Expert advice for building your private practice

The "business" of practice as a mental health professional is a skill that is seldom taught in school and requires thoughtful guidance and professional mentorship from those who have already succeeded.

Containing the collective wisdom and secrets of many expert practitioners, this helpful resource provides useful insights for setting up, managing, and marketing your practice, including timely advice on being a successful provider in the digital age—from Internet marketing to building your online presence.

Designed for private practices of any size and at any stage of development, this practical guide looks at:

• Creating your dream niche practice
• Choosing the right technological tools and resources to simplify and streamline your job
• Leveraging the Internet to market your practice
• Developing a practice outside of managed care
• Transitioning to executive coaching
• Ethical and legal aspects of private practice

Full of action-oriented ideas, tips, and techniques, Getting Better at Private Practice provides both early career and seasoned mental health professionals with the knowledge and tools they need to establish, develop, and position their practice so that it is financially successful and life-enriching over the long term.

CHRIS E. STOUT, PsyD, MBA, is a licensed clinical psychologist; founding director of the Center for Global Initiatives; Clinical Professor at the University of Illinois College of Medicine; and Director of Research at the Athletic and Therapy Institute. He has published over thirty books including two bestsellers on practice management. Dr. Stout was invited to Davos by the World Economic Forum. He is a Fellow in three divisions of the American Psychological Association; past-president of the Illinois Psychological Association; and a Distinguished Practitioner in the National Academies of Practice. He has been interviewed broadly by CNBC, CNN, NBC, PBS, NPR, Oprah, Time, the Chicago Tribune, and the New York Times. He has won four Humanitarian Awards for his work on behalf of the not-for-profit organization Center for Global Initiatives.

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xiii

About the Editor xv

About the Contributors xix

SECTION I SETTING UP, MANAGING, AND MARKETING YOUR PRACTICE

1. Differences in Business Structures and Protections in Human Service Private Practice: Which Suits Your Practice Best? 3
Jonathan D. Nye

2. Making Ends Meet: Financial Management in Private Practice 13
David W. Ballard

3. Managed Care Contracting: Strategies for Negotiating and Maintaining Relationships 33
Bridget Morehouse

4. Ethical and Legal Aspects of Private Practice 52
Scott Hammer and Kenneth H. Kessler

5. How Writing a Column for Your Local Newspaper Can Enhance Your Private Practice 69
Linda Sapadin

6. How Self-Publishing Can Enhance Your Private Practice 83
Linda Sapadin and John E. Mayer

7. Working With the Media 95
Pauline Wallin

8. The Power of Community Networking 107
Melhim W. Restum and Joe Bavonese

9. The Benefits of Joining Professional Organizations 150
Lisa R. Grossman

10. From Vision to Mission: Building a Practice That Is Personally Satisfying and Professionally Successful 164
Heather M. Hale

SECTION II BUILDING, MARKETING, AND PRACTICING IN THE DIGITAL AGE

11. Web Sites and Internet Marketing 179
Joe Bavonese

12. Building Your Online Presence as an Expert 196
Pauline Wallin

13. Ethics and Social Networking Sites 214
Laura A. Taylor

14. The Google Factor: Ethical Considerations for Therapists Practicing in the Digital Age 230
Ofer Zur

15. Technological Tools for Therapists: List of Helpful Software and Web Sites 239
William E. Benet and Chris E. Stout

SECTION III THE DREAM NICHE PRACTICE: SUCCESSFUL STORIES OF SPECIALIZATION

16. Starting and Growing Concierge Psychotherapy and Psychiatric Practices 253
William R. Lynch

17. Developing a Practice Outside of Managed Care 266
Steven Walfish

18. Using Feedback-Informed Treatment (FIT) to Build a Premium-Service, Private-Pay Practice 279
Jason A. Seidel

19. The One-Stop Shop: Collaboration Beyond Psychology 292
Brian K. Sullivan

20. Psychologists in Dispute Resolution: Being Part of a Revolution! 304
Amy L. Robinson

21. Why Wait?: Building a Stellar Practice n Weight Management 317
Brad Saks

22. Becoming an Educational Consultant 335
Heather M. Hale

23. Building a Successful Education Business 348
Jack Krasuski

24. Blending Treatment Innovation and Economic Success for Working With Troubled Emerging Adults: The Yellowbrick Model 364
Jesse Viner, Laura Viner, and Chris E. Stout

25. Transitioning to Executive Coaching 376
Jeffrey E. Auerbach

26. A Psychologist’s Career in Sports Administration 394
John E. Mayer

27. Working in Sport Psychology 412
Kate F. Hays

SECTION IV FINAL THOUGHTS

28. “You’re Fired! Hooray!” Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Fall Back in Love With Working in Psychology 429
Michael Aisenberg

29. Why All the Enlightenment, Empowerment, and Edification Embedded in This Book May Mean Nothing to You 441
Linda Sapadin

Index 445