| Getting
Started
Select the statement below that most clearly
describes your current situation.
1. I Don’t Know if I Want
To, or am Ready to Create a Private Practice
2. I Want to Change, Expand or
ReVitalize My Current Practice
3. I’m Ready to Move My
Work in Another Direction or Retire Completely.
1. I Don’t Know if I Want To,
or am Ready to, Create a Private Practice
Seting
up a new practice
Start here if you have just begun
to think of a Professional Practice, have been pondering it
for a while or just want to explore the basics of a healthy
practice.
Newly licensed psychotherapists come from a
variety of educational backgrounds and experience in the field.
Some have been working in the profession for many years. Others
are fairly new. There are several of Professional Practice
issues that need to be considered in the beginning.
About YOU!
Clinical Expertise –
I believe a psychotherapist can ethically enter into private
practice as soon as they have a clinical specialty they feel
comfortable with. For professionals who are fairly new to
the field, I recommend starting in a group practice. Working
with a group, you have at hand the resources you need when
problems come up. Professionals who have been working in the
field for approximately 5 years generally have enough experience
to develop an independent practice.
Business Acumen – A common
complaint I hear from mental health professionals is that
they have received no education concerning how to run a business.
Then again, many business development approaches are not appropriate
for licensed professionals.
The Professional Practice Institute solves
this problem for you. The tools and techniques taught
through the institute have been especially designed to develop
honest, ethical, professional business practices. To determine
what skills you already have and identify those you will need
to either learn or delegate, take the
Entrepreneurial Skills self-assessment.
Business Preferences –
What kind of practice is best for you—solo, partnership,
or group? Take the
Work Relationship Style self-assessment to make this determination.
Professional Support –
Professional Practice can be isolating. You need to develop
or have in place a network of professionals for backup and
support. PPI helps you identify and develop these resources
in its Networking Tutorial.
Personal Values and Preferences
– You will want to match your personal preferences with
how you structure your business, apply your skills, and grow
your practice. PPI offers numerous assessments to help you
know more about yourself. These are explored in depth in PPI’s
Personal Leadership Tutorial.
One self-assessment you can begin now, free of charge, is
the VIA Inventory
of Strengths administered out of the Values in Action
Institute.
These are but a few of the questions to
explore. There are many more offered in PPI’s tutorials.
Check out the PPI programs and see which ones fit your needs
today.
2. I Want to Change, Expand or ReVitalize
My Current Practice
Revitalize
and grow your current practice
There are many reasons to periodically ask yourself,
“Is my current practice meeting my personal and professional
needs?” Look at the statements below and see if any
apply to you:
• You find you no longer enjoy your
work.
• You're encountering reduced cash flow.
• You're experiencing “compassion fatigue.”
• You’re burning out.
• You find your work has taken over other aspects
of your life that you don’t want to loose.
• You have expanded your clinical skills and want
to get more clients that are appropriate for this new approach.
• You want to expand into a new specialty.
• You are relocating and want to create a different
type of practice.
• You feel isolated and want to work with other professionals.
• Your practice has reached a plateau that feels stuck.
Clearly, there are many ways to assess a practice.
PPI starts where YOU are, professionally and as a business.
After helping clearify your ideal practice, we help you create
a working plan to move forward. You'll find that sometimes
PPI's tutorials are helpful and adquate to your needs. At
others, a more personal approach is indicated. PPI offers
consultation and coaching through PracticesMadePerfect.com
to help build the perfect practice for you.
3. I’m Ready to Move My Work in
Another Direction or Retire Completely.
Develop passive
income streams by using your experience and expertise to create
trainings and products.
At this stage of professional development, your goal is to apply your skills in new venues.
Your experience as a therapist is a valuable asset - so honor your skills.
You may decide to develop products for your peers, students and/or the general public, i.e., books,
audio or video products. Generating revenue that you can use as passive income,
supplementing your income builds on your experience. This may also be time for an
"Encore" career, moving to work you have always dreamed of.
In any case check out PPI's Product Development Resources to learn how to create passive income.
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