In 1977, Ilya Prigogine was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on “dissipative structures.“  Prigogine contends that because dissipative structures are disturbed i.e. shaken up by definition, they are able to change and evolve.  On the other hand, those structures that are too well insulated, and thus unable to be disturbed, will simply stagnate and die.  According to Ilya,  friction is a good thing!

I was reading about Ilya’s work and got to thinking about how friction has served my practice well over the years. Here’s what I’m talking about . . . .

When my referral sources are disturbed . . . they call me to consult when they are in over their heads.  They call me with referrals. Or, they call me wanting referrals.  They do something different.

When my community is disturbed . . . by elections, substance abuse, suicides, natural disasters, my community gets busy!  It get activated! And, they do something different, too.

When my clients are disturbed . . . they are motivated to pick up the phone and call me. They make appointments and come to see me. They follow through with their homework in between sessions.  And, if they are disturbed with me, the tell me!  And, all of that serves me (and my clients) well.  They do something different.

And, when I am disturbed . . . I seek additional information.  Or, I take action.  I tell someone just to be heard.  I take a class or seek consultation. I learn a new strategy.  I, too,  do something different.

Although I’m always up for a new adventure, I must admit, I don’t always relish the unpredictability of my work being disturbed.  But . . . does it help in the long run?  Keep me on my toes?  Sharpen me mentally and emotionally?  Help me stay flexible and alive in my practice?  You bet!  And, that flexibility and willingness to do something different helps my business stay vibrant and thriving.

So maybe tomorrow . . . when chaos looms out of no where to disturb my daily practice . . . . Maybe, just maybe I’ll remember Ilya Prigogine’s ideas and instead of digging in my heels and whining, I’ll say “thank you” for my dissipative practice and the wisdom to see the gift!

How about you?  Got a dissipative practice?  Or have you gone rigid and stagnate?  Needing a little help loosening up and learning to ride the waves?  If so, email me!  I’m happy to help you get unstuck and start enjoying the fruits of a little disruption.

Tags: Change, Continuous Learning, Disruption

My e-friend, David P. Diana, was kind enough to send a copy of his new book to me.  I’ve only read one hundred pages into Marketing for the Mental Health Professional but already I can tell you that it is an excellent addition to your practice-building library.

As David notes in the preface, this is a book full of ” innovation, opportunity, and abundance.”  He is quick to remind you of what you already know . . . understanding human behavior . . . while teaching you what you may not know as well . . . the tools of marketing, business, and sales.

Here are some of the nuggets that I have already gleaned from David to help you grow your business:

• On making mental health relevant – Become “part of the conversation people are having both online and offline.  Offer helpful information.  Build awareness by sharing your expertise.  Reach out to others in ways that show you genuinely care about them.”
• When you are doing something right – ” . . . you are highly visible within the marketplace . . . ” and  ” . . . you are viewed as a valuable resource and partner, people begin to seek you out without any soliciting on your part.”
• To gain power and influence when networking – “Take some time to notice when you are rushing your speech and begin making an effort to slow down, relax, and confidently present your point.”
• Concerning the need to establish credibility – If you (or any other mental health professional) do not have “distinguishing characteristics or credentials, then why would someone choose that person when so many options are available?”
• About strategic use of your time and energy – “. . . shifting your time and energy in new and more productive ways can have such a powerful impact.”
• On the art of public speaking – “Try to identify two to three new concepts and ideas that you will feature in your presentation.  Your audience will buy you and your message if you are able to do so.”

• And, here’s a tip that I didn’t know – “When customers consider a particular set of choices (services or products), they tend to favor alternatives that are so-called compromise choices. These are choices that fall between what a person needs at a minimum, and what they could possibly spend and fully desire at a maximum.”(Thanks to David, I’m actively re-thinking my menu of services and ways to include more-than-the-minimum compromise choices.)

So have I peaked your interest in Marketing for the Mental Health Professional? If I’m learning from it, I’m betting you have some things to learn, too.  Run out and get the book.  Read it.  Apply it.  And, let me and David P. Diana know what is changing because of it!

Tags: Choice, Credibility, Menu of Services, Power and Influence, Public Speaking

Dr. Keely Kolmes of San Francisco continues  to be a valuable resource for therapists engaging in social media.  Check out her blog post dated August 5th in which she exposes the privacy concerns  caused by Psychology Today’s newly implemented call tracking.

I just changed the setting on my own listing to decline call tracking and, I’m encouraging you to do the same.

[Thanks, Keely, for continuing to keep us informed on these matters!]

Tags: Privacy, Social Media, Telephone

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

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

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

The CBS Evening News posted an article by Armen Keteyian that states . . .

Nearly every digital copier built since 2002 contains a hard drive – like the one on your personal computer – storing an image of every document copied, scanned, or emailed by the machine.”

Read this article before you dispose of your old photocopier.  Your clients’ privacy, your privacy, and your license depend on it.

Tags: Ethics, Security

Nothing puts potential clients and referral sources at ease as quickly as hearing from your colleagues and past clients  that you have been helpful to them.  That’s why it’s important to collect testamonials and to use them liberally. Here are some ways that I have effectively integrated testamonials into my marketing marketing efforts . . . .

