Family Therapy

Multiple Income Streams Success Story #1: Supervision

Multiple Income Streams Success Stories(1)In the past, I've written about increasing revenue using multiple forms of income (income not related to direct client hours). I offered five key questions to find areas where you might be able to enjoy adding some extra income to your private practice. In this series, I want to share the successes of private practitioners who have used these concepts to find areas that not only increase their income, but help reach their ideal clients and also fuel their passions. Amy Tatsumi, MA, LPC, found that she could garner additional income and give back to the psychotherapy community by providing supervision to others training in her field. Amy estimates that 25-30% of her income comes from supervision and consultation services.

amy_profile-2-427x640-198x300“I believe that supervision and consultation are the biggest ways that I can give back as a therapist. Supporting clinicians in their journey to become sound, connected, and grounded psychotherapists has a powerful ripple effect. The supervisee, as well as all of their future clients, are impacted by the supervision process in their growth and development. In my private practice, I offer both individual and group clinical supervision and consultation for post graduate candidates and post license and seasoned practitioners in art therapy, counseling, and psychotherapy.”

To learn more about Amy and her services, visit amytatsumi.com 

You might find that the fee you can charge for supervision is similar to your hourly clinical rate. I recommend researching what the standard rates are for supervisors in your area. Be sure that you are meeting all the qualifications for supervising a particular discipline as requirements differ depending on the field (social work, professional counseling, psychology, marriage & family therapy) and on in which state you practice. It is common that supervisors meet requirements for a minimum number of years of licensure or have specialized training as a supervisor. It's also important to research and understand which groups of trainees you should or should not supervise.

Income from supervision can be accomplished in a few ways. I have found in my own practice that hiring interns to meet with clients has been a successful way of creating additional income for the practice. It allows your practice to see more clients than only having one provider. You can also provide direct supervision to clinicians from other agencies. There are many times when clinicians may not have access to the type  of supervisor necessary to meet the licensing requirements. They must then seek someone who can provide that. You can also provide supervision for other agencies themselves. Agencies may find that they have a need for someone to supervise employees for similar reasons that clinicians may seed outside supervision. Creating a relationship with an agency for supervision could be a consistent income stream. Consider all your options, then implement the style that works best for you.

If supervision isn't the income source you're looking for, don't worry; I'll be sharing other success stories and ideas for multiple avenues for revenue. I'd love to hear from you about areas where you have found the opportunity to generate income and, hopefully, some excitement for you.

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4 Ways to Build a Thriving Practice in an Uncertain Economy

canstockphoto9071108Since the economic downturn of 2008, my practice has experienced significant growth. I attribute that growth to these four strategies.

Our economy took a turn for the worse in 2008, stock market crashed, and many companies were forced to downsize.  It was a hard time for many Americans, financially and emotionally. And yet, during this same time frame, my practice Wasatch Family Therapy experienced exponential growth. We steadily acquired new clients. opened two additional locations and grew from half a dozen therapists to over 20 therapists.

So how did I do it?  I put time and energy into creating and maintaining a strong online presence.

1) I used a website as a way to introduce myself and to serve my community

As an early technology adopter, I had a website (or webpage) in the early 2000's. As social networking expanded in the mid-2000's I saw the incredible possibilities for reaching out directly to potential clients. My website not only acts as an introduction to my clinic and my therapists, but also allows us to serve and educate through videos and articles about important issues related to mental and emotional health and well-being.

2) I used social media to have meaningful conversations with people

Social media has played an invaluable role in acquiring and retaining clients. I estimate that we gain about 80% of new customers through Google and the internet.  The importance of having an online presence cannot be overstated.  It changed my business forever, and Wasatch Family Therapy continues to thrive to this day. Here's a rough time frame of my social networking journey:

  • 2002 Started solo private practice Wasatch Family Therapy
  • 2004 Webpage
  • 2008 Joined Facebook
  • 2009 Joined Twitter
  • 2009 Started blogging on practice website
  • 2009 Employed 4-5 therapists
  • 2009 Joined LinkedIn
  • 2010 Started YouTube Channel
  • 2011-12 Joined Instagram, Pinterest
  • 2013 Joined Google+
  • 2014 Currently employ 20+ therapists with 3 locations

3) I created consistent and meaningful content on reputable websites

I  caught the vision of providing quality content to educate and serve the public.  My professional Facebook presence, blog, and other media projects were ways for us to get my name out there, establish trust and reliability, and connect with readers and potential clients. I started blogging for PsychCentral's Ask the Therapist in 2009, Private Practice Toolbox blog in 2011, Sharecare and Daily Strength in 2012, and became the Answers relationship expert blogger in 2013.

