10 Reasons to Become a Media-Savvy Therapist

About 8-9 years ago, I felt a pull toward gaining media and social media skills and expertise. At the time, I wasn't sure why...or how. In hindsight, I now see the clear benefits of my media visibility for my private practice and for me as a professional. I also had no idea how fun it would be to build relationships (with producers, journalists, reporters, TV hosts, etc.), educate my community, and share my message and expertise with thousands of people. This decision to become media-savvy has altered the course of my professional life in exciting and new ways. Because my practice has grown so much (3 locations, 20 employees) and requires more management, because I'm increasingly involved in media work and content creation, and because it felt like the right thing to do, I have retired from clinical work. I now focus on writing, private practice business consulting, earning my PhD, and spending time with my family. These opportunities would not have been possible had I not acquired social media skills.

Reflecting on my career (thus far), I want to share with you some tangible benefits of becoming proficient with (social) media and maintaining an online presence. Here are 10 things you can do by becoming a media-savvy therapist:

1) Educate Your Community; Educate The World

The mental health field is by nature a helping profession. We became therapists to help people who are struggling in some aspect of their lives, right? One of the biggest ways to do is this by educating individuals. No matter your area of expertise (marriage therapy, addiction, depression, etc.), you have valuable insight that you can share with your community to serve them and better their lives. By embracing media (TV, radio, print) and newer technologies (blogging, podcasts, social media), your message can be amplified exponentially, causing you to reach a greater audience.

2) Grow Your Practice (even during an economic downturn!) 

I founded my private practice (Wasatch Family Therapy) in 2002 and consider myself an early adopter of technology. We created a website not long after we opened and have fully embraced and utilized social media as the years have gone by. To say that this has grown our practice is an understatement: maintaining a strong online presence has beenour number one strategy in acquiring new clients. What's more is that we now refer out over half of the individuals who seek our services (click here to read more about how our practice grew even in the economic downturn of 2008).

3) Increase Your Credibility Through Social Proof of Expertise

As you use your platform(s) of choice (blog, Facebook, Google+, etc.) to create content and build your body of work, you will in time gain followers who are interested in what you have to say. This will establish your social relevance and up your credibility. Others now view you as an expert and someone to be trusted. This can open up doors for you professionally, just like it has done for me! (read here about how gaining a social media following has brought me valuable career opportunities).

4) Employ a Fee-for-Service Model 

Because I am familiar to more people, I have been able build a fee-for-service practice. This has led to increased income and has kept my clinicians from having to deal with the stress and burden of insurance companies. A private pay model also helps provide better quality therapy for clients. And once again, it's due in large part to our strong media presence that we were able to "break up with managed care."

5) Raise Visibility For Your Profession 

We as therapists often lament the fact that mental health issues don't receive as much airtime as they deserve (though thankfully, this seems to be changing). Your media skills can help bring these topics to the forefront for your friends, family, and followers. For example, NASW has featured my work in their media news and even invited me to do national webinars. Good media interviews add visibility and educate the public about your profession in general and also about your specific expertise.

6) Create Additional Income Streams (book deals, paid blogging, consulting, etc.) 

There is so much more to being in this field than seeing clients. My online presence has afforded me the opportunities to write for major websites and blogs, consult others about how to best build their practice, and even write a book (currently working on my second one)! By growing your media skills, you too can diversify your professional activities and create multiple streams of income for yourself.

7) Create Content For Your Blog

The information you access through your social media platforms can give you great inspiration for your blog. For example, when I do a TV interview, I then post it on my site, which improves SEO and provides new and engaging content. I've found that because of my technology connections, I never am lacking for material to blog or write about.

8) Reach MORE People With Your Message, Passion, & Expertise 

The power that social media provides to reach others is truly unparalleled. I can now talk with hundreds or thousands of people at one time with each interview, not to mention the many more who will watch, listen, or read it online later. You can infinitely expand your outreach and get your message out there by utilizing media and social technologies.

