Some Tips for Strengthening Your Private Practice

Building a Private Practice is all about creating a strong foundation. This foundation builds as you strengthen your business plan, the way you do business, you as therapist and your marketing plan. I have found many therapists don't know how to describe themselves or tell others what they do and why they do it. Here I present just a piece of what I think makes up a private practice.

What is Your Specialty?
I ask everyone I work with to define themselves as a therapist. Who do you want to work with and what do you find curative? Think about how you describe yourself to people , the work you do and how you can help them. Many people want to cast a big net and be expert in a lot of areas and that may sound like a good marketing idea, actually having a target group of who you work with helps build a larger practice. Now that you have decided what your specialties are, how connected are you to those organizations that work with your population? I have many years working with all types of addictions and I try to stay in contact with treatment programs and the addiction community as a way of keeping my name out there but also to stay informed about treatment and what programs are available.

When was the last time you attended a workshop, networking meeting or event that your community offered? You would be surprised at how you will develop friends and referral sources.

Spending Time on the phone pays off.A woman called me the other day and my plan was not to take on any new patients for a couple of weeks. I had already spoken with her and told her I could see her in a couple of weeks, I offered her some referrals but she wanted to wait and see me. Several days later she called back saying she wanted a referral to a psychiatrist, her life coach had suggested she take antidepressants. I realize I could have given her the name of several of the psychiatrists I regularly use and let it go at that but I don't like to encourage the use of psychotropics without therapy and I wanted to hear more. As we talked she broke down into tears and said she didn't want to take medication and she didn't know what to do. I realized she couldn't wait a couple of weeks and we made an appointment to sort out her feelings and create a plan. Taking the time with her on the phone helped me to understand and I hope she felt understood.

I have usually found the time on the phone is well worth it. I have had many clients call me back and want to see me after they have spoken with others (and often I gave them the referrals) but they felt so attended too by the time I gave them, they often come back. I know I am not perfect and there are the times when I have not returned a call but I do my best to return all calls, even if I am not accepting new patients I always try and make the effort to help them find someone else.

In my private practice development program often I am asked, usually from newly licensed or interns/students, how to do the first call to the patient, I realized most of them have come from agencies or clinics where the appointments are made for them. Those that intern in a private practice usually stay there as they develop a practice. So here is what I tell them:

* Make sure you have enough time to talk with them.
* Try and hear some of their story to see if you are a good match.
* If you are not a good match have referrals ready for them.
* Offer them an idea of how you would work with them.
* Inform them of your fee & how insurance is handled.
* I always close with encouraging them to find a therapist they feel understood by.
* And to call me back if they have questions, want more information or if they want more referrals. I want them to find the right person and if I can help I will.

And I always remind myself that the energy I put out today will be returned to me further down the road. Also keep in mind that it is important that you have a large network to refer too and it makes a great topic to discuss at networking meetings.

Remember building a successful private practice comes with using a combination of marketing tools, persistence, creativity and taking risks. I look forward to working with you and hearing all your feedback.

Licia Ginne
310) 828.1256
http://www.TherapyMarketingCoach.com