Private Practice Blog for Therapists
Hundreds of articles on building, growing, and sustaining your private practice — written by therapists, for therapists. Not recycled generic business advice.
4 Steps to Creating an Awesome Event
We talk to a lot of therapists who want to create awesome workshops, trainings, conferences, webinars, or other types of events. We thought today we would share our top tips to creating an amazing event (no matter what type it is).
Costs for Websites for Therapists
You want to get a website for your private practice but what is this really going to cost? Doing research online you can find sites ranging from free, to a lifetime membership fee to several thousands of dollars for a custom designed site (sometimes more than $10,000) That is a huge range, so let's break down what you need to know.
Are You a Great Psychotherapy Networker?
I'm in a lot of groups online and offline for therapists who are in private practice. What I've seen consistently is that many therapists don't know how to be great networkers. Many vacillate between hiding in the shadows, or taking over the room. So how do you become a great psychotherapy networker? Here is your 10 step plan to getting great referrals from your networking activities.
- Focus first on getting to know other people. Not just their name, not just grabbing their business card- make a connection. Ask probing questions- find out what they are really fired up about. Or, find out if this is someone you wouldn't want to refer to or network in the future! Notice how you feel around this person. Remember, you are great at connecting and assessing.
You are invited to the book club for Irvin D. Yalom's new book
To be successful in private practice long-term, you need to strive to be an amazing therapist, No, you don't have to be perfect, but you need to want to be exemplary. I had the honor of reading a pre-release copy of Irvin D. Yalom's new book Creatures of a Day.
Wow.
This book is hands down the most clinically dense book I've ever read. The storytelling format is so incredibly reach, and really speaks to the feeling of what happens in psychotherapy. Yalom shared in our interview with him that each of these stories is meant to teach psychotherapists and psychiatrists alike powerful clinical lessons.
Websites for Therapists: Your Dictionary of Terms
The truth is, unless you are already established as a therapist in private practice, are getting the right referrals, and are getting ready to retire- you probably need a website. Today, I'm going to share some definitions and terms to help orient you to the beautiful vocabulary of the internet, websites, and marketing!
Website
A website is simply a page that you access through the Internet that allows anyone, anywhere to be able to read the same material, in the same format.
Paying People to Talk About Your Practice
Starting a counseling practice is quite the journey. Along the way you will have a lot of opportunities and get a lot of suggestions about how to build your practice, not all of them will be effective or ethical.
Should you pay people to talk about your business?
If you go into Fiverr.com and some other places, you will see that there are offers to do five star reviews of your business or practice all over the place. People will create fake video testimonials for you, tweet fake love to you, and SO much more. Some business owners are tempted to take these short cuts- they assume this will be a quick way to connect with their community.
Post Your Question for Irvin D. Yalom- Yes- Really!
We get to video interview Irvin D. Yalom for PsychCentral. Let me repeat that. Kelly Higdon and Miranda Palmer get to sit down and have a conversation with Dr. Irvin D. Yalom- the father of group psychotherapy- the still practicing 84 year old psychotherapist.
Wow! So how did this happen? The really short story is we asked. The long story is that we have done a lot to build our business in the last few years that made it easy for Irvin D. Yalom to say yes! We will be sharing the Video Interview on PsychCentral in Spring of 2015, but we haven't interviewed him yet. And guess what that means?
Creating your Vision for 2015
Vision is the creative glue that makes our imagined life become our real life. It gives guidance and direction, especially for our private practices.
Every year, we sit down with clinicians and go over their vision. Why are they in private practice? What do they want to create? What is the purpose?
The Best Gift To Give Yourself
Our work by nature is one of giving. We give of our time, our listening, our efforts to process and contain and help people move forward into more healing. It a beautiful and rare kind of work that we do as helpers and healers.
But when was the last time you gave back to yourself?
Guest Blog: Private Practice Success Stories: Traci Lowenthal, Psy.D.
"A big thank you to Dr. Traci Lowenthal for sharing her private practice story. Too many therapists feel alone on the journey of starting a private practice. Share your favorite part of Traci's story in the comments section!." -Kelly and Miranda
I still remember sitting in one of my first graduate school classes. You know the one: “Let’s go around and introduce ourselves, tell each other how we came to enroll in the program, and a potential long-term goal we have.” I was the only one to say I wanted to work in private practice.
Passwords for Therapists: Security for You and Your Clients
Today we are going to show you a way to keep your information safe online. It is a simple change you can make today to make the online world safer for your clients. Why? Because the truth is, I can probably get into your metal filing cabinet with a hammer and about 4 minutes. Just because something feels safe, doesn't make it safe
“BST was the best investment I have made in myself. I went from working 45-50 hours per week to working 25 hrs, doubling my income,” Cyndi
What if this really could change everything?
You don’t have to decide today.
Just get on the interest list and we’ll walk you through what Business School for Therapists is, what it includes, and how it’s helped thousands of therapists get their life (and income) back.