• I always offer to provide references to those considering attending my Annual Series of Private Practice from the Inside Out.  It’s a great way to show that my intentions are good i.e. I’m providing what I say I will provide.  It’s also a good way to let past participants brag on their own  successes and tell others what a terrific investment it was for their practices.
• I pepper my handouts and fliers with testamonials.
• I have used testamonials as the basis for an advertisement.
• I have used written testamonials on each page of my counseling website.  (I have also seen other professionals actually use YouTube-type videos of testamonials.)
• I also look for opportunities to include testamonials when I am writing proposals to present or teach at different institutions and organizations.  I may insert these into my cover letter or include a separate sheet with stats and comments gathered from previous presentations.

I’m sure that there are other effective ways to use the testamonials that you gather.  If you think of them, I hope you will leave them below.

Tags: Fliers, Testimonial, Website

Unlike many professionals, those in mental health cannot ethically ask therapy clients / ex-clients for testamonials.  Nor can you use your client’s written expressions of gratitude without their permission.  However, there are other ways to ethically gather testamonials about your quality of work and your clients’ satisfaction.

Remember that you cannot ask your therapy clients for a testamonial. And, you cannot use your client’s actual words without their permission.

• Always gather feedback when you present to your peers in educational setting – then paraphrase their comments;
• Gather cheers (and jeers) when you offer psycho-educational workshops;
• Collect clippings from the media (including print, video, and online sources) that include impressions of your work;
• Consider asking for letters of reference from practice allies who know the caliber of your work;
• If you have a web presence, and these days every private practitioner needs one, ask referral sources to write a brief statement for your website highlighting one of your strengths.

Check back in on Thursday and I’ll give you some ideas about how to use the comments that you collect.

Tags: Media, Testimonial, Website, Workshop

If you’ve missed my posts concerning the risks of mental health professionals’ use of social media here and here, you may want to go back and take a look. 

More privacy concerns related to Facebook are addressed in Jenna Wortham’s article this week in the New York Times. That’s why I was happy to also stumble across Will Baum’s interview with Keely Kolmes, Psy.D. about her thoughts on mental health professionals’ use of social media.  (Don’t forget to check out Keely’s Social Media Policy here.)

If you have your own policy on social media (or any aspect of it), I hope you’ll email a copy of it to me so that I, in turn,  can share it with others here at Private Practice from the Inside Out.

Tags: Ethics, Social Media

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

Erin Blakemore of VOCO Creative wrote a great little post suggesting 10 easy ways to nurture those online relationships you are building.

Whether you call it “do unto others,” “cross-promotion,” or “backscratchin,” the results are the same.  Check out her tips and get busy building your private practice with social media!

Then, drop in here and tell us where we can find you and how it’s working for you.

Tags: Relationships, Social Media

A reader,  Kristene Elmore, in Brighton, Colorado wrote in asking,

Can anyone suggest a great billing software to manage a solo private practice?

. . . Does anyone use TheraQuick?

. . . Has anyone customized a general billing software like QuickBooks?”

[Update 01-28-09]    Another reader, Sandy Jardine, in Phoenix, Arizona also wrote in asking for help.

I am a long-time user of Therapist Helper software.  I have just been informed that when I switch to Windows 7 my ancient version of Therapy Helper will be useless.  I need to get new software. I am looking for something SIMPLE.  I have a completely self  pay practice, do no direct billing to insurance, submit no electronic claims and need no scheduler. I provide my clients statements they can submit directly to their insurance for reimbursement.  I also use it for keeping track of my income receivables, client lists, etc.

Can you please recommend what you have found helpful, affordable, simple and windows 7 compatible.”

If you have experience and opinions about billing software, please introduce yourself, tell us what you’ve used (and for how long) and let us benefit from what you know!

Tags: Billing, Software

I put off building my websites for at least five years simply because I didn’t know where to start.  Now that I have two, I thought it might be useful if I shared some of my thoughts to help you get your website started.  There are several things you need to consider before you even talk to a web designer.

Why Do You Want A Website? A good website will not be all things to all people.  Do you want it to build your credibility?  Do you want it to provide information? Is there another reason that you want a website?  Get clear about it and stay focused.

Who Is Your Target Audience? Be specific here because it matters.  The look and feel as well as the content of my counseling website is geared to women with a particular focus on complex trauma.  It’s not necessarily going to be attractive to servicemen or useful to parents of small children.  It’s not very focused on addictions or compulsive sexual behaviors.  Take the time to identify and speak directly to your targeted audience.

Why Will People Take Time To Visit Your Website? Are they looking for relief?  Entertainment?  Information?  Know why they will take time to visit your website and then use that information to meet their needs.

How Will People Find Your Website? Will they be looking for someone like you or will they be looking specifically for you? Your networking will both affect how and be affected by how others find you / your site.

What Are The Measurable Goals For Your Website? After being up for one year?  After five years?

Answering these five questions is critical to developing a good website.  Once you are able to answer them, you are ready to begin the next phase of developing your website.  Let me know when you’re ready and I’ll walk you through the next step!

Tags: Goals, Website

I just discovered a free source for professional development (no CEU’s) at

"Podcast Subscribe" by Derrickkwa

CounselorAudioSource.net .  This website offers free weekly podcasts on topics primarily of clinical interest to counselors.

Additionally, if you would like to expand your resume to include your own podcasts on topics relevant to counselors, you can check out their guidelines and suggestions for contributing here.

Do you know of other free resources for the professional development of counselors and allied health professionals?  If so, please let us know!

Tags: Free, Podcast, Resume