want to simply “wing it” only to discover that no one or everyone wants to talk.

Decide on the structure of your meetings. Do you want to allow time for a “check in?”  Do you want to jump right in to clinical discussion?  Do you want time to to share resources and events?  By deciding and agreeing on this ahead of time, you will avoid your meeting turning into a social hour.

These are some of the considerations we took into account while creating our consultation group.    Can you think of other things that might be helpful?

Tags: Consultation, Ethics

I’ve told you that every mental health professional needs regular consultation and I’ve told you about the benefits of peer consultation groups.  Today I’m going to tell you how to put together a peer consultation group that ROCKS! Here are some things for you to consider as you put your own peer consultation group together.

• Mix it up.  Diversity in the composition of your consultation group matters.  It keep things interesting and increases the likelihood that biases are not overlooked. Those differences can help you stretch beyond your usual thinking and outside of your typical comfort zone.
• Consider safety.  You are going to be talking about your strengths and your weaknesses in a consultation group.  Although the discussion will most often be structured around your clients, the purpose of your consultation group is to expand and support your choices and your behaviors in therapy.  As such, you are going to have your own blind spots and vulnerabilities pointed out and talked about.  It’s important to choose colleagues that you can learn to trust.
• Similarity matters.  If the individuals in your group are too different from you in their disciplines, ethics, or processes, you may find that there is no sense of safety in which to discuss your own vulnerabilities.
• Expertise matters, too.  Look for colleagues that know more than you in at least one or two areas so that you can trust their feedback when you need it.
• Plan on mentoring. Including colleagues who know less than you in a particular area allows you an opportunity to mentor others in the field.  Take advantage the mentoring that you can provide and take advantage of the mentoring that you can receive!
• Size of group. Just like in group therapy, I think 7-9 is optimal.  This affords for someone to miss a group and you still have a group.  And, it’s not so many that you get overlooked in the group.
• Stable composition. A consultation group functions best when the composition remains stable.  In my current group, we must unanimously vote someone in  before they can join us.
• Frequency of meetings. I prefer peer consultation groups that meet on a regular schedule.  Mine meets monthly.  Of course, we are free to consult by phone in between our regularly scheduled meetings.
• Attendance. Sketchy attendance at peer consultation groups can sabotage your group.  When forming your consultation group, set the expectation for a commitment to attend each month.  Obviously exceptions will crop up in anyone’s schedule.  However, consistent attendance and full participation will go a long way toward building trust and confidence in your group.

So now that you know what I consider to be important when putting your consultation group together, drop me a note below and tell me about yours.  Did I miss any important elements?  Is yours decidedly different?

Tags: Consultation, Diversity, Ethics, Expertise, Mentor

Every mental health professional needs consultation on a regular basis.  I wrote about that in my last post.  If you work in an agency or organization, it’s likely that consultation is built into the system.  However, if you have ventured out into private practice, you have to work a little harder to get your consultation needs met.

Many therapists choose to pay an individual counselor for their clinical consultation on a regular basis.  If that is what you prefer, then you can expect to pay whatever that therapist’s usual and customary hourly fee is for his / her consulting and therapeutic services.

However, here are nine benefits to creating a peer consultation group to meet your consultation needs:

1. As a solo practitioner, you remain isolated most of the day except for seeing your clients.  A peer consultation group allows you to meet some of your basic social needs.
2. It also exposes you to new / different ideas, perspectives, and energies.
3. It allows you to learn about other therapists’ business and clinical practices.
4. It may give you a broader range of professionals to refer to.
5. It exposes you to more professionals who may refer to you.
6. It exposes you indirectly to more resources in your community.
7. It can serve as a knowledge bank for clinical issues that you are not familiar with.
8. It can serve as a check point for potential ethical issues.
9. It’s free!

Have I convinced you yet of the huge benefits to participating in a peer consultation group?  In my next post, I’ll tell you How to Create a Peer Consultation Group that ROCKS!

Tags: Consultation, Ethics, Network

Back in the Day . . . .

When I was in graduate school, no one talked about the need for a professional counselor to participate in ongoing consultation post-graduation.  Instead, as I remember, we were taught that ethical therapists seek consultation when they do not know how to proceed with a particular client.  Nothing was said about seeking ongoing regular consultation at all!

The New Standard of Practice

However, times have changed and these days regular clinical consultation is increasingly considered the minimum standard of practice. Unless you are under clinical supervision (which is different than clinical consultation), every practicing mental health professional should either pay for regular i.e. ongoing individual clinical consultation or be involved in a peer consultation group.

