PracticesMadePerfect

Mental Health Professionals as Agents for World Change

As I complete my Phase III Classes and Assessments for the ProfessionalPracticeInstitute.com I come to believe more and more that seasoned mental health professionals are very well equipped to help change the direction of personal growth, positive action, and sustainable change for the world. We've had years of experience learning about the human condition, working with the mental health system, and living a life that walks our talk (hopefully). I fear our culture will loose the great wisdom of seasoned professionals as they move on to other work/s. I invite you to join me in shaping a support system for professionals to come together and create a more user friendly world.

Warmly

Linda

LEN 12-07

Happy Holidays!!!!

Most of us are now knee deep in the holiday season so I’ll keep this newsletter brief with information that’s timely. Choosing what to write about is difficult as I deal with the holidays and am touched by people’s lives that are stressed with family issues, illness, death (a lot of folks wait until the end of the year to pass on) seasonal affective disorder, extreme weather, financial problems and much much more. Here are the topics that won the coin toss:

• Taking Care of Yourself
• Managing Client Gifts

To see the article on Holiday Shopping visit the LifeDancing Newsletter.

I wish you a joyful, peaceful holiday season.

Warmly,

Linda

November 2007 - Starting Over, Again

by Linda Lawless LMHC LMFT

Around the Water Cooler

OK, I think I’ve got it!
Got what you may ask.

The foundation for my new professional life and practice here in Northern California. What with re-locating, escorting my mother through her Alzheimers and her eventual passing-on, a first grandbaby, and my husband’s business relocation, I believe having only taken 3 years is not bad. For those of you who are new to this newsletter, besides passing on information about how to create and sustain a successful professional practice I’m also chronicling my journey of relocation from Massachusetts and the creation of a new successful practice in Northern California. The cultural differences between MA and CA, both personally and professionally are so different, it’s a bit like moving to another country. Luckily I’m from this area and am licensed here as an LMFT so it makes the transition a little easier.

I’d love to hear about your experience of relocating a practice!

In starting a new practice, a major part of Phase 1 (see assessment on the right) in setting up a new practice is to be clear about your business structure, location, theoretical orientation and subsequent niche market. I have everything but theoretical orientation and niche market in place, which obviously are critical. Since I’ve created several practices the other stuff was easy. These solutions are all in my first book How to Build and Market Your Mental Health Practice.

Theoretical Orientation

I’m creating a practice based on positive psychology with a focus on well-being. I want clients that’ll pay out of pocket for premium services, since I’m a master clinician (over 30 years of experience, teacher, author etc.) and will not accept insurance assignments. I’m happy to give clients a SuperBill to submit to their insurance company but will not get involved insurance authorization and reimbursement through my office. If you are struggling with whether or not to accept insurance and/or get on insurance panels, let me know and I’ll bump up an article on making that decision higher on my list of articles to re-write.

I have been training and practicing in new modalities and  struggling with how to integrate a legal and ethical practice (my licenses ethical guidelines require me to always make a diagnosis and treatment plan) with one that focuses on positive psychology. I initially thought I would simply convert to being a professional life coach, but found that no matter how hard I tried, in my being, I’m a healer and clinician when dealing with individual problems. Having the depth of knowledge that I have about how people work, there was no way I can seperate "therapy" from "life coaching," which is what all the guidelines currently ask for. I find I always come off as a therapist when I make presentations and network with people so moving back to a therapeutic model, albeit a positive psychology one, is the best solution for me. So, until I change, mindfulness and positive psychology is my clinical base. If you’re wondering what Positive Psychology is, there is a brief description by Chris Peterson in the forward of his book A Primer in Positive Psychology by Oxford Press. I also find that positive psychology also works very well in a business coaching model, so I use a lot of these principles when coaching professionals to create successful private practices.

“Positive psychology is the scientific study of what goes right in life, from birth to death and at all stops in between. It is a newly christened approach within psychology that takes seriously the examination of that which makes life most worth living. Everyone's life has peaks and valleys, and positive psychology does not deny the valleys. Its signature premise is more nuanced, but nonetheless important: what is good about life is as genuine as what is bad and, therefore, deserves equal attention from psychologists.”

I’m currently taking a class with Chris who has helped me clarify my theoretical position. I’ll be writing more about positive psychology in future newsletters, and you can visit www.positivepsychologyatwork.com, a blog I’m involved in for more information.

