Think You're Not a Unique Therapist?

My method for helping you build your therapy practice is called The Superpower Method™. The foundation of this method is leveraging your unique gifts to attract your ideal clients. Some therapists wonder if this approach will really work for them.

Many therapists say, “I’m good at what I do, but there’s nothing particularly unique about me as a therapist.”

If you feel this way, it’s hard to build a thriving practice. You’ve got a major blind spot, and you can’t see the very thing that could help you get to the next level of success.

Every therapist I’ve worked with has a superpower, including the people who thought they didn’t. Usually that superpower is so much a part of you that you don’t realize it’s special.

Rick* believed he wouldn’t be able to identify a superpower in our process together. He’s a quiet guy, and doesn’t attract a ton of attention when he walks into a room. He’s sensitive, kind, and empathic. All of those qualities are great, but there’s more to Rick. We uncovered something he hadn’t noticed about himself. He stays engaged and hopeful in the face of his clients’ debilitating depression. Many clients who had been fired by other therapists because they were “high risk” and not making progress were able to make significant long-term progress in working with him.

Once we uncovered that superpower, he was able to position his practice and talk about his work in a way that set him apart from other therapists in his area. His practice grew quickly as a result.

*Not his name.

Is it time for you to discover your superpower and build a bold private practice? Apply for a free phone consultation now.

Sign up for the free webinar: Improve Your “About Me” Page. I’ll talk about how to use your superpower to write an effective “about me” page.

Free Webinar: Improve Your "About Me" Page

 

Your "about me" page is usually the second page that potential clients visit on your site. First they look at your home page, and then they want to go a little deeper.  Depending on what they find on your "about me" page, they either call you or go to another site.

Is your about me page helping your ideal clients decide to call you?

Sign me up for the webinar!

In this FREE 30-minute interactive webinar, I’ll teach you how to use your "superpower" (the thing that sets you apart from other therapists) to make your about me page more effective. 

You'll learn how to:

•  create effective language that reaches your potential clients
• decide what to include and what to leave out of your bio 
• articulate why you’re the right therapist for your ideal client

I'll tell you about the common mistakes that can hurt your home page and the necessary ingredient that will make it great.

Will you learn everything you need to know about creating a great online presence in this webinar? No! This is not a general overview. It’s designed to help you do this one page really well.

Join me for this free, interactive webinar

Tuesday, August 11th at 9:00 a.m.

Sign me up for the webinar!

You'll also receive weekly practice building tips to your email box. You can easily unsubscribe at any time. 

Think Bigger About Your Therapy Practice

You want to grow your practice and increase your income. Let’s say you’re thinking that you need to add 5 or 10 sessions to your week to do that.
 
But what if you could grow your business into something bolder and better than you imagine right now? What if you could earn more by doing more of what you love and less of what you don’t love?
 
Let me tell you about my own therapy practice.  In case you don’t already know, I’ve had a private practice for about 13 years. I love working with couples, so years ago I got Gottman certified and also did extensive training in EFT. I still had the pleasure of working with lots of individuals. When my practice became full, a colleague and I started offering a one-day workshop for couples. Things were going well!
 
My business model was profitable and fulfilling, and I could have just kept going that way.
 
Then I realized I wanted to help more couples without increasing my own caseload. I expanded my practice by founding The Bay Area Relationship Center. I brought in one additional therapist, and then another. Soon there will be 4 of us. We are on no insurance panels and provide therapy to couples and individuals in a beautiful suite in Hayes Valley.
 
This has been a thoughtful step-by-step process so that the quality of services has remained high. I’ve found therapists who share my core values and methods, but who also offer things I don’t.
 
I built this center using my strengths and leveraging the strengths of the other people on the team. One of my strengths is that I’m able to listen and understand other people deeply and come up with innovative and unexpected solutions based on that understanding. I love being a responsive leader, guiding the center as it grows.
 
My role fits my strengths and I rely on a team to help me with the stuff I don’t love or that I’m not great at.  My web developer, virtual assistant and client ambassador are just some of the people who support the center. The therapists who work with me are amazing, each with their own unique style. 
 
Allow yourself to imagine the kind of practice you most want. It won’t be the same as mine, because it will come from YOUR strengths and passions. Imagine who might be on the team that helps your practice thrive.
 
As a business coach, I don’t use a general blueprint to help therapists build their practices. A blueprint can’t help you get in touch with your gifts. Just like my practice, I know yours will be unique.  
 
