Chutzpah Marketing For Mental Health Professionals
Chapter 1. Are therapists allowed to make real money?
CopitchInc.com
Chutzpah Marketing For Mental Health Professionals
The Simple Chutzpah Super Bill
Chutzpah Phone Scripts for Mental Health Professionals
Chutzpah Web Site Marketing for Professionals
Show me Chapter 1: Table of Contents
Show me Chapter 1: excerpt
This book is a post doctoral training course on running a business in a professional and clinically sound matter. The truth is, if you do not conduct your practice as a business you will not be around long enough to help your patients.
Your private practice (or the agency you are working for) is a business. Unfortunately, most therapists want to believe that they are not in business or that it is inappropriate for a therapist to conduct business.
Philip Copitch, Ph.D.
508 pages. 8.5 x 11.3 inches.
Get 3 for free!
Book $70 
Download now $50
Table of Contents
Show me Chapter 1 excerpts
Are therapists allowed to make real money?
Common myths 21 Practice building myths 22 Running a business versus running a hobby 23 Getting your mind around running a business 24 Get your mind around making money 26 Making real money 27 Rule #3: You need to be completely comfortable with making lots of money 28 Robert Bacon, MFT 28 Robert excelled with rule #1 29 Robert failed rule #2 29 Robert can’t even see rule #3 30 Brazen head 30
1. Are therapists allowed to make real money?
This book is a post doctoral training course on running a business in a professional and clinically sound matter. The truth is, if you do not conduct your practice as a business you will not be around long enough to help your patients.
Your private practice (or the agency you are working for) is a business. Unfortunately, most therapists want to believe that they are not in business or that it is inappropriate for a therapist to conduct business.
Common myths
I have been a therapist for over 25 years. I have taught business management to therapists and other professionals for over 20 years. In my clinical practice I have heard many inaccurate belief systems that hold patients back. Similarly, as a consultant, I have heard inaccurate belief systems that hold clinicians back from making money.
The top myths are:
- If I am a great clinician, the money will take care of itself.
- I got into psychology to help, not to make money.
- My patients will think that I do not care about them if I talk to them about fees.
- I’m a professional, not a salesperson!
- I’m a professional, I don’t need to advertise.
- My colleagues will think I am not professional if I advertise.
- Marketing one’s service is for plumbers.
- My skills are above average, patients will know and come flocking to my practice.
- If I keep doing a good job as a therapist, the referrals will pick up soon.
- Patients want to pay me, they just can’t.
- If I push payment on patients they will be harmed by me when they came to me for help.
- Jane Doe, LCSW is half the therapist I am and she has a thriving practice. Jane Doe, LCSW is lucky.
Practice building myths
Therapists have well developed myths about running and building a practice.
The common ones I hear are:
- If I hire a good office manager I won’t have to deal with the dirty part of my practice—money.
- I run an agency/clinic, not a business.
- I run a private practice, not a business.
- Running a business seems easy enough for me; I have an advanced degree.
- If I get business cards made, and keep a large stash of them on my desk, the patients should show up to pick one up.
- If I practice the words, “I’m sorry, I don’t have a card on me right now,” the patients should show up at my office to pick one up.
- If I put my name in the phone book with the hordes of other therapists, the public will find me and fill my date book.
- If I tell a few close friends that I have opened a private practice, they will bugle my qualities to the masses. This will cause the public to seek me out and fill my calendar.
- If I send out 50 or 100 fliers to other therapists they will become my public relations representatives and motivate the public to storm my office and demand an appointment.
- If I get a fancy office in a high rent district, have an open house and invite fellow professionals, these professionals will be so impressed with my office, and my Aunt Mary’s avocado dip, that they will need to motivate the public to stampede my office and threaten to lynch me if I cannot see them for six weeks.
- If I lecture to the P.T.A. or a local church parents group, 17 of the 20 people that are entranced by my presence will quickly fill my wide-open schedule.
- If I leave my practice brochure at the public library my practice should be filled by next Tuesday.
- If I send a well-crafted letter to the local doctors explaining my skills, they will carefully read my prose and probably start encouraging all their patients to use my services.
- If I were just more social and went to cocktail parties and handed out my cards, I’d have a full practice by Monday noon.
- If I join an insurance company’s EAP or PPO board the insurance company will eagerly direct motivated clients toward my practice. Even at their reduced fees, I will see more patients and make more money. (I have a friend who jokes about this one- “I’m only losing a few dollars on every patient– so I’ll make it up on volume.)
Running a business versus running a hobby
The Internal Revenue Service has a rule that states that if you lose money in a business venture three out of five years you are conducting a hobby not a business. Expenses for hobbies cannot be deducted as business expenses.
Irrelevant of the IRS regulations, my belief is that many therapists conduct their business as if it was a hobby. Many tinker around trying to eke out an existence. I don’t blame them, I am just concerned for them. (I can’t help myself. I’m a therapist you know. I take care of people.)
