2010 Open Enrollment for the 6th Annual Series

Let me, Tamara Suttle, show you how to get all the clients you want in this 18 hour series in Parker, Colorado.  This small group coaching series is spread over 12 sessions from July 9, 2010 through March 22, 2011.  Here’s what you’ll get:

• Innovative and customized information to help you build referral sources to get and keep clients
• Allows you to set aside time only to focus on your private practice growth and future goals
• Creates opportunities for you to develop practice allies with your colleagues
• Access ongoing mentoring by Tamara throughout the entire series
• Receive personal email feedback from Tamara.

Download all the details here.

Tags: Work with Tamara

You may not know that I also host a second blog for my clinical practice.  Last week, I was writing a post for it, titled How to Empty the Garbage (in Your Head).  As I was sitting down today to write, I realized that this post is equally relevant to psychotherapists in private practice.  Sometimes it’s just the garbage in our heads that prevents us from having the practice of our dreams.

If the garbage in your head is what keeps getting in your way, take a moment to check out my other blog to learn a very specific method to extricate that nasty self talk from your path to a bright and successful business future!

Tags: Habits, Self Talk, Social Media

Miles Halvorson of Fargo, North Dakota  asks,

Is it possible for a psychotherapist to start a private practice out of one’s home, rather than rent office space? What are the drawbacks and limitations?”

Hi, Miles!  Thanks for writing.  You ask a really good question.  The short answer is “Yes, it’s possible” but the longer answer is “. . . but I highly advise against it until you have considerable and varied experience behind you.”  Here’s some questions for you to consider when deciding whether or not to work from home:

Do you have a separate entrance to a professional and private home office and bathroom? You, your family, and your clients deserve a professional and private space in which to do your clinical work.

Where will clients wait to see you? Do you have a waiting room?  In their car?  On your front porch?  Will they have privacy from your neighbors while they wait?

How will you deal with door-to-door salesmen, postal workers and other deliveries that show up while you are in session? Those interruptions actually happen all too often unless you take steps to prevent them.

What plans do you have for dealing with threats or violence? Your unhappy clients, their unhappy spouses, and their unhappy friends can show up.  You need to be prepared with a way to keep everybody safe.

How will you handle clients who have lousy boundaries? Clients will call at 2 AM and they will show up without appointments and they may wander through your home or refuse to leave when they are upset.

How will you handle clients (or wanna-be clients) who decide to stalk you? And, how do you explain to your family and neighbors without violating confidentiality.  (Yes, this really does happen.)

How do you protect your non-work time when you are at home 24-7? Boundaries tend to come with experience  – lots of experience.

How do you protect your client records and your workspace from prying eyes? Will your office be off-limits to guests and other family members?  Even when there are sleepovers and you are needing the extra space?

Are you willing to put in phone lines and designate a computer solely to your work? You can’t expect to appear professional if your phone is answered by a 10 year old or by your partner.  And, neither can you share your computer with others if it has confidential information on it.

What are the tax implications? Yes, there are some financial benefits but there are also some financial costs to officing at home.

Here’s the bottom line . . . . Most clients that seek psychotherapy have a trauma history and most clients with trauma histories struggle with boundaries.  Until you have impeccable personal and professional boundaries of your own and are experienced enough to effectively manage your client’s boundary issues, I would advise you against hanging out your shingle on your own front door.

Related Post:  7 More Considerations for Working Out of Your Home

Tags: Boundaries, Location, Office, Safety

If you are starting to think about your own clinical supervision, then you will appreciate this article written by music therapist and singer / songwriter, Roia Rafieyan.  In it she discusses what clinical supervision is and some common misconceptions. (And, while you’re at it, take some time to wander around her blogs and website.  She is a woman who writes and sings from the heart.)

Tags: Creative Arts Therapy, Expectations & Misconceptions

Are you a psychotherapist who uses Facebook and Twitter?  Do you blog or engage in other forms of social media?  If so, you need to consider the sticky situations that you may stumble into without any ill intent.  Here is one article by Dana Scarton in the Washington Post that highlights examples of what I’m talking about.