My method for helping therapists build their practices is called The Superpower Method For Therapists™ because it’s based on finding and leveraging your unique gifts.
 
If you’re ready to create a bold and unique private practice, apply for a free phone consultation now.
 
 
 

Adding One More Service Is NOT The Answer

A therapist said to me recently, “I’m not getting enough phone calls. I think I need to offer a wider range of services.”

I understand this urge. I just know it doesn’t work.

I’m NOT against offering new services, but you must have a focused strategy that the new service fits into. Just adding more won’t help you build your practice.

I’ll give you an example. When I first worked with Sandy*, she had a general therapy practice, and her goal was to double her income. She had about 10 client sessions per week. She worked with individual adults, couples and children and she was running a group focused on substance issues. She was considering adding two more groups with different topics

She had been working to let all of her colleagues know about the wide range of services she could provide. She made sure to tell everyone about her work with couples, individual adults and children as well as her substance abuse group. She’d tell them about her experience with depression and eating disorders.

When she wasn’t getting enough calls, her impulse was to add more services.

It makes sense that she would feel this impulse. We watch well-known companies add services and products and flourish. Amazon used to just sell books. Now we can watch “Transparent” and buy products in dozens of categories. Apple used to just sell computers, and now they’re as well known for phones and music systems.

But you’re not Amazon or Apple.

You’re one person with a limited amount of time and resources. You’ve got to decide what you want to be known for.

Back to Sandy. She had no shortage of skills or ideas. She could have built a practice focused on any one of her areas of expertise. I helped her identify just one area of focus based on where her passion felt strongest: supporting parents. Then we weeded through all of her ideas and plans, implementing only the ones that fit with that focus.

Maybe you worry that you’ll get bored when you’re limited to just one focus. That doesn’t have to happen. Sandy continued to provide therapy in a number of different ways, including to couples, individuals adults and children. As she grew her reputation as a great therapist for parenting issues, she continued to get referrals for non-parents as well.

And YES, choosing this focus and implementing a strategy moving in that one direction did result in doubling her income.

*Not her real name.

If you’re ready to build an innovative and fulfilling private practice, apply for a free phone consultation now.

Don't Settle For Earning "Just Enough"

“What would you like to be earning?”

When I talk to a therapist about practice building strategy, that’s one of my first questions. I often have to ask the question a few different ways to get a real answer. Often the therapist will say, “I’d be ok with making….” Or “I could get by on….” Or “I only need…” There’s tension in her voice as she thinks about her budget and what it takes to pay the bills.

Then I ask again, what would you like to be earning? What is the number that would allow you to have ease around money rather than stress?

Why is it so hard to say what we would LIKE to be earning?

 Therapists often don’t believe they CAN make what they would like to be earning, so they bring that number down to what they think is possible. They don’t want to set their sights too high and be disappointed.

Another reason for not saying what they’d like to be earning is that therapists don’t want to work too many hours, so they pull that number back to reflect the numbers of hours they would like to work. They believe they would have to work too many hours to hit a higher number. It’s smart to make a plan to avoid burnout, but that plan doesn’t have to include making too little money.

When you set your goal at “just enough,” you don’t find out how you could earn more. It creates a mental barrier that stops you from thinking bigger and more creatively about your business. When you settle for just enough, you don’t make the difficult choices that could bring you to a higher income level.

 So I keep asking. Once I hear how much a therapist actually wants to earn, there’s more ease and joy in her voice. As she names that number, she breathes a little deeper and lets go of a little bit of tension.

You should earn a profit in your business. It’s important.

Earning a profit can make a big difference in your life. Profit allows you to save for your future. Private practice doesn’t come with a pension, so you need to put money towards retirement. If you have kids, you want to be able to support them now and save something for the future. Profit also allows you to make different choices right now. You can buy organic food without worrying about the grocery bill. You can give generously when it feels right.   

 When you make a profit, you have the opportunity to invest more in your business, and that creates a positive feedback loop, allowing you to grow your business with more ease.

 If you’re ready to go from just enough to making a real profit, I can help. Apply for a free phone consultation now.

If You Think Networking Has to Be Schmoozy or Fake, You're Doing It Wrong

You know that creating relationships with other professionals is an effective way to build your practice, but you don’t like to network because it makes you feel schmoozy or fake. When you think about introducing yourself to another professional, you feel like you’re selling yourself.

