The Business of Private Practice
By: Claire Caines, LCSW and Tom Caines, Business Coach

We have found that most therapists are reluctant to see themselves in the "business” of therapy, and have difficulty marketing themselves or charging what they are worth. Know the value of your unique skills. If you define this well, you can charge what you are worth.

Marketing psychotherapy services is about educating the public. Get your message across in every contact you make with anyone, anywhere.

Creating a “30-Second Drill” helps you express clearly and concisely what you do (be able to say who you are and what you do in 30 seconds). Get rid of clinical language and stick to user-friendly terms. Don’t leave potential clients out in the cold by discussing “therapeutic modalities.” Better to talk about how you help people.

As you receive referrals from various sources and managed care, maintain relationships with these people to insure a steady stream of clients. Arrange personal meeting when you can, and send cards, brochures, etc. to keep you in their minds. Make sure you express appreciation to referral sources and everyone who helps you along the way.

To boost your confidence and maintain motivation while you grow your private practice, enlist the support of a "old hand" or coach to assist you in achieving your goals.

Claire and Tom Caines facilitate the “Building and Managing Your Dream Private Practice” workshop series. Visit www.dreampractices.com for more information.

Posted by Ron Klein at 09:23 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Submitted by Lisa Friedman, LCSW

I enjoy coaching other psychotherapists that are starting or trying to enhance their private practice.

Here are some tips that I have found helpful:

· Keep one phone number that you hold onto throughout the years of practice.

· Thank you cards for every referral you receive.

· Connect with your client’s other providers (w/release of information)

· Business cards are best and least expensive form of advertising; carry them everywhere.

· Create either a blog or website (when was the last time you used the yellow pages vs. internet to find services)

· Place your web address on all advertising materials

· When you start a practice, move, or offer new services, send announcements to all referral sources.

· Offer free talks in your areas of expertise

· Talk at places that will have the potential for clients (If you work with children, offer to speak at a PTA meeting).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In order to ensure confidentiality for your clients (not referral sources), I recommend that you have a standard questionaire (that ends with client signature) with your new patient paperwork that asks several vital questions:

1. Please print the phone number where you want to receive calls from this office.___________________

2. Please print the address of where you would like your billing statements and/or correspondence from our office to be sent.___________________________________________________________________________

3. Do we have your permission to send out marketing material to inform you of changes to the office or new services we are offering _______Yes _______No

4. Please indicate if you want all correspondence from our office be marked "CONFIDENTIAL"
_______Yes __________No

Print Name__________________________________________________________

Client/Guardian Signature______________________________________________

Date_______________________

For more information on enhancing or starting a private practice, call or write:

Lisa Friedman, LCSW (954) 741-1099Lisa Friedman, LCSW
Licensed Psychotherapist
Professional Toolbox Consultant
E-mail: Counseling123@aol.com
Phone: (954) 741-1099
Fax: (954) 585-0177
WebPages: http://www.professionaltoolbox.org/
WebPages: http://www.toolsandskillsforlife.blogspot.com/

Posted by Ron Klein at 09:38 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

It is gospel in marketing that your prospective clients will need to become aware of your services 5 to 7 times before they will call to ask about how you can help them with their problems. Then, very often, they will say they want to think about it, and that they'll call back to make an appointment at later time.

What can you do after that 7th contact person calls and they don't make the appointment right away? You find a way of keeping in touch with them. Ask if you can have their email address so you can send them your mental health Ezine. Then you periodically email them your Ezine with interesting and useful health-related information.

You can ask you current and past clients if they would like to opt-in (become subscribers) as well. When you provide interesting and useful information, people will actually start looking forward to receiving your Ezine. Also, you can suggest that they pass on the fact that you have this Ezine to friends, family and to the people they work with.

Where do you get the information for your Ezine? No problem, you subscribe to lots of health-related Ezines and do a little re-writing. You can also link to appropriate WebPages, as part of your desire to provide your clients and prospective clients with this service. Most importantly, you'll be keeping your name and the service you provide in their awareness. You can bet there is a very good likelihood you'll be getting more calls asking to make appointments.

Please note: If you want to publish an Ezine like this one, call my cell 301-523-5659 and I'll help you get set up.

Posted by Ron Klein at 10:29 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

December 2006, by Lynn Grodzki, LCSW, MCC (Master Certified Coach)
www.privatepracticesuccess.com

Inspiration for the New Year

I want to wish all my readers, colleagues, and friends on this newsletter list a very wonderful and inspired New Year. Poetry has always been a source of inspiration for me, and so when I give live presentations, I always weave in poems. Here are two poems that are among my favorites.

The first one, by poet Michael Blumenthal, celebrates the drive we all have for change and reinvention. It uses the ancient story of the Odyssey as a metaphor for our own life’s journey.

The second one is a few stanzas from a long poem by W. S. Merwin. It speaks to the way many of us feel, faced with an ongoing war and many difficult global challenges, but also having a need to continue to live life with gratitude and love and happiness.

Continue reading "Private Practice Success Newsletter " »

Posted by Ron Klein at 01:05 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Show your prospective clients just how much enthusiasm
you have for your practice. When you do, they'll get enthusiastic too.

Posted by Ron Klein at 08:46 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

By: Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D.

I have to give a presentation to the shareholders meeting next week. I am petrified of speaking in front of groups! You've got to help me!

