Therapist Roll Call: Join The Private Practice Pinterest List

Do you use Pinterest? I do and I have found some amazing relationship and emotional health resources for my clients and practice building resources. I've also found that it's a great way to direct visitors to my website and learn about my services.

In the past, I've featured a roll call for therapists so we could connect on Twitter and Facebook, and it was very well received. I'd like to continue that tradition so we can get to know each other more on social media.

I recently wrote about how Pinterest can benefit your practice. So let's all add our Pinterest information and see what kinds of things we're pinning on our boards. Connect with me on Pinterest here

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Therapist Blog Challenge

Post a comment below and include:

1. your name
2. a link to your Pinterest page or board
3. your city and state
4. specialty area

Therapist Blog Challenge #5: Top 10 Books List

Listing your most recommended books makes a quick and easy blog post and is a fantastic resource for website visitors

You know those books that you recommend to clients over and over again? Write  down a list of them, add a couple of sentences about why you like that book, and provide a link to purchase the book. That's it. Easy, right? Just to make it even easier, here's my top 10 list. As always, feel free to use some or all of the following on your own list.

Here's my list of top 10 most recommended books

Marriage

1) Hold Me Tight: 7 Conversations for a Lifetime of Love by Dr. Sue Johnson

2) And Baby Makes Three: The Six-Step Plan for Preserving Marital Intimacy and Rekindling Romance After Baby Arrives by John Gottman Ph.D. and Julie Schwartz Gottman, PhD

Parenting

3) Raising An Emotionally Intelligent Child: The Heart of Parenting by John Gottman, PhD & Joan Declaire

4) Nurture Shock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson & Ahsley Merryman

5) The Whold-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind by Daniel J. Seigel, MD

Relationships

6) Stop Walking on Eggshells: Taking Your Life Back When Someone You Care About Has Borderline Personality Disorder by Paul Mason MS, Randi Kreger

7) Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation by Daniel J. Seigel, MD & Tina Payne Bryson, PhD

Self-Worth

8) The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brene Brown, PhD

9) Reinventing Your Life: The Breakthough Program to End Negative Behavior...and Feel Great Again by Jeffrey E. Young, PhD & Janet S. Klosko

10) Self-Compassion: Stop Beating Yourself Up and Leave Insecurity Behind by Kristin Neff, PhD

Additional reminders about the 2013 blog challenge

• 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 to your website visitors, help them get to know your professional perspective, increase traffic to your private practice website, and build your practice.

Therapist Media Cheat Sheet: Get More Clients By Maximizing TV Interviews

While TV interviews and appearances rarely lead to an immediate increase in new clients, they do raise awareness of your private practice and your specialty areas, expose thousands of people to your practice, and set you up as a credible expert in your field. Marketing experts say that it generally takes 7 exposures to your business brand before a client will actually try your products or services. In recent posts I share how to get TV interviews and how to present your best self during interviews. Here are some tips for getting the most mileage out of interviews to build your credibility and increase referrals to your practice.

1) Be explicit about how you'd like to be introduced

Reporters aren't worried about your branding, they're concerned about their story. It is your responsibility to protect your practice name and brand by being explicit about how the interviewer should refer to you on camera. After having a few interviews where they say my practice name incorrectly, or didn't mention it at all, I've learned to clearly spell out how I want to be introduced. In email correspondence with media contact I request something like this:

Please refer to me on camera as "Therapist Julie Hanks LCSW, Director of Wasatch Family." I also request a lower-third banner (the text box graphic that pops up at the bottom of the screen during interviews) with my name, credential, practice name, and website during the interview. Here's what I ask for: "Julie Hanks LCSW, Director of Wasatch Family Therapy, WasatchFamilyTherapy.com".

2) Request a link to your website

Always request that the interviewer mention your website address during the interview and shows your website address on  a lower-third banner. You want to make it as easy as possible for potential clients to find your practice website, and ultimately, set an appointment. Additionally, if the TV station posts a web article or video online request that they post a link to your website. Having large websites link to your website improves your visibility Google searches.

3) Capture the video to post on your website

I suggest keeping an archive of all TV interviews so you can use them on your own practice website. Many TV stations post the interviews online and allow you to imbed them on your own website without uploading and converting the video. If the interview is not available online, you can request a DVD copy of the segment from the TV station.

4) Post on social media

Social media video sites, like YouTube, allow TV interviews to reach beyond the live TV viewership. I upload every TV interview to my YouTube channel and set up feeds to my websites and social media profiles and pages. The Men's Doc Will Courtenay, PhD, LCSW says that many clients have viewed his interview clips online before actually meeting with him:

Now that we can post TV interviews on websites and YouTube, they're really a great opportunity for marketing. And it's really the best kind of marketing, because the television show or news station has identified you as an expert. Today, many people search for and Google psychotherapists to see what they can find out about them before they meet with them.

Psychotherapist Terrence Alspaugh, LCPC says that YouTube videos give potential clients a feel for his style and expertise giving them the confidence to set an appointment.

I had the interview posted on YouTube with a link from my website, and that exposure has helped to attract new clients. Several prospective clients told me that they watched the YouTube clip first, and as they were favorably impressed, they contacted me about couples counseling. The interview has been watched by over 400 people, so it serves as a way for prospective clients to see me in action before meeting me.

Private practice therapist with YouTube channels

Enjoy watching these private practice therapists videos on their YouTube channels.

Dr. Will Courtenay

Eileen Kennedy Moore, PhD

Shift You Life Now Tracy Latz, M.D., M.S.

Julie de Azevedo Hanks LCSW