 Take a deep breath and a big step back. Let’s approach this in a different way.

Here are 3 things you can do to avoid feeling schmoozy, salesy or fake.

 1. Hold on to a long-term vision of your ideal referral network.

 Imagine what it would be like to have a network of professionals who you like and trust and who work with your favorite kind of clients. This network would include a wide range of different kinds of therapists and other professionals.

 You’ll know a great acupuncturist who works well with the issues your clients face. Maybe you’ll ask that person how she helps people with fertility or chronic pain. Perhaps you’ll get to know a great health coach, and he can talk to you about how he helps people improve their emotional health with nutrition and movement.

 You’ll get a lot of referrals if you create that kind of network, AND you’ll have the feeling that you’re not working in isolation. Your professional life will feel more collaborative and supported.

2. Reach out ONLY to people you think you’ll like.

 Only reach out to people you think you might like and if all goes well might come to trust. When you reach out to people you think you might like and respect, you’ll feel genuine and open rather than schmoozy. Do a little research before you decide which professionals you’ll reach out to. Ask your friends and colleagues for recommendations or search online to find the people you are likely to resonate with.

3. Be curious.

Be open to learning about this person in front of you. Ask deep questions about their work. Find out more about what they do to help the same people you help. You’re good at creating those kinds of conversations, and that’s part of why you became a therapist. When you let your curiosity guide you, you’re focused on the other person rather than on your anxiety about seeming schmoozy or fake.

Be yourself. Don’t worry about selling yourself. Just express your enthusiasm when colleagues ask you about your own work.

Are you ready to build your business in a bold way? Apply for a free consultation with me now.

How Two Therapists Built Their Practices

Do you sometimes feel a bit aimless? You want to build your practice and you have a ton of ideas… new things you’d like to offer and new ways you’d like to work. You also want to get certified in a new method and start writing more and….

You get overwhelmed.

When you work for yourself, you need one big goal to be working towards. Imagine it’s a year from now, and consider what you would MOST want to have accomplished. You need to be more specific than “build my practice.” Your goal has to be clear enough that it helps guide your decisions and allows you to map out smaller goals that will get you there.

Here are examples of big goals for 2 therapists I have helped:

Maria* set this goal: Bring my caseload up to include 10 full-fee sessions per week working with my ideal clients.

Eve* set this goal: Create a workshop I will offer repeatedly and fill it.

Both of these big goals helped the therapists to build their practices and increase their income, but the therapists were led to do that in different ways. Let’s look at the strategies that supported the 2 therapists in achieving their big goals.

Maria: bring my caseload up to include 10 full-fee sessions per week working with my ideal clients.

She got very clear on the needs and problems of her ideal clients so that she could reach out to them successfully.  She used that clarity to transform her online presence and to network strategically. She wrote articles directed towards those clients.  She raised fees with her clients who could afford it, and temporarily stopped accepting new low fee clients.

Eve: create a workshop I will offer repeatedly and fill it.

Eve identified what she was providing to her individual clients over and over and that they valued the most. Based on that, she created a first iteration of a workshop that cost her almost nothing to run. She reached out to colleagues to fill the workshop with the people it was meant to serve. Then she used the feedback from her first workshop to create the next iteration of that workshop.  

Notice that for both of those big goals, the action steps were very different. Any one of those steps could be challenging to get through. Writing an article, reaching out to colleagues, editing your website…you might not feel like doing any of these things on a given Tuesday. Your big goal is what motivates you to power through and do it anyway. 

Without a big goal, here’s what happens:

You try one thing to build your practice, and if that doesn’t bring results right away, you abandon it and try something else. You do things that are likely to get money in the door quickly, such as accepting a lower fee than you would like, taking on a client you know isn’t a great fit, or offering an appointment at a time you would rather not be at the office. These choices don’t bring you closer to the practice you really want.

What is YOUR big goal?

Make it something that excites you and feels a little bit out of reach. If you had this goal accomplished a year from now, your practice would not only be more profitable, but also more fulfilling.

Are you ready to build a bolder and more innovative private practice? Apply for a free phone consultation with me.

*Not their real names. 

When You Talk About Your Work, Set Yourself Apart

A colleague asks a therapist  “who do you work with in your private practice?”

The therapist answers:

“I work with high functioning adults” or

“I work with people going through transitions.”