9) Add Incentive for Additional Clinicians To Join Your Practice 

My media presence and relationships have given other clinicians a reason to work for me instead of opening their own practice. So individuals who potentially may have been my competition are now on my team! Your media presence (blog, interviews, Facebook, etc.) can attract new therapists who know about your vision, values, and niche from what they've seen online.

10) Gain Recognition by Professional Organizations

My media appearances and online presence has garnered the attention of reputable organizations, and I'm grateful to have received some notable accolades. For example, I was named #1 online influencer for depression, and #2 mental health online influencer by ShareCare (a social media health company founded by Dr. Oz, Discovery Communications, and WebMD's Jeff Arnold), and received the 2015 National Association of Social Worker Award for my website JulieHanks.com.

How can YOU improve your media-savviness?

And what great opportunities await you as you do? 

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A Shrink's Guide To Self-Publishing (part 2)

In part 2 of "A Shrink's Guide To Self-Publishing" Stephanie Adams, LPC walks you through the process of organizing and completing your book and preparing it for publishing. Read part 1 here.

photo credit: Salem (MA) Public Library

Last week, we talked about how self-publishing can be a shrink's dream second income AND do wonders for their practice by increasing awareness of their expertise. But at the same time many of you who might consider this path worry that no matter how much you like the idea in general, you could never actually write a whole book.

I'm telling you now, don't sell yourself short! Think about it. What is therapy? A large part of counseling is simply listening to the client's story and creating together a different, better story of a life they can choose to lead. Probably at least once a session, you will find yourself doing things like attributing meaning to an event in the client's past, explaining a difficult concept to them, teaching a technique, or painting a verbal picture. That's storytelling, and you can do it on paper just as easily as you can do it in person!

What's Your Book About?

This is not an answer you come up with on a purely intellectual level. One might say all writers are intimately tied to our material. But since the counselor's vocational pursuits are so deeply personal, our stories will be even more so in many ways. So instead of coming up with a topic out of thin air, turn inward. What is your message to others? A practical way to start this process of discovery is by writing down things you say to clients every day. This will start to tell you what you are passionate about, and what you desire your clients to learn from you. By the time you're finished with that initial burst of energy, you should have 2-3 pages of handwritten ideas…or more! As you look over these pages, you will start to see a theme take shape from even seemingly disconnected ideas.

The easiest way I've come up with to find your theme is something I call "chunking." It involves taking your brainstorming sheets and breaking into "chunks" the ideas that go together. For example, say you've written, "dancers, artists, art therapy, painting, family therapy, eating disorder." Which of these go together? The answer to that question IS your theme. If you find yourself creating from these pages a mental narrative that involves the local school for the arts, eating disorders, and new techniques you've discovered, then it sounds like you've got an idea you want to share about a new method art students can use to conquer an eating disorder.

My "theme" is pure conjecture - but that is why I shared it. You will come up with a completely different idea from the same pages of notes than another person will. It's not important that you include all the elements you wrote down on your brainstorming sheets, or that you say what you think someone wants to hear about. What's important is that you discover the idea you're meant to share.

Once a theme has become clearer to you - because it WILL evolve as you get into the work of writing a book - you must ask yourself if you need to narrow or broaden your topic to do the subject justice. This is another highly subjective area, but I have confidence you can come up with the right choice for you. Take the example above. There are many art students out there, and many different kinds of therapy for eating disorders. So what should you focus on?

Let's say that you have a background in painting, and that is what you are most qualified to comment on. At the same time, you realize that dancers are more susceptible than other kinds of art students to eating disorders because of the focus on body image. Now, you could write about all the different groups you conduct, and all the kinds of therapy you are qualified to perform. But, you could do the most good writing a self-help guide to painting female figures in order to help dancers recover a healthy body image. This is the most precise definition of who you can help, and that is what is important.

If you cannot identify your reader, they will not be able to identify themselves as someone who can benefit from reading your book.

