Outreach and Marketing

Kalman M. Heller, Ph.D.

A small digression is required to create the proper context. For most of my career, 35 years post-Ph.D., the term "private practice" was used to describe seeing patients that you billed for your services. I understand that the use of the word "private" was intended to reflect the solo nature or self-ownership of the practice. But it had a much larger and more significant hidden meaning that has resulted in an incredible disservice to the public as well as to our profession. I am referring to the lack of public education about who we are, what we do, and how it helps people. Even more important, providing information that allows people to help themselves. We did indeed practice in private!

I strongly believe that the explosion in self-help books, along with a greater commitment to marketing by the mental health professions has contributed to a veritable flood of demand for clinical services. Oh yes, add to this one of the positive contributions of managed care: the inclusion of mental health benefits in virtually all health insurance policies. As we went public, the public responded by coming to us. I estimate that more than 10 million people are seeing a therapist every week. Beyond that are millions more who attend workshops, read columns, obtain consultations and coaching, and participate in wellness services. We are everywhere, making greater contributions to the welfare of our society.

Which brings me back to websites, the most "everywhere" tool at our disposal. Each of you has something of value to say. You have insights into various aspects of human behavior, ideas about problem solving, and strategies for healthier, more productive lives. Only a handful of us become known to the mass market. For the rest, our impact is quite limited. But it no longer has to be that way. Create a well-designed website and they will come! You can write the articles that no newspaper would make a space for. You can publish your own book or make an audio or videotape and offer it to your visitors. Of course, you can describe your clinical practice, offer a good picture, provide clear directions to your office, make your CV accessible to anyone, inform others of research results much more quickly, and create links to other valuable sites.

It still amazes me as to how people find my site but an average of 2500 people are visiting every month. I am still thinking in a very parochial manner, i.e., that I am just here in Needham. But my website is floating around the world, there for anyone anywhere to access it and get to know about my ideas and me. A New York City talk show called because they were doing a search on the topic for an upcoming program and it lead them to one of my articles and they asked me to appear. A group in the UK is putting together an online magazine for upscale families and, after reading my articles, asked me to become one of their contributing writers.

But it’s not just about becoming an internationally known psychologist. My current patients go to my website and read articles that expand on ideas we have talked about. It not only is helpful to them but it increases their confidence in me, which helps the treatment process. It’s especially reassuring to my new patients to be able to go to the site before our first appointment. It’s all part of building the relationship that is so critical to being a successful therapist. It is also beginning to generate referrals. It’s so much easier to promote one’s website than to promote one’s practice. Once there, they are more likely to call for an appointment.

We are working on creating a website for MPA. It will be an exciting resource for the membership and the public. It should be up and running before the year ends. I urge all of you to think about how you can enter this new age of e-commerce. Find someone who creates sites and work with that person to create a website that reflects who you are, what you do, and, most important, becomes a resource to the public. Let’s continue to take the "private" out of the way we practice psychology.

Dr. Heller is a licensed psychologist with a practice in Needham, MA whose specialties are child and family services. Dr. Heller writes "ParenTalk", which appears monthly in the seven Suburban Press community newspapers and "Commentary", which appears in the Massachusetts Psychological Association "Quarterly". He is a frequent speaker on a range of mental health topics, including corporate wellness workshops, and is active in community organizations. Questions or comments may be addressed to him at drheller@drheller.com.