Therapist Blog Challenge #3: Current Research On Love

Summarizing current research makes great blog article topics and helps you stay informed about relevant studies in your field of practice.

Since we celebrate Valentine's Day this month I want you to pick a current research study related to love and relationships for your Therapist Blog Challenge #3 topic. Summarize the study, then add your take on it. You may want to discuss why you picked this study, how your readers can apply the study's findings, what surprised you about the study, and what you learned. I can't wait to see what you come up with. Get blogging!

Feel free to find your own love-related studies or choose from these news stories on recent research from PsychCentral News:

Quick writing experiences seems to work magic for couples commitment

Men and women may not be so different after all

Marriage may lower risk of heart attack

Gen Xer's connect as much online as in person

Traditional distribution of chores = more sex

'First time' may influence sexual satisfaction for life

Kindness may be key to happiness for kids

Additional reminders:

• Write and post your blog article in the next 2 weeks. If you miss the deadline or you read this article months later, that's OK too.
• Post a link for this blog challenge in the comment section of this blog post.
• Read, comment, and share other therapist's articles.
• Tweet your post using hashtag #therapistblog and tag @julie_hanks so I can retweet it.
• Pin it on the challenge Pinterest Board. I've invited everyone who posted a comment on the initial blog challenge post as collaborators so you can pin onto the group board.
• Spread the word and invite mental health colleagues to join the challenge. Articles can be added anytime throughout the year.
• Write no more than 600 words, make it easy to read, use a conversational tone, and gear your articles toward your ideal client (not other professionals).
• The goal of a professional blog is to provide value your website visitors, help them get to know your professional perspective, increase traffic to your private practice website, and build your practice.

Pregnancy in Private Practice: 4 Key Questions To Help You Prepare For Maternity Leave

4 key questions to help you prepare personally and professionally for managing maternity leave in private practice.

I'm a mother of four children. My first two children were born during my educational journey and my last two were born while I was in private practice. Being in private practice provides many perks for balancing work and family life. The flexibility of being my own boss has been wonderful. However, taking time off for extended periods of time, like maternity leave, can prove to be tricky.  Unlike working for an agency, in private  you don't get paid leave in private practice,  you still have expenses to pay even when you're not seeing clients, and you have unpredictable income as you "wind down" to take time off and then build your client load back up after taking family leave.  Becoming pregnant while in private practice and planning for the new addition in your family requires some extra planning, coordinating, and saving.

How Much Time Will You Take Off?

These little babies can be a BIG adjustment. It's important to really think about taking enough time for you to adapt to being a parent to this new, little person. Dr. Jennifer Fee, psychologist from California found that one of the most helpful things was taking sufficient time off after giving birth. She suggests coming back gradually and not carrying a full load for awhile.

"Rushing back [to work] while you're adjusting to and bonding with a new baby is not good for you, your baby, or your clients. The great thing about private practice is that it's not an 'all or nothing' business. You can start practicing with a few clients rather than jumping back into a full load," says Dr. Fee.

Determining the length of your maternity or paternity leave can be extremely important in keeping your practice thriving. If you are a sole practitioner, taking a three month leave could potentially leave you with very few clients upon your return. You must decide not only how long is financially feasible but also how long works for your family and your clients.

Who will provide services to your clients in your absence?

It's important to consider who will provide clinical services to your clients while you are on maternity leave. If you are in solo practice, consider reaching out to another trusted private practice colleague who has openings to provide services to your clients while you are on leave. Make sure that your clients have the contact information of the therapist who'll be covering for you. I suggest that clients in crisis have appointments set up with this therapist before you take time off.

I recently talked with a private practice colleague who is pregnant with her third child. I suggested that she consider hiring another therapist to cover her clinical cases and also to generate income for her practice while she is on maternity leave.

When will you stop taking new clients?

You'll also want to think about when you will stop taking new clients. If you plan on taking new clients up until your leave I suggest that in your first conversation you inform them that you will be taking time off so they can have the option of seeing someone who can provide uninterrupted services.

Jennifer Venable-Humphrey, LCSW of Social Work Solutions stopped accepting new clients one month before her due date. When put on bed rest with her third child, Jennifer used Skype or phone sessions to check in with current clients that she had to stop seeing earlier than planned.

How will you cover your fixed expenses and lack of income?

Taking time off in private practice is tricky because you have to plan not only for lost income but for paying the fixed expenses of maintaining a practice while you are on leave. Expenses like rent, phone, internet, or perhaps the cost of support staff may need to be paid whether you are practicing or not.

Joseph Sanok, LLP, LPC of Mental Wellness Counseling in Traverse City, MI suggests considering the cost of being away from your family once you have returned to your clients. Sanok decided to increase his fee when his wife became pregnant. "For me, I knew that working in my practice was going to be difficult when I had the draw of a wonderful new addition. By raising my rates, it made it easier to give up the time."