Once you have identified your reader, ask yourself what sets your book idea apart to the point that this potential reader will pick it up and say, "Hmm, I've never heard about this quite this way before." In order accomplish this result; you have a narrow range of specific options. The first option is to have a new piece of information no one has discovered before, which is hard to do in this day and age. The second option is to focus on an aspect of a problem no one has covered before, and the third is to deliver the information in a way no one has done before. How will you make your book stand out?

The Book Takes Shape

Flip back to the first few pages of notes you made, and take a moment to elaborate on the ideas you've started there. When you've done some more free writing, look over what you've come up with and start "chunking" again. This time, of course, you're starting from a narrower premise, so your specific chunks will become not book ideas, but chapters of your existing book idea.

Look at what you have. Maybe one cluster of ideas explains why this issue you're circling around is a problem. Another cluster of ideas tells your potential reader what will and won't work when addressing this issue.

Is it sounding a little less scary? I hope so! Writing nonfiction, like therapy, is just telling a client about a problem you see and how you'd like to help them overcome it.

Speaking of nonfiction, as you're allowing your chapters to take shape, start thinking about what kind of nonfiction book best suits the material you're sharing. Should you write a self-help book, generally written in the second-person and including exercises for the reader to work through on their own? Might you be writing a textbook for classroom use, or a training manual? Maybe your book would be best served as an inspirational journal? Or what if you're a play therapist, and your child clients would benefit from a children's picture book?

This is your book! Create the one you want!

Preparing Your Book For Publication

We've already talked a great deal about the process of formatting and submitting a book to be self-published through a service, but before then you want to make sure has been edited to the best of your ability. I don't recommend doing this completely on your own. If you can afford a line editor, great…but they are quite pricey. A less expensive option is to join a writer's group and exchange manuscript editing services with others in the group that are seeking publication.

Of course, with this kind of group, you will get varying levels of editing ability. That's why if you're going with lay editors, it's best to allow for each individual editor to help you in their area of strength. For my book, I had two or three people help me read the book for accuracy within my field. I had someone who knew my style of writing to check for clarity. Another helpful reader pointed out cohesiveness. And I was also fortunate enough to have someone read my book who was an expert in grammar and punctuation.

Almost even more than the content, your readers will judge your professionalism by the level at which your material is presented. If your book is grammatically accurate, focused, and easy to understand, you will rise in their esteem. If your book is instead riddled with mistakes and they can't understand what it's about, your venture into self-publishing could end up hurting you instead of helping you.

photo credit: UWW ResNet

Promoting Your New Expertise

After your book has been released, share it with people! Start a blog book tour, such as the one this article was written for. Send an announcement to your email list and share it with members of the community. Display it in your office, and have business cards printed up with the information on how to purchase your book. Organize a workshop or small group around your topic, and hand-sell the book afterwards.

Remember, writing a book says you're serious about your topic, so you want to encourage everything that puts you closer to becoming the go-to person within your niche. Don't worry - you will still get a chance to explore other aspects of your career in the future, but for now you want to recede into your niche and stay there! You are cultivating an expertise, remember?

When you love the topic you wrote about, sharing it can be a joy, because you're talking about something you love. Be creative, and have fun with it.

Any Counselor Can Do It

Many, many counselors want to investigate multiple streams of income, but they're scared because it's not something we're taught how to do. While this is an undoubtedly simplified version of the self-publishing and writing process, the purpose of this article is to show you how easy it is to do. Consider it Self-Publishing 101.

Regular people like you and me can make good money and realize dreams through self-publishing. I want you to be inspired and encouraged that you can do this and be a big success on your own terms.

Two months after publishing my book, I have already recouped my initial investment. That could be you. From now on, every royalty I earn is pure profit. Since I published the book, I have also opened up more streams of income by training counselors in teleseminars, and taking on counselors as consulting clients. All because of my book! What further streams of income might YOU open up by venturing into the world of self-publishing?

Stephanie Ann Adams, MA, LPC is the co-author of "The Beginning Counselor's Survival Guide: The New Counselor's Plan for Success from Practicum to Licensure" (available now in paperback and e-book) and the owner of Beginnings Counseling & Consulting, where she provides counselor innovation consulting and life counseling for emerging adults.

