American Heart Month This year's focus is on women and cardiovascular disease. www.americanheart.org
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National Laugh Friendly Month Laughter and humor are essential to happiness. www.laugh-friendly.com
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February and Valentines Day speak to the topic of relationships. I thought this month I would focus on Networking and Professional Relationships to enhance your professional experience and expand your practice.
Networking
Being in private professional practice can be very isolating. When I had a group practice, even though we were all (three of us) at the office, we never saw one another. We would come out of our individual offices to greet the waiting client, and zip right back into our own worlds. I eventually mandated a weekly check-in time just to see how everyone was doing and take care of business.
When I was beginning my practice, since I didn't have a lot of money to put into marketing, I knew I had to use my time to promote my business. I randomly joined organizations, not putting too much thought into my return on investment (time). Now that I am older/wiser, and have less energy, I am very aware of where I put my networking time. For more information on how to Network effectively, check out the page on the right Networking.
Professional Relationships
I can't emphasize enough how important it is to have quality professional relationships to support you in your work. You also need colleagues and referral sources to support your clientâs needs. Here are a few types of professional relationships that are critical to private practice.
1 Supervisor
2 Expert Consultants
3 Support
4 Professional Associations
5 Specialty Colleagues
6 Back-up and practice coverage
7 Consultants
Supervision
I believe it is critical to always have some kind of supervision while you are seeing clients. You need someone else who is watching what you are doing, an expert to guide you, and a support if you ever are sued for malpractice.
Expert Consultants
Whenever I had a client who became fragile and I believed was a danger to themselves, I always called at least three colleagues to discuss the case with them. I always got ideas I hadnât thought of or was reminded of things I already knew but hadn't remembered. Of course these relationships are reciprocal. I would do the same for them.
Support
Being in the role of psychotherapist, healer, and businessperson is a BIG job. I once was lucky enough to have a colleague who lived a few blocks away. We would walk in the mornings and simply randomly talk about what was going on in our practices. I had another group that I met with, a marketing support group, to keep me active in my practice development activities. There are so many ways professionals can be of help to one another; we need to look to one another for help.
Professional Associations
I believe it is important to be a member of, and an active participant in your professional association, even if you do not agree with them. Simply being critical is not enough. Step up and be heard. Also if you are new to an area and want to connect with colleagues, this is the perfect place to start.
Specialty Colleagues
Whatever your niche market, or specialty is, I highly recommend staying in touch with colleagues who are walking down the same path. You will be able to share resources with one another and have a companion to attend events.
Back-up and Practice Coverage
You need coverage for your clients when you are on vacation, or are blindsided by family emergencies and medical issues. I didn't really get this one until I broke my leg one day walking the dog. I had been using the local emergency room psych unit for emergencies, but while babbling to clients (I was on pain medication) about canceling their appointments, I quickly realized I needed someone else doing this that I could trust with confidentiality. I highly recommend having an agreement with a colleague or professional practice manager, who you done the whole HIPAA agreement thing with to back you up in case of emergency.
Consultants
You'll need consultants for legal questions, ethical issues, unexpected client issues and needs. It is best to have these in place before you need them. With a group of colleagues to go to for resources, this will be a lot easier.
I know there are many many more professional relationships, these are the top 7.
Have a great February!!!!
Warmly,
Linda
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