Practice Management Tips
Thomas Roberts, LCSW, DAPA, FAAIM
Director, Psychotherapist and Clinical Hypnotherapist
Innerchange Counseling
757 Sandlake Rd.
Onalaska, Wisconsin 54650
www.innerchg.com
tom@innerchg.com
13 years ago, I left the comfort of working in a hospital/clinic setting, for the adventures of private practice. It was a time when Managed Care was exerting its influence and others in private practice were fleeing back to the safety of hospital and clinic work. Many were undercutting their worth by offering psychotherapy for $10 per session! I was told I was crazy for starting out in this climate.
Well, here I am. My practice (Psychotherapy and Clinical Hypnotherapy) has grown every year and is thriving. I practice in a smaller community (pop. 70,000) that has two major medical complexes (one is a Mayo system hospital!) and where Managed Care has a growing influence.
While my practice does accept insurance, I do not accept any Managed Care contracts.
So why has my practice thrived in the midst of what some would view as an adverse environment?
There are several keys to starting and maintaining a quality practice.
1) The first and most important is to believe in yourself and your skills as a therapist. Be bold! Educate clients, referral sources, and the community of the value and worth of therapy. Everything else you do will be built off this: how you market, network, set up your clinic environment, answer the phone, set and collect your fees, are all dependent upon how much you value what you do. This is not bragging; just telling the truth: therapy does have value.
2) Marketing. Be careful how you spend your marketing dollars. I went to a marketing seminar several years ago and was told their approach would more than pay for itself in increased business. In the five years which I utilized their plan, only one year did I break even with my marketing dollars, the other four I lost money. For example, during this period, referrals from the Yellow Pages went down. You see, I live in a conservative Midwestern city, and this high glitz advertising approach was actually turning people off! In my community these types of ads work fine for Dentists, Attorneys, and the big hospital based clinics, but not for Psychotherapists.
Know your market!
There are ways to market that are very effective and very inexpensive: 1) Write articles for local newspaper and magazines. Next to word of mouth and certain referral sources, this is the single most effective marketing strategy I use; 2) Public speaking. Once people see your face and get to meet you, they are much more comfortable in calling your practice. They also tell their friends they have seen you and talked to you. Many times, I hear “My friend saw you speak about migraines at…” and from this an appointment is made and; 3) stay visible with referral sources. I have an extensive e-mailing list, so whenever I see an article, workshop, or book that I think, say, a pediatrician would be interested in I e-mail it to her; I call her to follow up.
These approaches are free and generate many referrals.
3) Find your niche, do it well, and network. I have developed an effective approach to working with somatic complaints and I have become trusted amongst referral sources in working with this population.
When a client I am seeing is also working with a Physician, Chiropractor, Nurse, etc., I make sure I talk with their healthcare professional about my role in the clients healing process. This is also a time to educate. For example, when I talk with a physician about working with their patient with hypnotherapy (i.e. to help relive symptoms of Irritable Bowel) their initial resistance dissipates when they can ask me questions. They quickly learn that I am well educated, experienced, and ethical and my work is well documented by research. This last point is important for physicians to know and I take the time to share the research with them. This too generates referrals as well as a solid reputation.
I my office, I use textures, sounds, aromas, colors to create a warm, friendly, and caring environment that big clinics do not. I have had clients tell me that walking into my office is like walking into a living room; very warm and comfortable. I also have a massage chair that client just love. Many come early to their appointment just so they can spend time in “the chair”.
Finally, my Office Manager is the most important person in my practice. She handles everyone (clients and referral sources) with patience, compassion, and respect. When I come to get my clients I often hear “Oh, do I have to go talk to you, now?” This experience for the clients is something the big clinics cannot touch and my practice is known for.