As a counselor and coach specializing in phobias and stress management, I often hear pleas like this one from my clients. For many people, public speaking anxiety is very real and very debilitating. It can pose a major detriment to career advancement or to promoting your business.

One way to beat speaking anxiety is to join Toastmasters International. This non-profit organization, founded in 1924, offers a first-rate educational program for speaking and leading with confidence. Toastmasters has helped millions of people over their platform jitters. You can join the organization through a local club, where you'll find friendly people who have "been there." Toastmasters International has 8700 clubs in over 70 countries. If you can't find a nearby club, Toastmasters International will help you start one in your community or corporation. For more information go to www.toastmasters.org.

Confidence alone does not make someone a good speaker. Polished speaking skills come from knowing your subject matter, preparing and organizing the material, and practicing your delivery. Toastmasters will give you a supportive atmosphere where you can put these skills to work.

For my clients, I work with them on the emotional end of things-overcoming the fear and anxiety. Drawing on professional training in Neuro-Linguistic Programming and hypnotherapy, and my own experiences as a speaker and trainer, I use a combination of coaching, relaxation training, mental rehearsal, and guided imagery to help people replace their fears with confidence and motivation. Obviously, I can't show you all these methods in this article. However, I can give you some easy-to-follow stratagems that should make your next speech a bit easier. Here are ten things you can do to overcome your fear of public speaking.

Continue reading "Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking" »

Posted by Ron Klein at 04:21 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

By: Lynn Grodzki, LCSW, MCC (Master Certified Coach)

In last month's newsletter, I discussed the 2006 industry-wide survey from Psychotherapy Finances (www.psychotherapyfinances.com), showing that incomes of clinicians are declining and not keeping pace with inflation.

This month, I highlight another finding of the same survey: Despite declining incomes, practice expenses are still high. This validates what I teach, that a therapy business is an expensive business to own and operate.

"If we keep doing what we're doing, we're going to keep getting what we're getting." Stephen R. Covey

Whether you are a sole proprietor or part of a group practice, whether you work from home or out of a separate office, your expenses will be a substantial percentage of your gross income, and that makes this an expensive business to run. It may not seem that way when you have a small practice, because there is relatively little start-up expense, especially with a home office. But when you look at your expenses as a percentage of gross income, you see the true picture.

Continue reading "Private Practice Success" »

Posted by Ron Klein at 05:50 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Your clients may be Eligible to get a tax credit or deduction for their Weight Loss and/or Smoking Cessation Hypnotherapy Programs with an I.R.S. ! Tax laws passed for 2003 onwards mean clients could possibly get a tax credit for money paid for smoking programs. If they do not qualify for the credit, they may be able to claim Stop Smoking programs as a medical deduction.

Clients may also be able to claim weight loss programs as a medical deduction if advised by a physician to lose weight. Tax credits are credits on taxes! Medical deductions are medical expenses claimed that exceed 7.5% of gross annual income.

Continue reading "Tax Deduction or Credit for Stop Smoking and Weight Control" »

Posted by Ron Klein at 05:49 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

By: Charles M. Citrenbaum, Ph.D.

Inside this article:

* What is Hypnosis?
* What is a trance?
* How does hypnosis work?
* What is self-hypnosis?
* What is Clinical Hypnosis helpful or useful for?
* Can anyone be hypnotized?
* What about the level or depth of trance?
* Will I cluck like a chicken?
* Is hypnosis like being asleep?
* Is hypnosis like transcendental meditation?
* Is trance and relaxation the same thing?
* Can someone not wake up from hypnosis or trance?
* Are hypnosis and biofeedback the same?
* What about all these hypnosis clinics?
* Hypnosis for cigarette smoking cessation and diet control
*
Just what is Hypnosis?

Hypnosis is a word that means one person helping another to experience a trance. This trance experience "belongs" to the person or patient, so really all hypnosis is self-hypnosis.

Continue reading "Modern Clinical Hypnosis" »

Posted by Ron Klein at 08:53 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

by Lynn Grodzki, LCSW, MCC (Master Certified Coach)

Do you feel under pressure from competition? If you are a therapist, does it seem as though your practice is under attack from newer, younger, and hungrier therapists? If you are a coach, are you daunted by the number of executive or life coaches whose websites blanket the internet? As a healer, are you worried about standing out from among dozens of other massage therapists and healers in your community who offer similar services?

If so, you are not alone. The threat of competition is common in a crowded marketplace. How do you tend to respond to competition? Do you lower your fees? Over-promise results? Do anything in order to try and hold onto a potential client?

The CEO of a major automobile company says that all his competitors are his enemies and he faces war every day. But what if you don't want to conduct business in a war zone? Can you respond to competition in a gentler way, with integrity, and still succeed in your private practice?

Continue reading "Private Practice Success-Creative Collaboration " »

Posted by Ron Klein at 08:38 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

What have you done to successfully market your practice? Your colleages want to know.

If you have a marketing tip that you'd like to have published in The NBCCH INTERLINK, please send it to INTERLINK@natboard.com (GUIDELINES: 150 words or less)

Posted by Ron Klein at 09:58 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

The right words can be magic:

Results
Discover
Benefits
Alternatives
Gain
Comfortable
Healthy
Safe
Security
Value
Choice
Decide
Proven
Win

Weave these words into your talk with prospective clients to learn how effective they can be. Remember influencing with Integrity requires total honesty and positive intention.

Posted by Ron Klein at 03:45 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)