Podcasts about kingsport counseling associates

Sign up for my How They Did It Success Panel with Group Practice Owners - get the ‘ah-ha' moment you need to keep moving forward→ https://mccancemethod.com/success-panel-with-group-practice-owners/ In this episode, business coach and group practice owner, Gordon Brewer, shares insights from nearly 10 years of experience running a group practice. Gordon discusses the common mistakes many practice owners make as they scale, offering practical advice on avoiding financial pitfalls, setting up effective hiring processes, and managing essential systems for sustainable growth.Make sure to bring your paper and pen because this episode is full of actionable tips!Here are some key points in this episode:[2:38] Gordon's journey into private practice and group practice ownership[5:39] The importance of knowing your numbers and avoiding random pay splits[6:45] Transitioning from contractors to employees for sustainable growth[9:30] Books that transformed our perspectives on money and success[13:32] Hiring mistakes and setting clear expectations from the start[17:09] Monitoring accounts receivable to prevent profit leaksLinks From the Episode:Book: Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker https://a.co/d/3Z7maTeBook: Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine (Entrepreneurship Simplified) by Mike Michalowicz https://a.co/d/3ewE5wABook: Profit First for Therapists: A Simple Framework for Financial Freedom by Julie Herres https://a.co/d/7tPhnQdQuickBooks: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/Appletree Billing: https://www.appletreebilling.com More About Gordon:Gordon Brewer began his career in 2001, working in the non-profit sector, where he provided intensive in-home therapy for at-risk youth. After transitioning to private practice full-time in 2010, he founded Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC in 2014, leading a team of therapists in Kingsport, TN. Gordon is a Licensed Marital and Family Therapist, an AAMFT Approved Supervisor, and an adjunct instructor at East Tennessee State University. Passionate about helping others succeed, he started The Practice of Therapy Podcast and website to provide resources that support therapists in building successful practices.Websites:The Practice of Therapy: https://www.practiceoftherapy.comPsychCraft Network: https://psychcraftnetwork.com/Email: gordon@practiceoftherapy.comFollow me on Instagram, @nicole.mccanncemethod. If this episode provided you with value and inspiration, please leave a review and DM to let me know. Click here: https://www.instagram.com/nicole.mccancemethod Join the FREE private community for therapists: Expand your Psychotherapy Practice → https://www.facebook.com/groups/947689352498639 Sign up for the FREE Masterclass- How to Build a 7-Figure Group Practice→ https://mccancemethod.com/webinar-free-masterclass-from-solo-to-superteam/

In this episode of the Soul Care for Therapists podcast, Dawn Gabriel welcomes Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT, to discuss the topic of hiking as a spiritual practice. As they delve into the profound connection between nature and spirituality, they explore the transformative power of hiking and the ways it can enhance one's spiritual journey. Gordon Brewer's Background Gordon Brewer, the host of "The Practice of Therapy" podcast and the founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, shares his extensive experience in the world of therapy and private practice. He discusses his passion for podcasting, as well as his love for the Appalachian Mountains, where he often embarks on hiking adventures that provide him with solace and inspiration. The Connection Between Spirituality and Hiking Gordon explains that his daily practice involves spending time on the “Green Belt”, a picturesque trail system near his home. While this may not be classified as rigorous hiking, it serves as an opportunity for reflection, meditation, and prayer. Gordon Brewer: "Being in nature gives us a whole new reference point to bring some peace, bring some comfort, and to feel connected."The natural surroundings and the act of being in nature positively influence his spiritual well-being, offering a sense of cleansing and meaning. Gordon also highlights the intriguing concept of mystery that comes with hiking, as each bend in the trail presents an element of anticipation and discovery. Benefits of Hiking as a Spiritual Practice Dawn and Gordon delve into the myriad of benefits that hiking as a spiritual practice can bring. They emphasize how hiking, whether done alone or in the company of others, creates a space for deep connections, transformative conversations, and a profound sense of accomplishment. The physical exertion involved in hiking also serves as a natural intervention for depression, as it helps reorient the mind and stimulates different thought processes. Dawn Gabriel: "It's like connecting to something bigger than yourself, this felt sense of community in a spiritual way." Additionally, the practice of focusing on one's surroundings and engaging all the senses cultivates mindfulness and fosters a greater appreciation for the beauty and interconnectedness of the natural world. Tips for Implementing a Spiritual Practice of Hiking Gordon Brewer: "Spirituality is paying attention to the stuff we don't normally notice, connecting to the greater than in some way." To incorporate hiking as a spiritual practice, Gordon suggests integrating various elements that align with one's faith or personal beliefs. For example, listening to spiritually enriching podcasts or instrumental music while hiking can offer a meditative experience. Gordon also mentions the importance of grounding exercises, such as paying attention to breathing, muscle tension, and the sensory experiences of temperature, smells, and visual details. The act of being intentional about noticing and appreciating these aspects of nature allows for a deeper connection with the divine and a broader sense of spiritual presence. Conclusion As the conversation draws to a close, Dawn and Gordon express their shared belief in the healing power of nature and the need to move beyond the confines of technology and work-centric routines. They encourage listeners to embrace the practice of hiking as a spiritual journey, allowing it to bring about a shift in perspective and an opportunity for personal growth. By opening oneself to the mysteries of nature, exploring the present moment, and engaging in spiritual practices such as reflection, meditation, and prayer, hikers can discover a meaningful connection with both themselves and the greater spiritual realm. Links and Resources The Practice of Therapy Podcast Psychraft Network Home Page - Check out the other podcasts on the network Kindness and Compassion Podcast Gordon on Social Media @tpotpodcast  @kindnessandcompassionpodcast Sacred Space Community Groups - with Dawn Soul Care Retreats: Exclusively for therapists who want to recharge in a deep and fulfilling way. You will engage in your own spiritual journey, find some release from the work you do, as well as connect with other therapists all while enjoying the beauty of Colorado at a secluded and peaceful retreat center. Limited to 6-8 therapists. Podcast Production and Show Notes by James Marland

Are you seeking more balance in your life as a therapist? What are the keys to balancing your life & work?MEET Gordon BrewerGordon Brewer, Jr., MEd, LMFT therapist | podcaster | trainer | speaker | writer is a licensed marital and family therapist and an AAMFT Approved Supervisor. Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast. The Practice of Therapy provides information and resources for clinicians starting, growing, or scaling private practices.Gordon started The PsychCraft Network of Podcasts in 2022, along with a new podcast, The Kindness & Compassion Podcast, that explores the intersection of psychology, science, and spirituality to create more kindness and compassion in the world.Gordon has worked in the human services and mental health fields for over 30 years. He has previously worked in agency settings and is currently in private practice as a therapist. He owns a group therapy practice, Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC (www.kingsportcounseling,com) located in Kingsport, TN. He has also served as an adjunct instructor and internship supervisor at East Tennessee State University.Gordon is married to Mary “Sister” Brewer and they have one daughter, Rebecca, an environmental educator. Gordon is also a clergyperson in the Episcopal Church (vocational deacon).Find out more about Gordon at The Practice of Therapy and The PsychCraft Network of PodcastsIN THIS PODCAST:What does it mean to have balance? 4:44The importance of outsourcing 8:14Finding balance as a therapist 16:20What Does It Mean To Have Balance?Utilizing effective time management Understanding your internal motivationsThe importance of self-care What are our many different life domains and how do we balance them?The Importance Of OutsourcingLearning to focus our energy on what is importantImportant vs. urgent tasksTools for planning and time managementCreating boundaries and sticking to themFinding Balance As A TherapistWhy it is essential to stick to your schedule and learn to say, “no”Taking time to evaluate what you prefer to spend your time on the mostConsidering your ROI when it comes to choosing how you schedule your day-to-day workTips for batch processing your workloadConnect With MeInstagram @holisticcounselingpodcastFacebookJoin the private Facebook groupSign up for my free email course: www.holisticcounselingpodcast.comRate, review, and subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts,

In this episode Gordon talks with Dr. Amy Fortney Parks about the new supervision directory she started, clinicalsupervisiondirectory.com some of her motivation around starting this new directory.  Amy and Gordon delve into how supervision can help you grow your practice plus help in "paying it forward" in our professions as counselors, therapists and social workers. Amy and Gordon talk about some of the struggles of licensure portability and how we can be better advocates of our professions as counselors and therapists.  They also discuss how providing internships in your practice can solve the problem of therapist shortages and give new graduates and opportunity to grow and build their careers.  Supervision not only help new counselors and therapists reach their goal of licensure, but it also helps build our professions and give clinicians multiple ways to grow their careers.  Read more... Resources Mentioned: Dr. Amy's Resources The Clinical Supervision Directory The Wise Family Resources Join The Practice Launch Club Today! (Use promo code PLC22 until 12/31/22 to get membership for just $59 a month) TherapyNotes.com (Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free.) Find Other Great Podcasts on the PsychCraft Network Today! Be A Podcast Guest Practice of Therapy Community The Course: Google Workspace for Therapists Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Instagram, Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.  

In this episode of The Private Practice Elevation Podcast, you're going to get a glimpse into the various stages over the lifespan of a growing private practice.   Many therapists start out as solo practitioners, building a private practice around one-on-one client work.   Over time, they may find themselves full of clients - so much so that they have to start a waiting list or refer new clients to other therapists outside of their practice.   So they shift their focus to hiring associates and start building their group practice and continue growing.    But there's actually more than one way to scale a private practice.   And with the rise of online therapy and the ability to reach more people nationwide, opportunities are increasing!   So, today we're chatting with seasoned entrepreneur and private practice owner Gordon Brewer all about the path he's taken over the life of his private practice.   Thinking about the next 5 years and nearing retirement, Gordon has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to scaling a private practice so that it serves his clients and aligns with his life values.   So pull up a chair as I chat with my friend, Gordon, as he takes behind the scenes and tells the story of his own growth and scaling a private practice. In This Episode, You'll Learn: The different stages you can go through on your way to scaling your private practice from solo practice to group practice and beyond Some of the challenges and opportunities at each stage for increasing your profits and growing your business Understanding your “why” so that you can create a business that aligns with your values and life The importance of creating a great website for your private practice and how that can impact your growth Tips for naming your private practice and how that can impact your marketing and success Why you should be outsourcing in your private practice, some of the tasks you can begin outsourcing, and some of the ways to find people to outsource tasks to This Episode Is Brought To You By     Subscribe & Review in Apple Podcasts If you're not yet subscribed to the podcast I want to encourage you to do that today. This is the best way to make sure you don't miss an episode! Click here to subscribe on iTunes.   And if you're feeling extra generous, I'd love to hear what you think about the podcast. Reviews help others find the podcast plus I'd really love to hear what you think! Click here to leave a review. Just click on “Ratings & Reviews” then “Write a review.” Let me know what you like best about the podcast. Thank you!   Links mentioned in this episode: Practice Of Therapy Kingsport Counseling Website   About Gordon Brewer Gordon Brewer, Jr., MEd, LMFT therapist | podcaster | trainer | speaker | writer is a licensed marital and family therapist and an AAMFT Approved Supervisor. Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast. The Practice of Therapy provides information and resources for clinicians starting, growing or scaling private practices.   Gordon started a new podcast in 2022, The Kindness & Compassion Podcast, that explores the intersection of psychology, science and spirituality to create more kindness and compassion in the world.   Gordon has worked in the human services and mental health fields for over 30 years. He has previously worked in agency settings and is currently in private practice as a therapist. He is the owner of a group therapy practice, Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC (www.kingsportcounseling,com) located in Kingsport, TN. He has also served as an adjunct instructor and internship supervisor at East Tennessee State University.   Gordon is married to Mary “Sister” Brewer and they have one daughter, Rebecca who is an environmental educator. Gordon is also a clergy person in the Episcopal Church (vocational deacon).  

In this episode, Kelly and Miranda are back for a spirited conversation covering many topics. First, we discuss the importance of following your passion, especially when creating a side hustle. Whatever problems are coming up in your private practice will follow in your second business; so, ensure you have those problems addressed ahead of time. Later, we talk about how big tech companies are taking advantage of therapists and why you need to know your numbers if you're considering joining one of these sites. Tune in as we chat about naming your business and what you can expect from ZynnyMe in the future. Meet Kelly Higdon, LMFT Kelly Higdon, LMFT is the co-founder of ZynnyMe and co-creator of The Business School Bootcamp for Therapists, a flagship course that helps therapists in all parts of their private practice journey solidify their business foundation and growth. When she isn't coaching or hosting retreats for her clients, you can find her playing roller derby or spending time with her family. To learn more about Kelly check out kellyhigdon.com and zynnyme.com On any given day you will find her writing, meeting with her psychotherapy or coaching clients, running a webinar for therapists, providing consultation with private practice owners, and making lots of room for playtime with her family. Kelly's hair constantly changes. She cares about the people that she works with. AND her most FAVORITE THING is to push, educate and inspire in the Business School Bootcamp. Meet Miranda Palmer, LMFT Miranda Palmer built a cash-based private practice during the recession. But, she is most proud that she did it to take care of her family and created a work-life balance that allowed her to avoid the all too common burn-out a lot of therapists experience. As the co-creator of ZynnyMe.com, she provides how-to articles, free monthly webinars, and co-leads the Business School Bootcamp for Therapists. Today her primary business is inspiring and teaching therapists private practice marketing. Miranda teaches them business skills, and not because she is all about money. Miranda sees how clinical outcomes, burnout rate, and overall passion can be impacted positively or negatively by how our businesses run. Follow Your Passion and Success Will Follow If anyone in the private practice world wants to do a side gig, you better make sure it is something you're passionate about. Without passion, you will be miserable doing it. Whatever things you haven't taken care of in your main gig, you will replicate it in your side gig. For instance, if you got burnt out in your main gig, you will get burnt out in your side gig as well. If mindset, money, and boundaries issues aren't addressed, you won't be able to escape them. It would help if you dream bigger and bigger; your passion project can quickly become something you do full-time with the right tools and resources. Building An Online Community If you want to start a side hustle, consider incorporating an online community into the mix. There are safe and lovely ways to have virtual conversations with people from all over the world through community building. Kelly and Miranda have focused on creating a space where people can own their values as a person. Once you have your values and vision narrowed down, you can find people who think and feel similarly. It's critical to build a community where we lift each other up. As therapists, we can keep the field alive and thriving via these communities. Choose The Best Name For Your Business Zynny was a name that Kelly came up with when first making her Yahoo email account. Kelly and Miranda both liked the idea of using it for their business name. However, Kelly says that you should avoid making up a name with unconventional spelling. She spends a lot of time spelling out ZynnyMe over the phone, and it's something that she needs to explain constantly. Know Your Numbers In Private Practice Therapists are afraid of their numbers. Once you know your numbers, you will be empowered to make the right decisions for your private practice. Many tech companies are reaching out to therapists; however, they don't have your client's best interests in mind. These companies sell client info to target ads based on their mental health issues. Plus, these tech companies aren't correctly paying their therapists. ZynnyMe wants to educate therapists on how these tech companies are exploiting their clients. The Tech World Collides With Mental Health Tech companies are counting the words that are being said to our clients. Therapists will get paid for talking to their clients up to a certain number of words. After that word limit, they are working for free, or their clients are not getting the services they need. Virtual therapy is essential. However, big tech shouldn't be the one who is helping our clients. One tech company was even offering unlimited therapy to clients for $99 a month. How does that even work? It's exploiting therapists, and we shouldn't stand for it. What To Look Forward To From ZynnyMe ZynnyMe has free pieces of training for their community. They are also paying excellent speakers to come in and talk about issues in the therapist world. For instance, they have people come in and speak about how couples therapy works in the private practice world. They are talking about how insurance impacts the care you give and what you need to know about it. Plus, they are chatting about the issues of burnout and trauma in the profession. Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Kelly & Miranda's Resources ZynnyMe ZynnyMe's Amazing Free Trainings ZynnyMe on Instagram Resources Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Blueprint Health: First month free with promo code TPOTPODCAST COOL RESOURCES! Get the FREE Private Practice Start-Up Guide    Apply For My Focus Group [Starts January 2022] Using Google Workspace As A Practice Platform Course Get Your Copy of The Full Focus Planner   Join the Google Workspace for Therapists Users Group Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

Today we talk about preparing for emergencies in private practice. As a solo practitioner, certain things need to be in place before you have an emergency on your hands. If you haven't started preparing yet, then it's not too late! Gabe Nelson joins the show to explain exactly what you need to do to be ready for the worst possible scenarios. Tune in as we chat about saving for emergency funds, getting the right insurance, and ensuring you are protected as a business owner. Meet Gabe Nelson With almost three decades in the financial services industry and more than a decade as an independent small business owner, Gabe Nelson already had an established thriving practice and solid reputation in his industry when he recognized an interesting trend among some of his favorite clients. More and more, he found himself working with self-employed professionals and solo-entrepreneurs. And as a business owner himself, he was fired up about helping them navigate the unique challenges they were facing – because he was just like them. He understood that independent professionals have specific needs. Most financial advisors don't know exactly what it takes to transition from employee to independent contractor status or establish long-term financial security without relying on a regular paycheck. He also knew that with more of the workforce becoming self-employed every day, more people could benefit from working with an advisor who knows how to plan for the whole financial picture, including legal, estate, financial, retirement, life, disability, and more — with an entrepreneurial spirit. So he took his passion for providing a personal touch with hands-on problem-solving and solution-oriented comprehensive planning and decided to focus on serving solo entrepreneurs. Preparing For The Worst Possible Event We're talking about preparing for emergencies or preparing for the worst thing that could possibly happen. It would help if you protect yourself from a crisis as a practicing therapist. This preparation should come in handy whether you're running a solo practice or a group practice. There are certain things that you need to start thinking about and putting into place. For instance, make sure you have money set aside in case something happens. If something does happen to your practice, and you're not able to keep working or seeing your clients, then what is your plan? The pandemic was a great test run for a lot of people. The beautiful thing about therapy is that you can still see clients virtually and do a lot of your practice through telemedicine. Start Saving For Your Emergency Fund Today If you haven't yet, then it's time to set aside a certain amount of money in your practice. It would help if you considered how much money you are willing to save. It can be anywhere from three months to six months or even twelve months. Gabe recommends that solo private practice owners reserve twelve months of their income for emergency use. As a solo practitioner, that business checkbook is kind of like your personal checkbook. Many people think that if their business is doing well, they are going to be okay on the personal side. However, that is not always the case. Do You Have The Proper Insurance? The next step is to start making sure that you've got some adequate insurance in place to protect you from those types of things that could happen. No one ever likes to talk about insurance. I mean, no one's talking about life insurance, and they don't want to talk about disability insurance. These are all things that you need to start thinking about when you are an adult businessperson and running a practice. Make sure that you've got an adequate amount of life insurance in place. Gabe is a huge fan of just Straight Term Life Insurance; keep it simple, get as much coverage as you can, and for the lowest cost. Who Will Take Over Your Business? If something does happen to you, what is going to happen to your business? Do you have another set therapist or a firm that is set and ready to buy your practice from you? That way, you can realize all of those years of hard work you put together to benefit your family? Over the last ten years, the investment advisory world has gotten big into that because they realize the trust and relationships we build with our clients. That's a piece of protection that most solopreneurs don't think about. Find Protection As A Business Owner Lastly, it would help if you had some business owner protection. What if there is a fire at your workplace? What if there is a flood in your home? Do you have some of those protections in place that would at least give you some replacement of income? It would help if you had some insurance protections that would replace your computer or your software. Business owner's insurance is a policy that combines both property and liability coverage into one package. Don't forget to consider other types of insurance like life insurance and disability insurance. Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Gabe's Resources Gabe's Podcast Gabe's Website Gabe's Resources Resources Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Blueprint Health Using Google Workspace As A Practice Platform Course Fall Into Cash 2021 Space Holder Live With Marissa Lawton Killin'It Camp Join the Google Workspace for Therapists Users Group Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

Dr. Chin is here to chat all about her new app, CE Hub. CE Hub is a tool for mental health professionals to store their continuing education certificates and track their units earned toward licensure. You can upload your certificates, and CE Hub will take care of the rest. Tune in as we talk about diversifying your income, the importance of outsourcing, and the nuts and bolts of creating your very own application. Meet Dr. Lani Chin In therapy, my goal is to assist you in addressing issues that are difficult to confront on your own, which often manifest as anxiety, depression, or dissatisfaction in relationships and/or your career. I approach our work together collaboratively, by helping you to articulate your thoughts and feelings in a safe, confidential, and nonjudgmental environment. My task is to encourage you to express yourself, clarify your goals, and explore the obstacles that have held you back. I listen, reflect, and use clinical methods based on my training and expertise. I strive to help you develop strategies that support the progress you desire. I listen for the patterns in your life and help you identify them so that you can develop a clearer understanding of your life experiences and develop new, more satisfying ways of relating. My understanding as a therapist is informed by my training and clinical experience but also grounded by a long-held commitment to my own psychological work and development. The Double Pandemic of Social Isolation Dr. Chin works with people that identify as being different. So whether they are cultural minorities or people in the LGBTQ community, those are mostly the people she works with. Also, Dr. Chin works with individuals, couples, and anyone who identifies as different or feels like they're outside. Usually, Dr. Chin's clients feel a level of isolation in general. Plus, the pandemic has been incredibly difficult. People already feel isolated because they are different on top of the isolation from the pandemic – it's a double whammy for patients. Track Your Continuing Education Certificates Dr. Chin launched the CE Hub App. It's a new, easier way to store and track your Continuing Education certificates. You can safely and conveniently store all of the documents you need to renew your license in one place. Plus, the app lets you track your progress along the way, so you know exactly where you stand. No longer will therapists have to search for misplaced certification, there will be no more guesswork about how many credits you've earned, and no more miscounting when it's time to renew. How The CE Hub App Works First, people log in. The first screen asks you questions about the certificates that you've earned. So you'll enter the title, the number of credits earned, and whether or not it was a live course. You can indicate that on the app and then save a copy of the certificate as a PDF. Then you enter in your license information and what your profession is like psychologist, marriage and family therapist, licensed clinical social worker, or licensed professional counselor. You'll also input what state you're in and the number of units you need to complete. Creating Goals Around Continuing Education You can keep a mental goal for yourself. If you want to pursue EMDR training or have X number of diversity credits that you've earned, you can set your personal goals within the app that might go beyond what the state requires. The app then matches what you've entered against what the requirements are. It puts that information into a pie chart. So it graphs out how many certificates you've done, and then it breaks it down by category according to what subject area the credit was in. It stores the certificates for you. So it's all through PDF. Then, if anything happens where you need an additional copy of the certificate, you can get on there and email the PDF to yourself. Outsourcing Work When Creating An App Dr. Chin outsourced the work for her app. She first started with a wireframing of the app. Dr. Chin knew what screens she wanted in the app and the function that they would provide. She's been fortunate that they could translate what she drew and made a pretty nice representation of what she had imagined. The app went from PowerPoint to a fully functioning application. To find people to work on the app, Dr. Chin did a lot of interviews. She wanted someone who understood mental health workers and what psychologists do. If you're looking to outsource, Dr. Chin recommends checking out UpWork. How Creating An App Can Diversify Your Income Dr. Chin likes to do a variety of things during the workweek. Doing an online course wasn't part of her personality – it didn't seem to resonate with who she is. So, Dr. Chin decided to make an app as a way to diversify her income. After talking to her peers, people were excited about the CE Hub App. It's always great to diversify income because you never know what is going to happen. Also, being strictly in private practice can be very overwhelming. The app is a helpful way for Dr. Chin to interact with people in a different context. Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Dr. Lani Chin's Resources CE Hub App - Use Code "GORDON" CE Hub App on Instagram CE Hub App on Facebook Website Instagram Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Resources Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Blueprint Health Using Google Workspace As A Practice Platform Course Fall Into Cash 2021 Space Holder Live With Marissa Lawton Killin'It Camp Join the Google Workspace for Therapists Users Group Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

