Bob and I are so excited about the workshops coming up! Our Build Your Full and Rewarding Private Practice Workshop - 7 CEUs for CA MFTs and LCSWs - will be on Saturday, May 6th in Irvine, CA (southern CA) and on May 13th in Sacramento, CA (northern CA).

I am really excited about teaching how to give talks that get lots of clients and how to network effectively - even if you are really shy. This is my 6-month program compressed into a one-day workshop.

How To Write A Great Psychology Today Listing

Looking for a therapist online? Actually, many people are these days. Of course where there is a need, smart marketers rush to fill it. Psychology Today pioneered this trend and there are other good ones too such as www.counsel-search.com

Here is how it works. A person in the general public needs a therapist and enters “counseling” and their home town into a search engine such as Google or Yahoo. Several listings will come up and usually some of the first ones are online therapist locator services. When people searching for therapists enter these sites, they type in their zip code and/or their problem and they are presented with a list of therapists. They get to view profiles of the various therapists and are invited to contact them via email or telephone.

While I believe the online therapist locator systems are an introverted marketing strategy (and the extroverted strategies really fill your practice,) I do encourage therapists to get on at least two of these services. The prices vary but can be free (through your local therapist organization) up to $30/month.

Once you sign up with these services, you are invited to create your profile. You will do this by answering a number of questions. While all the services have some variations, here are some basic things to do to get better results from your listing.

1) In the beginning of your profile, you are usually invited to create a personal statement. Please use this space to share what kind of pain you help to reduce. Show that you understand the pain. Let them know you’d like to help.

On Psychology Today, the first 25 words become a preview of your profile. This will be shown with everyone else’s preview in your zip code. I suggest you make those 25 words be about the client, their problem and how you want to help.

2) Be careful how you answer questions such as “Tell us about how you view therapy” or “Tell the potential client a bit about yourself.” While these questions seem important, I ask you to put yourself in your prospect’s shoes. If I am surfing the internet looking for a therapist in the middle of the night, I don’t really care that they were trained at the prestigious Jungian University or that they are a registered art therapist. What I care about is “Do you get it? Do you understand what I am going through?” So always try to answer the questions from what would be of interest to a client.

3) Many services ask you to enter your fee. Sometimes the fees are in ranges such as “$120-$129.” Make sure you select a range where your full fee is the low end of the range. So if your fee is $120, select the range $120-129. When a prospect contacts you, make sure you quote the low end of the fee. That way, they feel like they are getting a “good deal.”

4) When asked about what specialties you treat, you are often invited to check as many as you can. While this may look like you are well-qualified to treat a number of different types of issues, I recommend that you choose no more than five areas of specialty. If I am searching for a therapist and I want someone who can help me with my A.D.D., I will pass over the therapists where A.D.D. is one of 27 specialties in favor of the one who says “Are you tired of feeling out of control and like you can’t seem to finish what you started? I’d like to help.”

5) Many prospects who read your listing will contact you via email. Make sure you check your email regularly to ensure you are responsive to requests for information. If the person sends you an email that contains their phone number, I recommend you reply via email and a phone call. Let them know you appreciated them taking the time to email you and you’d really like to know more about their situation in order to see if you are the right therapist for them. I can’t say this enough, be responsive. When someone sends an email to a therapist on an online locator system, they often send them to several therapists. Usually the first therapist to connect with the prospect gets the client.

I hope this has stimulated your thinking!

P.S. Want to share your thoughts on this article? Post your comments here.

Many of you have told me that your practice tends to slow down in April because clients say they have “no money.” Well, I think this is the perfect time to look at how “taxed” are we! How are you doing on those New Year’s resolutions? How is your personal self-care? Sometimes I work too much. So, when I look at my self-care, my secret is to evaluate it with the Seven Dwarfs.Now I imagine you are thinking that I have just lost it. But hang in here with me for a second.How many of the Seven Dwarfs can you name? Take a moment.I can name all seven because I use them to test the quality of my self-care. Let me show you.

When I am feeling Sleepy, Sneezy, Dopey, Bashful or Grumpy, then I know it is time to rest, recharge and be the (or go to the) good Doc and get Happy!

So, as the good Doc to myself, here are some fun things that I do. I also recommend them to my clients. I’d love to hear what you do to reenergize.

1.) Take the time to enjoy something creative. For some it might be scrap-booking or writing poetry and for others it might be playing the number game SUDOKU. Let your mind and spirit have fun with something very different than therapy.

2.) Create a list of things you would like do if you have 30 minutes. Don’t stop before you have 20 items on the list. Then start doing them! For example, I think I want to check out tennis clubs.

If you’d like to go to a spa but don’t have the time, check out this virtual spa. You can try it as a “visitor” and go into the virtual jacuzzi without leaving your home or office.

3.) Enjoy a book that has nothing to do with your field of expertise. I’d love to know what good books have you read lately.

4.) Find something interesting or funny. Have you checked out Google video? Here is one where the guy “never drops a ball.”

5.) Review those New Year’s goals and resolutions. See which ones you want to throw out and which ones you might want to revisit. For me personally, I really need to get back into exercising.

Many years ago someone told me “You know you’ve made it when you enjoy the lulls in your practice.” If this is a lull for you, figure out how to have some fun!

Be well, be happy and have some fun - even at tax time!