What Consultation Can Look Like

Thankfully, I had access to clinical consultation for most of the two decades that I have been in mental health.  However, what that has looked like has varied considerably. . .

• One on one clinical consultation . . . .
• Agency-required “staffings” . . . .
• Treatment team meetings in a psychiatric hospital . . . .
• Small-group consultations that were spontaneous in format and content . . . .
• Thematically-focused peer consultation groups (where I learned how to apply solution-focused brief therapies and, in another one, clinical hypnosis) . . . .
• And, for the last two years, I have been attending a monthly peer consultation group with 6  other therapists. You can check them out here: 
  • Valerie Varan, MS, LPC,
  • Amy Maddox, MAEd., LPC,
  • Leslie Vogt, MA,
  • John Harder, LCSW, ACSW,
  • Julie Uhernik, RN, LPC, and
  • Donna Schwartz, MA, CACIII.

Peer Consultation for Tamara

A peer consultation group can look and function in a lot of different ways. My current group is a really interesting mix of backgrounds.  In addition to the varied disciplines that you can deduce from the credentials above, one of us is child-focused, one is addiction-focused, three are heavily trained in energy medicine (and the rest of us are interested and learning as we can), one works with equine therapy, one is heavily trained in Western medicine, and I practice with a dual emphasis on systemic and depth psychology.

Still not sure that you need regular, professional consultation?  In my next post, I’ll talk to you about the benefits of peer consultation groups.

Tags: Consultation, Ethics

I’m not really sure how well this post is going to over with you guys but I just want to vent . . . .

I went to lunch this week with a colleague who has just recently ventured into private practice and, truthfully, he’s having a really hard time getting that first client.  You can relate, right?  You either are right there with him starting your own practice or you remember when you were back there hustling trying to get that phone to ring.  It’s a hurdle for all of us to get that first warm body in the office . . . and it feels like it’s never going to happen . . . until it does.

So Jason and I are dining in this great little Japanese restaurant and the conversation goes like this . . . .

Jason:  I’m starving to death!  I still don’t have a client yet.  And, I don’t know what to do!

Me:  What have you tried?

Jason:  Well, I’ve sent out my business cards and brochures to treatment facilities and I’m showing up at networking events every month.  I’ve been meeting therapists and community providers.  I’m reading books on marketing and how to get clients.  I’ve joined the Board of a local non-profit and I’m offering my services at a reduced rate.

Me:  Wow! That sounds like a lot of work!  Are you getting any referrals?  Are clients finding you?

Jason:  Oh, sure!  I’m getting 4 – 5  phone calls from potential clients each week but not one is making an appointment.

Me:  (So I have a hunch that one of the things that Jason is doing is keeping The Secret That You Absolutely Must Tell.)  So Jason, it sounds like your referral sources don’t really understand who you want to work with.  They are sending you unqualified referrals.

Jason:  Oh, no!  They know exactly who I work with!  I’ve been very clear that I work with XYZ.  It’s on my brochures and my business cards and that’s exactly how I introduce myself when I’m networking.

Me: Well, then, let’s look at how the conversation goes on the phone.  What do you say when your potential client calls?

Jason:  Oh, I’m very personable!  You know me . . . I can talk to anybody!  I tell them what my credentials are and what I offer – individual therapy for XYZ.  Then I ask them if they have any questions and if they want to book an appointment.

Me:  OK, Jason, so those are important things to cover but there might be a better way to cover them.  What I’ve found to be useful is . . . . (This is where I’m telling him about my 98% conversion rate to booked appointments and what my process is.)

Jason:  (And, THIS is the response I got.)  Yes, but . . . that takes up too much of my time to go through all of that and anyway, it’s all in my disclosure statement. . . . Anyway, I’m really great at marketing but I’m not getting any appointments booked. Blah, blah, blah.

Well, Jason says that he knows all about marketing but I’m not so sure he knows much about how to make a sale.  After all, if he did, he would be speaking the language of his potential clients, booking appointments with them, and seeing clients in his private practice.  Instead, he’s busy telling me how much he knows about marketing.  He’s not interested in learning how successful therapists do those things.  And, I’m not interested in telling him.

There!  I’ve said it! And, I’m feeling better already!

Back in May I wrote a post telling you The Secret that You Absolutely Must Tell.  So today, I’m telling you that it’s also important to tell who you absolutely do not want to work with. 