In this episode, Austin Kirkland from Brighter Vision joins the show. We chat all about the Fall Into Cash campaign. It's is a month-long event throughout September when they provide mental health professionals with the tools and steps to help them make more money in the fall months. If you want to get a head start on boosting your practice by becoming a Brighter Vision customer, then Fall Into Cash is one of their most significant sales. Tune in as we chat about improving your website, the importance of search engine optimization, and why you need to start blogging. Meet Austin Kirkland Austin Kirkland is a Senior Account Executive at Brighter Vision. Austin has been a part of the Brighter Vision team for almost 3 years, but outside of work, he is a photographer! In fact, he was just commissioned by the Denver Parks and Recreation to shoot all their cityscapes for their 2021 print materials. If you're interested, you can see his work on Instagram at @austinkirklandphotography. What Exactly Does Brighter Vision Do? Brighter Vision makes marketing simple for therapists. They work one-on-one with therapists to get a custom website built that's unique to their practice. More important than the website itself, Brighter Vision will help market your services. They want to make sure that when a potential client searches for therapists, you will be one of the first options on Google. If you are intimated by building a website, then Brighter Vision is the way to go. Is Social Media Overwhelming? Try Social Genie! Social Genie has a library of thousands of social media and blog posts that you can edit, customize, and schedule across all platforms in a matter of minutes. As a client of Brighter Vision, you can decide what type of content is posted. For instance, you can choose to have a post about anxiety released every single Monday. It takes only a matter of minutes to set up. As a client, you will also have the ability to view the schedule and see the upcoming posts. Plus, you'll have the option to and delete posts as you see fit. All About The Fall Into Cash Campaign Brighter Vision's Fall Into Cash campaign is a month-long event throughout September when they provide mental health professionals with the tools and steps to help them make more money in the fall months. There'll be weekly blogs, webinars content over the entire month. Between all of us, we will be giving away about $17,000 worth of giveaways. Additionally, you also get a very, very heavy discount on the services with Brighter Vision. They love to provide free information and resources for therapists looking to grow their practices and fall into cash. Get Help With Your Private Practice Website There are two types of clinicians that Brighter Vision works with when it comes to their website work. There's the clinician that doesn't have a website, and this is going to be their very first website. Often, this clinician doesn't have a niche yet; but Brighter Vision can still help market their services. While on the other hand, there are clinicians who currently have a website. More often than not, they are fed up with how the website is going. So, Austin likes to ask what they like about the website and what they don't like about it. More often than not, Austin can bring pretty much any aspect from their old website to their new website. How Search Engine Optimization Works and The Importance of Blogs Without search engine optimization, your website's not going to be found unless they know the exact address of it. SEO is a code that describes your website to Google. That way, Google knows who to show your website to. One of the most important things to do around search engine optimization is blogging. A significant factor with how well a website will rank over time is simply how often it's being updated. Google wants to show its users relevant and up-to-date content. So by updating your website, then you are telling Google that you have new information. A great way to do that regularly is through blog posts. Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Austin's Resources Brighter Vision Fall Into Cash Austin's Instagram Austin on LinkedIn Resources Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Blueprint Health Using Google Workspace As A Practice Platform Course Killin'It Camp Join the Google Workspace for Therapists Users Group Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

Today, Tosha Rollins joins the show. She turned her passion into a private practice niche. One of the most important things about finding your niche is looking at what speaks to you. For Tosha, it's working with clients that have autism spectrum disorder. Research shows that only 2 out of 44 therapists feel comfortable working with autistic clients. So, there is a massive demand for referral resources and families that need our help. Tune in as Tosha speaks about the Autism Therapist Network, working with autistic clients, and the importance of continuing education for autism resources. Meet Tosha Rollins Tosha Rollins is a Licensed Professional Counselor in South Carolina, and owner of Rollins Counseling, LLC. She is also a wife to Travis, and momma to three sons, ages 8-22, and stepmom to Kaylee, who is now in college. She loves adventures, traveling, nature, and spending time with her family. She started the Autism in Action Podcast because she wanted to help families connect with autism resources, services, and support. She became frustrated trying to find an autism-trained counselor for her oldest two children on the autism spectrum and realized the shortage of trained professionals across the country. She decided to create the Autism Therapist Network to teach & mentor mental health clinicians how to feel more confident and competent working with autistic clients and families affected by autism. When she is not seeing clients, homeschooling her youngest son, podcasting, she is spending quality time with her family and planning her next adventure. Finding Autism Resources and Ongoing Education Tosha's two oldest sons have autism spectrum disorder. After the diagnosis, Tosha decided to go into private practice and serve people on the spectrum. Research shows only 2 out of 44 mental health clinicians feel comfortable working with the autistic population. Unfortunately, this makes it hard for families to access services. A lot of times, it comes down to competency, skill sets, and education. So many parents of autistic children complain about how hard it is to find mental health services for their children. In fact, 1 in 5 families has to move because they don't have access to services. Children with autism grow up to be adults with autism. There is a lack of services after children age out of school; it's a big concern. It's estimated that anywhere between 70,000 and 100,000 children aged out of high school services with minimal transitional supports in place. A Therapist Community That Is Increasing Mental Health Autism Resources Tosha's primary mission is to educate clinicians and collaborate on the skill sets they need to improve on. Often we get comfortable with a specific niche or population. However, we need to do continuing education to meet our licensure requirements. Sadly, there's not a lot of training out there for the autism niche. Tosha is a fan of Pesi and the courses they offer. In fact, they have a Certified Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinical Specialist Intensive Training. Their training provides the education you need to deliver effective transformational strengths-based interventions, strategies, and approaches to support your clients. Tosha created the Autism Therapist Network to help people expand their clinical skillsets for working with autistic clients. She provides online educational workshops and peer-driven clinical consultation groups to help you learn more about autism. In addition, the Autism Therapist Network is great for networking opportunities because of its online directory for all of its members. Lastly, their resources are perfect for anyone that wants to best support their autistic clients. Mental Health Therapy and The Autistic Client Therapists need to be open-minded, adaptable, and flexible when working with the autistic population. You might have a particular intervention that is structured for CBT. However, you may have to modify it for your client's executive functioning or cognitive ability. So, therapists need to get a good overview of their clients' executive function, cognitive ability, and emotional regulation. Make sure that your client understands their emotions. Also, ensure that they have plenty of resources to take home and use as visual prompts. That way, your clients can regulate when they are not in therapy. The number one consideration for working with the autism population is to make sure that you have the education behind it. In order to be comfortable and competent, you need to understand person-centered planning. Plus, you need to understand cognitive behavioral therapy and have an excellent toolbox to pull from when working with these clients. These are all things that Tosha teaches on her Autism Therapist Network. She has expert spotlights that come in and share their words of wisdom. The more you can grow your network, the more that you can learn.   Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Tosha's Resources Autism Therapist Network Autism In Action Podcast Tosha's Website Instagram LinkedIn Facebook Resources Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Blueprint Health Understanding & Utilizing the Enneagram (10 CE Hours) Using Google Workspace As A Practice Platform Course Killin'It Camp Join the Google Workspace for Therapists Users Group Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

Russell DuBois joins the show to talk about Blueprint and the importance of measurement-based care. Blueprint automatically gathers client data, measures client outcomes, and get insights at the point of care to make more informed treatment decisions. The more therapists can stay curious about their work, the more likely they are to avoid burnout. Tune in as we talk about how clients, clinicians, and group practice owners can benefit from using a measurement-based mental health care service like Blueprint. Meet Russell DuBois Dr. Russell DuBois is a psychologist specializing in psychological testing, pediatric & behavioral health psychology, and technology for innovation in mental healthcare. He has over 30+ published research studies, book chapters, and professional presentations at national and international conferences and acts as a peer-reviewer for multiple scientific research journals. Dr. DuBois has held clinical and research training positions at top institutions including Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School, Alpert Medical School at Brown University, and Northeastern University. He is the Clinical & Research Director at Blueprint, a leading digital mental health screening, and assessment platform. His areas of expertise include: mood disorders, eating disorders, mindfulness, mental health technology and innovation, clinical data science, pediatric psychology, health psychology, and psychological testing and evaluation. Preventing Burnout With Measurement-Based Care We're all busy, strapped for time, and struggling to keep up with the requirements to be a therapist. A lot of us go into our therapy sessions blind. Clients show up every week, we ask how things are going, and it gets really repetitive. It's challenging if you are doing therapy full-time because the repetition can lead to burnout. When you lose a sense of curiosity, that is a massive sign of burnout. Curiosity is at the heart of staying engaged as a therapist. Measurement-based care helps you be much more informed about your clients and their lived experiences. You have a lot of information that you can learn from and use during the session to help you out. That way, you aren't flying by the seat of your pants. When you're able to collect information and get data about your clients that you never thought you would otherwise, you can approach your work with clients in an inquisitive way, which is healthy from a burnout perspective. The Basics Behind Blueprint Russell has over 100,000 clients on his platform. Blueprint will listen to both the needs and the problems of therapists. Blueprint is a digital platform that operates at three levels: clients, clinicians, and group practice owners. Russell built Blueprint on top of decades of research proving that measurement-based care improves client outcomes and reduces the time-to-remission. They track and analyze a combination of data, including symptoms, lifestyle metrics, and wearable devices, to give you a deeper understanding of a client's mental health to better personalize care. Why Clients Enjoy Blueprint Clients can download the app and track crucial information about their mental health and wellness. So they can track things like trends in their mood and their energy. Plus, they can record their sleep quality and social engagement over time. Clients can connect their blueprint app to their GPS in their health kit on their phone so that they can track the number of steps taken each day and how long they are spending at home each day. It's a wonderful tool for clients to improve self-awareness and to understand themselves a little bit better. How Blueprint Helps Clinicians Clinicians or therapists can use a blueprint to become more informed about their clients. There are different types of screening measures that clinicians can use. Blueprint is a big fan of aligning the measurements library that our partners have with the kind of work their clinicians do. For instance, they have measures on couple satisfaction, family cohesion, and mindfulness. Whatever it is, there is probably a measurement on Blueprint for it. Through that process, clinicians or therapists can access all this information in real-time to help learn and educate themselves about their clients over time. Overall, clinicians can rely on this data to provide this higher quality measurement-based care. Improve Your Group Practice With Blueprint Blueprint is not only great for clients and clinicians; Blueprint is excellent for group practice owners. Blueprint is an easy way to track and report on population outcomes. Plus, you can grow your revenue by submitting insurance claims for blueprint assessments. You don't need to be a data scientist; you don't need any measurement background; it's all done for you through the software. Plus, when clients experience this measurement-based care, their engagement in treatment goes up—measurement-based care reduced dropout rates by twenty percent. For a group practice owner, that's a critical measurement to know. Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Russell's Resources Blueprint Health Russell on LinkedIn Blueprint on LinkedIn Email: Russell@blueprint-health.com Twitter Resources Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Blueprint Health Understanding & Utilizing the Enneagram (10 CE Hours) Using Google Workspace As A Practice Platform Course Join the Google Workspace for Therapists Users Group Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

One of the questions that I get asked a lot is just around how to structure your practice. So, in this episode, I walk through with you exactly how I have my practice structured. I talk about the process from the time we receive a client intake form to when we discharge a client and all the things that happen along the way. I speak about both the business and clinical side of my practice. Lastly, I make sure to point out all the software we use to keep our practice running as smoothly and as efficiently as possible.  How We Do Our Intakes In addition to the other clinicians working with me, we also have a part-time intake coordinator. The vast majority of people that come to us usually is through our website www.kingsportcounseling.com. In addition, we do get a fair number of direct referrals from doctors' offices and insurances. We are an insurance-based practice, and we get many referrals from people who find us in the insurance company directories. People will contact us predominantly through phone calls. At our practice, we use https://www.phone.com/. It is a modern, work-from-anywhere solution for today's agile, mobile, and always-on growing businesses. Our intake coordinator can use her app at home to answer phone calls. Usually, one of the first things you want to outsource is somebody to answer the phone. Keep in mind that it is great to have a system that is accessible from anywhere in the country. Setting Up Appointments In TherapyNotes The one thing about TherapyNotes that I love is that it's also linked to a clearinghouse. Since we're insurance-based, all of the insurance claims are filed through TherapyNotes. We set up the patient's biographical information, and we do our documentation; all of those sorts of things are completed through TherapyNotes. In other words, the whole clinical side of our practice is managed through TherapyNotes. However, there are some forms that we have in Google Workspace. When we have a new client, we send them to the TherapyNotes portal. They fill out all their intake paperwork, and we do all the billing through TherapyNotes.  Filing Individual Insurance Claims  Now, as far as filing individual insurance claims, I've got that outsourced as well through Practice Solutions. Practice Solutions make sure all the claims are ready to be sent in. Plus, they follow up if there are problems with a claim or if the insurance company rejects it. Both of these things can be very time-consuming; that's why I decided to outsource those tasks. If you have time to do those things, you can do all of that in conjunction with TherapyNotes. For my size practice, it's more cost-efficient to outsource those items.   What You Need For Online Therapy Each therapist within our practice sets their own schedule. They also are made aware of when clients owe money, or when we need to collect the copay. We follow up individually with each client about what they owe us, and if they owe a copay or not. TherapyNotes is a wonderful platform to handle all of this. Plus, TherapyNotes has a telehealth portal that can be used to do sessions with people. During Covid, we were using doxy.me. They make telemedicine simple and easy to use for both therapists and patients. The downside of the free version of doxy.me is that you could only see one client at a time. Another platform we used during Covid was Google Meet.  Valuable Tools That Make My Practice Efficient   For faxes, we use a service called Sfax. If we need to fax providers or fax things to people, we use that service. Sfaxenables you to send, receive, annotate, digitally sign and manage faxes without printing a single physical document. I use QuickBooks as my main accounting software. However, in QuickBooks, you have to be careful about not using client names.  I have a course out there called Money Matters In Private Practice. It goes into the whole accounting side of running a private practice.  Gusto is the payroll service that I use. I enter payroll twice a month to pay my clinicians. Plus, we can get our health insurance through Gusto. Everything syncs automatically — time tracking, new hires, benefits plans, and more. Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links!   Resources Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Enneagram Course Killin'It Camp Google Workspace As A Practice Management Platform Gusto Phone.com Practice Solutions TherapyNotes Doxy.me QuickBooks Sfax Google Meet Money Matters In Private Practice Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ Join the Google Workspace for Therapists Users Group Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

Whitney and James Owens join the show to talk about the origins and usefulness of the Enneagram. They explain how identifying your Enneagram type will be beneficial in your life and the importance of understanding how this impacts your clinical work. Understanding relationship patterns within the lens of the Enneagram will allow the therapeutic relationship to thrive as the clinician helps the client or clients see their own personality within the relationship. Tune in as we chat about meeting treatment goals and having success in work and relationships through the Enneagram. Meet Whitney & James Owens Whitney Owens (MA, LPC) and James P. Owens (MDiv, MA) are helping professionals with a passion for empowering others. Whitney is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Private Practice Consultant. She is the owner of a group private practice, Water's Edge Counseling, in Savannah, Georgia. In addition to running her practice, she offers individual and group consulting through Practice of the Practice. She hosts a weekly podcast called the Faith in Practice Podcast to help clinicians start and grow their practices with a faith-based background. Whitney has presented multiple times at professional counseling and practice conferences throughout the United States. James is an Enneagram teacher and founder of Working the Enneagram, LLC. He received his Enneagram certification through the Enneagram Spectrum Training with Jerome Wagner. James holds a Master of Divinity, as well as a second Master's degree in Christian Practice. As both a pastor and teacher, James helps churches, small businesses, and other organizations understand how to utilize the Enneagram to positively impact their members and missions. James has been interviewed on several podcasts and has spoken to multiple groups on the Enneagram specifically in conjunction to counseling/psychotherapy practice and clinical work. Whitney and James have been married since 2007 and together they are the parents of two beautiful girls. The Importance of Knowing Your Enneagram Type You can spend many hours, days, and years understanding the Enneagram. One of the unique things about the Enneagram is it expresses the motives behind people's behaviors. As a therapist, we have to know ourselves to do good work. If you know your Enneagram, it helps you understand your motives in therapy. Whitney is Enneagram type 1, which means she is the reformer and is very controlling. When Whitney started as a therapist, she wanted to know exactly what to say at all times. Since Whitney knows that about herself, she found ways not to control the sessions and not to control her clients. Identifying Your Strengths And Weaknesses The Enneagram will help identify the motives behind your actions. In addition, the Enneagram will assist you in determining your strengths and weaknesses and identify the ways you behave when you're doing very well and the ways you act when you're not doing so well. The system is not static; it's a dynamic system. The Enneagram acknowledges that we all are different when in stressful situations vs. happy and secure situations. James is a type 5; he can take on a leadership role when he is doing well. However, under stress, James tends to move towards the characteristics of type 7. As you learn your type and discover more about yourself, you'll identify the directions that you go in when you're doing well and doing not so well. Using The Enneagram With Your Clients If you understand your client's Enneagram number, and they're sharing things going on in their life, then you can listen to where they're coming from to know where they're at. Clients might act like they're doing okay, but then they share something that's moving into other numbers that you know are not the healthy place for them. So, you can help clients bring their positive characteristics to the table. The Enneagram is a great way to evaluate your client's levels of emotional health. Each Enneagram type also has its own levels of functioning. As you become familiar with each type, you'll be able to see those characteristics in your clients. The Seven Deadly Sins For Your Enneagram Type Each Enneagram type has a deadly sin. So, you actually want to find the spiritual discipline that is the opposite of your sin. When you go into your root sin, you need to practice the opposite to find a healthy place. Here is a list of the deadly sins and what spiritual discipline will help you get to a healthy place: -      Type 1: Anger. You should practice serenity and letting go. -      Type 2: Pride. You should practice humility. -      Type 3: Deceit. You should practice authenticity. -      Type 4: Envy. You should practice balance. -      Type 5: Avarice. You should practice being non-attached. -      Type 6: Anxiety. You should practice courage. -      Type 7: Gluttony. You should practice sobriety. -      Type 8: Lust. You should practice innocence. -      Type 9: Complacent. You should practice action. Helping Clients Improve Their Relationships The Enneagram can allow you to help your clients with their relationships. The Enneagram is extremely helpful for marital counseling. Once you understand your partner's Enneagram, people can find a new appreciation and patience for their partner. When your clients understand their own number, it helps them understand how they interact with other people in their lives. Whitney says she does Enneagram work in her group practice. In fact, Whitney says they discuss their Enneagram types and how much they understand themselves during the interview process. Plus, knowing people's Enneagram types helps you appreciate your employees. Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! James & Whitney's Resources Understanding & Utilizing the Enneagram (10 CE Hours) Waters Edge Counseling  Grow Your Faith-Based Practice with Faith in Practice Mastermind! Practice of the Practice: Faith in Practice Podcast Whitney Owens | Consulting, The Enneagram, & Religion In Private Practice | TPOT 178 Whitney Owens | Starting Fresh & Growing Fast in Private Practice | TPOT Podcast 036 Whitney Owens | Contractors Vs. Employees In Group Private Practice | TPOT Podcast 091 Faith in Practice Consulting with Whitney @Practice of the Practice Group Practice Launch Membership Community Email: Whitney@practiceofthepractice.com Resources Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Take The Survey Thursday is the New Friday: How to Work Fewer Hours, Make More Money, and Spend Time Doing What You Want Using Google Workspace As A Practice Platform Course Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ Join the Google Workspace for Therapists Users Group Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

In this episode, Paul Petroski speaks about creating online courses that create extra income for private practice owners. Plus, we talk about the mindset shift that needs to happen to make more money. Private practice owners need to think about their practice in different ways to diversify income. Depending on how your practice is set up, you can reach a ceiling with the amount of income you bring in. Tune in as we chat about different ways to create income streams in private practice and the mindset shift that needs to take place to build a successful business. Meet Paul Petroski Paul Petroski has spent the past 20+ years helping organizations design and deploy learning solutions that improve bottom-line performance. His experience spans the business landscape from Fortune 100 companies, such as IBM and CSC (now DXC Technologies), to San Francisco-based startups. Several years ago, Mr. Petroski found himself sitting in his Counselors office as he was navigating a major life change. Having such a profound experience and transformation working with his Counselor, Mr. Petroski saw the opportunity to bring these two paths of his life together. At that point, he began helping Counselors and Therapists build passive income by turning their years of experience into online courses. Through his work, he has helped Counselors build their personal brand, free up time by generating multiple streams of income, and rethink what it means to build their overall practice.   In his free time, Mr. Petroski is relearning how to live life through the eyes of his 13-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter, is an aspiring drummer, and loves to ride through many bike paths that Colorado has to offer. The Mindset Shift To Build Your Practice The first step in taking the journey down building an online course is thinking of your practice as something big. It would help if you stopped thinking about your private practice as a practice; instead, think about it as a business. Shift that mindset from a practice owner to a business owner. Then you start thinking about the proper ways to grow a business outside of getting people into your practice. Think about the business side of what you're trying to accomplish and how to grow your income. The Importance of A Niche To Diversify Income Think about how you can turn your niche into an income stream. Maybe you've seen success with marriage counseling. How can you help more people with their marriages instead of just the people you see in your practice? An online course will help you go from the one-on-one method of making income to reaching many people simultaneously. No longer will you need to trade your time for money. Building An Online Course There's an upfront cost associated with getting your online course off the ground. However, once you reach that breakeven point, all other sales will be straight profit. Plus, you'll get a vast reach of people. Building an online course is a smart investment for people who are looking to diversify their income streams and find a larger audience. Creating Passive Income Within Your Private Practice If you haven't already, you need to check out Smart Passive Income; they have a one-stop-shop for content, training, and resources on building a successful and thriving online business. Passive income is the idea that you can create something that gives you the ability to make money in a nontraditional way. With passive income, you can have assets that allow you to make money without your direct involvement. It's not entirely passive because there is some level of maintenance and attention required. Online courses will have upfront work and costs. In addition, there is some SEO work that will need attention periodically. Producing Your Online Course The production aspect of creating an online course is the biggest fear for private practice owners. Most people don't know how to develop well-produced videos and only have a smartphone to create content. Well, there are different ways that you can create an online course. Some people will record themselves live while using a DSLR camera. Other times people make a voiceover PowerPoint where their content is more of the focus, and they're putting an audio recording over the presentation. If you're advanced in the technology space, then it's easy to get started on production. If this type of technology is new to you, Paul recommends getting a coach or finding an expert to assist. You Are An Expert: Overcoming Imposter Syndrome A lot of times when it comes to business, we hear the concept of imposter syndrome. When thinking about creating an online course, counselors are worried that no one will buy it. Think about how long you've been a counselor and how many clients you have helped. You have an experience that would be of benefit to people. The reality is that you are an expert. Once you can get over imposter syndrome, then you will be successful in selling your online course. Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Paul Petroski's Resources Counselor Online Course Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Resources Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. The Google Workspace Platform Course Smart Passive Income Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ Join the Google Workspace for Therapists Users Group Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