4) I sought out media interviews and learned to leverage them

Once I started creating content on larger websites, I started seeking local and national media interviews. As a result of my blogging and media interviews established news and lifestyle websites began quoting me and linking to my website.  This led to even more traffic (readers coming to our site), which in turn meant building trust with more people. It’s been very encouraging to see the fruits of my labor pay off in the growth of my clinic, and the ability to employ amazing therapists.

Never before have therapists been able to serve potential clients before ever meeting them and to educate our community without leaving the house. Through developing your strong online presence through an effective website, an engaged social media following, creating helpful content, and seeking media interviews, you can maintain viability and keep your practice strong, even when the economic climate is less than favorable.

What strategies have you used to survive and thrive in an uncertain economy? Please share your thoughts below!

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10 Ways Blogging Transformed My Private Practice

10 ways blogging has transformed my practice Jodie Gale MA built a thriving practice through online presence, blogging and social media. Read about her journey in this inspiring guest post.

When I returned home from the UK several years ago, I was shocked at the state of psychotherapy in Australia. There was, and still is, a lack of understanding about what psychotherapy is and a lack of promotion regarding the benefits of psychotherapy from our professional associations. Frustratingly, it is rare to find a psychotherapist (or a family/play/art therapist) working as part of a multidisciplinary team in private or public health.

There is also a deeply pervasive myth that it is impossible to fill a ‘full fee paying’ private practice as a counsellor or psychotherapist because of the mental health plan insurance system which only provides rebates to psychologists and a small number of social workers. Trying to persuade clients to engage in weekly, depth psychotherapy (without a rebate) literally felt like mission impossible. My private practice reflected this and was sporadic to say the least. Desperate and down hearted after 8 years of Master’s training to become a psychotherapist – I found myself smack bang in the middle of a major career crisis.

At the beginning of 2013, I built a strong online presence through blogging and by taking the Julie Hanks LCSW's Private Practice Toolbox Blog Challenge.  Since taking the blogging challenge I am now described by my colleagues as a prolific blogger and I credit creating online content as the foremost reason for my practice growth and success.

10 Benefits of Blogging Regularly on my Private Practice Website

1) I have more than enough clients

A great deal has changed since then! My practice is out of control busy and I have literally had to take my phone number off my website because I couldn’t keep up with the high level of phone inquiries. Last count, I have referred 50+ clients to other therapists in my local area and beyond.

2) Networking with colleagues

The initial benefit of blogging specifically through taking the blog challenge was networking with colleagues from around the world and building ongoing personal and professional relationships. Connections are crucial, especially when working from a home office, private practice as I do.

3) Keeping current on research

Writing one-two times a month has kept me up-to-date with the latest research and news within the therapy field.

4) Building writing confidence

Initially terrified of putting myself out there, I found that my confidence and writing improved with every blog post.

5) Increase in client inquiries

After about four – five months of blogging, I noticed a significant increase in client inquiries. One client specifically mentioned finding me through the ‘Top 10 Books’ blog challenge post. She had Googled one of the book titles, then ‘counsellor’ and I ranked first in the google search.

6) Provides resources for current clients

A blog is a great resource centre for my clients and I often send them links on a specific topic. Once my blog is written, I share it on Pinterest as my boards are the ultimate resource centre for clients and therapists alike. Whenever I choose an image for my blog, it is with Pinterest in mind as I find my articles are shared more frequently on Pinterest than on other social media pages.

7) Higher ranking on Google searches

Six months into the blog challenge, I started to rank on the front page of Google Australia and I often rank at number one for my local area, key word searches. My practice has been full since then. When I reply to inquiries, I let the prospective client know that my practice is full, I offer to make a referral and ask if they would like to go on my women’s workshop mailing list.

8) Professional credibility

Historically, psychology articles were limited to journals or written by journalists for popular magazines. As therapists, we have a wealth of knowledge to share. Blogging helps to raise the profile of our profession.

Blogging has raised my profile as an expert in the field and the go-to professional for women’s psycho-spiritual health and well-being. I have been interviewed, written guest posts and featured on Private Practice Toolbox, The World of Psychology , About.com, ABC Radio, Australia Counselling, The Manly Daily Newspaper, The Morning Show and Australian Well-being Magazine.