I'm curious to learn more about the changes you made or creative ways that you found for your transition to parenthood in your private practice. Share those here!

Business Planning: Does Your Private Practice Have A Treatment Plan?

Many private practice therapists don't have a business plan or think of themselves as a "business owner."  A private practice is a business and successful businesses have a plan to help guide their growth. Even if you've never taken a business course you already know how to write a business plan.  Think of your private practice as a "client" in need of a clinical treatment plan.  Here are some tips to transform your clinical assessment and treatment planning skills into a private practice business plan so you have a clear path to grow your practice.

Assessment

Presenting problems and current complaints Identify current problems or weaknesses in the business aspect of your practice. Do you need more weekly client hours? Are you having difficulty collecting money in a timely manner? Do you have inconsistent billing practices?  Are you barely breaking even because of high overhead?

Strengths and resources What personal strengths do you bring to your practice that will help you address the presenting problems? Do you have extensive referral network with physicians? Are you detail oriented when it comes to paperwork and billing? Are you a creative problem solver? Or maybe your an excellent writer. List your strengths.

Business history What events in your practice that have shaped your business practices? Did you have some rough patches where you weren't profitable that have left you feeling fearful and desperate for referrals? Have you experienced any kind of positive successes or painful experiences in the business end of your practice that haven't been resolved? Write them down.

Business support system Just as you'd assess for client support network, take a look at your business support system. Do you feel isolated? Are you using outdated computer software that makes billing tedious? Do you have some colleagues or business consultants that you can go to for professional consultation? Identify your current support network as well as areas where you could benefit from additional support.

Treatment plan

Setting goals Identify 3 business related goals for your private practice. Break your goals into specific, measurable, timed objectives. Finally, add three action items to move you toward each practice goal. Remember, you know how to do this for clients, just shift your mindset to the goals of your business. Here's an example of a treatment plan for your business:

Goal: Reach 20 clients hours weekly.

Objective: Cultivate 3 consistent referral sources in the next 90 days.

Action 1: Set up practice website on wordpress.com to build online referrals by Nov 15.

Action 1: Send letters and business cards to all family practice doctors within 10 miles of my practice by end of this month.

Action 1: Contact a local TV news station to seek interview on how to successfully blend step-families by this Friday.

Now it's your turn to write a treatment plan for your private practice.

photo credit: Digitalnative

5 Tips For Overcoming Blogophobia

Blogging is a great way to talk to potential clients about your private practice services and specialties. You can set up a blog account for free at wordpress.com, blogger.com, and many other blogging sites. Since blogs are search engine friendly and blog posts are easy to share on social media sites they are a great tool for attracting new clients to your therapy practice. In addition to reaching potential clients, blogging is also an avenue that allows you to provide valuable resources for current clients. In spite of the many business benefits of blogging, many therapists are hesitant to venture into the blogging world. This hesitation or anxiety about blogging is known as "blogophobia."

When I first started blogging a couple of years ago, I suffered from self-doubt and nagging questions. What if I spend all of this time writing a blog and no one reads it? What if I sound dumb? What if I get mean comments about my posts? Where do I start? What should I blog about? How often should I blog? If you're a therapist wanting to start a blog, or you have a blog that is rarely updated, here are some quick tips to help you gain the confidence to blog consistently and reach more potential clients with your practice message.

1) Keep it short and sweet

Blog posts are generally between 300-500 words. Blog readers want quick and easy information, not long discourses. You've probably written emails that are longer than 300 words. Compared to the length of papers,  thesis, or a dissertation, blogging will be a piece of cake.

2) Let go of perfectionism

Read your post aloud to catch any errors and to make sure that your writing flows. It may also help to have a colleague read through it before you publish to proof for errors you may have missed. If you find mistakes after your blog post is published you can always edit them after the fact.

3) Use your authentic voice

One of the reasons why blogs are so popular is that you get to "know" the blog writer. Unlike professional papers, blogs are often written in first person.  Write about topics that you're passionate about in your own voice so potential clients can get a feel for your therapy style, your strengths, and your theoretical orientation.  Authenticity will draw your ideal clients to your therapy practice.

4) Set a schedule

Blogging regularly is an important part of overcoming your anxiety, of gaining confidence,  and of keeping visitors coming back to your blog for new information. Build time into your schedule to blog as part of your private practice marketing strategy.

5) Recycle content

Start blogging on topics you've already researched and written about. You likely have dozens of research papers, articles, or special projects that you've written during graduate school or your professional career. Take those topics and repurpose them for blog articles.

One final note...make sure you have your contact information on your blog site and at the end of every post so potential clients can visit your website,  or contact you via email or phone.

I'd love to take a peek at your blog posts and see what you're blogging about and share them on social media to help you spread the word about your private practice. Feel free to post links to your articles comment box below.