In this episode, Chris talks about the process he uses to self-publish books. If you don't think writing a book is worth it, Chris is here to tell you otherwise. You may not make a ton of money from royalties; however, self-publishing has many other benefits. You can diversify your income when you're known as an authority figure and as an expert in your field. Tune in as Chris dives deep into the self-publishing process, including the importance of an outline, an editor, and how to navigate imposter syndrome. Meet Chris Swenson Chris Swenson, LMFT is the author of the recently published book, “Private Practice Warrior.” He is the Owner/Founder/solo-operator of Rhino Wellness Center which is Chris' successful full-time solo practice in rural Colorado. Chris is a true Private Practice Warrior who is currently developing a program called, “Private Practice Warrior – A Powerful Mindset for Ambitious Practice Owners – The “Way” to True Fulfillment in Life and Business. To receive a free pdf copy of “Private Practice Warrior” and a special bonus, click https://rhinomentality.lpages.co/pp-warrior-ebook-pdf-giveaway/ The Benefits of Writing A Book Some people want to write a book, but they don't think they'll make a significant amount of money from it. Chris says you may not make a lot of money from the royalties, but the benefits will pay off in the long run. When you write a book, you'll gain a lot of credibility as an expert in your industry. When you are an authority on your topic, you'll get invites to speak at events and programs. It's like having a business card – you can show people what you have done and put yourself out there. The Self-Publishing Process First, start with an idea. What is something that you have always wanted to write about? If you help people with something all the time, that can be an excellent topic for your book. When you have an idea in mind, check out other books on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Spend some time looking at the reviews for similar books. That way, you can see what people liked about the books and what people think the author could improve. Next, you'll want to identify your purpose for writing the book. The purpose will guide you through the process. If you forget why you're writing a book, then you are going to get off track. Pick A Style and Start Your Outline Think about the style of book you are looking to write. Are you going to be more on the traditional and scientific side of writing? Or will you write your book more like a story? You can follow a character as they learn life lessons. After you know the style, then you need to start your outline. The outline helps with the writing process – it can be challenging to start. One way to start an outline is by doing a brain dump. Write everything and anything that you think of in your head. From there, you can bundle ideas into themes. Get as creative as you can with the outline; it will make the writing process more streamlined. Finding Time To Write Your Book When you're finding time to write your book, that's where the purpose comes into play. Remember why you decided to write the book in the first place. If you don't have a purpose for writing the book, you will never find time to finish it. To help with the process, come up with a writing plan. If you know what day you want to publish by, then you can work backward. Think about how many chapters you need to write each week to finish the book on time. If you don't finish in time, it's okay! Keep trucking along and continue writing. Chris likes to speak into his phone instead of writing it down. That way, the process goes by way faster. Should You Hire An Editor? A lot of people who self-publish will recommend that you hire an editor to go over your book. Remember that there are different kinds of editors. Some people will edit for content, development, and even grammatical. If you're not sure where to find an editor, you can hire a freelance one using the website Fiverr. When you edit your own book, you may keep adding and adding things – it will drag the process on. So, please stick to your schedule and get it done. If you need to add more, then don't be afraid to write another edition. Create Your Title & Cover While the book is being edited, you can finally start thinking of a title and draft the cover of your book. Chris loves to use Canva for his covers. If you're publishing an eBook, then Canva is the way to go. If you want something that looks a little more professional, then you can hire a graphic designer. Again, you can check out Fiverr to hire a freelancer for the job. Always go back to the purpose and who you want to reach. That way, it will determine if you need a cover for an eBook, printed book, or both! Imposter Syndrome As An Author You're never going to overcome imposter syndrome as an author. Instead, it would be best if you worked through the thoughts and the feelings you have. Those thoughts are going to be there – you need to accept them and embrace them. Then, you can move through it and continue the writing process. If you are going to put yourself out there, you will hear the whispers of imposter syndrome. Part of the process is accepting those whispers. These are the same topics that our clients deal with all the time. Think about what you would tell your clients about dealing with their internal critics. It's better to take imperfect action than perfect action. Put the draft out there and finetune your book afterward. Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Chris Swenson's Resources Chris on LinkedIn Enroll in Published The Course The Private Practice Warrior Website Get your free copy of Private Practice Warrior Self-Publishing for Therapists, Coaches, and Consultants Email Chris: chriss@rhinowellnesscenter.com Rhino Wellness Center Rhino Life Lessons: 32 Timeless Lessons to Achieve Strength, Wisdom, Confidence, and Resilience Resources Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Take The Survey Using Google Workspace As A Practice Platform Course Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ Join the Google Workspace for Therapists Users Group Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

During the pandemic, most of us started conducting psychotherapy sessions through 100% Telehealth. "The Therapist In The Attic," Leah Leynor joins the show to talk about her transition from her thriving private psychotherapy practice office to the attic. Plus, Leah speaks about her consulting work and what private practice owners are struggling with today as the pandemic winds down. Later, we talk all about becoming an insurance-based practice and what sorts of things you need to consider before accepting insurance. Tune in as we chat about diversifying your income, negotiating rates with insurance companies, and marketing your private practice. Meet Leah Leynor Leah Leynor provides a variety of counseling services to families and individual children, teens, and adults in Cary, North Carolina. She holds a Master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Pfeiffer University, a massage therapy diploma from the American and European Massage Clinic, and a Bachelor's degree in political science from Rider University. She is a certified hypnotherapist with specialized training in trauma counseling and family systems. She is a proud member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) and the North Carolina Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (NCAMFT). The Therapist In The Attic During the pandemic, Leah ultimately moved her practice from in-person to her attic. The attic was the perfect place for privacy and for consulting with clients. Whenever Leah called herself the therapist in the attic, people would laugh. For Leah, the attic was a way to connect with others in complex, uncertain, and stressful times. Plus, when you think about it, we are all somewhat "stuck in the attic." Leah hopes to relate to the varied experiences many of us have been experiencing in these uncertain times. What Private Practice Owners Are Struggling With Today Most private practice owners have a high level of anxiety because of the pandemic. Many people question if private practice is the right move for them or if they need to start changing their business plans. Plus, they have anxiety around dealing with stressed-out clients while managing their businesses' administrative side. On top of private practice responsibilities, many owners are looking after their children participating in online classes. Finally, people are considering if life will go back to the way it was or adjust to a new normal. Becoming An Insurance-Based Practice When thinking about becoming an insurance-based practice, there are a few questions you should ask yourself first. -      What brought you to this decision? -      Where do you see your practice going? -      What would you like to see in your practice? You don't have as much control over your fees with insurance-based practices because the insurance companies determine it. So, you need to set your expectations accordingly. You can't just ask the insurance company to change your prices. Plus, you'll want to consider how your marketing and website efforts are going. You'll need to ensure the right people see your advertising when using insurance panels. Negotiating A Higher Fee From An Insurance Company Negotiating a higher fee will depend on the insurance company. Sometimes, you have to put the negotiation in writing. The insurance company may ask what your proposed rate would be. Other times, you need to find the contract negotiator representative and call them directly. Then, you can start the negotiation process. You have to find out what the process is for the specific insurance company. If the insurance company is not taking negotiations, then you should figure out why. The best time to negotiate is a couple of months before recredentialing. Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Leah's Resources LinkedIn The Therapist In The Attic Call: 919-268-2182 Life Learning Counseling Reliant Practice Resources Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Take The Survey Webinars Webinar: Using Google Workspace in Private Practice July Sale on Cool Resources (Use Code "JULY421") Google Workspace for Therapists | The E-Course Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ Join the Google Workspace for Therapists Users Group Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

In this episode, Salley Schmid takes us through her journey to creating journals for her clients. Not only is creating products a great way to diversify your private practice income, but it also is a fantastic way to help people who wouldn't typically be in your reach. One of Salley's journals is a tool for clients to calm their emotions and thoughts when they are running amuck. Tune in as Salley talks about the self-publishing process, what to know before writing a book, and the importance of multiple income streams in private practice.  Meet Salley Schmid I am a Kansas native, having been transplanted to Texas from Colorado. I am pretty sure I was supposed to be born in Colorado, but my parents forgot to move there. For several years now, I gladly call Waco, Texas my home and love this community and the people I have come to know and call my friends. I consider it a privilege to begin a business in such an entrepreneurially focused community. My passion is helping people succeed. I am the proud mother of teenage twin daughters. They keep my heart very full. I am blessed with a very supportive husband. I also enjoy time with his son, who is the same age as my twin daughters. My favorite times in life are with my family, especially when all 5 of us can be together. I earned a Master of Science in Family Therapy from a small school in Wichita Kansas, Friends University in 1996 and a Bachelor of Science from Kansas State University. I have worked in a counseling and administrative capacity since that time in out-patient, in-patient, day treatment, residential, foster care, educational, and private practice settings. I have worked in the field of mental health and human services since 1985. I understand and respect the important role personal values play in self-evaluation, change, growth, healing, relationships, and success. I practice from a holistic and resilience-based approach to helping people. I help people explore their strengths and learn to harness the success that already lies within them for visible, life and relationship change. Discovering the hindrances present in life and while planning to overcome those obstacles to achieve their best. "One of my greatest honors has been to help people emerge strong and successful on the other side of a difficult or unplanned life transition" Currently, I provide Professional Development Training for human service professionals as well as Counseling services. My counseling practice specializes in helping people transition to a place of strength after experiencing trauma, traumatic grief, and difficult or unplanned life transitions. I work with individuals (adolescents and adults), families, and parents from a family systems perspective. I have extensive experience working with individuals who have experienced trauma, traumatic grief, divorce, parenting difficulties, blended families, and attachment difficulties. I am Certified in the Daring Way by Brene` Brown as well as being a Certified Positive Discipline Trainer. Creating A Journal For Clients The pandemic had a lot of gifts that were hidden in it. One of those hidden gifts was Salley putting into book format the visual processes she does with clients. Her clients are responding very well to it. It's a journal that's really designed to help people understand how they get emotionally dysregulated and give them some tools to get out of emotional dysregulation. The journal is great for clients when they aren't able to get on the therapist's couch. However, it's not meant to be a replacement for therapy. Instead, it's a supplement for therapy. Check out Sticky Emotions Journal Working On Your Products The longest process was the art journal because Salley worked on it for a couple of years to draw all of the images in it. Then, she got them turned into digital images. To create a book on artist-quality paper is very expensive. Salley quickly realized that it would not make any money or serve enough people. A friend of Salley's told her about Direct Publishing. So, she gave up her hope of artist quality paper and introduced her art journal on Amazon. It became a big success! Plus, Salley can sell them out of her office. Check out Find Your True North: A Soul Finding Art Journal.  Learn About Self-Publishing Salley looked at different self-publishing options, and the cost was high. Trying to get a publisher was also tricky. Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is super user-friendly. Salley didn't have to learn a lot. Instead, KDP tells you everything that you need to do. It's one of the fastest and most efficient ways to self-publish a book. For eBooks, authors can directly upload their book files, and it will appear in the Kindle store as an eBook for readers to purchase and instantly download. What To Know About Creating A Book It is imperative to have someone edit your work and look at it. When you're writing, you know what you mean. However, does someone else understand what you mean? Another set of eyes will be invaluable on your self-publishing and book-writing journey. If you're looking to have art in your book, you will need to find someone who knows how to digitize art. Don't try and do everything yourself because you can't know it all. Also, don't be afraid to invest money in places where there is the expertise that you don't have.  Diversifying Income In Private Practice Having a book allows Salley to have another set of income. Salley is running a business – she needs to earn income. Products are a wonderful way to make extra money. Plus, Salley gets to extend her reach. Now, she gets to add value to people and can bring healing and transformation into their lives. Not everyone wants therapy, and not everyone can afford it. Salley's products make the healing work more accessible for people. Lastly, Salley is passionate about what she does. Remember to do the things that you're passionate about.  Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Salley's Resources Sticky Emotions Journal Find Your True North: A Soul Finding Art Journal Website Instagram Facebook Resources Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Take The Survey Webinars Webinar: Using Google Workspace in Private Practice July Sale on Cool Resources (Use Code "JULY421") Google Workspace for Therapists | The E-Course Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ Join the Google Workspace for Therapists Users Group Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

Aaron Carpenter has worked with hundreds of therapists, creating logos, practice websites, and mental health professional portals. He is here to give you some ideas around your branding, niche, and how you're putting yourself out there so that people can find you. The key to having a successful marketing campaign in private practice is by being clear about how you can help people. Tune in as Aaron gives tips for your website, marketing, and branding in private practice. Meet Aaron Carpenter Aaron Carpenter founded Legendary Lion Creative Agency in 2011. Since then, he's worked with hundreds of therapists creating logos, practice websites, and mental health professional portals. Aaron and his firm work with mental health professionals to improve their digital presence through Mental Health Marketing where new resources and toolkits are made available to therapists for free every month. You can learn more at https://mentalhealth.legendarylion.com/. Questions To Ask About Your Marketing Before you start coming up with designs for marketing your brand, there a few questions that you need to ask yourself: What does my space look like? What makes me unique? Why did I get started in private practice? Why did I choose my business name? Going through this activity will help you get clarity around your business and how you want to portray yourself visually. Most private practice owners do not have training in marketing. So, something we need to learn is the importance of creating a brand and understanding what that means for you and your business. The Importance of Creating A Brand When people create marketing materials, they think it's getting too salesy. However, marketing can be a way to build rapport and trust with potential clients. Branding is like the clothes that you wear. If you showed up to work in your pajamas, it wouldn't be the best foot forward. It's time to think about what feeling you want your clients to feel while at your practice. Usually, there is something unique that will help your clients be comfortable. Branding is a significant investment. If 100 potential clients reach out to you, how many of those are not taking you as seriously as you would like to be taken? That's why you need to spend energy on your online brand. Covid Changed The Online World During Covid, everyone had to move their business to the online world. So, online you need to portray your personality – it's a big deal to take the time to explain yourself online. If a web page takes a tenth of a second slower to load, you will lose website visitors. Look at your website and determine how well it is running and if people are getting a great sense of your branding. Tips For Improving Your Website If you are doing your website and branding yourself, then it's critical to keep it simple. People are not interested in your credentials. Instead, they are interested in your approach to therapy. Also, your website should have dedicated pages to the services that you provide. In addition, make sure it's easy for people to connect with you. Have a phone number in your header and have a contact page where people can fill out a form. People who are looking for therapy are in an interesting spot. The more mediums that you can open up, the better off you will be. Make It Easy For Your Potential Clients When people are looking for a therapist, they're uninformed buyers. So, they have no idea how they're going to connect with you. You'll be better off if you can create imagery and storytelling to help clients understand what it's like to work with you or what it's like to be a patient in your practice. Clients want to know that you are professional. So, it's critical to spend time and energy on your website and on your brand. Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Aaron's Resources Website Resources Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Free Webinar: Using Google Workspace for Practice Management July Sale on Cool Resources (Use Code "JULY421") Solo to Group Practice: Adding More Therapists to Grow Your Time & Income Money Matters In Private Practice | The Course Google Workspace for Therapists | The E-Course Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ Session Note Helper 3.0 Join the Google Workspace for Therapists Users Group Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

Everyone knows that you need to know why you do what you do. However, once you know your why, it's time to figure out who will help on your private practice journey. I have Jamey Schrier on the show. He helps teach practice owners from all over North America how to build the business of their dreams and achieve practice freedom. We chat all about knowing your why, the importance of outsourcing, and why finding help in private practice will be a total game-changer for your business. Meet Jamey Schrier Today, I live in Rockville, Maryland with my wife Colleen and kids Jack and Gracie. I've got an amazing (and growing) team that helps me teach practice owners from all over North America how to build the business of their dreams and achieve practice freedom. I'm an Amazon #1 Bestselling author. I put on highly engaging workshops that generate breakthrough after breakthrough of ideas. And I still get to spend a lot of time with my family – and I have plenty of time for sports, fun, and working on my passions. All of this was possible because I decided it was time to take control of my life and my business and create practice freedom. And now, it's my goal to help people from all over the United States create the business and the lifestyle of their dreams. Why Are You Making Money? When we talk about the foundation of your business, you need to know why you chose this profession and why you chose to open up your own practice. Ultimately it's going to relate to really what you're about and how you plan to provide yourself a better life. Your life is not designed to do business all of the time. No one wants to spend all their time and energy on their business. However, your business should provide a lifestyle. So, what is the lifestyle that you want? Do you want to spend more time with your family? Do you want to travel more? How much money do you need to achieve your lifestyle goals? It's okay to make money! Making money is a reflection of how many people you're helping. The Importance of Outsourcing Jamey started investing in himself as a business owner. Step one in investing in yourself is calling yourself an entrepreneur. You are an entrepreneur because you're relying solely on your own work. So, it's time to embrace that and not shy away. The first thing that Jamey delegated out was bookkeeping. When you outsource, you have more time, you're less stressed, you're working smarter, and you're working more efficiently. So, Jamey started to look around at all of the things he doesn't like doing or is not the best at. Next, he hired someone to answer the phones. Overall, work smarter, not harder, and find ways to outsource. Find Assistance on Your Private Practice Journey All private practice owners sell expertise and sell a solution to a problem. Business is all about testing, trying something, learning from mistakes, and changing how you do things. Therapists need to change their operating systems. It's time to let go of old habits that are no longer serving you. It's okay to let go, and it does not make you weak. In fact, letting go will make you strong. As a business owner, you influence a role that no one else in your business has. So, it's time to learn how to be a leader and operate in that mode. Open yourself up to the people that can help you. We can't do private practice on our own, we shouldn't do it on our own, and there's no glory in trying to do it on our own. Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Jamey's Resources LinkedIn Website Facebook YouTube The Practice Freedom Method: The Practice Owner's Guide to Work Less, Earn More, and Live Your Passion Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. July Sale on Cool Resources (Use Code "JULY421") Solo to Group Practice: Adding More Therapists to Grow Your Time & Income Money Matters In Private Practice | The Course Google Workspace for Therapists | The E-Course Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ Session Note Helper 3.0 Join the Google Workspace for Therapists Users Group Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

Michaela is a licensed psychologist and copywriter for health and wellness professionals. She joins the show today to speak about expanding your reach with marketing, specifically in multiple states. First, therapists need to redefine marketing and how it looks for them. Plus, Michaela talks about the importance of an 'About Page' and how you can uplevel the copy you use on your website and social media. Meet Michaela Bucchianeri Michaela Bucchianeri [mih-KAY-luh BOO-kyuh-NEHR-ee], PhD, LP, is a licensed psychologist and copy coach for health and wellness professionals. She shares practical guidance to help healers and helpers get clear on their unique value, communicate it with heart, attract and serve the people they love working with most… and actually have fun along the way! Expanding Your Reach With Marketing First, get clear with your reach goal. What territories are you looking to expand into? Depending on who you want to reach will dictate what you write on your website, and what SEO will work for your practice. No matter where you want to find people, make sure your potential clients get a cohesive picture of who you are. Also, make sure to do location-specific outreach. There's a layer of complexity, but it doesn't have to be complicated. Think about which communities you are a member of – get to know your local communities and local issues. We Need To Redefine Marketing Therapists didn't go to school for marketing. At the same time, we need to get over it and redefine it. We have to operate differently on social media. We can't just ask about traumatic situations on Instagram. Instead, we have to frontload relationship building through marketing and education. From there, potential clients will reach out to you for assistance. Plus, you have to convey to people in as few words as possible what life will be like when they come to therapy. How To Write Copy For Your Website Therapists are natural copywriters and natural communicators. Start by creating a copy bank of words and phrases from people you are trying to reach. This can be a simple spreadsheet where you store terms that your clients are using to describe what is bringing them to therapy. Plus, you need to mention the benefit that people will receive from therapy. What is their life going to be like after seeing you? Think about what your clients would say to this question: If you woke up tomorrow, and none of this was a struggle for you anymore, what would be different? Over time, you accrue lots of different examples of this copy from clients. The Importance of Having an About Page The about page gets a lot of traffic. Luckily, your about page doesn't have to be complicated. Instead, it's about making the about page more concise, so people do not have a hard time reading it on your website. Michaela wants to help you stand OUT while standing firmly IN your own personality and integrity. She is ready to help you be more intentional with your copy to beat overwhelm and get that page up. You can learn more about Michaela by checking out her website here: https://www.drmichaela.com/tpot. Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Michaela's Resources Website Instagram Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. July Sale on Cool Resources (Use Code "JULY421") Ethical Business Practice for Psychotherapists (1 CE hour) Podcast Movement Using Google Workspace in Private Practice Webinar Solo to Group Practice: Adding More Therapists to Grow Your Time & Income Money Matters In Private Practice | The Course Google Workspace for Therapists | The E-Course Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ Session Note Helper 3.0 Join the Google Workspace for Therapists Users Group Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

Is the traditional private practice a good fit for you? This episode is all about the different ways you can be in private practice and why it may or may not be suitable. First, Gordon explains what type of clinician would excel at private practice and how it can be a great challenge for most people. Then, Gordon dives into the four different ways to be in private practice as a clinician. Tune in for tips and tricks on how to start, grow, and expand your practice. Is Private Practice Right For You? Private practice isn't necessarily for everyone. It takes a certain kind of person to be in private practice. The number one reason people want to go into private practice is because of the autonomy that it gives them. Being your own boss and just working for yourself is appealing because it gives you a lot of flexibility in your time. However, it's not for everyone. Many people want to work for someone else because they get benefits, they're an employee, their income is predictable, and they may have a retirement plan and health insurance already ready to go. People that are in private practice need to have an entrepreneurial spirit about them. Private practice owners need to like the challenge of entrepreneurship. However, many people do not like the challenge and the risk that is involved with private practice. If you are interested in private practice but you're not interested in growing something big, then you don't have to. You can have a very successful private practice as a solo practitioner. Since Covid, it's possible to build just completely online practice. That's one model of private practice. Get the FREE PDF download- 4 Ways To Be In Private Practice.  This will help you compare the 4 different models. Working As An Independent Contractor Another model of private practice is putting yourself out there as an independent contractor. One way you can do this is through popular online platforms like BetterHelp, Talkspace, etc. When you sign up to be a therapist on platforms like these, you are signing up as an independent contractor. They will provide you with a platform, and they will provide you with clients. For some people, that might be very appealing. Even if you are an independent contractor, you are still self-employed. This is one thing that many people will get in trouble with because you still have to pay your self-employment taxes. Find An Accountant And An Attorney For people who are still going the full contractor route, form a separate entity for yourself like an LLC. Talk to an accountant and an attorney about your options. That way, you will have more protection. If you're contracting yourself out, you're just contracting out your LLC. There are different ways you can be taxed as an LLC, so it will be critical to get an accountant's opinion. Depending on how much you are making is how you should set up your entity.   Growing A Group Practice Another thing you should think about is going into a group practice. Maybe you're already a solo practice. If you love the entrepreneurial sides of things, leading people, the excitement of growing a company, and bringing on more and more people, then start a group practice. Whether you are thinking about a part-time contractor or bringing on full-time employees, there are some factors that help you know when the situation and timing are right. Check out the Solo to Group Practice: Adding More Therapists to Grow Your Time & Income Webinar to learn more about growing group practice. Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Ethical Business Practice for Psychotherapists (1 CE hour) Using Google Workspace in Private Practice Webinar Solo to Group Practice: Adding More Therapists to Grow Your Time & Income Money Matters In Private Practice | The Course Get your FREE Financial Analysis Guide... Google Workspace for Therapists | The E-Course Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ Join my Focus Groups Session Note Helper 3.0 Join the Google Workspace for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

