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I'm Licensed...Now What?
We received the following question via our Ask Allison submission form: If I am licensed, do I need anything else to start seeing clients besides insurance?
Short answer: So many things.
The first thing I want to do is remind you that you’re starting a business. A bonafide, real capital B business. I would rather you expect there’s a ton to do than that there’s little, mainly so you won’t be disappointed.
I want to be clear that the steps you have to take to be a legit business are not hard. …
Hiring a Contract Lawyer for New Client Paperwork
To hire a contract lawyer to draft new client paperwork (informed consents, notice of privacy practices, etc.) or to not hire a contract lawyer? That is the question…
I’d definitely recommend having an attorney look over your new client paperwork. I mentioned recently in an Instagram post that one thing I did wrong when I was first starting was that - with permission - I copied a friend’s intake paperwork. He was a psychologist. His dad was an attorney and had made sure it was air tight for him…
Moving in State & Need Help with Transition
Ok, so you’ve done it! You’ve built your dream practice - possibly with the help of the Abundance Party ;). Now, you’re moving to a different part of the state and you’re unsure of how to make the transition. You’re the sole provider and aren’t moving for a new job, just a change in scenery. How do you go about this? What do you do?
I have two words for you: online therapy. You can SLOWLY transition from 100% Place A to 100% Place B or maintain a practice in both.
Maintain your current referral…
Converting Calls Into Clients
Are you getting lots of interest calls but having trouble converting them?
Without hearing your phone calls, I can’t accurately diagnose the problem, but here are the therapist mistakes I see most often that prevent conversions.
Clinicians don’t assume the client is calling to make an appt. They treat it like an information collecting call. They say things like “look at your schedule and call me back if you want to work together.” Think about it like this-- what if you called a dermatologist f…
Let's Talk about Life Coaches
Y’all I know so many therapists who are concerned about life coaches taking up all of the existing clients of the world. The funny thing is, most of these therapists don’t actually have much experience with life coaches.
I don’t share this concern. As a profession, life coaching addresses different issues in different ways, and they often work with different clients. Life coaches shouldn’t be the primary provider for someone with a mental health diagnosis, but they can be great for addressing …
Don't Worry About Your Follower Count
Marketing on social media can feel challenging. Social media can be an...interesting place, but it's also a place where our ideal clients spend a lot of time. Reaching your ideal client on social media can also really boost that imposter syndrome - wouldn't having more followers make you seem more authoritative, more an expert? Is having a low follower count keeping you from marketing on social media?
Just keep in mind, every non-celebrity you follow who has thousands, tens of thousands of follo…
Nervous About Leaving Agency
We received the following question via our Ask Allison submission form: I have worked for agencies my entire life so this whole process is daunting to me. Any words of wisdom to help me not be nervous would be greatly appreciated.
Look, if you weren’t nervous, I’d be concerned. Not because it’s competitive and you won’t succeed, but because it’s a huge life change. It’s the kind of nervous before you go off to college freshman year. You’re counting on yourself in a new and different way than yo…
What to do When you Need a Social Media Detox
The best possible thing you can do for your practice is to make choices that keep it sustainable. Is social media bringing clients in the door? Is it the kind of marketing you want to be doing?
Let’s say social media IS bringing clients in the door. Let’s say it’s your biggest referral source. Let’s say you DO love it but it can be a bit much sometimes.
The answer is ABSOLUTELY you can take a break. You can just take a true break and have a gap in your feed or you can schedule posts out ahead of…
Common Website Copy Mistakes
When people join the Abundance Party or Inner Circle, one of their major pain points is their website copy; they're afraid to show up or get started. They've had really bad feedback that was probably unwarranted or a little harsh or someone pointed out a grammar error a little too gleefully.
Sometimes formatting can be a barrier- or branding can feel chaotic. This could be contributing to what I’m guessing the primary problem may be… the copy.
The 3 major problems I see in therapist copy, assu…
Building a Rapport with Clients Online
I’m seeing some blogs and vlogs and Reels and questions about how to build a rapport with clients online but not a lot of clarity around who that info is meant for, so let’s shed some light on that! Right now building a rapport with clients online can mean one of two things: building a rapport with a client while doing online therapy or or building rapport with potential clients through online marketing. So let’s talk about both!
For online counseling, you may be surprised that what you normally…
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