When you let the above-mentioned type of thoughts dictate your behavior, you are doomed to running a hobby. This is not bad, it just is. I know one therapist who sees 3 individual clients per week in her living room. She charges on a sliding scale from $27 to $50 dollars. Recently, she told me that she, “Allowed a patient to skip paying this month, her transmission went out, the poor dear.” She is a wonderful clinician with well-practiced clinical skills. She is financially independent and highly involved in her community. She is happily running a hobby. In fact, she is proud that she can help the “poor dears.”
On the other hand, Dr. Stevenson is a father of three. His wife is a nurse, and the children are heading for college. Dr. Stevenson doesn’t want to be running a hobby, but he is.
Dr. Stevenson: I’m really upset with my last patient.
Dr. Phil: How come? (See I told you I was a therapist, I can’t help but help.”)
Dr. Stevenson: The last two weeks she has called with an excuse for missing her appointment.
Dr. Phil: How do you deal with last minute cancellations?
Dr. Stevenson: It doesn’t happen too often. I usually tell them that next time they will have to pay for missed appointments.
Dr. Phil: Will you be charging her?
Dr. Stevenson: No, I can’t. She can’t afford my fee.
Dr. Stevenson doesn’t know it, but he is treating his practice as if it is a hobby.
Getting your mind around running a business
Please allow me to generalize: therapists are terrible at business. I know many a therapist who could talk you blind about the clinical implications of masturbation or the interpersonal relevancies of the inner self, but who get all tongue tied when talk turns to money. They can help patients through the loss of a spouse or the emotions of childbirth, but they can’t organize a clear office policy for missed appointments.
It is not for lack of intelligence. Therapists have skills. Therapists can multitask! The average therapist can keep track of the interpersonal aspects of a session; the clinical relevance of the verbal and nonverbal communications; monitor their own personal issues; manage the clock; and predict the flow of the emotions in the room. All this while making sure the paperwork is signed, the coffee is available, and that their own bladder is trained to only need attention between sessions. Therapists are down right amazing!
But, they are seriously lacking when it comes to running a business.
Therapists tend to give away the store. They are so focused on helping others that they tend to give, give, give.
I think I know why, giving feels good! But, you can’t pay the rent with “good feelings.” The landlord wants legal tender.
More importantly, your job is not to feel good, your job is to treat your patients. Running a business allows you the opportunity to treat your patients. Unless you are independently wealthy, you need payment to pay your bills. At the end of the month, when you are looking over your bills, it is not good if you find yourself thinking, “How am I going to pay this?” It is even worse if you catch yourself saying, “If so and so would only pay his bill I would be able to pay mine.” Counter-transference is a dangerous clinical issue.
Finally, how is your patient supposed to thank you? They can’t give you a gift or leave money to you in their will. They can’t invite you over for dinner or offer to help you with your problems. Ethically, how can you allow a patient to thank you? You can accept payment for services rendered.
If you do not get payment for services rendered, you are robbing your patient of his ability to act as a mature adult. If your patient went into Denny’s to have lunch you would expect her to pay for that lunch, wouldn’t you? Shouldn’t these same socially accepted rules occur at your office? If a patient receives your services it is reasonable for you to expect payment. In fact, I will go one step further. If you do not assist the patient in conducting his relationship with you in an ethical manner, you are not doing your job.
When a patient comes into your practice for assistance, in the most general sense you are sharing a relationship with this person. You are helping your patient: to begin a relationship; to grow within a relationship; and to end a relationship. This relationship exists for your patient’s benefit. It is a special experience that you create for the benefit of your patient. Any conflicts that occur because of poor business planning on your part should not be permitted.
By running a business you are protecting you and your patient. The demarcations of your clinical relationship are clear. Your personal feelings concerning any individual client or employee are not allowed to influence your clinical or business relationship. Your ethics are kept to the highest order.
It is important that your patient is able to thank you for your services. I have had patients make very powerful statements at the end of treatment:
- You saved my life.
- I couldn’t have done it without you.
- I wouldn’t have been able to get through the last year without you.
To which I clearly reply, “You chose to get help and you did the work to accomplish your goals… I am just the help.”
You are just the help. What makes you someone’s therapist is that they decided to let you help. All the skill that is bottled up inside you is useless until someone asks for it.
By running a business well you will be able to share your skills with many families. The money you make as a therapist is for you to use to accomplish your personal needs. I am a true believer that you can’t buy happiness, but you most definitely can rent it.
End of Excerpt
Get 3 for free!
Book $70 Download now $50
CopitchInc.com
Chutzpah Marketing For Mental Health Professionals • The Simple Chutzpah Super Bill • Chutzpah Phone Scripts for Mental Health Professionals • Chutzpah Web Site Marketing for Professionals • Business Consultation with Dr. Copitch • CEUforTherapists.com • Site map •
© 2003-10 Copitch, Inc. • All Rights Reserved. • www.CopitchInc.com • Sycophant@CopitchInc.com