For me, that’s Yes-Butters!  So, I’m wondering who is it for you that you absolutely do NOT want to work with?

Tags: Appointments, Business Card, Fee, Work with Tamara

The First Year

This month marks the one year anniversary for this blog at Private Practice from the Inside Out and I owe you a bucket full of gratitude for helping me finish it up on such a positive note!  Thanks so much for dropping in, offering suggestions, asking questions, and supporting each other.  You have made it an awesome first year!   Here are some stats to help you see how our community has grown and how far we’ve come together in twelve short months!

• We’ve had 1144 individuals drop in to visit.
• Our online community here includes visits from 46 different countries / territories.
• Of those who have chosen to subscribe i.e. get updates by email to this blog, over 56%  of you have subscribed within your first 10 minutes of landing here.

Goals for Next Year

As for next year, I have several goals:

• I’m hoping that we’ll have well over 2000 visits to this site by then.
• I’m hoping that  folks who drop in here will find the information and community so supportive that at least 75% of those who choose to subscribe by email will do so in less than the first 10 minutes they arrive here.
• And, I’m hoping that I’ll have visits from at least 50 different countries!

In order to meet these goals, I need your help.  You can strengthen and grow our community by introducing your classmates, colleagues, instructors, and online peers to this blog.

Roll Call

And, finally, so many of you have written in asking . . . “Is there anyone here from . . .?”  This seems like the perfect time  for our first Roll Call!  I hope you’ll take a few minutes to drop in below and let us know who you are, what you do, where you do it, and anything else that you might care to share. (And, feel free to give your private practice a plug, too!)

That way we’ll all know who’s hanging out here in our online community!

I look forward to meeting you!

Tags: Anniversary, Goals, Roll Call

There is a lot that goes into creating a website for your private practice.  Even if you don’t want to spend the money right now, you need to think ahead of time about the many components that go into the development of your website.  Here is a starter list of things to consider.

1. Static (HTML) or blog platform [I never recommend HTML.  Check out the link to Blogging with Beth in the sidebar for more info about blogs.]
2. If you have a static site, do you also want to include a blog? [Definitely]
3. Customized or template?
4. What content to do you want include? And, how are you going to update and manage that content?
5. Who is going to write the content for your sight – you or someone else? [Kathryn Bass is a really gifted copywriter if you want someone to write it for you.  And, if you are looking for someone to help you write it yourself, hire me! I'll be glad to help!]
6. Spend some time surfing on other websites.  Collect the URLs of the ones that you like (as well as the ones you hate).  [Your web designer will love your for this.]
7. Look and feel – gather samples of art / color palettes that you like – either hard copy or on line.  [If you want more options of color palettes, check out COLOURLovers.]
8. Navigation of content -  How someone gets around your site matters.  Ask your web designer to make it simple and logical.
9. Your professional biography
10. A professional photo
11. The services you provide
12. Client testimonials / statistics
13. FAQs page
14. Links you want to include
15. Resources you want to include
16. Forms for your clients or the general public
17. Access for the disabled
18. A search feature on your site
19. How are you going to handle changes / maintenance for your site?  Who is going to do the actual work?
20. Cost – development, hosting, maintenance, auto-responder, URL
21. Security for your website

OK, gang, have I missed anything?  If so, I hope you’ll take a moment to list it below!

Tags: Security, Website

Back in April, I wrote about things to consider when working from home.  Sharon Lauby at Work Shifting wrote a post identifying other areas you need to consider entitled 7 Considerations for Setting Up a Home Office.

If you area health care professional already working from home, I hope you’ll add your thoughts about what’s working for you and what’s challenging for you right now.  Drop in, introduce yourself, and join our conversation!

Tags: Location, Office

SIGN UP NOW – ONLY 24 HOURS LEFT!

July 2nd is the last day you can register
for the 6th Annual Series of Private Practice from the Inside Out.

Are you are tired of waiting for the telephone to ring . . . ?
Are you are ready to learn what to do to help clients find you . . . ?
Are you are ready to make your practice stand out from the crowd . . . ?

If your answer is “yes! Yes! YES!” then this is the place to commit to growing your private practice!

This is not your standard day-long workshop on building a private practice . . . . It’s not the one that talks about all the things you’ve already tried.

Instead, this is 18 hours (spread over 9 months) of personalized coaching in a small group setting.  It’s jammed packed with hundreds of ideas to help you find what is going to work best for you.

