Outreach and Marketing

Laurie Kolt, Ph.D.

Skills to Master:

1. Have a competent research and clinical understanding of your clinical specialty
2. Understand ethics, as it relates to interacting with the public and building your practice
3. Understand how to develop a business plan – Start by setting simple practice goals like: how many clients do you want to see, what is your ideal average fee, which clinical specialties do you want to expand and what are your projected expenses?
4. Think deeply about the public’s perception and knowledge base regarding your specialty. Your promotional plans should speak to their interests, needs, fears and sought after benefits about psychotherapy.
5. Find a "strategic and comfortable" office setting that is conveniently located and projects the image of a competent and established professional
6. Learn how to effectively educate the public about the need and value of your services
7. Set and track your practice goals
8. Learn how to improve your connection with the public by remembering to convey caring, competence, hope and trust from the initial contact
9. Utilize outcome data tied to your practice. Then you can see if you are reaching your goals stated in Number 3 above. Create or purchase simple practice forms that can help you evaluate and refine your practice goals over time
10. Address personal motivational blocks, such as lack of business training, professional burnout, fear of stretching outside of your comfort zone or coping with the changing health care field

Approach practice building like you would approach a marathon instead of a sprint. Getting through graduate school took considerable time, effort and money. It is also important to give your practice the necessary time and effort to really flourish. Today, business and clinical practice are not mutually exclusive. By learning small business skills you can develop a new mindset so you can mobilize yourself into action. Use a model that fits your personality and has a philosophy that integrates the healing side with the business side of your work.

LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES

Many people have pointed out that managed care has become a stressful occurrence that had lowered psychologist autonomy, decreased confidentiality, increased paperwork and reduced fees. The changes we face can be cognitively framed as a crisis or an opportunity. If you view the situation optimistically, you can see new opportunities, for both learning and leadership, that are placed before us during this time of change.

Don’t let your discouraged colleagues in your community influence you into believing that we can’t regain control of our practices. We can return to the lifestyle and fulfillment that privates practice brought to us many years ago. Whether you are starting your first practice now or you are a thriving practitioner, there is a template that you can apply to the goals that you would like to reach.

We are lucky people. Our profession gives us many alternatives to decide how we can sculpt our lives, such as how much time we want to put into our livelihoods and how much money we want to make. We even have the satisfaction in knowing that we are making a different in others’ lives. So begin now by carving out even 15 minutes TODAY with a blank piece of paper and refine the direction that you want your practice go.

Laurie Kolt, Ph.D., is a psychologist and a practice building consultant. She works with practitioners in person and over the phone, as well as in virtual groups to help people develop their ideal practices. For further free training, her web site at www.kolt.com provides newsletters and other practice development information. Dr. Kolt is also a frequently invited workshop presenter at national, state and local therapy organizations. Her latest practice development book, "How to Build A Thriving Fee-For-Service Practice: Integrating the Healing Side with the Business Side of Psychotherapy," was published by Academic Press. She can be reached at 858-456-2005 or 1030 Pearl Street, Suite 3, La Jolla, CA 92037.