I’ve also trained with John Kabat-Zinn in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction MBSR and taken an internship to learn how to teach others. I’m starting an Adult Education class at the local Community College for adults and am working with my 3 year-old grandson on teaching MBSR to children. When I understand that process, I’ll offer a class on teaching meditation to children.

Continuum of Services

So, I now have a continuum of services that ranges from:

Pathology Based

Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy
and historical approaches I have trained in, i.e., Gestalt, Rogerian, Maslow and Jungian models

To

Psychoeducational

Managing everyday stress with Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction - MBSR

To

Wellness Based

An integrated model using positive psychology and mindfulness practice in the creation of Well-Being.

The next step is to create outreach/marketing materials and events and discover what works and what doesn’t work. I see two arms; one is to reach out to professionals, i.e., other therapist and the medical community and the other is to connect with clients directly. I’ve started an online newsletter for the general public at http://lllawless.typepad.com/lifedancing/ and am currently putting the professional package together, i.e., business card, brochure, brochure, website, and outreach letters.

You might want to check my public newsletter out for yourself for more resources. This month's focus is on the value of Gratitude and how to express it during the holidays. There is also information on self-care, holiday spending and how to balance gift giving and spending money with honoring the essence of the holiday, which has less to do with shopping.

Resources and Information

Here is what I have stumbled across this month. Also check out my public newsletter for more timely resources.

Books:

Shyness – How Normal Behavior has Become a Sickness by Christopher Lane

This book provides not only a comprehensive picture of how an ordinary trait became a mental disorder, but also a new and vitally important perspective on anxiety today. Insisting that we're over diagnosed and overmedicated, it describes in precise detail how psychiatrists, public relations consultants, and drug companies successfully turned shyness, self-consciousness, and even introspection into major psychiatric disorders. (Wall Street Journal Nov. 3-4)

Movies:

Rentable by Dec. 18 - Stardust - eye candy and a good escape, enjoy.

To See – Beowulf – I’m always fascinated when a historic myth or story emerges in present day culture. Now that I’ve gotten up to speed on Beowulf I’m off to the movie. I’d be interested in your hit on why now. To get up to speed before you go, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beowulf

Office Help

Sharing Documents with Others – who may be using different software and/or operating systems. Creating PDFs – PDFs or Portable Document Format is the best way to share documents that everybody can open after they download the FREE PDF reader from Adobe. http://www.adobe.com/products/reader/

There are other non-adobe solutions that I’ll explore later.

Virtual Groups - A rather new service is Goggle Groups. When you create a group, for FREE, you can put up documents for others to read. In addition, your group can edit the document as well. I’ve set up groups for business and clients share their work with me via their group. So far it’s working well.

Duh Category (Studies spending millions of dollars to prove what everybody already knows)

Employers have found that investing in services for depressed employees cuts down on absences and improves workers’ health. - http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2007/workplace-depression-screening-outreach-and-enhanced-treatment-improves-productivity-lowers-employer-costs.shtml

Education

Free articles on business and much more at the i.tunes store: http://www.apple.com/education/itunesu/?cid=ITS-ITUMAIN080829-CN4X9&cp=ITS-ITUMAIN

Onward

It's off to refinish my front door (great metaphor) and enjoy a beautiful day.

Warmly
Linda

October 07

by Linda Lawless MA LMFT LMHC

Around the Water Cooler

Fall is in the air, Halloween and Thanksgiving shimmer on the horizon and maybe you are even beginning to think of the December holidays.  As an act of generosity, and a practice building strategy, I highly recommend giving a copy of your Resource Directory to local professionals, agencies, hospitals and any other place it would be appropriate. If you’re asking, “What is a Resource Directory?” check out the link under Pages.

I’m still working the bugs out of the new PPI website. With the theft of my banking information, I have spent hours re-setting up merchant accounts and much much more. Lesson learned, be more mindful of valuable possessions when they are on the road with me.

I spent several wonderful days on Cape Cod with colleagues in September and ran another license preparation workshop with my training partner Bonnie. I always enjoy the fresh energy of mental health professionals entering the field and getting their license. Of course I always push for them to start a private practice when they are ready. I truly believe successful professional practices will help us save our professional from mechanization by managed care.

In the service of building a wellness-based practice here in CA I have started a newsletter on Advanced Well-Being called LifeDancing. I believe the information in the monthly posts will be of interested to those of you who follow the new discoveries in brain science, positive psychology and mindfulness meditation.   Please take a look at it and give me feedback. http://lllawless.typepad.com/lifedancing/

Also, use any of the information you find to pass on to others you believe might be interested. The name of the newsletter is LifeDancing, Mastering Life’s Movement. LifeDancing is also the name of my vintage yacht where I see clients, as well as the title of the book I wrote 20 years ago on personal leadership. I'm currently writing the 2nd Edition.