9) Job opportunities

Blogging helped me to land the job of my dreams. Late last year I attended a two-day workshop and I was approached by the two directors who offered me the position of Assistant Clinical Director of an eating disorder unit. Having written about eating disorders from a soulful and psycho-spiritual perspective, they loved my blog and felt that I would be a good fit for their team.

10) Sense of power and effectiveness

Finally, I have found a sense of personal power due to taking responsibility for the growth of my practice and career progression. I was filled with a sense of hopelessness regarding our field and often envied other therapists who appeared to have more clients and success than I did. When my practice was sporadic and slow, I was working from a place of lack. Now I work from a place of generosity and abundance. And… most importantly, I have realised that there are enough courageous, ideal (and full fee paying) clients out there for everyone!

Jodie Gale MAJodie Gale MA is a leading specialist in women’s emotional, psychological and spiritual health and well-being. She is a qualified therapeutic counsellor, a psychosynthesis psychotherapist. Jodie lives on the Northern Beaches of Sydney where she currently balances being a stay at home mother with her part-time position at EatFed and a part-time private practice.

Mobile App For Your Private Practice? It's Easier Than You Think

By now you know that I love technology, especially when it comes to practice building. I recently blogged about how shrinks can prepare for the mobile marketing revolution. Well, here's another cool way to make sure that your private practice website is "mobile friendly." You can now build your own private practice app! Seriously. Last weekend I stumbled on this blog http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57336404-94/how-to-build-your-own-app-for-free/ and thought I'd give it a try.

My clinic website, Wasatch Family Therapy, has an active blog, newsletter, YouTube account, Twitter, and Facebook page and we pride ourselves in being fairly tech-savvy, so an app is the next step, right? In addition to providing clinical services, we highly value outreach and community education and technology and the Internet allow us to reach far beyond our own community in Utah.

In less than an hour, through the tools available on conduit.com I created a custom mobile "Wasatch Family Therapy" app, complete with it's own QR code (the code you can scan with a bar code scanner on your mobile phone). I was also able to set up a notification to my website visitors using a mobile device to select the app or open the full-version. Cool huh?

If you want to check out our app scan the QR code or click http://mob.conduit.com/wasatchfamilytherapyon your mobile device. It'll open the app and give you the option to save to home screen.

I also created another app for my website JulieHanks.com so visitors can access my blog and ask questions from their mobile phone. Did I mention that I love technology? It allows a little therapist in Utah to reach around the globe.

Now get busy creating an app for your private practice. If you do, post the link below. I'd love to see it.

Therapist Media Cheat Sheet: Look Good And Sound Smart On TV

TV interviews are a great way to educate about relationship and mental health topics and to raise visibility for your private practice. Over the past few years, I've actively sought out interview opportunities and have found that over time, they have bolstered my credibility, fostered trust in my knowledge and clinical skills, and raised visibility of my private practice. Thanks to social media, TV interviews can reach beyond the viewership of the live broadcast to a larger audience. One example is this short, live interview for a local Utah TV lifestyle program.  "How To Handle A Narcissistic Mother" has had over 9000 views on YouTube (and yes, I'm still working on not saying ,"um").

I reached out to other therapists to find out what they'd learned from their TV interview experience, what advice they'd give to therapists preparing for their first TV interview, and how these interviews have impacted their practice.

Here are 10 Tips to help you look and sound like an expert when TV interviews come your way.

1 - Do your homework

Find out who is interviewing you, how long the interview will be, and who watches the show so you can tailor your interview to fit the format and show yourself in your best light. Therapist Sharon Rivkin, MA, MFT and author of Breaking the Argument Cycle: How to Stop Fighting Without Therapy suggests researching the show's demographics, audience, and format so you can tailor the interview to the show's viewers. Before his local television news interview, Psychotherapist John Sovec, M.A., LMFT went online and found clips of the newscaster who'd be interviewing him to get familiar with his interview style.

2 - Develop talking points

From my own TV experience, mapping out 5-6 talking points is crucial to building my confidence, producers' confidence and interviewers appreciate the direction. Sovec adds, "The TV world moves fast and I always find that talking points help me to stay centered." Texas Psychologist Susan Fletcher, Ph.D., author of Working in the Smart Zone: Smart Strategies to be a Top Performer at Work and at Home found that "some TV anchors will stick to the talking points while others will veer off. Be prepared to go a little off topic and be flexible. You can always work your way back to the topic."

