Private Practice Made Simple:
How to Start and Operate a Successful Mental Health Practice
The Program
Quick: During your professional training, how many hours were dedicated to establishing a private practice and running a business? If you’re like most people, the answer is either “none” or “almost none.” No surprises, then, that we have a lot of frustration when we set out on our own.
In this program I emphasize the specifics of defining, establishing, enhancing, and maintaining an effective, remunerative, and enjoyable private practice. The goal is not simply to be inspirational. Anyone contemplating this course already has the inspiration. You need the specifics.
How can you best define the scope of your service?
How do you select, furnish and sound-dampen office space?
What are the tax implications?
Is payroll difficult to set up?
What about taxation issues, including sales tax?
What are some things you can do to avoid isolation and burnout?
The intent is to provide the detail you need to make your work life simpler and more sustaining. The course is designed both for those contemplating private practice as a potential career option, AND for those already in private practice who want to elevate their business to the next level.
My goal as a presenter is to have this course pay off for you by a minimum of ten times the registration fee - by saving you money on the expense side, saving you time and sweat on the admin side, and by earning revenues and referrals on the practice side.
Can the course accomplish that? Yes, I strongly believe it can. In fact, I'll be disappointed if that's all it does for you. It should pay off much more than that - and I think it will.
Note: I also provide one-on-one consultation services (in person or via Zoom) for Canadian private practitioners wishing to start, build, or re-orient their businesses. Contact me to discuss the options.
Contents
The program includes:
Good reasons to work in private practice
Good reasons to AVOID private practice
Defining your dream practice
Defining your population and services
Creating task balance - it isn’t all about therapy!
Naming your practice
Comparing private practice and salaried income
Tabulating your expenses and nonpractice income
Calculating projected or actual practice expenses
Your business plan
The startup costs of a practice: Easier than dentistry
Setting and collecting fees
Should you have a sliding scale?
Should you incorporate?
Practice insurance
GST, HST, and PST
Business registration and licenses
Why you need an accountant
Monthly monitoring for the financial health of your practice
Planning for retirement
Deciding on a location
Home office considerations
How to assess potential office suites
Soundproofing your space
The change machine: Furnishing your office
Logos, letterhead, and how to get them
Practice management systems
Designing your website
Advertising and promoting your service
Deciding on a clinic assistant
Managing payroll step by step
Adding colleagues to a group practice
Handling client data with confidentiality
Creating a sustainable work schedule
Burnout 101
Retiring on the slope: Wrapping up your practice
The Materials
Workshop participants receive:
Complete slide handouts
A complete set of forms and documents in pdf format to help in designing and operating the practice (full disclosure: these forms are available FREE here - but the course will help you make sense of them!)
Who should attend?
This program is intended for members of registered healthcare professions wishing to start up their own practice. It is less suited to physicians.
Psychologists
Clinical counselors / psychotherapists
Social workers
Occupational therapists
and students in these fields.
The response…