Today I am lucky to have Manoj Kanagaraj from Grow Therapy join the show. Grow Therapy is a multi-state behavioral health group on a mission to help independent providers thrive. There are many benefits to working with Grow Therapy, and Manoj explains who will thrive working with them. If you are looking to dive into private practice, Grow Therapy might be right for you. Tune in as we talk about how Grow Therapy will help you collect from insurance companies, the importance of a community on your journey, and how to get started with Grow Therapy.   Meet Manoj Kanagaraj Manoj Kanagaraj is an MD/MBA Candidate at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Business School. He is also co-founder of Grow Therapy, a startup enabling mental health professionals to offer more affordable, accessible, and integrated behavioral care. All About Grow Therapy Grow Therapy is a technology-enabled mental health group on a mission to help clients find affordable mental health care. They help their clinicians from a back-end standpoint. That way, mental health professionals don't have to worry about getting paid by insurance companies or having some base source of referrals. For clients with insurance, they could pay nothing. However, this will vary depending on their insurance plan. Overall, Grow Therapy is infrastructure or a back end for somebody who wants their own private practice to get more support, or it's for someone who hasn't started a private practice before. Many people want to take the step to private practice, and Grow Therapy helps those clinicians. Collecting From Insurance Companies Once you see a client, Grow Therapy will offer an estimated time of when you can expect that to get paid and how much would be based on the contract we have with the insurance company. Then, the Grow Therapy team will submit the claim, do all of the follow-ups, and go straight to the clinician's account. Technically, the clinicians are contractors for Grow Therapy. Grow Therapy started in Florida, and they built a pretty large community there. In Florida, they have close to 350 mental health professionals. Plus, they have a thriving community, and it's growing nicely. Now, they are moving into a handful of other states like Georgia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and DC. Having A Community With Grow Therapy Anyone that joins Grow Therapy gets invited to their online community. You have the chance to meet hundreds of other folks who have taken the same leap or have been on this journey. Manoj says it's also been nice to see leaders grow and autonomously take positions within the community of starting peer support groups around specific topics. Mental health professionals are some of the best people, and luckily the community has flourished on its own. How To Get Started With Grow Therapy The important thing is whether we're if whether you're licensed in the states we currently are active in. However, it should be expanding pretty soon. The first step would be to go to Grow Therapy and enter some basic information about yourself. Then, someone will be in touch with you for an interview. Check out the provider page here: https://growtherapy.com/providers Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Manoj's Resources LinkedIn Grow Therapy Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Solo to Group Practice: Adding More Therapists to Grow Your Time & Income Money Matters In Private Practice | The Course Get your FREE Financial Analysis Guide... Google Workspace for Therapists | The E-Course Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ Join my Focus Groups Session Note Helper 3.0 Join the Google Workspace for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

Are you ready to make an impact? Andréa Jones helps coaches, consultants, thought leaders, and passion-led online business owners impact and empower more people through strategic social media marketing strategies. First, we talk about how to fight the overwhelm of social media. Then, we dive into the importance of starting small and staying consistent. Tune in as Andréa gives loads of social media tips, including the ABCs of writing captions. Meet Andréa Jones Andréa Jones is fiercely committed to empowering businesses to utilize the power of social media in a positive and impactful way, without being overwhelmed and drained by it. With over 7 years of experience in the game, Andréa hosts the acclaimed podcast Savvy Social Podcast, leads a team providing done-for-you service inside of her marketing agency that was named a Top Digital Marketing Agency in 2021, and serves over 200 students in her membership Savvy Social School. You can find her online at onlinedrea.com or @onlinedrea on Instagram. Fighting The Overwhelm of Social Media Feeling overwhelmed by social media is natural; social media can feel like another language sometimes. To fight the overwhelm, choose a platform that you are most comfortable with to get started. If you already have a personal Facebook account, then it can be easy to create a Facebook account for your private practice. Next, think about how you should spend time on these platforms. Andréa says you should focus on a time limit for social media. There's so much that goes into posts, and it may add to that overwhelming feeling when you spend too much time on one. So when you sit down to write those posts, try to spend one hour a week working on your social media content. Sometimes in that one hour, you may only put together one caption and snap a photo of your location, and that's okay. Throughout the week, check your account for ten minutes each day. Checking daily really helps build the muscle and the skills needed to do social media. Start Small With Social Media When we look at social media, sometimes we're looking at a team of people working on their social media accounts. People who are in private practice still hire a group of people to help them with their work. Even though you see a selfie, you see a video; sometimes, there's a team of people behind that. When you compare yourself to other people on social media, you're not giving yourself a fair chance. Overall, you will want to start small when it comes to your social media. Over time, you can add more people to help you out with your posts and your content. The Importance of Consistency First, start with one social media platform. Instead of having consistent posts, be consistent with the time that you spend on social media. You will get better at it naturally; just like anything, you will get better the more you practice. Focus on one platform and get consistent. Before you dive into social media, Andréa has an exercise that you can do. On one side of a piece of paper, write the word "before." On the other side, write the word "after." Now, think about your clients. What do they feel before working with you, and what do they feel after working with you. Write down all of these feelings. Later, these feelings can all be turned into social media posts. The ABCs of Writing A Caption Your captions on social media should follow the ABC rule. A: Grabbing attention in some way. Why would someone stop at your post when they are scrolling through social media? B: Benefit statement. Tell your followers why you want to help them and how you are going to do that. Focus on the feelings of your potential clients. C: Call to action. This is the part where we're extending our hands out; we're inviting them to take that next step with us. Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Andrea's Resources Website Instagram Facebook Savvy Social School Social Media Rockstar Framework {Free Mini Course} Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Google Workspace The Webinar Solo to Group Practice: Adding More Therapists to Grow Your Time & Income Money Matters In Private Practice | The Course Get your FREE Financial Analysis Guide... Google Workspace for Therapists | The E-Course Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ Join my Focus Groups Session Note Helper 3.0 Join the Google Workspace for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

This episode is all about having a marketing plan for your private practice. I am lucky to be joined by Lisa Noble; she is a Brand Strategist and Web Designer. First, we talk about how relationship-building can be one of your most significant assets for marketing and getting more clients into your practice. Then, Lisa dives into social media trends and answers the question: which social media platform should I be on? Later, Lisa gives the scoop on how she starts from scratch when building a successful marketing plan for private practice owners. Meet Lisa Noble I'm Lisa M. Noble and as a Brand Strategist and Web Designer, I work with female therapists and entrepreneurs who are eager to build and grow their client loads. I specialize in brand and marketing strategies to help my therapists get the traffic and marketing pieces to running a private practice. I started this business because as a professional web designer working in corporate I learned that a website with no strategy behind it is just a pretty brochure. In that role, I got an insider's look and saw exactly how to create strategies that help businesses grow and make websites that convert sales. For over 15 years I've worked with business owners, therapists, and private practice owners, confused, and frustrated about how to move forward with their businesses so I know exactly what works and what doesn't! I believe that every therapist should work with the clients they would love to work with. Relationship Building To Boost Marketing When starting a marketing strategy, talk with your colleagues. Talk with people who are in your niche as well as those who are outside of it. When you start talking to them, you can first find out what they've already done as private practice owners; they've already paved the way and done some of the marketing that you need to do. In addition, these people will be a good referral source because their private practice will get full, especially now with what's going on during the pandemic. Please send an email to other private practice owners and ask them to get coffee or send them a Zoom invite. When it comes down to it, marketing is about building relationships. Social Media Trends In Private Practice Video is massive on social media right now. Many people don't want to hear it, but it's time to step out of your comfort zone and start making videos. People are trying to connect and decide who they want to talk to. So, get on video and show your mannerisms, show what you look like, how you speak, tell them your philosophies about certain things, and reveal your formula to help them. That way, potential clients can get an idea of how you will talk to them. Videos are the very key to bringing business in the door. If you're not sure which social media platform to start on, that is okay! You'll want to be on the social media platform that your ideal client is on. So, think about who your ideal client is. What do they like to do? Where do they like to hang out? What is their favorite social media platform? Then, you can determine what kind of social media platform you need to be on. Also, remember that social media is constantly changing, and different demographics jump on trends at various times. So, be sure to keep up to date with what's going on in the virtual world. Starting Your Marketing Plan From Scratch First, you'll want to know who your ideal customer is and get to know them. You'll want to know what your professional goals are and the goals of your ideal client. Next, you can create a logo and start looking at your social media channels. After, make a brand style guide that will cover every aspect of your business. What mood will your brand give off? What colors do you want to use? What fonts will you write in? Later, you can create your website and add content. You'll want to make sure to set up pages; it's so helpful when you're thinking about SEO. Not many people realize that SEO needs to be part of their marketing strategy. Eventually, PR will come into play. Sadly, many times, people will try to do a marketing plan by just throwing darts at the board and not really having a good plan in mind. If you don't know where you're going, then how are you going to get there? It's critical to have a plan in mind! Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Lisa's Resources Vivid Visual Solutions  Instagram Facebook LinkedIn  Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Google Workspace The Webinar Solo to Group Practice: Adding More Therapists to Grow Your Time & Income Money Matters In Private Practice | The Course Get your FREE Financial Analysis Guide... Google Workspace for Therapists | The E-Course Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ Join my Focus Groups Session Note Helper 3.0 Join the Google Workspace for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

The sooner you start planning for retirement, the better off you're going to be in the long run. Even if it's just a tiny bit that you save towards your retirement, it's going to make a big difference! Judd Carlton is a financial advisor serving families, individuals, and businesses in Morristown, NJ. He explains the importance of thinking about retirement as soon as possible. Then, we dive into the more financial aspects of your practice. For instance, if you've got a group practice, Judd describes why you may want to create either a 401(k) for your employees or some other retirement plan within your practice. Plus, Judd reveals the differences between SEP IRA & SIMPLE IRA Plans. Meet Judd Carlton Judd Carlton is a financial advisor serving families, individuals, and businesses in Morristown, NJ, and beyond. He specializes in finance for business owners and mental health professionals, helping them align the finances of their practice with their long-term financial planning and investment objectives. Judd graduated Magna Cum Laude from New York University with a BA in Economics and has an MS in Accounting from the Silberman College of Business at Fairleigh Dickinson University. He also holds the CFP® and AIF ® designations. Judd is also a husband, father of three girls, and dog dad. He posts, blogs, and makes YouTube videos on financial subjects that may be of interest to business owners, psychologists, psychiatrists, and mental health group practice owners. Think About Retirement Early It's essential to start thinking early about retirement because, in the world of investing, time is on your side when you have a lot of it. The earlier you get started then, the better things will work out for you because of the power of compounding. Even starting five years or ten years sooner can make a huge difference. As you change and develop in your career, you might jump from an employee role to a self-employed role; then, the complication accelerates. The wise choice when it comes to investing in your retirement is to be conservative. You never want to have an issue or feel stressed about money. Once you cross those hurdles, it's good to start thinking about what's next. So that's often where Judd will offer some guidance about managing your cash flow while saving up for retirement. How To Approach Retirement There's a couple of ways to approach setting up the right retirement plan. First, you need to consider what kind of business structure you are working with. If you have a solo practice, saving for retirement will be a lot simpler to figure out. If you have a group practice, things are going to be more complicated. However, both will have great opportunities. A great way to start is with small and simple things. As time goes on, you can really be more methodical and look at every possibility. Hiring therapists can be challenging when there is a mental health crisis. So, you may want to offer therapists a 401(k) option as an incentive. Even as a small business, you can create a 401(k) that feels just like what a fortune 500 company might have. Later, you can start thinking about a pension plan. SEP IRA & SIMPLE IRA Plans Judd recommends a few different options when it comes to retirement plans. SEP (Simplified Employee Pension) plan provides employers a method to make contributions to the employees' retirement and their own retirement. The SIMPLE (Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees) gives employees a way to make salary reduction contributions, and the employer makes matching or nonelective contributions. Each plan has a limit on how high you can go. SEP goes a little bit higher, and there's less flexibility with this plan – everyone is going to get the same percent. Any financial planner or accountant can help you figure out which plan is right for you and your practice. Why You Should Consider A Roth IRA The Roth IRA was introduced for people who are early in their career or for people who do not want to save. Some of the regular IRA plans are not that helpful when you are in a lower tax bracket. When you put money into the Roth, you don't get any deductions. However, that money is going to grow for years and years. When you take that money out, it's going to be completely income tax-free. That's going to be tremendous savings; it's a powerful tool. If you're newer to your career and you want to start saving money, Judd highly recommends starting a Roth IRA. Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Judd's Resources Email Judd: jcarlton@royalnj.com Judd's Website Judd on LinkedIn Judd on YouTube Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Solo to Group Practice: Adding More Therapists to Grow Your Time & Income Money Matters In Private Practice | The Course Get your FREE Financial Analysis Guide... Google Workspace for Therapists | The E-Course Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ Join my Focus Groups Session Note Helper 3.0 Join the Google Workspace for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

In this episode, Whitney Owens opens the show by explaining the importance of having grace and acceptance on your private practice journey. If you aren't as productive as you want to be, learn from your mistakes and make better choices moving forward. Whitney also explains why she does a time study to determine where she spends most of her working hours and what she can improve on in the future. Plus, Whitney reveals why learning more about Enneagrams has taken her business to the next level, and we chat about using faith in private practice. Meet Whitney Owens I enjoy working with both adults and adolescents on an individual basis. I have experience working with those suffering from depression, anxiety, self-harming behaviors, identity formation, relational issues, and other mood disorders. I use a variety of therapeutic models such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Interpersonal Therapy. I have been seeing clients since 2009 in a variety of settings. While earning my Master in Professional Counseling from Richmont Graduate University, I saw young adults at a residential treatment facility. In 2010 I moved to Colorado where I spent four years working at an inpatient and day treatment facility. Also while in Colorado, I joined a group practice and saw teenagers and adults. In 2014 I moved back to Savannah and started Water's Edge Counseling. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in Georgia and a member of the American Counseling Association and the Licensed Professional Counseling Association of Georgia. In addition to counseling, I also offer a number of other services including training and speaking engagements. I have been invited to local organizations such as churches and schools to educate on leadership, adolescent issues, parenting, family concerns, and mental health. As well, I have spoken at retreats focused on helping women heal and find themselves. I have also spoken at youth meetings to adolescents. Please let me know about your next event and how I can help. Practice Grace And Acceptance The most important thing is that private practice owners need to provide themselves is grace and acceptance. When a day doesn't go the way you want it to, or maybe you don't prioritize everything the way you would wish to, it's best to learn from it. Always take a lesson from the mistakes that you make and make better choices moving forward. Never beat yourself up for something! Delegating has been huge for Whitney as she works on managing more and more in her personal life and professional life. She relies on her husband tremendously when she needs help around the house and their children. Conduct A Time Study A time study is significant because our time gets away from us, and we have no idea where we spend it. From a financial standpoint, it's essential to know where your time is going. If you have a side hustle for your practice, think about where you spend your time and which one is bringing you more income. Also, think about where you can delegate more. If you're spending too much time in one area and not getting enough money, consider having more delegation efforts. That way, you can focus your time on the area that will bring you the most income. Making a list will help you see where you can save time throughout the day. Consider Joining A Mastermind Group Do you want to grow a faith-based group practice? Whitney's favorite thing about consulting is the group work that she gets to do with people. Specifically, she loves mastermind groups because you see these great connections come together in a small group of people working on their business. Whitney's mastermind group is for people who have a faith-based practice. In the group, they talk about religion when appropriate, but they also work on their businesses. Luckily, Whitney and her group get to pray for each other and use their faith to help make business decisions together. If you want to learn more about Growing Your Faith-Based Practice with Faith in Practice Mastermind, check out the link: https://practiceofthepractice.lpages.co/faith-mastermind/. Learn More About Enneagrams When Whitney learned that the Enneagram Type 1 has a critical voice in their head at all times, she was confused. Whitney thought that everyone had a critical voice in their head. Also, Enneagram Type 1 carries anger around with them; they are angry at the world for being so messed up. These simple things spoke to Whitney. After digging into the Enneagram Type 1, Whitney understands herself so much better. Now Whitney uses it to understand other people and help other people know themselves. In fact, Whitney is planning an Enneagram Type 1 training for all of her staff next week. Overall, Whitney does it with all her clients, and she does it with everyone she consults; it really helps move treatment and businesses along. Learn more about Enneagrams by checking out Ian Cron's work: https://ianmorgancron.com/. Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Whitney's Resources Waters Edge Counseling  Grow Your Faith-Based Practice with Faith in Practice Mastermind! Practice of the Practice: Faith in Practice Podcast Whitney Owens | Starting Fresh & Growing Fast in Private Practice | TPOT Podcast 036 Whitney Owens | Contractors Vs. Employees In Group Private Practice | TPOT Podcast 091 Faith in Practice Consulting with Whitney @Practice of the Practice Group Practice Launch Membership Community Email: Whitney@practiceofthepractice.com Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Solo to Group Practice: Adding More Therapists to Grow Your Time & Income Money Matters In Private Practice | The Course Get your FREE Financial Analysis Guide... Google Workspace for Therapists | The E-Course Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ Join my Focus Groups Session Note Helper 3.0 Join the Google Workspace for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

In this episode, Jessica from Simplified SEO Consulting joins the show. First, Jessica explains how she has learned to accept her imperfections when it comes to time management. Remember, therapists can't be all things to all people all of the time! Plus, Jessica tells us what she has done to make her email inbox so much more manageable. Tune in as Jessica gives loads of tips on SEO and how to get your counseling website to rank higher on Google.  Meet Jessica Tappana Jessica Tappana started her private practice on her maternity leave about 20 months ago. After filling up in only a matter of months, she decided to bring on other therapists as 1099s and transitioned Aspire Counseling into a group practice. Worried about how she would fill the caseloads of these new therapists, Jessica tried several different marketing strategies.  Ultimately, she decided to focus on getting her website to the first page of Google and began teaching herself SEO at nights after her kids were in bed. Slowly after gathering a couple of tips here and there, she got her website to the first page for nearly every keyword she targets.  Aspire Counseling has grown to now include five therapists and a virtual assistant! In fact, all of the therapists are nearly full, and Jessica hopes to find a few more quality team members in the months to come. Meanwhile, Jessica has discovered a passion for teaching other private practice owners what she has learned about website Search Engine Optimization.  As a private practice SEO Consultant, she has had the opportunity to work with therapists from around the country sharing her SEO secrets.  She's both optimized websites for private practices AND has taught therapists how to do the SEO work themselves through Zoom meetings and enjoyed watching their sites begin to climb to the first page of Google even in larger metropolitan areas like Atlanta or Houston.  Recently Jessica released a FREE 7-day e-mail series that teaches therapists all the necessary information they need to know and has received positive feedback across the board from other practice owners who are raving about the vast amount of information covered in only seven e-mails. Accepting Imperfections Around Time Management Accepting your imperfections and accepting your reality will be critical when it comes to time management. Some people always think they can see one more client during the day. However, you'll start to realize that's not always practical. In reality, you can do better if you accept your limitations as a private practice owner and as a therapist. Drawing boundaries will help you stay more present in everything that you do. Remember, you can't be everything to everyone all of the time. When you have healthy boundaries between work and your personal life, you will be a better therapist because of it. Managing Your Email Inbox Jessica has started getting some help with managing her email inbox. Many people find that they put incredible pressure on themselves to respond to emails immediately or within twenty-four hours. Depending on how full your inbox is, that can be impossible. That's why Jessica is outsourcing help for her email work. Of course, there are emails that she needs to respond to personally. However, those go into a particular folder for her to check periodically. In fact, Jessica is getting help from Uriah Guilford, who made an appearance on The Practice of Therapy Podcast episode 176. His 7-Day Email Transformation Challenge has been a total game-changer for Jessica and how she runs her inbox.   Outsourcing Your SEO Jessica outsources a lot of her private practice SEO. Even though Jessica is knowledgeable in SEO, she has trained all her staff to do it. Jessica realized that she doesn't need to be the one to optimize all of her blog posts. When Jessica first started her website, absolutely no one was clicking on it. However, Jessica learned everything she needed to know about SEO and applied it to her counseling website. Now, Jessica has a full practice and a thriving business. At Simplified SEO Consulting, Jessica helps her clients get to the top of search engines. That way, therapists can fill their caseloads and reach their ideal clients. If you're looking to learn more about SEO, Jessica has Online SEO Courses for DIY Practice Owners. SEO Tip: Content Is Key Content will be your best asset when it comes to SEO for your private practice website. Therapists are always worried about writing the right thing. When you write a lot on your website, therapists often think that their potential clients aren't going to read the content. Well, Jessica says a great way to improve readability is by creating subheadings for your content. That way, if someone is scanning the page, they can find exactly what they are looking for when reading the subheadings. You need enough information on your website for Google to know what your content is all about. If you don't have enough content, Google won't pull your website up when someone is making a search. Having A Niche Is Critical For Your SEO When you have a niche, SEO content will be a breeze. Instead of having fifty different specialties, you can narrow it down to a select few. When you narrow it down, you can write all sorts of things about those niches. If you niche down and write a whole page about depression, that's a great start. Then, write blog posts on how to combat depression, tips for dealing with depression, what to know about depression. That way, Google starts to see that this website knows a lot about depression. When people search for help with depression, your website will pop up. Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Jessica's Resources Aspire Counseling MO Simplified SEO Consulting  Email: Jessica@SimplifiedSEOConsulting.com Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Solo to Group Practice: Adding More Therapists to Grow Your Time & Income Money Matters In Private Practice | The Course Get your FREE Financial Analysis Guide... Google Workspace for Therapists | The E-Course Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ Join my Focus Groups Session Note Helper 3.0 Join the Google Workspace for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

In this episode, Uriah of Productive Therapist joins the show. Uriah thinks that life is too short to burn out early. So, Uriah gives us tips on conquering the overwhelm and growing your practice seamlessly with the least amount of stress possible. First, we chat about how you can conquer the email overwhelm by using the inbox zero method and only checking your inbox three times a day. Later, Uriah reveals the three keys to productivity, and we talk about personal knowledge management. Meet Uriah Guilford I am a licensed therapist & group practice owner. I want to help you be more productive, profitable & happy with your business and your life. Basically, work less and get more done! If you have achieved any level of success in your private practice then you can relate to the following. You have more tasks to complete than hours in the day. You work super hard because you are passionate and want to grow. Sometimes you neglect your self-care and other important things in your life. Not so great right!? That is why I have built a team of amazing virtual assistants for practice owners just like you! Hiring a virtual assistant in 2012 was one of the best decisions I ever made. It allowed me to double my business income without feeling like I was losing my mind. Actually, go on vacation and not be tied to my iPhone the whole time. And serve my clients better! It made such a massive difference for me and it can for you as well! If this sounds interesting, check out our services page and the most frequently asked questions we get all the time. Helping Therapists Conquer Email Overwhelm Do you feel frustrated and overwhelmed with your email inbox? In Uriah's 7-Day Email Transformation Challenge, there are basically seven days of tips that have pretty quick action steps. On day two, he talks about batching; it's the simple idea of taking similar tasks, putting them together, and doing them simultaneously. So when you apply that to email, it means checking and processing email at certain times, but not throughout your day, not constantly. Uriah has made a massive change just this week - whenever his workday is done, he will close his email so that when he gets back to the computer the next day, he won't see his emails right away. Uriah created a schedule to process emails three times a day: nine, twelve, and three. Uriah hasn't been perfect. However, this week has made a huge difference so far because he is getting a lot more things done when he is spending hours away from his inbox. Typically, when someone has an email – they feel the urge to respond to it right away. Take away the urge! Reaching Inbox Zero Inbox zero means processing all your emails to the point where there are zero emails left. Uriah personally likes to be at inbox zero. Whether you have ten emails or one hundred emails, responding to the essential people and taking care of the things that are top priorities will be crucial. When you pay less attention to your inbox, you may not process every email you have. However, you can snooze the emails that are not urgent for you to respond to that day. Gmail has the most powerful tools for organizing – it lets you create filters and sort messages to prevent inbox overload. The Three Keys of Productivity Uriah highly recommends checking out Michael Hyatt's book, Free to Focus A Total Productivity System to Achieve More by Doing Less. In the book, Michael speaks about the three keys of productivity: elimination, automation, and delegation. So, Uriah likes to strategize with therapists to remove things from their calendar and their to-do list. We automatically add things that we think we need to be doing to our calendar. So whatever you can eliminate from your schedule and your to-do list is going to help you free up your time and let you focus on the important stuff. Also, automate anything that you can! For instance, Gmail has filters that you can help automate your email process. Lastly, delegation is Uriah's favorite productivity hack. Anything that you can get off your plate and have somebody else take care of for you will immediately free up your time and help you be more productive. The Problem Of Success When you start a private practice, you have a revenue goal. However, you don't know what it will feel like you when you get there. Handling all the calls while seeing clients while updating QuickBooks is going to be overwhelming. Also, we may not be the best person to be taking on all of these different tasks. You can find a competent person, whether it's a virtual assistant or somebody you hire, that comes into your office to take over that role. If you are busy seeing clients, then your phone is going to be sent to voicemail. In the meantime, those people are calling other counselors and shopping around. So, it's critical to have someone answer your phones while you're in session – you simply cannot do both! Most people wait too long to hire someone to help with their phones. Personal Knowledge Management Personal knowledge management encompasses how we take in, collect, and access all kinds of information. If you just think about it as a therapist, all of the CPUs, training, and information that we collect over time becomes hard to organize and find when you need it. Uriah has been actually using Evernote, it's been around for a long time. He uses that for basically everything. Whenever Uriah has an idea, he writes it down! The nice thing is that a lot of them are tagged, and they're easily searchable. He uses Evernote to track his goals, it's basically his second brain. Another app that Uriah loves is Todoist – it's a task manager you can trust for life.   Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Uriah's Resources LinkedIn Productive Therapist Guilford Family Counseling  Facebook Instagram Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Win at Work and Succeed at Life: 5 Principles to Free Yourself from the Cult of Overwork Solo to Group Practice: Adding More Therapists to Grow Your Time & Income Money Matters In Private Practice | The Course Get your FREE Financial Analysis Guide... Google Workspace for Therapists | The E-Course Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ Join my Focus Groups Session Note Helper 3.0 Join the Google Workspace for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