In addition to 18 hours of small group time, participants will also receive throughout the series ongoing support and mentoring by me via email and telephone.

If this sounds like something that you might benefit from, I am inviting you to attend the first session at no cost.  Should you decide to continue after that, your commitment will be to the entire series and you will be responsible for the full fee for the remaining sessions.

If you would like additional information or want to join the Series, you may email me here or call me at 303-660-4989.  Either way, I look forward to working with you!

Tags: PPIO Annual Series

If you are a mental health professional (or an allied health professiona) with an online presence, then you know how critical it is that you control your online identity.  It’s not a matter of simply slapping up a website or blog.  You need to stay on top of how you name is being used and who else might be using it.

Sree Sreenivasan has written an informative post at DNAinfo entitled Identity in the Age of Facebook.  In her post, she identifies at least four things you need to do to maximize your control over your online identity.  Take a look and let me know what you did with the suggestions she provided.

Tags: Professional Image, Security

David from Longmont, Colorado wrote  . . .

Tamara, I attended your workshop at the Colorado Counseling Association’s Spring Workshop, The In’s and Out’s of Private Practice. Thanks so much for being so generous with your information!  I remember you encouraging graduate students to go ahead and get business cards.  I am a graduate student and don’t really know what I need to put on my business card before I graduate next year.  Can you help me out?”

Hi, David!  Thanks for attending our workshop.  I really enjoyed working with you guys!  Here’s a link to an earlier post on business cards.  For a graduate student, I would suggest that you include:

• Your legal name;
• All forms of contact information that you are comfortable sharing;
• A statement indicating the graduate program that you are attending – something like “Masters student, University of North Texas, graduating 2012″; and,
• You might also want to include 1-3 areas of special interest.

Once you get your business cards, pass them out liberally. They are your least expensive form of advertising and will help your colleagues and professors remember you years later.

Tags: Business Card, Work with Tamara

Do you know David P. Diana ?  He is my e-friend and colleague  down in South Carolina but you may know him as a Licensed Professional Counselor, marketing consultant and coach, or just a best selling author. Twice each year, David posts his list of mental health professionals who are doing things in a different sort of way.  He calls his list the  “NOT Most People” List and I am so humbled and thrilled that he has just added me to the list!

Yes, if I was the only one highlighted, I would still be directing you to the “New NOT Most People List.”  (That’s one of the benefits of blogging – I can toot my own horn!)  But beyond your curiosity, you really need to check out David’s website. It’s chocked full of pithy conversations and useful resources.  And, you really need to check out the other names on the “NOT Most People” List.  They are inspiring!

David P. Diana!  Thank you for the honor!  You’ve placed me in the company of really interesting and creative people! I am touched by your generosity and willingness to reach out to strangers around the world to help us build stronger relationships with one another!

Tags: Awards / Honors

While surfing today, I ran across a website that provides resources to counselors in Washington State.  One of the resources I found there is the Dictionary of Initials, Acronyms, and Abbreviations Used by Counselors and Social Workers.  Here are two examples:

CAQH = Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare is a “nonprofit alliance of the nation’s leading health plans and networks that works to simplify healthcare administration.”  As part of this effort they have developed the “Universal Credentialing DataSource” which offers practitioners “a secure and simplified method of navigating the credentialing process.” [Thanks to the Noteworthy column, The Advocate, a publication of the AMACA, July/August 2006.]

NPI = National Provider Identifier, a ten-digit number which will become the standard unique health identifier for health care providers to use in filling and processing future health care claims–replacing common use of the provider’s  social security number or employer identification number.  The National Provider System will begin accepting applications for NPIs after May 23, 2005. Priority will be given to “covered entities.”  Providers who are not covered entities, but who wish to apply for NPIs, are asked to wait at least one year (5/23/06) before applying.   All “covered entities” must have and use their NPI number on all standard HIPAA transactions by May 23, 2007.[Thanks to Beth Powell in News from Washington in The Advocate, March 2004, an AMHCA publication.]“

If acronyms are outpacing your knowledge base, then this is a handy little dictionary to bookmark.  In it you will find both routine and obscure explanations for all acronyms in mental health.

It is also worth noting that in addition to being a terrific resource, the owners of this site are committed to continuing to add other acronyms that you might find useful.  If you have a suggestion, be sure you leave your suggestion here.

Tags: Abbreviations & Acronyms, CAQH, HIPAA, NPI