The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer: SPECIAL EPISODE COVID-19 | Private Practice Consultants Roundtable Discussion

SPECIAL EPISODE COVID-19 | Private Practice Consultants Roundtable Discussion | TPOT 121

Mar 22, 2020

Gordon and a panel of private practice leaders and consultants discuss what we can do to navigate the uncertainties of the current COVID-19 crisis as private practice owners and clinicians. They discuss switching to online therapy and counseling. They also talk about the economic impact of people canceling sessions and the unknowns this places on practices. Plus, we learn creative ways to serve our clients like doing mini sessions, teaching meditation, and relationship-building. Also, start thinking about ways you can diversify your income and how to plan for future emergencies.

Meet Alison Pidgeon

Alison Pidgeon, MA, LPC, is a licensed professional counselor and the owner of Move Forward Counseling in Lancaster, PA. Her private practice, which focuses on women’s issues, currently consists of six other therapists and two assistants. Alison has recently purchased an office building to house her private practice and will be expanding to a total of 12 therapists in the fall of 2018.

In addition, for the past two years, Alison has been working as a business consultant along with Joe Sanok, from Practice of the Practice, for other private practice owners. She loves being an entrepreneur and helping others achieve their dream of being their own boss. Alison’s specialty as a consultant is how to have an insurance-based practice, helping those who are just starting out and how to grow from a solo to a group practice.

Meet Amanda Patterson

Amanda Patterson is a private practice consultant who helps therapists create business and marketing plans. She’s the owner of a group practice, Caring Therapists of Broward in South Florida. She’s the founder of My Private Practice Tribe, an online community for therapists in private practice. Find out more about Amanda here: www.amandapattersonlmhc.com

Meet David Hall

Dr. Stephen “David” Hall heads up content and creative direction as the “Chief Maven” of PsychMaven. He began his work as a psychotherapist in 2005, and he currently holds clinical licenses in Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling. He has built up multiple counseling practices in his years as a clinician, first in Georgia and then in his home state of Tennessee. In 2015, he led the start-up of an independent psychiatry clinic, Haven Family Psychiatry, in Knoxville, TN. Dr. Hall maintains a psychotherapy caseload and supervises postgraduate therapists in the practice he leads in the clinic, Haven Counseling Center at Haven Family Psychiatry.

Meet Jane Carter

Jane Carter, LPC is a counselor and business coach from Asheville, NC. Jane has spent the last several years in private practice as a counselor and has recently begun focusing more on business coaching, not only for therapists but other businesses as well. Her website is: JaneCarterCoaching.com

Jane says, “As a therapist, business coach, and life coach, I love helping people navigate the path to achieving their goals for a meaningful life. I apply these principles in my own life in the mountains of Asheville, NC, where I’m an outdoorswoman, world-traveler, dog-mama, food-and-wine lover, reader, and coffee-shop connoisseur.

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.

Meet Joe Sanok

Joe Sanok, MA, LLP, LPC, NCC is the person behind the #1podcast for therapists, The Practice of the Practice. Joe has helped hundreds of private practice owners in growing and scaling their private practices. Joe has also been a mentor and coach for Gordon in his journey and inspired him to start The Practice of Therapy.

Joe says, “In 2012 I launched Practice of the Practice to blog about what I was learning about business, marketing, and private practice. Since then, my income has gone up over 2,000%. In the beginning, I was making around $1000 per month. In 2015, I grossed over $200k! In fact, every month I post exactly what I made and how I made it. It’s important to me, because we don’t usually talk about money and how to make it in an ethical way. I want to increase your influence and your income!”

Meet John Clarke

John Clarke is a licensed psychotherapist and a private practice expert at PrivatePracticeWorkshop. After learning a lot of things the hard way while building his first practice in San Francisco, he started a blog to share with others the lessons he had learned. Private Practice Workshop was born, and this blog eventually evolved into so much more: a thriving Facebook community, a successful podcast, online courses, and coaching/consulting. Some therapists want to learn how to use digital marketing to grow their audience and get more clients, but the majority just want to leave it to the pros. John founded Unconditional Media, the digital marketing team for therapists, to meet the biggest need of private practitioners: getting more clients!

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.”

Meet Katie Englert

Katie Englert, LPCC, NCC, BC-TMH is an experienced entrepreneur who works with therapists to help them pioneer new ways to practice. She believes that helping therapists find their purpose as a therapist is how the mental health field will prosper. Katie has started and grown six-figure group private practices and co-created Practikat, the first online marketplace exclusive for therapists. She loves helping therapists discover products they have already created! Outside of work, she enjoys spending time on the soccer field with her kids, travel, hanging out with her family and learning about her family history.

About Katie Lemieux

I attended graduate school at Nova Southeastern University and graduated with my Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy with a specialization in Medical Family Therapy in 2004.

I fell in love with couple’s work which is my main specialty. I am trained in the Gottman Method of Couples Therapy and Emotionally Focused Therapy.

I am the proud Co-Owner of The Private Practice Startup. My business partner is the amazing Dr. Kate Campbell. We inspire ambitious mental health professionals to brand themselves and grow their dream private practice.

Meet Marissa Lawton

“I’m passionate about bringing my two loves together: strategy and therapy, to help my therapeutic community thrive in the online space. It is seriously one of the most important aspects of my life to help other therapists create on-brand messages that target their ideal clients and build the private practices they’ve always longed for.”

Marissa’s mission is to help clinicians in various stages of private practice to create online marketing plans that attract clients with integrity and authenticity. Marissa says, “there is seriously no point in portraying yourself online in a way that contradicts who you are in session, no matter how many calls it brings you. When you invite me to help you with your online marketing, you’re partnering with someone who takes your practice, your goals, and your dreams into consideration. You’re getting a guide who promises to walk alongside you every step of the way.”

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.

Making the Switch to Telemental Health

It’s time to be creative and flexible.
Put a pop-up on the website stating that you are offering telemental health services.
Do not put your client’s health at risk – do not see clients in person. Now is the time to get ahead of everything and start seeing clients virtually.
Remember HIPAA.

Creative Ways to Serve Clients

Discount your fees.
Do mini sessions.
Charge a small fee for a mindfulness meet-up.
Teach meditation techniques.
Work on relationship-building during this time.
Write blog posts to provide useful information for your community.

Emergency Planning

Practice both short-term and long-term thinking. Make sure you keep your long-term vision in mind.
Have a three to six-month fund ready for emergencies like this.
This is either an opportunity or a challenge.
Take lessons during this recovery.
Be realistic with your staff.
Make sure all your staff is working toward the same thing.
Call your liability insurance.
Email your boards to get clarification on things.
Therapists need to think about what really matters: your health, your clinician’s health, your client’s health, and your business.

What To Do Now

Use this time to position your brand, grow your email list, create multiple streams of revenue.
Deepen your relationships.
Bring joy to your life every single day and to other people.
Work on the products that you are developing.
Look long-term and start preparing for the future.
Think about offering a discounted rate.
Self-care!

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