The Shrink's Guide To Self-Publishing (part 1)

I'm thrilled to introduce to you Stephanie Adams, LPC - my very first guest blogger on Private Practice Toolbox. Stephanie's passion for counseling and develop multiple streams of income, like offering online counseling and webinars, and self-publishing her first book are impressive. For all of you shrinks who've been thinking about writing a book, I hope Stephanie's guest posts will encourage you to take action!

photo credit: Mark J P

Among therapists, "multiple streams of income" is a phrase with buzz. For good reason: though we all love our one-on-one work with clients, it gets nerve-wracking to rely solely on "dollars for hours" income. Those times when a client gets sick - or we do - can mean a major hit to our paycheck.

That's why more and more, smart therapists are looking to diversify their methods of earning income. Self-publishing a book for your main client group is one excellent means of doing just that.

There are two reasons why you should seriously consider the self-publishing route. First, because it brings in an additional stream of revenue from the book itself, and who doesn't want that? The second reason to pursue self-publishing is because writing a book significantly impacts your perceived status as an expert.

Why does it matter if people see you as an expert? The fact is, publishing a book is a symbolic as well as a literal gesture. It tells others that you've put in a lot of work into researching and writing about a subject you care a lot about. People naturally view those who are willing to do that amount of labor to better understand a subject as experts in their own particular field. The increased knowledge, or expertise, you demonstrate about your subject translates into an increased client flow to your main business - your private practice.

Why Self-Publish?

Of course, the reasons above only explain why to publish a book, not why to forgo traditional publishing for self-publishing. That is because the reason is a new one. It's rooted in the current difficulties of the business of book publishing. Fact is, it's getting harder and harder for publishers to break even, let alone make a profit, doing business the way they were before. As a result of the advent of e-books and the success of secondhand bookstores in a poor economy, publishing houses cannot count on the same financial return from book sales as they did previously.  Borders has already gone under, other big bookstore chains are now in danger too.

With fewer and fewer people buying physical books at full retail price, traditional publishing companies just can't afford to take the risk on an untried author very often, no matter how great the message you have to share. And those authors that the big guns do take on have a very short window to prove themselves a marketable commodity.  But if you're not at that level yet, you will likely be better off in self-publishing.  When you self-publish, your income is based on a higher margin of profit per book, not volume of books like at the big houses. Since you cannot (yet) expect to sell a crazy amount of books, self-publishing gives your book a long shelf life to quietly earn a decent amount per book sold.

This is an important distinction that many people miss when thinking about publishing a book for themselves: that with a traditional publisher, you have a limited amount of time in most cases to sell books, or your book will be pulled from bookstore shelves and relegated to last priority with the house. Let me make it clear that book publishers aren't being cruel when they do this. They simply cannot afford to invest energy in a book that isn't selling "enough" according to their needs. If you self-publish with print-on-demand (which I will explain to you how to do very shortly) you do not have to meet some arbitrary deadline. Your book can be available on the Internet as long as you choose to make it so, giving it time to grow an audience and maybe, eventually attract the attention of a publisher who could give you larger circulation, when you're ready for that. It allows you to grow into an author that can request high standards of care from traditional publishing companies, because you will be an author who has shown you can bring in the readers.

To sum up, with a traditional publisher (unless you're a big name) you should expect as a rule less attention, tiny royalties, and a short window of time in which to prove yourself. If you are the publisher, however, you can give yourself the attention and time you need to develop, and earn steady royalties twenty-five to forty times higher than royalties issued by traditional publishing houses.

Publishing Your Book With CreateSpace

While your business decisions are your own, I advocate CreateSpace for self-publishing because I researched over 25 self-publishing services for my book, The Beginning Counselor's Survival Guide: The New Counselor's Guide To Success From Practicum to Licensure before settling on this service. I found that INCLUDING the book contract I was offered from a traditional academic publishing company, CreateSpace was the best deal financially and creatively.