We live in exciting times professionally. New measures and research emerge frequently giving us more and more insight into what it is to be human.  Earlier this month I took an all day workshop with Dan Siegel "An Interpersonal Neurobiology of Psychotherapy: Relationships, the Brain, and the Development of Well-Being" If he is ever presenting in your area I highly recommend going to see him. I’m also finding his book The Mindful Brain to be an excellent read.

On to resources, here are some that came up this month:

Resources

NIMH Bipolar Study

The NIMH has posted a recent study on Bipolar disorder. It is very comprehensive and will be of interest of those of you who work with clients with this diagnosis.  Since this is a federally funded study, you can use the information copyright free to help and educate others.

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/bipolar-disorder/symptoms.shtml

Risk Prevention

Last month I shared my experiences, and actions, after my purse was stolen. A newsletter reader sent me some additional risk proofing ideas.

1. The next time you order checks have only your initials (instead of first name) and last name put on them. If someone takes your checkbook they will not know if you sign your checks with just your initials or your first name but your bank will know how you sign your checks.
2. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the "For" line. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing channels won't have access to it.
3. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box use your work address.
4. Never have your SS# printed on your checks (DUH!) -- you can add it if it is necessary. But if you have it printed, anyone can get it.
5. Copy the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine; do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel.

Finally, be mindful of the environment, and never leave your valuables unattended outside your home.

APA

Did you know that the American Psychological Association has a professional practice section? I joined APA and find their resources and information to be stellar. Check it out at http://www.apapractice.org/#

Continuing Education

Managing your continuing education is important for many reasons.

•     Required when declaring a specialty for many reasons
•     To maintain your license
•     To keep you abreast of changes in the field
•     To protect you in the case of a frivolous lawsuit.

As I run across quality CE opportunities I’ll pass those on to you.

I just received information from the Wellesley Center for Women and see that they have some excellent homestudy programs. Learn about them by visiting www.jbmti.org.

Clinical Tools

Creative Therapy Store

I receive this catalog in the mail and love reading about all the new fun things to use with my clients, Their website is www.creativetherapystore.com. The products range in age appropriateness from child to adult, including those with special needs.  I have one of their adult tools, The Journey to Wild Divine. Check it out, especially if you work with children, and/or have an inner child that likes to learn and play.

Heron Press – Mixed Emotions

Remember those lists of feelings you used to read to clients who have a hard time identifying feelings? Heron Press has recently published some beautiful cards that graphically describe feelings, much better than a list. Find them at www.mixed-emotions.com

New Book

Be a Wealthy Therapist by Casey Truffo

Casey is a California girl who has been giving workshops on becoming a wealthy therapist for some time. I just picked up her book and am going to review it. On first glance it looks like she’s taking on therapists and their relationship to money and adding practice development skills for a private pay business. I’ll take it chapter by chapter and let you know what I learn.

Happy Halloween/Samhain to you ALL
Boooo
Linda

Risk Proofing Your Life

by Linda L Lawless MA LMFT LMHC

Around the Water Cooler – Risk Proofing my Life

This week I had a very big wake-up call regarding risk proofing my life. My car was broken into and my purse stolen. In my purse I carried way too much information about myself, i.e., Driver's License, Credit Cards (more than one), Check Books (more than one), Insurance cards, AAA card and much more.

After spending a high anxiety day trying to protect my bank assets, close credit cards, and get a temporary driver's license, I began to think of how I'm going to change my ways. I also began to think of other kinds of information I might have been carrying around in my car on any given day and how to protect myself, my life, and my clients information better.

I also spoke to (or it could be called whined to) many friends and colleagues and received some good advice about what to do.

I decided I would share some of these ideas in case any of you have gotten sloppy, like I had, after many years of feeling safe and not being aware of the folks out there who break out car windows and steal things.

First of all, here are the things I did:

- Make a police report.
- Call all my banks and put a hold on all dispersements and cancel all bank debit cards. I called them first since any money taken from my accounts probably could not be recovered.
- Call all the credit card companies of the cards I was carrying.
- Notify the library of a stolen card so books, or more, could not be stolen.
- Make a list of other identification cards and make calls.
- If you have keys in your purse, change the locks.