3 - Add visuals and examples

Fletcher suggests incorporating visual elements into your TV segments and shares this example: "One of the most visual segments I did was What to do on your Spring Break Staycation and I had visuals for everything you could do with your children. I've also used personal photos to show my points." According to Rivkin, giving specific examples to support your talking points makes interviews more compelling. She's learned through experience to "...be succinct, clear and direct. Give an example of a client you've worked with. Stories are more compelling and paint a clearer picture than descriptions."

4 - Prepare and practice

When preparing for a TV interview Terrence Alspaugh, LPCP, Psychotherapist of Family Solutions of Maryland wrote down and memorized talking points on index cards. "I practiced elaborating on each point with illustrations and examples. I wanted to be sure that I could say more about the points if time allowed." TV veteran Will Courtenay, PhD, LCSW, The Men's Doc always "over-prepares: for interviews and says he's always glad he did.

5 - Remember that you're the expert

If you're feeling a bit anxious about an upcoming TV interview David Simonsen M.S. LMFT of Creative Solutions Counseling suggests, "Remember that you are the expert and they are coming to you. Find comfort in the fact that you know your field and you have knowledge they don't."

6 - Speak in sound bites

A sound bite is a short phrase or a few phrases of information.  Speaking in sound bites requires therapists to use skills that aren't often practiced. Good therapists often speak slowly, reflect back, pause often, and go deeper. However, good TV interview skills require the opposite: speak quickly, don't reflect back, keep the interview moving, and stay on target. For taped TV interviews, remember to pause at the end of each thought or phrase to allow for clean editing.

7 - Wear comfortable and flattering clothing

From my own TV experience, I find it's important to wear something comfortable that reflects my professional personality and my practice. If something you're wearing feels awkward or out of place it will detract your focus from the interview. Here are a few "what to wear" tips:

  • Bright solid colors generally look better than prints or white.
  • Wear colors that have elicited the most compliments in the past.
  • Accessorize close to your face, drawing the eye upward.
  • Wear more makeup than usual, even for men. "Wearing some foundation is especially important for men, who often have oily skin -- which will look shiny on screen -- and are more likely to sweat," Courtenay suggests.

8 - Look at the interviewer

Unless instructed otherwise, look at the interviewer. If the show is filming with several cameras, it can be confusing to track which camera to look at. For the record, the camera with the red light is the one currently filming. On her first TV interview Fletcher wasn't sure if she should look at a camera or at the interviewer after the interview was over. She says, "I was advised to continue looking at the TV host."

9 - Be yourself

Rivkin suggests, "Don't be afraid to be yourself and let your personality show. If appropriate, use humor. It can make the interview more interesting." Courtenay gives the following advice for therapists preparing for TV interviews, "Think of your interviewers as friends and remember they really are interested in talking with you. Try to achieve some intimacy, as if you're talking one-on-one to a friend. Don't worry about making mistakes, everyone does; if you misstate something, just simply repeat it."

10 - Don't Expect Immediate Results

Media Psychiatrist Carole Lieberman M.D. and author of Bad Girls: Why Men Love Them & How Good Girls Can Learn Their Secrets says:

Therapists often think that this will grow their practice, but unless you offer some very specific niche therapy that the public may not be familiar with, and patients with this need happen to see your appearance, it is not the most efficient way to get patients. I do not do it to grow my practice. In fact, TV appearances interfere with practice because you often have to reschedule patients at the last minute to do a TV show.

Of her TV interview experience Melody Brooke, MA, LPC, LMFT, author of Oh Wow This Changes Everything says that they haven't made a difference in her practice. "Its given me a lot of street credibility, but other than that, my practice has not grown at all." Courtenay adds,  "Unfortunately, the impact of my TV appearances are hard to judge. However, many of my clients have told me that they've seen interviews with me before we met." Sovec says that he usually gets some calls after TV interviews but sees them as another step toward building public awareness about his work and to build his credibility as an expert.

In an upcoming post I'll share tips to maximize your TV exposure. Until then, watch and learn from these seasoned therapists' TV interviews.

Watch Dr. Will Courtenay

Watch Dr. Susan Fletcher

Dr. Carole Lieberman