Are you ready to go from burnt-out to connected and confident? Kathryn Esquer created a professional organization for the next generation of therapists called the Teletherapist Network. We chat about how her group has evolved during Covid and current concerns about the mental health crisis. We speak about the problem with mobile mental health apps and what you need to know about the open note policy that started on April 21st. Tune in as we talk about the importance of consultation on your private practice journey.   Meet Kathryn Esquer Kathryn Esquer is a Clinical Psychologist and MBA graduate. She currently works in her rural hometown in central Pennsylvania providing outpatient mental health services integrated into primary care. She loved her career, but COVID helped her realize that something was missing from her private practice. The clinical work was rewarding, but she felt professionally isolated and uninspired. She also knew consultation was a critical part of the ethical practice but didn't know where to find it. So, Kathryn created the Teletherapist Network for modern therapists to crowdsource the knowledge and experiences of other private practice teletherapists so that members can develop their clinical and business skills, all while staying connected to their mission and preventing burnout. The Teletherapist Network During Covid Kathryn didn't want to practice teletherapy alone. That's why she created a premier organization for the next generation of therapists in private practice at Teletherapist Network. It has been really great to have that support throughout Covid from other therapists. Luckily, Kathryn has been able to rely on her newfound peers in a way that she was not able to do remotely at the start of Covid. Kathryn says it's impeccable to hear all different perspectives from around the United States. Plus, there are even international members. So hearing what's going on in India, Australia, or the UK has been fascinating. Connecting across vast distances and time zones has been a humbling experience. Find A Community For Referrals One of the biggest things Kathryn hears is that a lot of us are entirely full and above capacity as private practitioners. Everyone has a massive waitlist. Plus, therapists are having trouble finding referrals of therapists who are not full. While on the other hand, there are therapists that are having difficulty filling their caseload. For Kathryn, she wants to figure out how to reduce the gap. How do we help the clinicians looking for clients and match them to the appropriate referral? We need to figure out how to get the people who are overbooked and overworked less stressed. At the Teletherapist Network, they have been working on referrals every single day. There needs to be a better system. Kathryn says it's so important for therapists, psychologists, and counselors to tap into our communities. That way, we can refer to each other and help build each other's practices. A lot of people seeking mental health treatment are falling through the cracks. Sadly, they don't know where to turn. Therapists can't save the world. However, if you can come up with a system or a community to find and give referrals, then it will be a massive help. Mobile Mental Health Apps The advent of mobile and mental health apps has been a huge pain point. New clinicians or clinicians who have moved states need income but don't have time to wait. Sometimes these clinicians feel their only options are these companies that pay horrendously. However, these companies might be great for clients and connecting them with easily accessible mental health resources. However, they're diluting and bringing down the value of our services. People going into private practice undervaluing what they are worth. Therapists need to realize that their services are worth a lot more than they think. Open Note Policy Any certified EHR system needs to grant access or remove any barriers from the patient to access their health records for their clinical notes. Starting April 21st, you will need to reduce the obstacles for your clients to see their notes. This brings up a whole new dynamic in terms of clinical documentation for mental health. There is utility in a client reading their notes. For instance, they will see what their doctor recommended in case they forget. Therapists should proceed with caution on how we document things and how we communicate with our clients about what's being documented. Ultimately it will help us have greater transparency and accountability in the field. However, it's such a significant shift right now that many people are having a hard time with that. The Importance Of Consultation Kathryn didn't realize how much she was missing until starting the Teletherapist Network. She had no idea what was going on in the world of therapy until she began to hear from other therapists around the country and around the world. Consulting with peers is essential for clinical work. It is the best quality control we have for clinical services. Also, it's great for our energy levels. That way, you don't feel like you are missing something, and you don't have to be checking for resources constantly. It's great for your peace of mind. Lastly, consulting is excellent for your burnout control. It's so helpful to talk to other people about your experiences. We underestimate the power of community in our burnout. Ultimately, consulting is helping us be better people and better clinicians.   Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Kathryn's Resources Teletherapist Network Teletherapy Podcast Kathryn@teletherapistnetwork.com Instagram Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Solo to Group Practice: Adding More Therapists to Grow Your Time & Income Money Matters In Private Practice | The Course (Use Code: April2021) Get your FREE Financial Analysis Guide... Google Workspace for Therapists | The E-Course Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ Join my Focus Groups Session Note Helper 3.0 Money Matters in Private Practice | The Course Join the Google Workspace (formerly G-Suite) for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.  

Dr. David Geier is a double-board certified orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist, media medical expert, and host of the new podcast, The MEDIA PROS Show. Dr. Geier has the formula to make it into the media. As private practice owners, you want to establish yourself as an expert and be well-known. Plus, it would be best to make sure that the people who need your help can find you. So, the media is a great way to do that! Tune in to learn quick, simple tips to grow your business by serving as an expert on your topic in the media.  Meet Dr. David Geier In his practice and on his online platform, he helps people feel and perform their best, regardless of age, injuries, or medical conditions. Having done well over 2,500 TV, radio, podcast, newspaper, magazine, and online publication interviews, he now coaches experts to help them grow their practices by getting interviewed as an expert in the media. Media For Beginners Where you want to start depends on what you are trying to achieve. First, Dr. David says to figure out what you want to accomplish by doing media appearances. What's your message going to be? You'll want to narrow down who you want to help and why you want to help them. Brainstorm everything that comes to mind for your message. It can be based on your ideal patient, problems you like to solve, and what you are looking to attract. Your message should be one or two sentences. It will help media and reporters think of you when a topic comes up. Sure, you're a therapist, but are you known by a specific niche? If you specialize in divorce, then people in the media will remember that you're a person that knows everything about divorces! Reaching Out To The Media Dr. David is a big believer in developing relationships with writers, reporters, and journalists. These relationships can be with people in newspapers, magazines, radio shows, TV shows, and reporters. The value of the media isn't in being seen one time. The value of media is repetition. When you make a media appearance, that person is already thinking of other stories they will use you as an expert. Overall, the value of the media is in developing those relationships. That way, the media will ask you back when your niche comes up again in the news. So, identify the types of media that would help build your practice, where you can contribute information that would be helpful, and then start to build those relationships. When you make those relationships, it will pay off for years to come. Help A Reporter HARO is a great way to start a relationship with reporters. There are 800,000 + HARO users connecting with journalists. The website will send you emails three times a day (5:35 a.m., 12:35 p.m., and 5:35 p.m. ET), Monday through Friday. Check the emails and look out for source requests relevant to your industry, expertise, or personal experience. Dr. David says the trick with HARO is responding to those emails quickly. Most likely, you won't get picked unless you respond within thirty minutes to an hour of their request. You may be wondering how this can help your therapy practice. If you can put that you were used as a resource for USA Today, it will help you build your credibility. Patients can see that on your website and know that you are the real deal! Relationships With The Media Are Key Relationships are the key! You won't get media appearances unless you can show how you're helping. The reporter wants to know that you're an expert in your field. That's the actual value of media over advertising. When you watch an ad, you know that somebody is trying to sell you something. There is nothing inherently wrong with selling things. However, people generally trust what they hear in the context of a news show much more than advertising. A good goal would be to get a media appearance at least once a month. Offer simple tips to help people. It may not be something they need now, but it can be something they need down the road. That way, when the situation does arise, they will think of you first. Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Dr. David Geier's Resources Website MEDIA PROS Coaching Facebook Twitter YouTube The MEDIA PROS Show Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. HARO Solo to Group Practice: Adding More Therapists to Grow Your Time & Income Money Matters In Private Practice | The Course (Use Code: April2021) Get your FREE Financial Analysis Guide... Google Workspace for Therapists | The E-Course Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ Join my Focus Groups Session Note Helper 3.0 Money Matters in Private Practice | The Course Join the Google Workspace (formerly G-Suite) for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.  

Have you done your taxes yet? My guest, Danielle Hayden, created The Profit Planner to help business owners know how to analyze their business correctly, generate more profits easily, and gain greater confidence in business and by getting really intimate with their financials. Lucky for us, this episode is all about knowing your numbers. Danielle explains exactly which numbers you need to know and where you can get started. Plus, we chat about accounting software, the importance of building a financial reserve, and what you need to know about self-employment taxes. Meet Danielle Hayden Danielle Hayden is a reformed corporate CFO (chief financial officer) who is on a mission to help rule-breaking female entrepreneurs understand their numbers so they can gain the confidence needed to create sustainable profits. After spending 10+ years in the boardroom as a corporate finance officer, Danielle is now in her sweet spot as the co-owner of Kickstart Accounting, Inc. where she helps business owners with bookkeeping, financial analysis, and education and as the author of the Profit Planner book series. Know Your Numbers What numbers do you even need to know? Danielle says she could spend one hour on this question. When someone says, "know your numbers," they want you to understand your financial statements at a high level. Many people are big fans of profit first; so, you can have a combination of knowing your numbers and the profit first allocation. You should also understand your profit and loss statement and how you can prepare for tax season. When you have these things down, that means you are making smart business decisions all year long. When you're making smart business decisions, then you are maximizing your tax deductions. Overall, we need to pay ourselves as business owners and invest enough money in the business, but not too much money. Where Private Practice Owners Can Start The very first place you want to start is by having accounting software set up. So you'll always have your client management software, and then you'll have accounting software. It doesn't matter where you are in your journey – it's never too early or too late to get the accounting software you need to thrive. Give yourself grace! Tax management is a critical long-term business decision. Next, you'll need to do "catch up." You'll want to put all your expenses into this software. Once all the data is in, you have a starting point. Think about how much money you brought in, where you spent the money, and any surprises in the process. Accounting Software To Consider QuickBooks is an excellent place for private practice owners to work on their accounting. Danielle loves QuickBooks so much that she includes it in her costs. Xero is another popular system, and it's easy to use. Plus, Wave Accounting is free software. It is award-winning financial software designed for entrepreneurs. However, there are some limitations. Danielle says that you should plan for where you want to be. Eventually, you will outgrow a system like Wave because you will want more reporting as you get bigger. Sadly, Wave doesn't have all the reports that you need. Whereas QuickBooks will grow with your practice. Start where you're at and then build on more sophisticated software. Stay away from invoicing software that has turned into accounting software like GoDaddy. How Often You Should Check Your Numbers With Danielle, there are three options: weekly, monthly, and quarterly. If you can be in tune with your financials every week, that is the gold standard. That might mean a weekly dashboard of where your cash balance is at. It would help if you also double-check your collection issues on a weekly basis. If weekly feels like a big ask, you will want to look over your finances every month. Check your sales for the previous month and compare them to past months. Once we have the basic financial information, you can also know how much money is set aside for taxes. Looking at your finances monthly, you can make quick and better financial decisions. If you are paying for software that doesn't make you money, you can quickly decide to get rid of it. Building A Financial Reserve When you know your numbers and your financials in front of you, you can start to look at how much you need to reserve. Some people say to save three to six months of your expenses. However, do you even know what that number is? Your numbers are trying to tell you a story, it's your job to read the story. Know your expenses and slowly transfer money over to a savings account. Your savings account will be your rainy day operating fund. Start moving that money over there so that you can build three to six months' worth of savings. Also, it's critical to know your slow times; most people will have a slow time of the year. Self-Employment Taxes The mental health crisis is causing a tremendous amount of growth for therapists. Danielle says to watch your growth. It is imperative to monitor your development and to decide how you're paying yourself. If you are structured as an LLC and take owner's draws today, that means you're just a cash expense of your business. So, you will pay self-employment tax on that profit or loss. If that number is getting close to $50,000, it's time to really start to think about an S Corp. You grew fast last year, and you're growing fast this year – it's time to reconsider how your finances are set up. Make sure you're structured right for the next year so that you can maximize how much money you're taking home in your pocket.   Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Danielle's Resources Profit Planner Email: danielle@kickstartaccountinginc.com Call: 216-310-8299 Instagram Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Money Matters In Private Practice | The Course (Use Code: April2021) Get your FREE Financial Analysis Guide... Google Workspace for Therapists | The E-Course Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ Join my Focus Groups Session Note Helper 3.0 Money Matters in Private Practice | The Course Join the Google Workspace (formerly G-Suite) for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.  

In this episode, Marisol talks about the significance of having a niche as it relates to getting more clients. Also, having a niche can improve your SEO results. For Marisol, she enjoys having sex therapy as her niche. We talk about her journey to becoming a sex therapist and advice for people who are venturing into this space. Later, we chat about the importance of outsourcing when it comes to saving time and money – plus, it can even make you money in the long run! Meet Marisol Westberg Hi, I am Dr. Westberg and I am a sex therapist and couple's counselor in Portland, OR. I am a board-certified sexologist (ACS), certified sex educator (AASECT), and a licensed couple's counselor (LMFT). I am a former Professor in the Marriage, Couple, and Family Therapy Program at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I coordinated the Sex Therapy Track and supervised students in their clinical training. I have offices in both Portland and Seattle but am doing only virtual sessions at the moment. Sex Therapy As A Niche Marisol says that the sex therapy niche landed on her lap rather than looking for it. It just started because she was teaching a course on sex therapy. Marisol had never done one case of sex therapy. Interestingly, she began teaching as she was starting out her private practice journey. As soon as she started to focus on sex therapy, her practice started to flourish. With a sex therapy niche, Marisol had a lot more people contacting her; she realized creating that niche was really a way to grow her practice. Sadly, there's a lot of stigma and shame and all that kind of stuff around the sex therapy niche. When we're training, or when we're going to school, they do teach us a minimal amount of what we should do with human sexuality. Most of the courses in person or online on sex therapy still continue to expand on the human sexuality piece. However, they don't really focus on the therapeutic part, like how we get people to move through their issues? Moving To Telehealth During Covid Marisol is a fan of the business side of things. She likes to expand on different aspects of her private practice. So when Covid hit, Marisol saw that everything was going to Zoom. So, it made business sense to stop paying rent. Marisol decided to cut her costs, leave the city, and live on a beach. If you do go out of the country, you save yourself from paying a lot of the income tax because the income you're getting is from a different country. It's $100,000 that you don't have to pay income taxes on. Making Sex Therapy Effective It is a complicated piece in sex therapy to address sexual desire. All the interventions presented out there are counter-therapeutic. Actually, it creates more of a problem. Sadly, the solution creates more of the problem. For example, some people with low sexual desire say you just have to push yourself more. They think you just have to find ways to increase your sexual desire and just go do it. The reality is that these solutions are mostly very gendered. Women are constantly pushing themselves to be more sexual. However, that's just not how desire works. When women push themselves, it creates trauma. In reality, a lack of sexual desire is affected by being tired and being stressed. To solve the problem, women should work on being less tired and less stressed. Women can light candles and do yoga. Slowly touching your partner will also help. Make sure there is nothing forceful going on. Outsourcing SEO Work Marisol saw a significant shift in the private practice world with outsourcing. She does all her own website design and social media. However, when she hired somebody to do the actual SEO stuff, that pulled her up in the search results. Some people are just straight out of school and haven't had a lot of time with their website. Yet, they are still number two in Google. There's a lot more to website work than some people can even imagine. A little money will go a long way when it comes to getting your website found. When running a business, it's important to recognize when you can bootstrap and when you can outsource. Sometimes, outsourcing will save you a lot of time and money. Plus, in the long run, it can even make you money! Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Marisol's Resources Website LinkedIn Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Money Matters In Private Practice | The Course Google Workspace for Therapists | The E-Course Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ Join my Focus Groups Session Note Helper 3.0 Money Matters in Private Practice | The Course Join the Google Workspace (formerly G-Suite) for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.  

Nearly 1 in 5 adults experience a severe mental illness in their lifetime. Dr. Tom Young is a physician, and he has developed a screening tool for other professionals in the health industry. The tool helps physicians realize when they need to refer out to mental health providers. I'm looking forward to you hearing from Dr. Tom and learning about the technology that he's put together with his team at nView Health. Plus, we chat about the use of innovative technology and data insights to positively impact all those who serve this vulnerable population. Meet Dr. Tom Young Dr. Tom Young is the co-founder and chief medical officer of nView Health, an innovative software company that helps you better identify, treat and monitor patients with behavioral health conditions, featuring the world's most trusted digital assessment – the M.I.N.I. Primary care physicians make 80% of diagnoses and decisions around behavioral health and get it wrong 92% of the time. nView's suite of online behavioral health solutions empowers primary care physicians, pediatricians, behavioral health practices, psychiatrists, therapists, and counselors who specialize in identifying and treating patients with mental health, substance abuse, and other behavioral health disorders to get it right 98% of the time. Intersecting Mental & Physical Health Most family physicians find that there is so much more to their patients than physical health. Of course, there is always the mental aspect of our health. Like most young physicians, Dr. Young was not taught much about mental health back in those days. However, Dr. Young taught medicine for several years, and in those adventures, he began to think more about it. All along the way, he started to understand the depth of opportunity that needed to happen between primary care providers and people's mental health providers. So, Dr. Young began his journey on finding ways to intersect those two worlds, hence nView Health.  The Mental Health Covid Crisis The concept of mental health has really changed over the last 12 months because of the pandemic. The mental health tsunami behind the pandemic increased anxiety and increased depression. Now, mental health professionals are trying to keep up with the demand. Sadly, it's affecting all ages of people, and we're seeing children needing mental health assistance now a lot more than before. Unfortunately, more than 5 million children in America have some serious mental illness that significantly interferes with their daily lives. The critical issue for primary care is getting the proper initial assessment. However, if a doctor doesn't know what to look for, they will not be able to spot an issue. So, Dr. Young provides a tool that's quick and easy. It only takes a couple of minutes for the patient to fill out, and it really lets the primary care provider decide where they should focus their energy. Dr. Young's Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.) — has been used in patient care and clinical research for more than 25 years. Coordinating Mental & Physical Care For the most part, primary care providers want to understand how their patient is doing. Like any other referral process in medicine, doctors will send their patients to you with the hopes that you're able to help them. Then, the patient will come back in between for something medical. That doctor should be able to converse with them about their progress with you in that visit. However, if the doctors don't know what's going on, they will feel left out of the healing process. Then, that's where some of the fractured relationships occur. Sadly, doctors will send a patient for care and then never hear back. Some ways to coordinate care are through phones, tracking tools, and assessments.  Using Data As A Therapist Dr. Young's daughter is a therapist; she found that this assessment tool was great for her work. First, she gets to provide data back to her referring physicians. Plus, she can see how her practice is doing. As she grew her practice using the interview tools, it gave them greater confidence in each therapist's diagnostic skills. It's a beautiful tool because therapists want to know if their patients are getting better. Well, how do you know that? If you use a tracking tool attached to the right assessment tools, you have the data that shows you what's going on. While on the other hand, you'll have the data to know if your patient is, in fact, not getting better and maybe needing more assistance.  Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Dr. Young's Resources nView Health LinkedIn Young Healthcare Consultants Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Google Workspace for Therapists | The E-Course Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ Join my Focus Groups Session Note Helper 3.0 Money Matters in Private Practice | The Course Join the Google Workspace (formerly G-Suite) for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

Welcome back to the Website Redesign Series - this is part two. If you haven't already, I invite you to go back and listen to the previous episode. I have my good friend and website guru Daniel Fava with me. He is from Private Practice Elevation, and I am so grateful for his assistance! We are chatting all about the website redesign project that I have started. In part two, we walk through the nuts and bolts of what needs to get done to take your private practice website to the next level. If you want to see the final product, check out Kingsport Counseling here: https://kingsportcounseling.com/. Meet Daniel Fava Daniel Fava is a father, husband, podcaster, website consultant, and founder of Create My Therapist Website and Private Practice Elevation. He helps therapists create websites and attract more clients online. After building a website for his wife's private practice and seeing the impact it had on her business, he became passionate about helping others achieve the same. Daniel offers web design services, SEO services, consultations, and online training to help therapists grow their business through online marketing. You can get free access to his library of PDFs, cheatsheets, and ebooks by clicking here. The Importance of a Website for Your Private Practice The importance of having a website is so critical for your private practice's health - we can't emphasize that enough. As we said in the previous episode, it's more important than the building you work in and your office location in terms of bringing in new clients. Your website is the front of your private practice. When people ask you, what's the face of your business? Well, it's your website! It's the face of your brand. Often, the first interaction that someone's going to have with your private practice is on your website.  Even when someone gets a referral from a friend, they will still check out your website. Why Your Website Could Use A Redesign Is your website already working? If you get loads of referrals from your website, then that means it's working well!  Daniel loves to work with clients that already get referrals from their websites. If that's you, it means your online presence is already working in some sense. There are all these little things that we can do that will make your website even better. For instance, it can always look better on mobile devices. When it looks better, it will then convert better because we can focus on making sure that your contact information is in the right place. Also, a website facelift can make you look more professional, so that can help increase conversions. Keep Your Website Active Daniel always receives this question first, "what's going to happen to my current website while you're building the new website?" The good news is your current website can stay up and stay alive. We don't want to take it down while you're working on this new project because maybe that new project will take you about six weeks to complete. If you DIY your website, it may take even longer depending on how much time you devote to it. So, obviously, we want to keep business coming in; we want to make sure that your website is still there. Get Help For Duplicating Your Website To keep your website active, you will need to duplicate it. There can be issues that arise when duplicating a website because you have different hosting environments and PHP languages. It's great if you have the money to invest in getting professional help for your website because receiving help will save you loads of time, and it will save you headaches. No one wants to be on Google to figure out why something isn't working or spending time on support chat. However, if you know to get this done on your own, then there are WordPress duplication plugins that you can use. Make sure you follow their instructions! Otherwise, it can get messy quickly. Redesigning Page-By-Page A website facelift will start to get a little complicated when it comes to the design part of it. Many people think they can get a new theme, turn it on, and it's going to look great. However, that's not the case, especially if your website is pretty old. Each WordPress theme has a different way of showing your content, displaying images and headers. Divi is the theme that Daniel likes to use with his custom design clients. So, you migrate the website over, and then you install the Divi Theme on WordPress. Next, turn it on!  When you look at your pages, you'll probably see all this short code. There is still plenty of work to do when you're redesigning the website, and it has to be completed page-by-page. That's where it can be a time suck for many people. Tune in as we chat about the difference between Squarespace, WordPress, and Wix. Plus, we talk about website plugins, design tips, and SEO. Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Daniel Fava's Resources Daniel Fava | Redesigning Your Private Practice Website - Part 1 | TPOT 169 5 Ways to Improve Your Website- PDF Download Create My Therapist Website Private Practice Elevation Apply For Private Practice Elevation Daniel Fava on Effective Private Practice Website Design 5 Ways To Improve Your Private Practice Website Resources Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Google Workspace for Therapists | The E-Course Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ See The Website Redesign: https://kingsportcounseling.com/ Join my Focus Groups Session Note Helper 3.0 Money Matters in Private Practice | The Course Join the Google Workspace (formerly G-Suite) for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.  

