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sk8rgrl23 August 3rd, 2008 11:27 PM

needing advice on private practice
 
I am a LPCC with 8 years clinical experience and 2 years supervisor experience and I'm ready to move my profession to the next level.

I have wanted to get into private practice since I graduated and now I feel I have the licensure and experience to do so. I have several psychiatrists in the area that I know from working emergency services that I believe would be wiling to give me referrals, and I have other ideas for source of referrals as well. But I would be starting from scratch.

Outright quitting my job is too big a risk to take, and cutting back to less than 40 hours means I lose health insurance benefits. I have considered trying to start off p.p. part time, perhaps forming a time limited therapy group with an already established practice, and I do have a tentaitve offer, except the problem is it is with the wife of my doctor, and he's an excellent doctor and I don't want to go anywhere else but I also see this as potentially a dual relationship, just feels a little too enmeshed.

Another option might be to rent an office part time after hours and see if I could get a practice started that way. I am encouraged by the private practicers that I've talked to so far, the impression I get is that there is no shortage of clients, though it can run hot and cold, and that overall it is a very family friendly way to work, and I am in the adoption process.

My brother, who is a master at starting businesses, suggests that I have a year's worth of income saved up, and while I have a small savings going, it's about a month's worth of income.

I also thought of putting together a training, or maybe a couple on different subjects and went to the universary library tonight to research my topic ideas, b ut came up with very little that pertained closely to my chosen topic.

I would appreciate any ideas, suggestions, sharing of expereinces in getting into private practice or creating workshops for ceu's. How long did it take you to get it off the ground? Advantages/disadvantages over agency work?

Thanks in advance

Lil'Pon August 18th, 2008 05:11 PM

Re: needing advice on private practice
 
My advice to you is don’t do it. Psychotherapy and counseling is a dying profession, more and more people are getting into the profession, and client bases are shrinking because folks are starting to distrust ethical enforcement, corrupt therapists and the extremely high prices. You have universities overselling the profession to students because they are money grubbing students any way they can these days, there is a glut of new therapists coming on stream, The only way you are going to make it in private practice is to charge three figures per session, it has become a service for the idle upper middle class with nothing better to do with their money, the people who truly need therapy and could benefit from it don't have insurance and can't afford to pay more than 20 or 30 per hour and out of that comes your overhead so you won't break even unless you are in a rich area and that is where the competition is extremely fierce with too many therapists in affluent areas, many are abandoning talk therapy for the meds – less hassle lots cheaper.

If you are getting a steady paycheck, stay there. If you want to start up a business, there are many ways to make money but these days you are not going to live a comfortable lifestyle in a start up private practice while shrinking client bases, huge numbers of new graduates in PhD and Masters programs to compete with, more competition, more liability insurance, more lawyers dueling over the prospect of suing therapists for malpractice, worry about getting slapped with ethical complaints, trust me it’s a dirty business all through.

They days of making six figures in private practice and a living the good life as a psychotherapist are gone.

sk8rgrl23 December 2nd, 2008 08:29 PM

Re: needing advice on private practice
 
Thanks for the encouragement. I wasn't asking IF I should get into private practice, but HOW.

Lil'Pon April 15th, 2009 02:39 PM

Re: needing advice on private practice
 
I don't understand why anyone these days would want to get into private practice. To cater to wealthy people? The profession is a dying one, there is a glut of idealistic therapists out there competing for dwindling client base, unless you are willing to charge 30 or 40 bucks an hour and put up with slow pay and missed appointments, which I doubt, there are much easier ways in this world to make money. The money you would make would barely pay for your overhead for an office rented or owned. The folks who truly need therapy can't afford to pay out of pocket and you can do the most good by working for a social service agency.

If you have a steady paycheck, I'd not mess with it.

The fact that you only got one answer in months is testament to this, because ten years ago this was an extremely active forum and now it is nearly dead, hardly any posts at all, that in itself should tell you something right there. Sorry to shatter your illusions, but with cable, the internet, talk show shrinks, the profession is becoming ruined, a joke.

sk8rgrl23 May 31st, 2009 09:33 AM

Re: needing advice on private practice
 
are you speaking from experience? Have you done private practice yourself? Have you ever worked in a mental health agency? Have you ever sate there till 7:00 every night with mounds of senseless paperwork to complete? Have you ever had to have your name in a hat for random drug screening? Have you ever worked three after hours shifts a week just to make ends meet?

I wasn't asking IF I should do it, but HOW. So if your answer to any of the above is "no" then nothing you have to say on this does me any good.

Blacklight January 22nd, 2010 12:10 PM

Re: needing advice on private practice
 
well there's nothing wrong in getting your career on the next level, and im sure you can gain and learn from that thing too.

donnaj8887 August 4th, 2010 03:30 AM

Re: needing advice on private practice
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Lil'Pon (Post 6179)
I don't understand why anyone these days would want to get into private practice. To cater to wealthy people? The profession is a dying one, there is a glut of idealistic therapists out there competing for dwindling client base, unless you are willing to charge 30 or 40 bucks an hour and put up with slow pay and missed appointments, which I doubt, there are much easier ways in this world to make money. The money you would make would barely pay for your overhead for an office rented or owned. The folks who truly need therapy can't afford to pay out of pocket and you can do the most good by working for a social service agency.

If you have a steady paycheck, I'd not mess with it.

The fact that you only got one answer in months is testament to this, because ten years ago this was an extremely active forum and now it is nearly dead, hardly any posts at all, that in itself should tell you something right there. Sorry to shatter your illusions, but with cable, the internet, talk show shrinks, the profession is becoming ruined, a joke.

Such a very amazing link!


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