The Practice of Therapy

HAVING A PLACE TO MEET WITH CLIENTS.

Finding a place to meet with clients sometimes takes a bit of creativity.  A good place to start is simply to ask other therapists if they know of a place or if they might have room to share their space. Check with other professionals, doctors, attorneys, chiropractors and such to see if they have unused space. The other thing to consider is to consider is meeting with people online (be sure to know your state laws and learn how online therapy is different.) The beauty of our profession is that very little is needed to meet with people. A couple of chairs and a quiet, private place to meet.

• Search online for office spaces in your area; Craigslist is sometimes helpful, but be careful
• Talk with other therapists in your area that might have office space they are willing to sublease
• Consider joining a group private practice. It might be a good fit!
• Talk to you Chamber of Commerce to see if there are office co-ops or office sharing services in your area
• Look into offering online therapy. Some clinicians have built very successful practices that are strictly online

Here are some blog posts and podcast episodes along with other resources to help you begin thinking about all this:

HAVING YOUR OFFICE SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES SET-UP.

Your office set-up will be the foundation for making your practice successful.  There are so many details and logistics to think about when getting things ready to see clients. From paperwork, email, phones & faxes, bookkeeping & accounting, to taking credit cards, there is a lot to begin having in place.

• Get your paperwork and forms together that you will need to start doing intakes (you can get my paperwork packet here)
• Google Voice is a good option and/or solution for phones when you just starting out.  As grow though, you will want something more and HIPAA compliant if you are taking insurance. Spruce and 8x8 are two recommended phone services. (Check out Roy Huggins at Person Centered Tech for more info about phones for therapy practices.)
• For credit cards, I use Square.  There are others you can use, but I have found it easy to use and perfect for those just starting out. No monthly fees.
• For email, go with Google Workspace! For the paid version of (just $6-$18 a month) you can get a professional email address with your own URL instead of it having @gmail or @yahoo, etc. Plus, it's HIPAA secure.

Here are some blog posts and podcast episodes along with other resources to consider in setting up your office:

GETTING CLIENTS AND REFERRALS.

Once you have your office space ready and your processes in place for handling clients, you are ready to start seeing people! Where will they come from? This is where getting the word out about your practice comes in (AKA marketing...).  Having a website will be essential along with developing other referral resources through networking.

GET THE SUPPORT YOU NEED.

Starting a private practice can be scary! But you don't have to go it alone.  One of the best ways to ensure success is to get some coaching and mentoring.  There are two ways to do this. One on one coaching or joining a Mastermind Group.

• One on one coaching will give you the intensity and a specific plan you need to succeed.
• Mastermind Groups will give a community of support with others to help you on your journey.

RECOMMENDED READING AND BOOKS.

Rob Reinhardt

Tame Your Practice

Expert in electronic health records and all things tech.

Tameyourpractice.com

Dr. Maelisa Hall

QA Prep

Paperwork support for mental health professionals.

www.qaprep.com