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The zynnyme Blog

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.

Latest Articles
Building a Hypnotherapy Practice: Real life stories with Jennifer
Podcast Miranda Palmer Podcast Miranda Palmer

Building a Hypnotherapy Practice: Real life stories with Jennifer

Jennifer is an LCSW and hypnotherapist in New Jersey. She shares her journey to becoming a licensed therapist in private practice in a sit down interview. Find out what inspired her, what she finds is the single most powerful aspect of building a full-time private practice, and how she had paying clients from Day 1 of opening her private practice as a hypnotherapist. 

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Miranda Palmer Miranda Palmer

How Therapists are Killing the Field of Psychotherapy

Psychotherapists- you matter. Psychotherapy is powerful. However, if we as a profession don't start making some changes, our profession is going to die off. 

A Rant From a Therapist:

(Shared with permission) "I have this friend back home who worked at a medical office that shares a reception area with several therapists in the building. They have repeatedly mentioned that most of the therapists –regularly– run late to their sessions because several of the clients think they are the receptionist for their therapist and often ask, "What's taking so long?," "My appointment was at such and such time," etc. They noted that even when there's gaps in-between clients, the therapist will take off somewhere and show up late for the next appointment despite having a time gap to recuperate the time offset that happens when a session in a series of appointment get messed up from someone being late. They also noted that they have witness these therapists say, "Sorry I'm late. I had an emergency" so frequently over the last year that they are suspicious of the legitimacy of the excuse." 

The receptionist was reluctant to ever pursue therapy for himself. Why? Because he had the impression that therapists aren't professional or able to be relied on. Through a series of circumstances he finally reached out, made an appointment with a therapist- not one in the building, and showed up on time. And guess what? The therapist was almost an hour late... and they had an emergency... 

Did The Therapist Have an Emergency? 

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Building a Counseling Practice: Kimberly, LMFT
Miranda Palmer Miranda Palmer

Building a Counseling Practice: Kimberly, LMFT

I met Kimberly, LMFT shortly after moving to Seattle, WA. I was lucky to present to the WAMFT networking group about social media for therapists. She has a beautiful story to share about how to shift from being underpaid, overworked and uninspired to being fired up, getting lots of referrals, and doing inspired work!

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How to open a 2nd location for less than $50...
Miranda Palmer Miranda Palmer

How to open a 2nd location for less than $50...

Have you ever wondered if expanding to a second location would help improve your private practice? Do you have clients who struggle to attend sessions regularly due to weather, work schedules, or babysitting issues? 

Creating a second location that your current clients can easily access can be a great way to create amazing customer service, but also to create more continuity in the psychotherapy treatment. 

So how can you create a second location for less than $50? 

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Websites for Therapists: Where to get FREE photos
Marketing - Websites - SEO Miranda Palmer Marketing - Websites - SEO Miranda Palmer

Websites for Therapists: Where to get FREE photos

So... you've got a website... you are starting to think about blogging. And you think- I really need some photographs for my website. Where do you go? Can you find free photographs? Can you just grab them from Google? What about Creative Commons License? I'm going to help today. But first, let me tell you how I paid over $1,000 for ONE picture and how you can avoid my rookie mistake 

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16 Reasons Therapists are Attending the Most Awesome Conference
Miranda Palmer Miranda Palmer

16 Reasons Therapists are Attending the Most Awesome Conference

Kelly, Joe, and I were all together in Orlando, Fl for the American Counseling Association's Annual Conference. As we were chatting, we thought we'd ask a question to the attendees who've already signed up for the Most Awesome Conference for Therapists. The answers we received gave us chills! 

Reason #1: Connecting with Therapists Who Practice Abundance

I signed up for the conference because being around fellow business owners that practice abundance and encouragement fills me up! The greatest benefit so far is expanding and deepening the online relationships I've made. Anna Osborn, LMFT www.annaosbornmft.com

Reason #2: This is a rite of passage

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4 Awesome Lessons from the American Counseling Association Conference
Miranda Palmer Miranda Palmer

4 Awesome Lessons from the American Counseling Association Conference

#1. Get to know people.

Don't just focus on trading business cards or looking for people that can support you- focus on really getting to know people you are drawn to. Let relationships develop naturally and you might be amazed at some of the opportunities that will develop. Example: I met an amazing presenter and private practice owner from Russia and was able to sit down and interview him about positive psychotherapy and the challenges of developing a private practice in Russia (not much different than the rest of the World!) To do this week: Call 2 people in your area and really attempt to get to know them.

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5 Awesome Social Media Resources for Therapists
Miranda Palmer Miranda Palmer

5 Awesome Social Media Resources for Therapists

We had over 300,000 people see our information on Pinterest alone. Can you imagine how that kind of exposure could impact your counseling practice? 

The truth is, you aren't advertising your counseling practice, you are just making it easy for people who desperately need you - to find you! Have you ever run into the store for 3 quick items only to get lost in a maze of poorly marked aisles or items tucked away on end caps? It is frustrating to know exactly what you want, and what you need- and not be able to find it! 

This week as our Spring 2015 bootcampers are completing their JumpStart program, several of them are already scheduling clients from a few simple exercises on LinkedIn- without paying a dime for ads, or doing anything crazy. Social media is a powerful way that you can make it easy for clients to find you! Here are 5 resources on social media to get your social media plan on track! 

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Wordpress.Org Website Designer Review
Marketing - Websites - SEO Miranda Palmer Marketing - Websites - SEO Miranda Palmer

Wordpress.Org Website Designer Review

We are stoked to be reviewing BrighterVision Website Designer for Therapists

BrighterVision specializes in custom Wordpress.org sites for Therapists. (Not sure what the difference is between Wordpress, Wordpress.com and Wordpress.org- check out the Website Dictionary for Therapists). We aren't super shy about it. We are pretty clear that most therapists are unprepared for managing their own Wordpress.org site. We might even be quoted more than once saying "I hate Wordpress!" hehe So, why are we excited to talk about Wordpress today? 

Wordpress is sometimes the best solution for therapists. However, we recommend that therapists who need or want Wordpress.org sites outsource that puppy to someone awesome. The trouble is, it can get expensive pretty quickly to work with a Wordpress designer. Even more complex, there are only a few Wordpress designers who specialize in working with therapists. 

We are excited today to review a program that has made getting a custom designed and maintained Wordpress site accessible for even therapists starting out. 

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Building a Counseling Practice: Real Life Stories with Mercedes Samudio, LCSW
Building a Private Practice, Podcast Kelly Higdon Building a Private Practice, Podcast Kelly Higdon

Building a Counseling Practice: Real Life Stories with Mercedes Samudio, LCSW

Mercedes Samudio is on of those clinicians that has a clear niche and is clear about how she helps. She has a coaching practice as well as a psychotherapy practice and she does a great job of explaining the difference. She shares how she has leveraged social media to serve others and build her private practice. If you have any curiosity about coaching, this is an interview to watch.

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How to drop an insurance panel
Kelly Higdon Kelly Higdon

How to drop an insurance panel

You have decided to get off insurance panels. The cost of either time, effort or both has outweighed any benefit. So let’s talk about how to drop insurance panels in a way that eases you into a full cash pay practice.

Mindset. We always start here. Write down your “why” of getting of insurance panels.

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“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.