I’ve begun to look for mental health attorneys to join us here on occasion at Private Practice from the Inside Out to help us tackle some of these choice points in private practice.

Let me know if you think this would be helpful to you and if you have a favorite mental health attorney to recommend.

Tags: Boundaries, Ethics, Social Media

I told you what you might need to know about working with managed care and I told you why I choose not to work with managed care.  Today I ran across another post written by Rand Partridge, Ph.D. about the conflicts of interest inherent in contracting to work with managed care.

Suicide seems like a strong metaphor to use, I know, but the implication of choosing to contract with managed care can be life threatening to both your client and your business. Take time to read and ask questions so that you can make an informed choice.

You can thrive without compromising your values, your clients, and your business.

Tags: Choice, Contract, Ethics, Values

This is the 4th  post in the series
Reduced Fees, Sliding Scales, and Lessons Learned.
The series actually begins here.

How Does Your Reduced Fee Reflect on Your Overall Reputation?

Are you thinking about advertising the fact that you offer a sliding scale fee?  I strongly discourage mental health professionals from doing this and here’s the reason why . . . .

Once referral sources discover that you routinely provide services for a reduced fee, that is the idea that becomes attached to your name i.e. you provide the cheap stuff.

That’s NOT what you want to be known for even if you run a non-profit and routinely charge less than the Usual and Customary Fee for your services.

Your reputation should be based on the services that you provide and what differentiates you from your peers . . . not on having the lowest rates in town.

Tags: Fee, Reputation

This is the 3rd  post in the series
Reduced Fees, Sliding Scales, and Lessons Learned.
The series actually begins here.

If You Choose to Provide  a Reduced Fee, How Long Should You Do So?

I’ve had clients who were unemployed when they began working with me, so I offered my services at a reduced fee.   Later, when they secured six figure incomes, they continued to pay the reduced fees.

Lesson learned?  Yep . . . .

Lesson #1

My own issues with money got in the way.  Otherwise, when it came to my attention that my clients were in better financial situations, I would have addressed it directly with each of them rather than feeling taken advantage of.  If that is true for you, you have some work to do and a good therapist can well be worth her full fee to get that cleaned up early.

Lesson #2

What is understood to be “less than enough” by one person may appear to be “more than enough” to another . . . and vice versa.  Get really clear about the circumstances under which you are comfortable providing reduced fees.

Lesson #3

Reduced fees need to have time limits.    Unless you are operating as a charitable organization, consider how long is “long enough” to help someone access your professional services. Limits are good for your client and they are good for you.

Lesson #4

If you offer anyone a “good deal,” they’ll probably take it.  Make sure to think through the offers you want to make before you make them.

Drop me a line and let’s talk about if / how you provide services to clients at a reduced fee.  What does that look like in your practice?  Is it working well for you and your clients?

Tags: Boundaries, Fee, Gullible

This is the 2nd  post in the series
Reduced Fees, Sliding Scales, and Lessons Learned.
The series actually begins here.

Does Your Client Need or Just Want a Reduced Fee?

I don’t know anyone these days who isn’t looking for a bargain – including me.  It’s important to determine ahead of time if your client really needs a reduced fee to access your services.

I learned this lesson when one of my clients

(who was receiving a substantial discount on my fee) mentioned that he would be out of town the following week.  He was vacationing at a rather pricey resort. That was a clue . . . .

Then, I decided to walk him out to the parking lot where he proceeded to get into his shiny, late model car . . . that cost about twice as much as my car.

Of course, most of us need a break and most of us need reliable transportation.  However, my goal was not to fund those needs for my client before I could fund them for myself. It’s important to determine how you will decide who needs the reduced fee and who does not.

Do you have similar stories that you can share?  If so, drop us a line below so that we can chuckle at your lessons learned, too.

Tags: Fee, Guillible