Your website is ground-zero for marketing your private practice and fueling your business with new leads and clients. In this particular interview, we chat all about my private practice website redesign. Daniel Fava has been just gracious enough to partner with me and hold my hand as we go through this. This episode is part one of a two-part series – we examine the questions you need to ask yourself before starting a website redesign. Be sure to listen next week for the second part of this series. We will dive into the nuts and bolts around this particular project. If you want to see the final product, check out Kingsport Counseling here: https://kingsportcounseling.com/. Meet Daniel Fava Daniel Fava is a father, husband, podcaster, website consultant, and founder of Create My Therapist Website and Private Practice Elevation. He helps therapists create websites and attract more clients online. After building a website for his wife's private practice and seeing the impact it had on her business, he became passionate about helping others achieve the same. Daniel offers web design services, SEO services, consultations, and online training to help therapists grow their business through online marketing. You can get free access to his library of PDFs, cheatsheets, and ebooks by clicking here. Why Do You Want To Redesign Your Website?  Why do you want to redesign your private practice website? Especially, think about why you want to switch it up right now. Most people will say that their website is pretty old and outdated. However, it goes a lot deeper than that. A website is and should be an investment into the future of your business. It's the way that people will find you, and it can be just a great tool to bring lots of traffic to your practice and convert that traffic into new clients. So, if you are interested in a private practice redesign, then think about your why. Your Business Goals Will Drive The Website Redesign  Once you know your 'why,' then it's time to think about your business. If your private practice needs a new website, it will help clean up the front of your business. With a clean website, you can be responsive to your clients. Also, when redesigning your website, it's critical to increase your visibility in Google search engines. However, we also need to think about your goals when it comes to private practice. So, now you need to think about the most crucial aspect of your website and the most important goals you have for your business for the next 12 months. For instance, many people have the goal to get more telehealth clients. Then, we need to make sure that people are aware on your website that you offer telehealth and in which states. Consider Hiring A Website Professional  As far as a redesign goes, the best place to start is with the why. Before starting your redesign, it will be critical to think about the goals you want to hit next year. When you start looking at your goals and vision, you might need to think a little bit bigger when it comes to your redesign. If your goals are big enough, Daniel highly recommends getting help with your website. Reach out to a professional to build the website because you might end up spending a ton of time and some money on trying to put it all together on your own. Making a website without any help can be very time-consuming. You may have better luck investing in someone that's going to increase those conversions. Working With Daniel Fava If you're looking for some professional help with your website redesign, I highly recommend working with Daniel. To get the process started, Daniel will have a 15-minute call to uncover the issues holding you back and put together a plan to help you reach your goals. If you're not ready for a complete redesign, Daniel has loads of free website and SEO resources to help you elevate your online presence and market your private practice. You can check those out HERE. Lastly, be sure to check out the redesign we did on Kingsport Counseling, and let me know what you think! Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Daniel Fava's Resources 5 Ways to Improve Your Website- PDF Download Create My Therapist Website Private Practice Elevation Apply For Private Practice Elevation Daniel Fava on Effective Private Practice Website Design 5 Ways To Improve Your Private Practice Website Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Google Workspace for Therapists | The E-Course SALE! Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ See The Website Redesign: https://kingsportcounseling.com/ Join my Focus Groups Session Note Helper 3.0 Money Matters in Private Practice | The Course Join the Google Workspace (formerly G-Suite) for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.  

I'm glad you're with me for this particular episode with Lisa Mustard. Lisa is a great person to get to know, and I'm excited about what she is doing, which is pretty unique - she is offering podcourses. Lately, I've been working on getting some continuing education credits online. Well, Lisa has built an entire business around that. So, we talk all about how podcourses could be a great way to diversify income in your private practice. Tune in as we also touch on imposter syndrome, marketing, and navigating NBCC credentialing. Meet Lisa Mustard My name is Lisa Mustard and I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in South Carolina. I am also a wife to Billy, mama to two daughters, puppy wrangler, lover of health, wellness, and fitness, and personal development junkie. I started this show because I was bored with the traditional modes of continuing education and professional development. I yearned for convenient education that was fun, interesting, inspiring, helpful, and easily accessible anywhere, anytime. And I couldn't find what I was looking for, so I decided to create it. When I am not podcasting or seeing clients, I am in the gym, on a run or walk, spending time with my family, or wrangling the lovable, yet incorrigible Lulu, our Australian Shepherd/Pitbull puppy. The Therapy Show The Therapy Show with Lisa Mustard provides value by bringing in-depth and exciting interviews with experts, experienced practitioners, and other interesting people within the world of talk therapy. Lisa's hope is that her guests positively impact you, your work and career, and ultimately your clients. Guests range from specialists and experts in the clinical world, as well as those who have pivoted their skill sets and are doing something different and unique now, like writing books, motivational speaking, creating an online business, doing consulting work, health and wellness coaching, life coaching or they are other helping professionals who can give a different perspective when working with specific issues or populations. Creating Podcourses In January 2020, Lisa put together a packet and sent it off to NBCC. People told Lisa that it would take a couple of months for them to approve her. Well, because of Covid, it took them ten months to get back to Lisa. During this time, Lisa started to doubt herself and her abilities. Eventually, imposter syndrome kicked in. However, Lisa was approved! Next, Lisa needed to hire people to help her with all the techie stuff that makes her head want to explore. Overall, Lisa loves creating podcourses. To get started, Lisa reached out to people who she knew personally that are experts in their field. She told them to throw together three to five objectives; she interviews them and even pays a small fee. The rest is history!  Getting NBCC Credentials Getting NBCC credentials can be complicated. Let's say you already have a course. Next, look at how the NBCC needs your course to fit their model. If you already have a course, you can just look at it and retool it. Otherwise, you need to figure out how to meet their requirements. If you don't have a course already, it may be easier to check the requirements first and then create your course around the types of things they are looking for. The most challenging part for Lisa was making sure that what they needed from her was on the website. There's a lot of work to be done, and it needs to be consistent. For instance, your evaluation survey needs to be specific, or else it won't get approved. They pretty much tell you what you need to have on there, but they work with you. NBCC will help you massage it to get it to where it needs to be. Another challenging part of the process is marketing; when you create something, you have to figure out how to get it out in the world. Imposter Syndrome Every single day Lisa has thoughts about being an imposture. After taking a strengths test, Lisa found that she's really good at connecting with people and achieving things. That totally makes sense because Lisa enjoys connecting with people. She loves to listen, and that's what makes her a great therapist. Plus, Lisa likes to help other people shine their light. Basically, she is looking for those people that are the experts that want to get out there and shine their light and share what they know. Of course, Lisa will make sure that everything they're presenting is research-based and have references. Now, Lisa comes from a place of needing to be the conduit of the information, not so much the expert. That way, the imposter syndrome tends to go to the back-burner. Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Lisa Mustard's Resources Lisa's Website  Facebook Instagram You can listen to The Therapy Show with Lisa Mustard here: http://bit.ly/TherapyShowApple Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Google Workspace for Therapists | The E-Course Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ Join my Focus Groups Session Note Helper 3.0 Money Matters in Private Practice | The Course Join the Google Workspace (formerly G-Suite) for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

Business ownership can be challenging, but it's not that different than treating patients. Your business is like a patient, and Fix This Next for Healthcare Providers by Kasey Compton will teach you to treat it that way. We talk all about the inspiration behind this book and why Kasey thinks healthcare providers are the best suited for entrepreneurship. Plus, we dive into everything you need to fix in your private practice and how to finally get closer to professional goals while building a strong foundation.  Meet Kasey Compton Kasey built a million-dollar practice with over seventy-five staff members in less than two years from the ground up. She is the President/CEO of Mindsight Behavioral Group with multiple offices located in Kentucky.  Kasey says, “it definitely wasn't easy but I learned a lot scaling a practice”. She is now in year three and her business with basically running itself; largely due to the systems and processes we put into place. Now, Kasey is a behavioral group consultant (www.consultwithkc.com) and author that helps practices avoid mistakes by cleaning up their systems, implementing better processes, and understanding what to do with their money. Kasey says, “ I take so much pride in my own practice and now I feel honored to help others grow too.” About Fix This Next  When Fix This Next: Make the Vital Change That Will Level Up Your Business came out; Kasey loved it! It is based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Well, our private practices have tons of needs. We can't act like a firefighter in private practice. Every time our business has a problem, we need a system for addressing the issues rather than just willy nilly solving things. When Kasey read that book, she thought this was meant for mental health. Kasey knew that mental health professionals needed something similar. After talking to so many other practice owners, Kasey learned that they loved the book. However, something was missing – they didn't know how to apply those principles to their private practice. Kasey knew that it was just something she had to fix; she felt like she was responsible for writing this book. Treat Your Business Like You Treat Your Patients  In many ways, private practice consultants have a responsibility to help people feel confident in the way that they're spending their time and feel like they don't need an MBA to run a therapy practice. Throughout Kasey's book, that's a running theme that therapists, in her opinion, are better-suited business owners than anybody else out there. She truly believes that our businesses are much like our patients. If we treat our businesses like we treat our patients, everything becomes much smoother, and everything becomes much more efficient. Overall, we will have better outcomes. So, that is what Kasey teaches in Fix This Next for Healthcare Providers is how to treat your business like you do your patients. How To Assess Your Business One of Kasey's strategies within Fix This Next for Healthcare Providers is all about assessing your business. Basically, you would do a diagnostic assessment of a client or a patient. Kasey teaches therapists how to evaluate the business in the same way. There are three foundational levels in your business, which are sales, profit, and order. We have core needs within each of those levels. Next, we ask ourselves the fifteen questions in the book. Based on that simple assessment, we're able to determine what our business's biggest priority is and where we should start. If you have a client coming in to see you, and they're having panic attacks. What you're going to do first is you're going to gather information. We're going to ask them all these questions to try to determine what is at the core. Panic and anxiety are a direct result of fear. So, fear is just manifesting itself into anxiety and then ultimately into a panic attack. What we have to do is identify the fear and treat that. This method is exactly how we get back our time, and that's how we make our business better. It will help us reach more confidence in our decisions and what we decide to work on by fixing the core of our issues. Fixing Your Level of Sales  One of the most significant issues for practices is having too many clients and not enough clinicians. Of course, there will be issues with this because you cannot serve the clients in your practice properly. While on the other hand, some practices have too many clinicians and not enough clients. The foundational level of sales is sort of like the bloodline for the practice. It's the creation of cash; if we don't have sales, we can't have a business. Sales will be the most critical thing to look at in your business. Tune in as we dive into all the other aspects of your business that need to be fixed.  Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Kasey Compton's Resources Kasey's Website Pre-Order Fix This Next Kasey on TPOT 47 Kasey on Instagram Kasey on Facebook Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ Profit First Fix This Next: Make the Vital Change That Will Level Up Your Business Learn more about Mike Michalowicz Getting Things Done Join my Focus Groups Google Workspace for Therapists | The E-Course Session Note Helper 3.0 Money Matters in Private Practice | The Course Join the Google Workspace (formerly G-Suite) for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

Margarita Khosh joins for a lively and fun conversation. We talked about expanding your niche beyond state lines; it's time that you become available to more clients than you could have ever imagined! Plus, Margarita gives us the scoop on navigating regulatory compliance, licensing regulations, and the importance of niche branding to reach underserved and underrepresented communities. Lastly, we chat about how Covid and 2020 had a massive impact on getting telehealth to become universally accepted and finally lowering the stigma around mental health. Meet Margarita Khosh Margarita Khosh, MBA, LSSGB, GHAC, is a healthcare industry implementation consultant who works with health care professionals to strengthen the patient-provider relationship. Leveraging her 20-year healthcare operational experience, international training, Healthcare MBA,  fluency in insurance terminology, licensing, and regulatory compliance, she launched MK Medical Solutions, LLC to shift the mindset of providers and health systems to understand that the patient is a consumer. Through this lens, and motivated by overcoming trauma and burnout, she propels the implementation of a modern patient-centric experience that funnels to benefit all healthcare stakeholders by reducing cost, decreasing burnout, and contributing to a health system that works for all.  Margarita serves on the Board of Directors of Women's Healthcare Executive Network of South Florida and teaches a Facebook community of 12K therapists while interviewing industry-leading authors. She has been featured on Sabrina Runbeck's Powerful and Passionate Healthcare Professionals, The Mighty Pete Lonton's Fire In The Belly, The B2B Podcast by The App Guys,  The Practice Of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer, and Coming Out Loved and Supported Podcast. She is also a contributing author and columnist. In a recently cited article at awarenow, she spoke about the importance of leveraging technology to make the health system work better for everyone.  Covid's Impact On Telehealth Before Covid, therapists were not leveraging technology the way that other industries leverage technology. When Covid happens, all of a sudden, it helped therapists propel the adoption of technology in a way that we never imagined. The entire healthcare industry has been turned upside down (for the better)! During this time, Margarita learned everything that she needed to know about how the new policies, rules, and regulations worked. So, she started helping therapists launch private practices beyond state lines. Plus, she can inform therapists on how to utilize the executive orders and treat patients. 2020 and 2021 are all about helping therapists expand their practice beyond state lines for Margarita. It is a total game-changer for both therapists and clients. Plus, it's helping lift the stigma that people have around mental health issues. Covid has been extremely stressful, and we are lucky to help patients in the virtual world.   Why You Should Get Licensed In Another State It has been exciting for many therapists - you can get licensed in another state and grow your practice. There is value in niche branding and lived experience. When you expand your practice beyond state lines, think about how that will impact a population that has traditionally had a different viewpoint on therapy. So, this is how you heal even more people. With telehealth, we can bring therapy to people regardless of where they are. Sadly, there is stigma and shame associated with mental health in specific communities; nobody will talk about it the importance of therapy. That's why it will be critical to get your practice across state lines.   How Licensing Works In Other States There are resources out there to empower therapists to understand how licensing works in different states. Therapists might not be aware of specific questions they need to ask, especially given the executive orders. Margarita will help clinicians figure out interstate licensing. She has all of the resources for a therapist to do it themselves. Her goal is to empower and educate professionals to make educated decisions and understand the process themselves. If someone doesn't have time to make it work, then Margarita will offer additional support. She understands which questions to ask to get to the bottom line and move the process along.   Florida Telehealth Registration There are certain states that therapists can explore in terms of getting to take their practice to where they don't need to become credentialed fully. If you would like to start seeing patients in Florida, there is a Florida Telehealth Registration. It is not a licensing, it's a registration. Simply put, it allows you to be registered in the state of Florida to treat patients, and it had nothing to do with the executive order because it's been in place for two years now. So it means that you can solicit patients in Florida that are not your patients, and you could practice there. It only takes a couple of days. Plus, the registration is free. To complete the registration application, click the link labeled "Documents" at the bottom of the homepage HERE.   Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Margarita's Resources MK Medical Solutions MK Medical Solutions on Facebook Margarita's Instagram MK Medical Solutions on LinkedIn Florida Telehealth Certification Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ Free to Focus: A Total Productivity System to Achieve More by Doing Less The Free to Focus Course Join my Focus Groups Google Workspace for Therapists | The E-Course Session Note Helper 3.0 Money Matters in Private Practice | The Course Join the Google Workspace (formerly G-Suite) for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

Do you need help with your private practice website? Jenn Fredette joins to talk about the power of strong copywriting on your website. First, it's essential to have a niche when thinking about copywriting. That way, it will be seamless to market to your ideal client. Jenn gives loads of copywriting tips for your private practice website. Plus, we talk about the importance of community and mentorship, especially when it comes to your copywriting. Meet Jenn Fredette Jenn journeys with others to develop a deep understanding of themselves and the world around them.  She is passionate about connecting the curious and brave with therapeutic guides who can lead the way into the wild adventure of self-knowledge. As a former minister, practicing psychotherapist, adjunct graduate professor, and host of “A Thinker's Guide to…” Podcast, Jenn brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in translating the profound into everyday language. Learn more at therapyforthinkers.com or follow her on Instagram at @athinkersguide. The Importance of Copywriting Jenn realized the importance of finding a niche in terms of who she wants to serve. However, a niche is also helpful in terms of what marketing does and doesn't work for you. There are 20 billion options when it comes to marketing your practice. We need to think about how we speak about who we are and who we want to serve. Online speak is also known as "copy" or written content that we've created. However, our marketing copy doesn't even have to be in writing; it can also include a podcast or a networking conversation. Basically, how do you articulate who you are serving, who you are, and who want to work with? Plus, Jenn speaks about her copywriting journey; she loves to write. So, Jenn set out to learn how actually to write copy that is captivating and is converting clients. Your copy needs to be representative of who you are as a clinician. Sometimes, marketing can feel kind of shallow and feels a little slimy. As therapists, we're not wanting to manipulate people. In addition, a lot of marketing techniques sometimes don't integrate our clinical depth or clinical awareness, which is a real shame. Jenn feels passionate about helping people translate their voice and the knowledge they already have into the copy on their website. Copywriting Tips A lot of therapists are resistant to the essence of marketing, which is niching down. You have to niche down for your marketing to work. However, many therapists don't want to exclude someone from their niche. When you're trying to accommodate many different people, then often this leads to a lot of blocks when writing. Then, it will be challenging to write either your therapy directory profile or website. When we try and write to everyone, then we need to write to Jim, as well as Karen, and Bob. Also, you don't want to leave Jane out either. So, it's hard to distill down what you want to say in your website copy. Plus, Jenn says that sometimes a therapist will lose themselves; you lose your desire of what you want your practice to be. If you're so focused on accommodating others, you're maybe not getting your own needs met. So the first step is to really get in touch with your own desire. Who do you want to sit with who would light you up? When you know who your ideal client is, it will be super easy to start copywriting for your website! If you're not sure who your ideal client is, then think about the people that you are most excited to work with! Can We Really Say That? Therapists will think some of their copy might sound too edgy for their website. For instance, a therapist's ideal client may smoke marijuana. The therapist says: "I know that you just smoked three bowls of marijuana back to back to numb the pain." Your copy should always start with the problem in mind. Then, you get into where you can go from the problem. It's a basic copywriting formula that works well for websites. Next, you will describe what the client has tried in the past that hasn't worked for them. Overall, therapists need to write a copy that reflects who they are and who they want their ideal person to be. We Can't Copywrite Alone Unfortunately, writing copy alone doesn't work. The solution is having formulas and frameworks for your copywriting process. Also, have people that can partner with you as you write your copy. These people can be in a mastermind group, a business group, or a Facebook group for private practice owners. Also, you could find a coach or consultant that can walk you through the process. You need a coach anyway- therapists need a coach so they don't have to go out there and get a business degree.  Often, therapists want to rewrite their website completely – Jenn says that's not a good idea! Instead, start with your directory profile. That way, you can do some trial and error and find out what is working.   Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Jenn's Resources athinkersguide.com athinkersguide.com/diagnosis athinkersguide.com/attune therapyforthinkers.com Jenn's Podcast: A Thinker's Guide To... Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Purchase The Full Focus Planner™ Free to Focus: A Total Productivity System to Achieve More by Doing Less The Free to Focus Course Join my Focus Groups Google Workspace for Therapists | The E-Course Session Note Helper 3.0 Money Matters in Private Practice | The Course Join the Google Workspace (formerly G-Suite) for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.  

I am grateful to be joined by two private practice rock stars, Kelly Higdon and Miranda Palmer, in The Practice of Therapy's latest episode. Our conversation revolves around the money mindset that we should have as therapists and as private practice owners. The one silver lining that has come out of Covid is that people are finally starting to understand mental health services' true value. So, join me, Kelly, and Miranda as we talk about what you should be charging, why you should consider outsourcing, and the reason therapists should never compare fees. Meet Kelly Higdon, LMFT Kelly Higdon, LMFT is the co-founder of ZynnyMe and co-creator of The Business School Bootcamp for Therapists, a flagship course that helps therapists in all parts of their private practice journey solidify their business foundation and growth. When she isn't coaching or hosting retreats for her clients, you can find her playing roller derby or spending time with her family. To learn more about Kelly check out kellyhigdon.com and zynnyme.com On any given day you will find her writing, meeting with her psychotherapy or coaching clients, running a webinar for therapists, providing consultation with private practice owners, and making lots of room for playtime with her family. Kelly's hair constantly changes. She cares about the people that she works with. AND her most FAVORITE THING is to push, educate and inspire in the Business School Bootcamp. Meet Miranda Palmer, LMFT Miranda Palmer built a cash-based private practice during the recession. But, she is most proud that she did it to take care of her family and created a work-life balance that allowed her to avoid the all too common burn-out a lot of therapists experience. As the co-creator of ZynnyMe.com, she provides how-to articles, free monthly webinars, and co-leads the Business School Bootcamp for Therapists. Today her primary business is inspiring and teaching therapists private practice marketing. Miranda teaches them business skills, and not because she is all about money. Miranda sees how clinical outcomes, burnout rate, and overall passion can be impacted positively or negatively by how our businesses run.  How Much Is Therapy Worth? How much is therapy worth? Most of us know that it's a silly question! Well, people are priceless, and you cannot put a value on a therapy. How are you going to monetize transgenerational trauma and healing? So then that brings us back to, well, how do we know what to charge? What do we need to do good work and to live the life we teach our clients? Money is a resource; that is part of the outcome that we are working towards. We're working towards an outcome with our clients, a clinical outcome, and we want them to have a great experience. We want to be able to be present to provide that outcome. So we need to look at our outcome; money is just one resource that we need to get there. Time and energy are also resources that we require as therapists. Now, we start to calculate, what does that number really come out to? When you take all of this into account, then you no longer feel shame or guilt about how much you charge for your services. When you think about running a business, you need sick time; you need to pay your rent, you need to pay your mortgage, health insurance, vacation, technology, and utilities. All of these things that are part of being a business owner we need to consider. Most of us did not learn how to be business owners in graduate school, we have nonprofit training, and we have this nonprofit mindset. Nonprofit organizations will get grants for millions of dollars; then, they can use that money to pay for their positions. You never really get to see where all of the other money goes. Stop Comparing Fees The mental healthcare system is not doing well. Access is challenging. As therapists, we are one part of that system. In order for that system to exist, to be sustainable, we all have to operate from that place of our highest and best. Then, we can raise the bar for these other systems, maybe to change with us. We should not be looking at our peers and saying, "you charge too much; why are you doing that?" Because at the end of the day, you don't know someone else's situation. You don't know what that therapist needs to run their business. It can be totally different than what you need to run your business. A lot of us live paycheck to paycheck. Would you want your clients to live paycheck to paycheck? No! So, you shouldn't have to live paycheck to paycheck either. Private Practice During Covid Our relationship to money has a lot to do with self-care. Many private practice owners are starting to see their phones ring off the hook because of Covid. However, the clinician will not be able to see everyone that calls their practice. It wouldn't be fair to the patients or fair to the clinician. The pandemic has only highlighted the issues we have had as a system. Now, we see the cracks in mental healthcare widen. We will be treating anxiety, depression, agoraphobia, medical trauma, and all sorts of things in the next years to come. As therapists, we feel like we have a duty to do extra work during these times because it is such a crisis. However, don't forget about self-care! The Importance of Outsourcing When we get into private practice, we have to look at the bookkeeping, answering the phones, maintaining the website, and dealing with loans. If you are the business owner, you have to budget for those things that you're outsourcing, or you have to have time for those things that should be outsourcing. Clinicians think private practice will be great because they are only going to see thirty clients a week. However, they find themselves working sixty or seventy hours a week because of all the extra tasks they have taken on. Unfortunately, Clinicians are a lot of times too slow to outsource stuff. When you don't outsource things, you'll be saving money. However, when you do outsource things, it will allow you to enjoy your life. Make outsourcing part of your business plan and charge a fee that covers that instead of stressing out about small things that don't necessarily matter. Reevaluate What You Charge During Covid One silver lining that has happened through Covid that a lot of the stigma around mental health and mental wellbeing is starting to lower. So many of us have experienced anxiety on different levels. More than ever, people are beginning to understand the value of therapy, and they need to pay for what the services are truly worth. We hope that therapists are really looking at those numbers and reevaluating what to charge. For instance, it's time that therapists start saying no to insurance contracts that are paying $25 or $35 for a session. It's appalling that those contracts are still out there, and therapists are still signing them. Therapists need to do the math - we have to do the math for ourselves and figure out what works. Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Kelly & Miranda's Resources ZynnyMe ZynnyMe's Worksheet on Setting Your Fees ZynnyMe's Amazing Free Trainings Business School Bootcamp Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Listen to Kelly Higdon on Episode 16 of The Practice of Therapy Podcast Join my Focus Groups Google Workspace for Therapists | The E-Course Session Note Helper 3.0 70. Your Successful Therapy Website Redesign: Understanding When & Why Kingsport Counseling Money Matters in Private Practice | The Course Join the Google Workspace (formerly G-Suite) for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.  

