The origins of AgoraMHN
Who in their right minds would start a business while occupied full-time in successful private practices. Who indeed? I blame Steve Field.
We both had joined a networking group in the northern suburbs of Chicago. Mostly made up of independent practitioners, the group (North Shore Alliance of Psychotherapists) was organized by Nora Ishibashi, a clinical social worker new to the area area, with the expressed purpose of helping us connect with our local colleagues. Independent practice can sometimes feel very isolating and this was an attempt to help us share experiences and resources. So we’d get together for breakfast and networking once a month at a local restaurant.
Anyway, one morning this psychiatrist (Steven Field) stood up and asked the attendees--and those not in attendance via email--if anyone had an interest in talking further about the business of psychotherapy, perhaps to develop some business ideas. Out of a group of 150 members, maybe a dozen people expressed an interest and five came to a subsequent meeting.
There, we lauded the networking meeting as a means for sharing resources and building some camaraderie, but none of us believed it would be a fruitful way to garner many referrals. We all figured that people who were “networking” were more interested in business development, that is, in getting referrals more than in giving them. No surprise there.
We quickly landed on a discussion of some all too common practices among mental health practitioners, especially those in private practice. Like ...
- how we still acquire new clients/patients via an archaic, and frequently blind, referral system rather than seeking clients more directly
- how poorly we market ourselves and avoid advertising altogether despite changes to ethics codes that now permit it
- how we are frequently squeamish about charging higher fees and, for some, quite uncomfortable about taking payments handed to us by clients!
We guessed that what may constrain us is in these matters is some combination of our ethical training, moral character, and the empathy we innately have for our already suffering clients.
Or maybe it’s just that we’re not trained in matters of business, and rarely spoke of them in public. We could talk about sliding fees, sure, but setting fees, no. Doing good clinical work, yes; charging what the market will bear, no. Signing up with insurance companies with their ‘negotiated’ rates, yes; knowing how to maximize a fee-for-service practice...not so much.
In summary, we realized that the practice of psychotherapy and good business practices sometimes seemed at odds with each other. It’s as if a “compassionate professional” and “profit motive” couldn't coexist at the same time.
I suppose “profit motive” does sound mercenary-like, though it’s hard to imagine that anyone goes into this field to get rich. Notwithstanding our original motives for becoming mental health professionals, we do deliver a valuable service to those in intense psychological pain, even if we do it for money.
And yet so many of us feel bad for charging a hefty fee? I'm just guessing here, but I’m pretty sure that a lawyer doesn’t feel too bad about drafting a will or trust from boilerplate and charging you for his/her expertise, and a plumber doesn't feel bad about charging you extra for a house call on Sunday. But a psychotherapist feels bad about billing someone for a crisis call after hours? Or she agonizes over raising her fees!
So I’d have to agree, something seemed very wrong with the state of private practice. Skilled practitioners--novices and veterans alike--have been operating businesses and yet struggling with, and failing to employ, some very basic business principles and strategies. We frequently don’t optimize the business value of our work.
But delivering mental health care IS a business--we wouldn't do it for free--and, for most of us, it’s our livelihood.
There and then, we decided to rethink our typical behaviors from an alternate perspective--from the business perspective. Maybe then we could improve our own professional lives as well as the delivery of mental health care...you know...since they're not mutually exclusive.
Posted by: AdminApril 20th, 2016 Share
Recent Comments
No records found.