These answers describe clients in the most general and least compelling way, squandering an important opportunity.

I understand why a therapist would answer this way. It’s a quick way to describe the range of people you work with and it doesn’t exclude anyone who you might like to work with. But never say it again.

When you say that you work with high functioning adults or people going through transitions you set yourself apart from… almost no one.

When a colleague asks you who you work with, it’s an opportunity to communicate your unique understanding of a group of people. It’s time to show your enthusiasm for helping that group.

Look for new ways to talk about the people you work with so that your colleagues will remember you.

If you have a particular niche, you probably don’t have as much trouble setting yourself apart. But even if you have a general practice working with adults, you probably work better with some “high functioning adults” than others. Here are some examples of ways to describe particular groups of clients:

“highly sensitive”

“perfectionist”

“burned out”

“spiritual seekers”

“introverted”

“parents of young kids”

Look for similarities in the people you work best with, and name those. Your conversations with colleagues are likely to become more interesting rather than dropping off. Your colleagues will remember what you said about your work.

But what if you like working with LOTS of different kinds of people?

As the conversation continues, you can mention that too. You’re not going to be limited to just one kind of client. When your colleagues see that you have confidence and expertise with one group, they’ll imagine you working well with other people too.

Is it time to build your practice in a big way? Are you ready to think bigger? Apply for a free phone consultation now.

Banish Regrets In Your Business

Is there something you regret that did or didn’t do in your business?

Is there a mistake you think about and wince a little bit?

Did you pass up on an office space you thought was too expensive, only to discover that it would have been a good investment compared to every office you found later?

Did you choose to go to a training or conference last year and then you heard about a training you would have liked better?

Did you hold off on creating or updating your website and now you think of all the clients you would have had if you’d gotten started earlier?

Whatever your regret is, don’t let it fester. Shift your actions where you can and let it go.  

When you focus on business regrets, you train your mind to look at your business through a negative lens. You learn to think of yourself as a poor decision maker.

Examine that regret, or list of regrets, and see where you can still pivot in a better direction. The beauty of running your own small business is that you can make shifts very quickly. You don’t need to run your decisions past a committee or explain your decisions to a big team. You can quickly learn from your mistakes and do something better.

If you’ve made too few investments in your business and find yourself thinking it’s too late now, shift by making smart investments now.

If your regrets have come from jumping a bit too quickly out of panick, allow a moment of thought and talk big choices through with a trusted colleague or coach.

Here’s my own example:

When I became a business coach for therapists, I was shy about it at first. I was afraid of what therapists would think about my new calling. I feared that some of my colleagues would not approve of me talking about things like profit and marketing. I avoided talking about it when I met therapists.

It took me a while to own my mission. I regretted that time when I was hiding and could have been reaching out and letting therapists everywhere know that I’m here to help.

So I am practicing what I preach here. I have let go of that regret, and I’ve shifted. Now I take every opportunity to talk to groups of therapists and get my message out there.

What’s your business regret? How can you shift your choices now and let it go?

Is it time to change your business in a big way? Apply for a free phone consultation with me now. We’ll talk about the overall strategy of your business, and you’ll probably be surprised by what we come up with. 

We've Begun Our Challenge to Build A Stronger Referral Network

This referral challenge has been productive and fun so far! We're only on week 2, and you people are taking action. If you’re not in the challenge, it really isn’t too late to join. You can catch up on the prior days of assignments and stay with us through June. 

 Sign up right here. It’s free. 

 I created this as a very do-able challenge, with the assumption that your life is busy, and you can fit in a 5 to 20-minute challenge each weekday. 

There are almost 100 therapists in the challenge. 

 Here’s what I’m hearing from participants so far:  

A lot of you are getting more clarity. You’ve gotten more clear on your message through the first day’s exercises, and you’re also more clear on the purpose of your networking conversations. With that clarity, you’re going to be a lot more effective. 

Some of you have let me know you're surprised that the challenge isn’t what you expected. In a good way. Networking in this way is less artificial than you thought would be. 

Others of you are relieved that this challenge is not based on using social media. Social media can be used as a tool during this challenge, but you can certainly do the whole thing without it. 

Clear, surprised, and relieved. That’s exactly what I want you to feel. 

Here’s to getting your phone ringing with great referrals!

Whether you're in the challenge or not, if you're ready to build your practice in a big way, apply for a free consultation with me now. We'll talk about your next steps to building an incredible practice.