In this episode, Colleen Hilton joins the show to talk about our marketing mindset in private practice. Many therapists think that marketing is icky. However, marketing is actually essential to get clients the help that they need. The more effective your marketing efforts are, the better you can help the right people. Tune in as we talk about finding your ideal client and how Thrivelution can be a win-win for both therapists and clients. Meet Colleen Hilton Colleen Hilton is the founder & CEO of Acuity Counseling, Acuity Consulting and Thrivelution LLC. She is also a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist & an AAMFT approved Supervisor, with over 14 years of experience in the industry. Since 2016, Acuity Counseling has been providing boutique therapy services, with a retail-style model, making high-quality mental health available to the general public. With 3 brick and mortar locations and a strong online presence throughout the state via telehealth, Acuity is seeking to make a difference across all of Washington state. Acuity Consulting focuses on creating change in the business world by offering leadership coaching, and organizational mental health training. By supporting individuals and organizations in personal and professional change, believing in the systemic impact we will have together. Colleen co-founded Thrivelution LLC in 2020, amidst the unprecedented circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic. Thrivelution is disrupting the current market space by throwing out the antiquated practice of directory style searches, focusing on the quality of matches, and demonstrating a return on investment for small business owners. Colleen is outspoken as a leader and educator on the business side of the mental health industry. She is active in coaching private practice owners, as well as new group practice owners, in how to align their values as a helper, with their role as a business owner to assist them in creating successful, profitable businesses. Personally, Colleen is a wife and the proud mother of two inspiring young women. She is passionate about warm weather (still missing SoCal), boating, and finding great food wherever she is at. Colleen loves people and making new connections, finding great joy in learning from others, and hearing the amazing stories every person has to share. Success Mindset Many therapists think that marketing is icky or too salesy. Colleen is working on debunking that marketing mindset for private practice owners. Instead, we should use marketing to create a mindset for success. Marketing and advertising get an awful rap in the mental health industry. We feel like somehow being a helper doesn't align with marketing and advertising, but Colleen honestly believes that our professional ethics require that we do beneficial marketing and advertising. Charge What You're Worth Your marketing mindset has a lot to do with finances too. If you don't have enough money, then you are struggling. How will that impact the work that you do for clients? If you can hone in on marketing, then you can market to your ideal client and attract the person into your practice. That is why it's essential to have an exact brand. Then, the feedback loop just starts to work in a beautiful way where the clients are coming to us. We can charge what we're worth! Market To Your Ideal Client When we do effective marketing, we reach our ideal client and provide the most qualified help. While on the other hand, if our net is too broad or there is no net at all, we can't help our ideal clients. Clients will not magically find you when you build a website. We should be practicing from an abundance mindset - there are many clients out there, and you really should be helping the people you are passionate about supporting. Colleen will reverse engineer her marketing. So, think about your ideal client and answer these questions: What do they do for a living? What gender do they identify as? Where do they hang out? What are their problems? How can you solve their problems? Then, start thinking about ways you can engage with your ideal client. We are not selling something. Instead, we are communicating the value that we have and how we can provide help. Marketing is the ability to help people find you. Potential clients are out there, and they are struggling. By using doing effective marketing, we can provide them the exact solution that they are looking for. Get More Clients Through Marketing What if your ideal client is out there with the wrong therapist? They have a terrible experience, so they visit another therapist. Yet again, they have a terrible experience. Sadly, this keeps happening to your ideal client. Eventually, they give up on therapy altogether. Now, their problems keep getting worse and worse. They are digging a hole for themselves, and they can't figure out how to get out. Maybe ten years pass by, and they finally find you. If you could find that ideal client ten years ago, they would be in a much different place today. Give your clients what they are looking for in the first place. When you find your ideal client, you help them, and they get to help you. Working with our ideal client allows us to be supported financially. When we are supported financially, then we can do our best work. After grad school, we have the hopes and dreams to open a private practice. Like any business, marketing is a crucial component to getting more clients. For therapists, it's no different – we need to practice effective marketing techniques! About Thrivelution Colleen stumbled with her marketing at first. She didn't know how to communicate with potential clients. She had referral relationships, the directory listing, yet she didn't find herself with the right clients. Unfortunately, when you don't have the right clients, then you need to turn them away. It's a shame for the client because they ask for help, yet they find themselves with a roadblock. So, Colleen wanted to know why there wasn't a "dating app" for finding a therapist. Clients should go on the app and ask for what they want. Then, therapists should advertise their services. We need a matching system that focuses on clinical fit. Thrivelution is an algorithm that will present options to clients and clinicians. That way, they can mutually agree to the relationship. Once it's a good fit, the clinicians can take it from there. Clinicians can build thriving private practices, and clients can find the best therapist for them – it's a win-win! Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Colleen's Resources Colleen's LinkedIn Thrivelution.com Code: "MATCH21" For 2 months free! Thrivelution on Facebook Download Our Thriving Practice Checklist Now! Resources Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Learn more about GreenOak Accounting  Join my Focus Groups Money Matters in Private Practice | The Course Google Workspace for Therapists | The E-Course 70. Your Successful Therapy Website Redesign: Understanding When & Why Kingsport Counseling Session Note Helper 3.0 Join the Google Workspace (formerly G-Suite) for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.  

In this episode, I am joined by Susan Orenstein, who works with individuals and couples to pursue a more peaceful, purposeful, and passionate life. Susan speaks about the process behind starting a podcast and what she has learned so far. We chat about creating content outside of the therapy room to help people on their healing journey. Tune in as we discuss other ways to expand your niche and turn your passions into creative and useful content. Meet Susan Orenstein Hi, I'm Susan Orenstein, Ph.D. For over twenty-five years, I've worked with individuals and couples that come to my counseling office in pursuit of a more peaceful, purposeful, and passionate life. Relationships are integral to that rich, fulfilling existence we all desire. Healthy relationships bolster our well-being while unhealthy relationships hinder our ability to thrive. That's why I'm passionate about helping couples to either optimize their relationship or learn to let each other go so they can develop a nourishing, intimate connection elsewhere. Making Content For Clients Susan wants her work to be accessible to more people. So, she developed a podcast - it's called After The First Marriage. Plus, Susan has a free e-course that goes with it. She is creating a lot of content because Susan particularly loves the work that she does. In addition, Susan loves going online and looking at worksheets, reading, and joining groups. There are so many ways people can heal outside of the therapy room, and Susan wanted to help develop those things for her clients. Creating A Podcast In Susan's podcast, she gets to bring more of herself in. Susan gets to think about who interests her, who she wants to learn from, what she is reading, and who she wants to interview. Plus, Susan gets to create fun materials with her content. Also, Susan is learning that there are parts of her that she can bring into this process to expand her ability to be a therapist. For instance, Susan has learned about the effectiveness of self-disclosure when working with clients because it gives you more credibility when they can hear that a therapist has gone through similar struggles. Overall, with a podcast and creating content, it's fun to shake it up and to learn new things all the time. Normalizing Therapy Next, Susan speaks about working on tearing down the stigma that's still attached to being a therapy client. She wants to normalize these processes for people because almost everybody cares about having healthy relationships. Therefore, getting the skills to learn about this and making it approachable and accessible to people is critical to Susan. One way Susan helps people for free is through her podcast and social media. Plus, podcasting is more personal than blogging or written material because it's a better way to connect with the person on the other end. Even though you're just listening to a recording, you still make a connection through voice. Choosing Divorce As A Niche Professionally, Susan's favorite clients have been people who have been kicked to the curb. They are so down; they cannot get their head up, and they are so grateful to have therapy and have someone believe in them and have someone help them. That way, Susan can help her clients figure out what happened, so it doesn't happen again. Through therapy, Susan's clients regain self-esteem and gain some tools for intimacy in the future. Some of her very favorite clients have been people going through a divorce. Luckily, Susan can't say that she knows personally what divorce is like. However, she can say that she has never taken her husband for granted, and he has never taken Susan for granted. Client Themes Around Divorce When Susan sees somebody going through a divorce who didn't choose divorce, they are often very wounded, have hurt self-esteem and depression. Plus, there is anxiety, they question their attractiveness, and they question their desirability. After divorce, many people will suffer from self-doubt, low self-esteem, and even revenge fantasies. In addition, many times these people are angry, and they are bitter. Also, these people will look for ways to numb themselves so they may start drinking heavily, eating more, turning to relationships that aren't good for them in order to dull their feelings. While on the other hand, for the person who is initiating the divorce, there can be guilt and shame. Usually, these people want to know how they can help their children through the divorce process. Mainly, people want to be proactive, which is terrific. Lastly, another category is people that want the divorce, but don't think it's possible. For instance, someone might be staying in the marriage because of financial issues, or they are worried about their children's wellbeing. These are the trickiest and saddest situations because these people are almost like hostages. Expand Your Practice Outside The Therapy Room When expanding your practice, find some issues and topics that fascinate you that you want to learn about no matter what. That way, you can't go wrong. When you enjoy the information, you'll become an expert, and it will help fuel your energy. Also, when you love what you do, it will be harder to burnout. Another piece of advice is having a colleague help you. For instance, talking it out with someone can be a massive asset to your endeavors. It's also critical to have a set of trusted peers and colleagues that you can share information with.   Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Susan's Resources After The First Marriage After The First Marriage Podcast After The First Marriage Instagram  After The First Marriage Twitter Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Learn more about GreenOak Accounting  Join my Focus Groups Money Matters in Private Practice | The Course Google Workspace for Therapists | The E-Course Session Note Helper 3.0 Join the Google Workspace (formerly G-Suite) for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.  

In this episode, Amber Benziger joins the show to speak about creating a membership program for our clients. Amber created The Anxiety Lab, a monthly membership program full of courses, workbooks, speakers, and educational content to help people manage their anxiety. First, we dive into talking about racism in a therapy setting, Amber speaks about her switch to telehealth, and then Amber reveals the inspiration behind The Anxiety Lab. Plus, Amber explains why we need to stop doubting ourselves; we can execute our great ideas and help even more people outside of the therapy room. Meet Amber Benziger Hey, I'm Amber, a Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Clinical Trauma Professional in the state of New Jersey. I am a therapist, an advocate, a feeler, and a flawed human.  My goals are to create an environment for women to come, explore and process their feelings; and heal from their troubles while growing in self-compassion and self-worth. I'm no stranger to anxiety and perfectionism and through my own journey of self-exploration, I fell in love with the therapeutic process. When I'm not in my therapy chair I'm a busy mom of two, a runner, a french bulldog enthusiast, and an avocado toast connoisseur.  I curse too much, I find solace at the beach, and I love spray painting stuff. Speaking About Racism In Therapy As a Black therapist, Amber thinks it is imperative for her to discuss racism and advocate for equality because of her unique perspective. A larger majority of Amber's practice is women of color. Lately, Amber has seen a lot of racial trauma and a lot of anxiety around the election. Racism isn't something new. However, it does have a spotlight on it. So, Amber is talking about much more in her practice than she ever has before. It is critical to hold space for racial issues still, primarily because they haven't gone away, and people still have those concerns and worry. Racism isn't a trend, it's something that has always been there, and it seems like something that will always be around. Switching To Telehealth Before the pandemic, Amber had one or two clients online, but her practice was basically in the office. So, during the pandemic, Amber had to make that switch to telehealth, like many practitioners. She was worried about how that transition would go, and luckily, her clients were fantastic. Plus, Amber has just seen her practice grow incredibly in the past few months with the pandemic. She even has a waiting list and has turned people away. However, it's a struggle for Amber because she wants to help people who are having a hard time. Sometimes, it can be heartbreaking to turn a client away. That's why Amber created her membership service, The Anxiety Lab. The Anxiety Lab The Anxiety Lab is a monthly membership program full of courses, workbooks, speakers, and educational content to help manage your anxiety. The program is accompanied by a private online Facebook community where you can interact with Amber and your peers. Amber created it because it was something that she felt like she needed during the pandemic. During Covid, living under the same roof with kids and spouses can be really stressful, and Amber became really anxious herself. Then, Amber started getting a bunch of calls and a bunch of people reaching out to her through social media platforms about working with her. That made Amber feel even more overwhelmed and stressed out. So, she had the idea of creating The Anxiety Lab. Creating A Membership Program Amber is not a technology person. So that was the part that overwhelmed her. As practitioners, we're always questioning if we know how to do all this next-level stuff. So, Amber did a lot of research, and she decided to use the platform Kajabi. It is great for membership services because it allows Amber to put the courses on there, and it allows for the community aspect. That way, Amber doesn't have to use a different tool, and she can do everything on Kajabi. It will even let you send out email marketing; it's like a one-stop-shop for everything you need to create a membership program. Marketing Your Membership Program Amber will market a lot through her social media platforms, specifically Instagram. Amber will make connections on Instagram with other therapists and private practice owners. Plus, she jumps on Instagram Live with people who have a larger following. In addition, Amber dabbles with Facebook Ads; it's something that she still needs to learn more about. Overall, Amber utilizes a lot of word of mouth to get people to The Anxiety Lab. Plus, her therapist friends have been a lot of help when it comes to spreading the word. Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Amber's Resources Vitality Behavior Health Vitality Behavior Health on Facebook Amber on Instagram The Anxiety Lab Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Learn more about GreenOak Accounting  Training Webinar Join my Focus Groups Money Matters in Private Practice | The Course G Suite for Therapists | The E-Course Session Note Helper 3.0 Join the G-Suite for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

In this episode, Angela James joins the show. Amidst the pandemic, Angela opened Classroom to Couch, which is her private practice coaching business. We talk all about the importance of community over competition. In private practice, other therapists aren't your competition; they are your community and a great referral source. Later, Angela gives her three-step process to opening a private practice. Plus, we talk about making the switch to telehealth and why it has never been easier to open a private practice. Meet Angela James My name is Angela James and I'm a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in California. I've been practicing as a therapist for over 13 years and am grateful to be doing what I love. I'm nationally certified in TF-CBT which focuses on the treatment of Trauma in youth. I am a strong believer in the brain's ability to heal from past traumas and for PTSD to be seen as curable, given the right therapeutic intervention. I also specialize in helping adult women overcome anxiety and panic disorder related symptoms. I've always been passionate about helping others reach their full potential, so when I noticed myself eager to assist Therapists in opening their own Private Practice, it only seemed natural to develop this part of my professional career. Amidst this Pandemic, I opened Classroom to Couch which is my Private Practice coaching business. I am thrilled to see other mental health professionals reach their small business dreams and absolutely love being a small part of that process. Community Not Competition Therapists will view other therapists as their competition; it's a huge mistake. Angela says that private practice made her step out of her comfort zone and connect with other therapists. With a scarcity mindset, therapists think that all other therapists are their competition. However, it's simply not the case. When you build relationships with other therapists, you can refer potential clients to each other. Not everyone has the same niche, so your ideal client will not be another therapist's ideal client. In fact, Angela says that other therapists are her number one referral source. Connect with other therapists in the community and get to know them so you can generate more referrals. Angela's Three-Step Process Angela helps therapists using a three-step process. Step one is all about business basics; that's Angela's biggest passion. With Angela, you'll talk about the different business structures and which one could be a good fit for you. Step two is all about HIPAA compliance. Step three is all about networking, advertising, and marketing. Angela will teach you all about how to get the best referrals and how to network with other therapists in private practice. Plus, Angela says that her program is affordable and attainable. Switching To Telehealth Angela built an entire telehealth practice in the span of the weekend when the pandemic started. Luckily, Angela didn't lose very many clients. Even some that were unsure about telehealth eventually came back and gave it a shot. A lot of teenagers are actually a lot more comfortable with therapy via telehealth. At first, Angela struggled. However, she adapted and grew. The best part is that Angela can see clients from all over the state of California. Now, she has access to tons of people that she didn't before; it's incredible. Plus, Angela's coaching business was born out of Covid. You don't need a lot of money to start a telehealth practice, and now you have access to so many more clients. In the mental health world, Covid hasn't been a bad thing from the professional side. Starting A Private Practice The easiest way to get started in private practice is to create a telehealth practice from your house. There are not a lot of start-up costs to get it going. The earliest that Angela will be back in her office is in August. After the pandemic, telehealth isn't going anywhere. Moving forward, Angela will integrate both telehealth and in-person days so she can meet everyone's needs. Plus, with telehealth, you can see people from all over the state; it's a massive game-changer for your private practice. Also, Angela encourages clinicians to keep telehealth as part of their practice because people prefer it and it expands their reach. Telehealth is a considerable convenience; people no longer have to take off work to see their therapist.   Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Angela's Resources Angela's Website Angela's LinkedIn Angela's Facebook Angela's Instagram Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Learn more about GreenOak Accounting  Join my Focus Groups Money Matters in Private Practice | The Course G Suite for Therapists | The E-Course Session Note Helper 3.0 Join the G-Suite for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.  

"If you don't know where you're going, then how are you going to get there?" It's essential to have goals that are tangible and written down. In this episode, I walk you through part of the process that I use to develop plans for myself and how I'm able to stay on track and organized. As you move through 2021, one of the things that I would encourage you to do is to spend some time writing things down and doing quarterly reviews. Tune in as I talk about planners, SMART goals, and The Big 3. Find A Planner When we think about goal setting and all that we do to run a practice and manage our own lives, I think it's essential to have some goals. Make sure that your goals are tangible and written down.  You have a forty percent greater chance of completing a goal just merely by writing it down. One of the tools that I use pretty consistently now and for the last several years is the Michael Hyatt Full Focus Planner. My friend Michelle makes another planner that I recommend. You can hear Michelle Hardman, LPC from The Primed Practice on TPOT 101; the planner she developed is called the Primed Planner. It is one that she created specifically for therapists. Whichever tool you choose to use, I think it's good to have a way that you can use to keep yourself organized and on track. Know Your Domains The other thing about having a plan or having a system is it should be very goal-directed because, like the quote says, "if you don't know where you're going, how are you going to get there?" It's essential to break things down into smaller pieces to know how to accomplish what you want to achieve for the year. I think the other thing about goal setting is that when we think about our lives, our businesses, and what we do in our practices, we have many different domains or different areas of our life. Most of us are kind of interconnected; we have our home life, private life, what we do with our friends and family, and all of that. There is probably a whole set of goals that you want to have around your personal life, like your health, taking care of yourself, and self-care. Then we have our business goals that revolve around our private practices. Think about what growth you want to have, how you want to build your practice, the milestones you wish to set for yourself, and moving forward in your practice. Brain Dump One exercise that I think is always helpful is, and this is my brain dump exercise. Use your planner, and jot down and label each of the domains in your life. For example, you might have your practice; you might have a church community domain, personal finances domain, and business finances. Plus, you've got your family life; you have your immediate family and extended family. It's essential to jot those down, and then under those different domains, do a brain dump. When we write things down, our brains process that information a little differently. The Big 3 The Big 3 allows you to work on three big goals per quarter. When working on big goals, break them down into smaller pieces. There's a thing called SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound). When you think about making goals, they need to be specific. They need to be measurable, and they need to be actionable. They also need to be risky to some degree. In other words, you need to get out of your comfort zone a little bit with making goals. Goals need to be time-sensitive. You need to be able to have an end date in mind when setting a goal. Also, they need to be exciting and something that you can get behind rather than something you dread. Lastly, goals should be relevant and aligned with your own values.   Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Learn more about GreenOak Accounting  Focus Groups Consulting The Primed Planner Michelle Hardman | Having A Primed Practice | TPOT 101 Full Focus Planner FranklinCovey Getting Things Done Money Matters in Private Practice | The Course G Suite for Therapists | The E-Course Session Note Helper 3.0 Join the G-Suite for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.