For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, CreateSpace is the self-publishing wing of the book giant Amazon.com. Though they offer paid self-publishing services, unlike most similar service providers, they don't require writers purchase an entire package, which, frankly, is a usually a tactic to get authors to spend more than they need to spend. CreateSpace also easily gets your book for sale on Amazon.com, which, outside of perhaps your local bookstore, is the first place most of your potential readers will look for your book. With other services, you often have to purchase a package to get your book on Amazon.

CreateSpace offers book publishing print-on-demand, which means no required books for you to buy and no risking your hard-earned savings with a hefty investment. When you need books to hand-sell, you purchase as many books as you like at some of the lowest rates in the industry, and the production fees for books customers order are factored in when CreateSpace quotes a royalty for you. No unhappy surprises.

CreateSpace makes it easy to accomplish the tasks independent author-publishers must take on in order to release their book, such as purchasing an ISBN and formatting the book to industry standards. In addition to the intuitive layout of the program itself and extensive community forums, customer service responds quickly and pleasantly, even if you're not a big-ticket account.

Are there disadvantages? Of course, but they are mostly disadvantages common to all independent publishing ventures. For example, no self-publisher, including CreateSpace, is going to do the work for you to get bookstores to order your books. But their consistently lower prices on services, friendly staff, and general ease of use ranks them pretty high in my book. (No pun intended!)

photo credit: Jano Fistialli

An Even Cheaper Option: Self-Publishing Your E-Book!

Maybe you've been reading this and liking the idea of increasing your expert status and earning a second income, but aren't sure if you want to invest in writing and selling a paperback book. You don't necessarily have to. Another great option to add to your publishing plan or to try in place of publishing a physical book is to publish an e-book!

Again, there are multiple options to help you along this path. Amazon offers Kindle Direct Publishing, which you can do on your own or pay under $100 to have them do for you. The CreateSpace or KDP staff will help you link the Kindle edition of your book to the listing for your physical book upon request so that those who go to Amazon.com to find your book can find buying options for the Kindle as well. The e-book publisher Smashwords also allows you to upload a book for free and pay only a small portion of your earnings for each book sold. Though it doesn't seem to draw a great deal of traffic on its own, Smashwords can be a great tool for file conversion (often the hardest part of preparing an e-book for publication) and setting up affiliate sales of your e-book. (A sub-stream of income, if there is such a word!)

Royalties from e-books are even larger than royalties from print books, as e-books require no printing or shipping costs. (Self-published print book royalties on CreateSpace depend on the way the book is sold, but range from 20-60% of your total list price, while royalties can be 70-80% of the list price for e-books.) As a bonus, when you are the only publisher, you have all claim over the rights. That means you can also sell your e-book as a pdf download directly from your website and keep all the profit to yourself!

If you're already publishing in a physical format, there's no real reason not to add an e-book option as well, as they are often free to put out and increasingly more attractive to readers. As you consider your audience, you may find out also that producing an e-book by itself is the best choice for you. If there's no real demand for a print copy, by all means, stick to just an e-book. This is the theme I want to impress upon you: self-publishing is about YOU taking charge of your business destiny and meeting your clients' needs in a new and creative way. If your plan accomplishes those goals, then you have succeeded at self-publishing.

I hope I'm beginning to interest you in the exciting world of self-publishing for counselors. It's an untapped opportunity for therapists with incredible potential. Of course, before you self-publish, you have to write a book, and that can sound like a scary concept to some of you. Not to worry. Next week, in A Shrink's Guide To Self-Publishing, Part II, I will explain to you how your role as a counselor has already prepared you for authorship, and share some simple tips to get you started on writing your book and sharing it with others.

Stephanie Ann Adams, MA, LPC is the co-author of "The Beginning Counselor's Survival Guide: The New Counselor's Plan for Success from Practicum to Licensure" (available now in paperback and e-book) and the owner of Beginnings Counseling & Consulting, where she provides counselor innovation consulting and life counseling for emerging adults.