Within an hour the thief had made charges in 3 locations. The next day two checks were presented to the bank. Now I needed to notify the Credit Bureaus of Identity Theft and Fraud. Here are the numbers:
* Equifax (800) 525-6285
* Experian (888) 397-3742
* TransUnion (800) 680-7289

Here are the things I "should have done."
- NOT LEAVE MY PURSE IN THE CAR
- Make a copy of everything I carry in my purse on a monthly basis.
- Know the numbers on all the checks I carry.
- Have some kind of service that lists the cards I carry so I only have to make one phone call.

I was fortunate to not leave my i.phone, which had contact information, including client contacts although they were not identified as clients. I quickly put password protection on it so if it was stolen, no one would be able to use it or get information off of it. I also sometimes carry my laptop in the car, so I did the same to it. These both follow the guidelines of client info having to be behind 2 locks. If I were to carry paper client records, they would have to be in a locked briefcase. Consider this a heads up and remember there are folks who make a profession out of stealing valuables from cars.

What a Surprise

I’ve decided to start a new column called “What a Surprise” or“Uh huh.” Let me know which title you prefer, or offer a new one. This new column refers to things I read in the media and mumble to myself wondering why they spent all that money. These are usually findings that cost millions of dollars that we all know anyway. I just read one in today’s Wall Street Journal (9-5-07). Here’s a surprise for you. “Scholars Link Success of Firms to the Lives of CEOs.” What the article goes on to tell us is that, usually, when a CEO has suffered a loss, or has become enchanted with their wealth and is spending big bucks on houses or other luxury items, the company suffers. Apparently the business community believed CEOs were above being human and could stride through the loss of a child or spouse without missing a beat. Uh huh!

Of Interest

I put up Phase 2 of Practice Development Assessment for those of you who have had a practice for over a year. It's posted on the right of this article. Enjoy!

The new website www.ProfessionalPracticeInstitute is moving along. I have demystified online merchant accounts and now have a database of courses and programs offered to make it easier for folks to find the resources they need.

Resources

Here are some random resources I have run across this month that I thought were good enough to pass on to you:

Parent Coaching - http://www.academyforcoachingparents.com/ - I know some of you specialize in working with parents and families. I thought you would find this interesting.

Dual Relationships, Multiple Relationships and Boundary Decisions - http://www.kspope.com/site/multiple-relationships.php - This is a very interesting paper on the many facets of relationships we might have with our clients.

Music to Chill - http://www.cafecody.com - This is my first foray into web radio. This station is very interesting.

Global Transformation http://www.theglobalintelligencer.com/ - You probably already know I'm a futuristic kind of girl. I found this site very interesting. Resources

Ethics Codes & Practice Guidelines for Assessment, Therapy, Counseling, & Forensic Practice http://kspope.com/ethcodes/index.php This is a great website for professional resources, and they are all free.

Onward
Linda

Phoenix Rising

by Linda L Lawless LMHC LMFT

Like the Phoenix rising from the ashes, I am beginning to poke my head up from the chaos of a relocation, new grandbaby, mother with Alzheimers and her passing, dealing with the Estate, husband finding a great job, fixing our fixer-upper house, starting a new practice, and much much more. Chaos has been the common theme, and from chaos, hopefully, emerges something new and exciting.

Here in CA, having moved from MA and closing my practice in Melrose, I am exploring a new kind of professional practice; one that emphasizes positive psychology and well-being. I invite you to join me on this journey as I explore the marketplace, the theoretical base and how it all goes into the mix of a professional practice.

For those of you who are new to PracticesMadePerfect - Professional Practice Institute newsletter, your seeing a new format. I want a more interactive newsletter and this new format promises just that.

PracticesMadePerfect.com's mission remains the same, to mainstream mental/emotional wellness by empowering professionals to create community practices that are as good for them as they are for the clients they serve. In the service of this mission, this Phoenix is rising in the shape of the Professional Practice Institute.

As I have traveled and taught Professional Practice courses, I find an enormous diversity of professionals, with many different needs. I want to create a place where any professional can find guidance, and what they need NEXT, to grow a successful practice.

Your feedback is critical to our success. Please let me know what you need so I can create and/or locate it for you. I know what it is like being at the beginning, middle or end of a practice. I want to move you along to the experience of your Perfect Professional Practice. The Perfect Practice is a journey of growth and excellence. Let's rise to the occasion!

Warmly
Linda