How are you and your clients handling the climate of 2020 in and out of the therapy room? In this episode, we revisit some episodes where private practice owners give their thoughts on social justice in and out of the therapy room. We talk all about mental health in the Black community, healing through trauma, finding hope in 2020, and the Black Lives Matter movement. This episode features clips from Bewindi Bobb, LaToya Smith, Linda Sanderville, and Danielle Branche. Meet Bewindi Bobb Bewindi was born and raised in the beautiful, gorgeous Island of St. Lucia in the Caribbean. Her journey towards accepting the calling to be a counselor is interesting, but let's just say, she eventually stopped running (insert laughter) and realized that being a counselor is not just a  profession but a God-given and ordained calling and ministry. Bewindi is super passionate about seeing people become free to live happily and free from emotional baggage, free from whatever is blocking, delaying, or hindering their healing. She loves the opportunity to create a safe space where clients receive permission to express themselves, their feelings, and find themselves while gaining a new and changed perspective. She helps professionals who are dealing with unresolved emotional conflicts such as depression, anxiety, grief, stress, etc live freely by equipping them with tools to renew their mindsets. She loves to encourage and empower clients and when they apply the tools, they are able to show up for themselves and be their best selves in all areas of their lives. Additionally, she provides Christ-Centered Counseling to whom it applies and for those who request. With over 14 years of clinical experience, she is driven and fueled by her professional and personal values including but not limited to Faith, Empower, Purpose, Service, Encourage, and Teach. She is so honored to be in this space and knows that whether she is providing therapy, coaching, supervision or speaking to an audience or on her podcast, ‘Empowered to Empower You', which can be found on Spotify, Podbean, Apple Podcasts, Google, etc, she is convinced that people are definitely encouraged and ignited. Black Lives Matter Bewindi has a set of values that anchor her practice and a set of values that anchor her personal life. Faith is a tremendous value for Bewindi. If she combines all of her values, Bewindi believes that Black Lives Matter. Bewindi is honored that 99% of her practice is Black people. One of the messages that Bewindi takes from these times is that we need to invest in our mental health. Mental Health in the Black Community Mental health is a stigma in the Black community and the Asian community. It's awful that it took things like this to happen for people to seek mental health. However, Black people have been reaching out for mental health help now more than ever. People are experiencing so many losses, and they are so angry. The Black Lives Matter movement gives an outlet for our feelings. Bewindi is thankful that people recognize the need for mental health care. It's time to permit yourself to feel without being judged. Meet LaToya Smith LaToya is the owner of LCS Counseling and Consulting Agency in Fortworth Texas. She firmly believes that people don't have to remain stuck in their pain or the place they became wounded. She encourages her clients to be active in their treatment and work towards their desired outcome. Preventing Divison Vulnerability will build courage. The most authentic stories allow us to be seen, and that is how the connection is made. When we put words to our pain and our emotions, then we light up. Story will help bridge the gaps. We need to learn to set things aside, listen, and connect through stories and experiences. It will help tear down walls and prevent division. When we are willing to hear other people's pain, we realize that strangers are no different from us. Healing During 2020 It's hard to heal; there is always something. 2020 has been devastating. You can't stop to catch your breath. It's so heavy, and therapists are overwhelmed. If your clients are still being traumatized, then it's going to be hard to heal. Even Black therapists are having a hard time. It's a lot to process, and unfortunately, it's not new. People who are not Black can empathize with the community. A faithful ally will do something to prove that they are anti-racist. LaToya has been part of peaceful protests, and she sees change happening. When you are walking through the protests, you don't get all the love back. If you're out at the protests, then you need to practice mental health. There are people out there doing the work that needs to be done, reach out to them, and lend a helping hand. Meet Linda Sanderville Ready to receive greater abundance in your private practice? Without guilt, fear, or self-sabotage? Linda Sanderville helps therapists move beyond the initial stage of practice building, to increase profits through subconscious work, trauma release, and authentic business design. Working with Linda means growing your income in the next stage of your private practice, with all of the clarity and impact, and none of the scramble to hustle harder. She has an uncanny intuition for pinpointing your limiting beliefs and getting you unstuck so you can master your unique business strategy! When she's not working on unlocking your unlimited potential, you'll find Linda watching Arrested Development on perpetual repeat, and happily downing a vegan doughnut or an apple-ginger green smoothie. Don't be surprised if you hear her adorable toddler sounding loud and proud in the background of a Zoom call! Finding A Liberated Identity Recognize the effects of how you can tend toward devaluation of yourself as a result of other experiences. These effects should not be impacting your private practice. As a Black woman, Linda thinks about how she would do things if she had white man confidence. In general, women do not ask for more money, they don't ask for raises, and they don't ask for promotions. We have a responsibility to take care of ourselves emotionally, financially, and physically. It's time that we take control of our own lives and make our wildest dreams come true. Meet Danielle Branche If you ask any therapist why they were drawn to this profession, most of them would answer with, “I wanted to help people”. While this is true, it is much deeper. Danielle wanted to help people navigate through life in more fulfilling ways. She aspired to teach people how to be in a relationship with their mothers and fathers. Danielle wanted to give couples the tools they need to be the husbands and wives they want to be, not the ones their parents were. Her commitment is to do just that. *Danielle is no longer working out of the Largo area* Danielle's main focus is working with couples around issues of trust, communication, forgiveness after infidelity, intimacy, sex, and decision making (finances, children, etc.). She does pre-marital therapy and marital/relational enrichment. Danielle mainly uses Emotion-Focused Therapy & Solution-Focused Therapy. Danielle also sees individuals and does group therapy. As a Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist, Danielle is trained in understanding how to see things relationally, not just individually. She is versed in locating where behaviors, beliefs, ideas, and feelings originate, how they affect our lives and relationships, and how to effectively manage and/or change them. Feeling Hopeful in 2020 Danielle says that she has to do a lot of self-care. In staff meetings, they do vision boards. Sometimes, they also vent during staff meetings and chat about the different impacts. Danielle encourages her therapists to be in therapy themselves. As a Black clinician who sees a lot of African American clients, it can be cumbersome. Her clients are feeling hopeless. While on the other hand, some are feeling more hopeful about the changes happening in the country. Overall, Danielle says it's critical to take care of yourself so you can take care of others. Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Bewindi's Resources Empowered to Empower You Twitter Instagram Therapy For Black Girls LaToya's Resources Visit LaToya's Website Facebook Instagram Twitter Linda's Resources LinkedIn Facebook Website Instagram linda@lindasanderville.com Danielle's Resources …And I Still Love You: The Art of Loving Imperfect People Branches of Life Facebook Instagram Resources  Use the promo code “GORDON” to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Learn more about GreenOak Accounting  Solo to Group Practice: Adding More Therapists to Grow Your Time & Income Focus Groups Consulting Brighter Vision Money Matters in Private Practice | The Course Get your FREE Private Practice Start-Up Guide! Brighter Vision G Suite for Therapists | The E-Course Session Note Helper 3.0 Money Matters in Private Practice | The Course Join the G-Suite for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeOfTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn and Pinterest “Like” us on Facebook

This week on The Practice of Therapy, we revisit some of our favorite conversations about self-care. As COVID continues and therapists are needed more than ever, it's a great time to rethink your self-care routine. Enjoy the episode as we hear from Kati Morton, LaTonya Shelton, LaRonda Starling, and Veronica Cisneros. Tune in as we explore planning self-care time, spiritual self-care, and practicing self-care unapologetically. Meet Kati Morton, LMFT Kati Morton, LMFT holds a Master's in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University and is a licensed marriage and family therapist. In addition, she is a certified dialectical and behavior therapist and grief counselor and a member of The California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. She runs a private practice in Santa Monica, CA. Over the past seven years, Kati has leveraged social media to share mental health information worldwide through video. Her specialties include working with individuals experiencing eating disorders and self-harming behaviors, although she addresses all things related to mental health. Kati is well known for her YouTube channel which now has over 820 thousand subscribers and over 50 million views. In addition to her YouTube channel and strong presence on social media, she has appeared on the CBS The Doctors, HLN/CNN “Dr. Drew On Call,” E! News, KTLA, Fox News. She also has been featured in CNN, VICE, Glamour UK, Huffington Post, Yahoo, VOX, and many more. Kati released her first book, Are u ok?: A Guide to Caring for Your Mental Health in December 2018. Kati's passion is to increase awareness about mental health. Her online community has expanded to all major internet platforms, allowing her to answer mental health questions from her followers around the world. She hopes by doing this, the global community can push for better services worldwide and remove the stigma associated with getting help. Thinking Outside the Box Kati's husband pushed her to take the leap into social media. Kati's colleagues have been supportive; however, they don't always understand it. Eight years ago, her peers didn't realize how confidentiality would work over social media. Other clinicians give her pushback on the way she thinks about things. The most significant pushback Kati got was when she said therapy should be working toward a goal. Kati says we should be learning new tools that we can utilize in life. We shouldn't be using our therapist as a crutch. Staying Organized and Maximizing Your Time Kati started scheduling self-care in her calendar – it cannot be rescheduled. Kati isn't afraid to outsource the things she can't do. Kati has a team of people behind the scenes which lets her do creative work in her free time. Initially, she was nervous to bring people to her team. However, scheduling doesn't need to be done by herself. If you don't have time to clean your house, you should have someone come and clean it for you. Meet LaTonya Shelton LaTonya N. Shelton, LCSW, RYT, the owner of Red Jasper Counseling, PLLC, located in Nashville, TN. Her practice specializes in providing treatment for trauma, anxiety, and depression. She is a licensed clinical social worker and yoga instructor who integrates somatic (body-centered) psychotherapy practices and mindfulness in her work with clients.   LaTonya embodies a deep passion for helping individuals learn, heal, and grow. She believes that by helping others understand and navigate difficult emotions, clients can experience relief, improved health, and regain control of their lives.   Doing Things Your Own Way LaTonya is a self-starter. It is so easy to get overwhelmed and inundated with all of the information that's out there. There are a lot of opportunities for mastermind groups and business coaching. With all the information, it's so easy to get overwhelmed. You need to start somewhere. Plus, you're not going to get it right and perfect in the beginning. However, that's the beauty of starting and moving forward on a journey. Make it your own! Self-Care For Private Practice Owners Self-care is such a buzzword these days. Some of the self-care that LaTonya engages in is very simple. She enjoys a cup of coffee most mornings with her dog walking in the park, and that works well for LaTonya. Do the things that get you out in nature. Reading, talking, and being around people that support you will also be essential. These things have been the crux of LaTonya's self-care. Take the Leap of Faith Throw your limiting beliefs out the window. Show up and do the work that you want to do. LaTonya is a dreamer, but also a planner. Being organized, balanced, and flexible will assist in your private practice journey. Are you wondering if you should take the leap into private practice? It's going to be scary, and there's going to be peaks and valleys, but start, and you'll find your way. You'll meet great people like Gordon. Plus, LaTonya met people in mastermind and focus groups. Meet LaRonda Starling Dr. LaRonda Starling is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and a Licensed Professional Counselor in Texas, a National Certified Counselor, an adjunct professor at a Christian university, and the author of Be Still: Spiritual Self-Care for Mental Health Professionals. She has earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, a Master of Science degree in Counseling, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Psychology with a specialization in Clinical Psychology. As a clinician, Dr. Starling provides therapeutic services (psychological assessment and counseling) in a private practice setting. Along with her clinical experience as a mental health professional, Dr. Starling has over fifteen years of experience working in academic environments; first as a staff member and then as adjunct faculty in both classroom and online settings. In all that she does (working or volunteering), she hopes that God receives the glory as she uses the gifts He has so graciously given her. Why Private Practice Owners Need to Practice Self-Care Private practice owners need to take time for themselves. When you work for yourself, you have so many roles to take on. There is always a time where you could be doing some work. One of the things that LaRonda suggests is to be still. Sometimes that means to physically be still – stop being so busy during the day. Also, you need to spiritually be still. Find the Good in Your Day Who is God as a person? If you know that God is everywhere, then we can lean on God. Also, be intentional about prayer. Sometimes we only pray when something terrible happens. We need to take the time throughout the day to pray. Throughout the day, think about what is good. What's the silver-lining of quarantine? Maybe you learned how to use teletherapy, that's a fantastic silver-lining during this time. Meet Veronica Cisneros Veronica is a licensed marriage and family therapist, motivational speaker, mother of three, and wife of her beloved husband of 20 years. Through personal experience, she has defeated life's challenges by leaning into fear unapologetically. She's taught hundreds of women how to take ownership of their lives, lean into fear, and let go of judgment. However, this is not a big enough impact and she learned to empower the millions of women worldwide who suffer. She focuses on creating true change, encouraging women to no longer compromise themselves in order to meet the needs of others. Vulnerability A lot of therapists' lack vulnerability – Veronica sees this frequently. There's a fear of being exposed. If a therapist exposes their true self, then what are other people going to think? If someone knew their reality, then what would people say? Veronica says that therapists are wrapped up in their identity as a therapist. When you take away your therapist role, then who are you? When is the last time you engaged in one of your hobbies? It's time that therapists start thinking about themselves and give themselves permission to be real humans and show their vulnerabilities. Empower Your Life Veronica thought about the life she wanted to live. She wants to be a connected and exceptional mom and wife. Then, Veronica thought about what was standing in her way. She looked at herself and examined what she was doing. Eventually, Veronica realized that she didn't think she was deserving. Her house was at a higher ranking than herself. She looked at her life and how she wanted to change it. Instead of thinking she wasn't worth it, she decided to create her perfect day. For instance, when Veronica sleeps in, she gives herself grace. She permits herself to do the things that she wants to do. Take Action Veronica used to wake up to a checklist and would yell at her kids because they were late for school. She found herself irritated the moment she woke up. Veronica realized it was her fault – she needed to ask her husband for help. What boundaries have you set, and how have you asserted yourself? Veronica never asked her husband for help. Instead, she felt resentful. Plus, she felt guilt and shame for screaming first thing in the morning. Veronica knew something needed to change. She could have blamed her kids and her husband. Instead, Veronica decided to take action. She asked for help and let go of perfection.   Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Kati's Resources For more information about Kati, please click here. Are U OK? A Guide to Caring for Your Mental Health YouTube Facebook Instagram LaTonya's Resources LaTonya's Website Email: info@redjaspercounseling.com Phone: (615) 606-2964 Facebook Instagram LaRonda's Resources Grace Psychological Health Services, PLLC Be Still: Spiritual Self-Care for Mental Health Professionals Veronica's Resources Website Podcast Facebook Group Instagram Resources  Use the promo code “GORDON” to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Learn more about GreenOak Accounting  Focus Groups Consulting Brighter Vision Money Matters in Private Practice | The Course Get your FREE Private Practice Start-Up Guide! Brighter Vision G Suite for Therapists | The E-Course Session Note Helper 3.0 Money Matters in Private Practice | The Course Join the G-Suite for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeOfTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn and Pinterest “Like” us on Facebook

The shift to telehealth has just created a massive change for a lot of us in private practice. So this episode is all about diving into restructuring your practice. First, ask yourself why you started a private practice, and think about why you want to restructure your practice. Once you know why you can begin to focus on restructuring your workflow. Sometimes, certain aspects of your workflow can be made more straightforward; simple is always better. Stay tuned as I talk about restructuring your finances, increasing your rates, and giving your website a facelift. Start With Why When we think about our why - go back and think about why you wanted to go into private practice, to begin with. What motivates you to have a practice? For a lot of people, they want the autonomy that it brings. Also, it creates a more significant earning potential for us. So, why do you want to restructure your practice? Perhaps your systems and processes have become overly complicated. Maybe your stress levels continue to rise because of things within the practice that cause you a lot of headaches. Look At Your Workflow From the time that a new client contacts your practice, what takes place? One client is easy, but if you start getting ten clients a week, what's the workflow around that? Who is in charge of the workflow? Map this out! The intake procedure should be simple for the client. Think about ways that you can make it easy. Now that everything is online, the process should be as user-friendly as possible. Plus, the process should also be easy for you as a clinician. In private practice, there is an overlap between the clinical and business sides. Keep those processes separate from each other. Having an electronic health record system will help you keep these things separate. Ditch Your Deadwood There are probably things in your workflow that you don't need. Simple is always better. Writing session notes can be a massive headache for clinicians. Newer therapists will go into so much detail in their session notes. It will be an entire narrative of everything that took place in the session. This is something that you can cut back on. Progress notes are a reminder for you as a clinician of what you did in that session. If you have things that give you the theme of the session, then that should be documented. Session Note Helper Your progress notes should only take about five or ten minutes to complete. If they are taking longer than that, you need to streamline it more. People can get really backed up on client documentation. The Session Note Helper is a set of templates that I created. It uses an add-on called Form Publisher that is HIPAA secure. You can check off boxes about what you did in the session. Then, the Form Publisher will create a narrative based on what you checked on the form. You can find out more about the Session Note Helper here. I created this to make my workflow easier. Because it's in a Google Doc format, I can just copy and paste what I wrote there into TherapyNotes. Understanding Your Profits One mistake that most people will make is looking at their bank account and thinking they don't have to worry. You need to do a deeper dive into your profitability. Look at the profits at least once a quarter. Make sure that what you are bringing in is making a profit for yourself, and it's sustainable. Look at your numbers and think about restructuring your payment system. Anytime there is a change in the pay system, it can be painful. However, once you rip the band-aid off, it can bring long-term benefits. If you will restructure how you pay your clinicians in a group practice, set a deadline for yourself. The first of the year is an excellent time to change things; it's natural. Restructure Your Prices If you are insurance-based, look at those contracts and which ones are going to renew. You can set up a new fee structure if the contract is going to be up. There is a shortage of mental health providers. One of the things that are coming out of 2020 is insurance pay is going up. The first of the year is an excellent time to go up on your fees. Think about what a reasonable increase would be. Going up on your fees is one way to become more profitable. If you go up on your fees, there are a few ways to deal with current clients. You can raise your current client's fees, or you can keep them at the current rate. There is no right or wrong way of doing this. The main thing is, you should be looking at your fees, making sure it's increasing to keep up with inflation.   Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Learn more about GreenOak Accounting  Focus Groups Consulting Brighter Vision Money Matters in Private Practice | The Course (use code julie2020) The Group Practice Outfitter Waitlist  G Suite for Therapists | The E-Course Session Note Helper 3.0 Join the G-Suite for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.  

This episode is all about embracing the changes that 2020 has thrown at us. As we adjust to the new normal, it's time to think about what opportunities we can find. For instance, if you haven't already, maybe it's time to ditch your physical office and go full-time into telehealth. Also, it's time to start thinking about diversifying your income through Gumroad or Teachable. Tune in as I speak about all sorts of ways you can embrace the curveball that is 2020.  Start With Your Why What are your priorities? Why do you want to be in practice? Why do you want to do the things that you do? This year we learned a lot about making a transition to a whole new business model, and that's the switch to telehealth. Frankly, telehealth will become the new normal over the next year. So, it's time that you think about how you have your practice structured and set up. One of the things about being online is that your office space becomes less important. You don't need the furniture anymore! Think About Your Practice Moving Forward The boundaries around the types of people you can see for therapy has now widened a great deal. Your potential client base can be the entire state you are licensed in. So, how are you going to start to market your practice? You can think about a broader reach. Does your website need to be updated? This could be a great time to make upgrades and changes. That way, it will reflect that you can see clients from a broader geographic location. Think about doing things in different ways. It's A Great Time For Private Practice Owners There is such a demand for mental health services during 2020. When you switch to telehealth, it will reduce the geographic bounds of what you do. Are you thinking about having a group practice? The therapists that you can hire has now broadened too; they no longer have to commute! The pandemic allows for more work and less commute time. It's time to think about things differently. Write Down Your New Priorities When you write down your new priorities, it will help with the overwhelm. When we are overwhelmed, there will be a sense of anxiety. To battle anxiety, do a brain dump! In your planner, make a list and write down everything that captures your attention at the moment. It's a journaling exercise in many ways, and it gives us a new perspective on things. Why You Need To Embrace Change Our routines have been turned upside down. Particularly for those who have children. It's challenging to navigate work with homeschooling. We need to accept the fact that our routines are messed up. Now, it's time to look at small ways to change our routine and make it work for us. We are creatures of habits, and we get used to doing things the same way each time. When we change that up, it becomes unsettling. Instead, we need to focus on self-care. If you want to learn more about practicing self-care as a private practice owner, listen to my episode with Veronica Cisneros: Unapologetic Self-Care in Private Practice. The Importance Of Connecting With Others The pandemic has caused us to feel isolated and disconnected from people that matter most to us. Thanksgiving is around the corner. However, many of us have pulled back from our traditions, and we are not getting together with family. It's a hard decision to make. Allow yourself to embrace change, lean into it, and take ownership of how you will reorganize your life. We think about our relationships with others differently during 2020 – embrace it! I recently did an episode with Kathryn Esquer about connecting with other private practice owners during 2020. You can listen to the episode HERE. Plus, try The Teletherapist Network for two weeks free using my link: https://teletherapistnetwork.com/gordon. Diversify Your Income There are so many great opportunities to create income for yourself in the online space. For instance, you can sell digital products or some sort of activity you'd like to share with other therapists. To sell those digital products, like Paperwork Packets and the Session Note Helper, I use Gumroad. Another idea for creating additional income streams is doing online courses. I know for many of us that once we got out of graduate school, we loved teaching other people things. There is an excellent opportunity to increase income, and that's by creating online courses or seminars, that kind of thing. The platform I use for that is Teachable. Give yourself permission to think outside the box and create other income streams for yourself so that you're not solely dependent on client interactions. Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Learn more about GreenOak Accounting  Teachable Gumroad Brighter Vision Listen to Private Practice Elevation Money Matters in Private Practice | The Course (use code julie2020) The Group Practice Outfitter Waitlist  G Suite for Therapists | The E-Course Session Note Helper 3.0 Join the G-Suite for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.  

In this episode, Faith Dulin and I talk about her experiences as a new therapist and working on boundaries with people. As therapists, we like to be accommodating. However, people-pleasing will take a toll over an extended period of time. One way that Faith works on her boundaries is by seeing her own therapist. Plus, we talk about working with clients who are challenging to engage with, and we give tips on building rapport with clients upfront. Meet Faith Dulin I moved to Charlotte from the West Coast 20+ years ago. I have a military background and worked uptown in corporate America before completing my degrees in Psychology, Sociology, and Marriage and Family Therapy. In my free time, I gush over dogs on Instagram, enjoy sports, and like taking pictures. My counseling style is a balance between challenging and cheer-leading. I have a contemporary approach that's less theory-oriented and more real talk. I'm not reclined in my chair with a monocle, analyzing your every move. I'm listening, I'm curious, I'm aware that behaviors make sense in context. I want to understand you and know what you want in life so we can figure out how to get there. I provide helpful feedback, compassionate support, and take-home strategies and tools. The relationship you have with yourself sets the tone for all other relationships, and I want to empower you to create the love and life you deserve. In addition to supporting relationships, I work with individual men and women. I'm located near uptown and have evening appointments. Check out my website to see if I'd be a good fit for you. Boundaries Faith is putting together a book around the concept of boundaries that doesn't have a religious foundation. There are practical ways to set boundaries without feeling like a jerk. Therapists can struggle with boundaries. For example, some therapists will become heavily invested in their client's lives and their success. Another example of poor boundaries is when a therapist may have social media interactions with their clients. Sometimes, therapists will talk to their clients over the weekend. Also, therapists that handle money will have a challenging time setting a boundary with their clients. We need to continue to work on boundaries. One way that Faith works on her boundaries is by seeing her own therapist. Working With Difficult Clients In graduate school, therapists are told they should be gentle and non-confrontational. Everyone has a different style of working with clients. Faith says that she likes to be direct and confrontational. It's essential to label behaviors, even if it isn't warmly received. If a client does not take the label well, it's probably not the right fit for Faith. Clients need to find a therapist that's a good fit for them. If you are not the right therapist for a client, then you shouldn't take it personally. The client must benefit from therapy. If the client doesn't work well with you, it will be best for both of you to go separate ways. Working With Difficult Men Faith tends to get male clients that hate therapy – they think it's a bunch of BS. When it's a couple, Faith says that their wife has made them go to therapy. However, men like when Faith gives it to them straight. It's essential to build rapport and trust with your clients. For Faith, she works with police and first responders. A lot of times, these men will come and test her as a therapist. They want to know if their trauma will rattle you. Faith likes to hold a safe space for clients so that they will learn to trust her. When you have that trust, then your relationship with clients can withstand challenging moments in therapy. Creating A False Mutual Pretense Therapists can create false mutual pretense. When someone is resistant to therapy, then they are probably testing you out. We should be able to label that dynamic from the beginning. Gordon will ask their clients what sort of experiences they have had with therapy in the past. He says that talking to strangers about personal stuff isn't on anyone's top ten list of things to do. Gordon will let his clients know that he admires their bravery to talk to him. That way, people will let their guard down. Gordon learned this when working with teenagers; they can be resistant to therapy. It's crazy to spill your guts to a total stranger! So we must acknowledge this aspect of therapy. Building Credibility With Clients You can share personal things with clients to build your credibility. Clients feel better about a therapist that does a bit of self-disclosure about their struggles. It will help deal with demanding clients. There are some clients that you have to spend more time engaging and aligning. The client must buy into the therapeutic process so they will share and open up with their therapist. Listen to Jeff Geunther on The Practice of Therapy to learn more about self-disclosure in the therapy room. Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links! Faith's Resources Harmony Psychotherapy Instagram Facebook Resources  Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free. Learn more about GreenOak Accounting  Money Matters in Private Practice | The Course (use code julie2020) Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life The Group Practice Outfitter Waitlist  Listen to Say More About That Listen to Jeff Geunther on The Practice of Therapy G Suite for Therapists | The E-Course Session Note Helper 3.0 Join the G-Suite for Therapists Users Group Cool Resources Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.