I have been working on an article about the countertransference issues around money and fee setting.

As you can imagine, the issues are huge.

1. money,
2. love (read: sex),
3. health and
4. time.

This shows up in movies, plays, TV, books and our conversations.

Yet many therapists find it easier to talk about a client’s sex history and habits than to discuss the fee with them.

Why is that? I am curious what you think … let’s get a discussion going. Feel free to share your thoughts on this here.

Could it be that we still believe that being a “wealthy therapist” is an oxymoron? I’ve told this story before but when Bob and I had an exhibit table at a statewide therapy conference, we had thirty people in the first hour ask us “Isn’t ‘wealthy therapist’ an oxymoron?” It was very disheartening.

Could it be that we see helping someone and making a good living as incompatible?

Is it that we don’t value ourselves as much as doctors and lawyers do?

Is it that we have perpetuated the idea with the general public that we ought to accept low fees by doing just that?

Is it because we can’t easily articulate why our fees are much more than a managed care co-pay?

Recently, a survey was published showing the average therapist in California is age 55 and that age is climbing. She works either full time or part time in private practice in Los Angeles County and makes $54,719 a year before taxes.

This is barely enough to live on in Los Angeles where tiny apartments rent for $1,000 to $1500 a month. Plus there are office expenses, transportation expenses, and child care.

One of the reasons I think that the average age of therapists is climbing is all about the money. Culturally our values are shifting and younger people want to earn a good living as well as have a meaningful career. If we want the profession to flourish in this century, we must address
this.

That is why I am on this mission - to teach therapists that they can have both - a good living and a meaningful private practice.

Thanks for helping me spread the word.

We have two opportunities to help you build your practice this month.

1. Where will your private practice be in 6 months?

Our $89 a month, 6-month workgroup starts Monday, September 25 at 2 p.m. Pacific time.

We’ll meet twice a month over the phone.

We will start at the beginning with money, fees and then move into specialties and the marketing plan.

We have a few openings left, so for more information, please visit: http://attractmoreclientsnow.com/workgroup.html

2. Not putting into action what you’ve learned?

Teleseminar - “What Keeps Smart, Savvy Therapists from Implementing Good Marketing Ideas Easily and Comfortably?”

Tuesday, September 26th
7 p.m Pacific time,
10 p.m. Eastern time

Drs. Ellyn Bader, Peter Pearson and I have been discussing why many therapists learn a lot of good ideas and then tend to procrastinate their private practice marketing.

We think there may be something beyond the “I am too busy” argument.

Interested? We will be discussing why emotional blocks to implementing marketing plans have been so hard to overcome.

The fee for the teleseminar is $57 and all registrants will receive a transcript and an mp3 file for downloading. So even if you can’t be on the call, you can get this information.

If this is of interest to you and you’d like to know more about the teleseminar including the time of the call, please visit http://www.beawealthytherapist.com/stopbeingscared.html

I hope you will join us for one or both of these opportunities.

Again, if you’d like to comment on the issues of therapists and money, I’d love to hear what you think. Please share your comments here:

As always, wishing you great joy and success!

Love and blessings,

Want more clients? Want to become better known in your community for what you do? Want to “build your brand” inexpensively?

You can do this quite easily with a great answer to the question: “So, what do you do for a living?”

I call this your “short answer” or your tag line.

It is basically two sentences.

“I am a special kind of counselor.”

“I teach/help/work with (your target market and the problem that they see themselves as having)”

Here are some proven examples:

“I teach couples how to get along better.”

“I work with women who are tired of trying to be perfect.”

“I help people who are afraid of going to the dentist.”

“I teach singles how to find and keep a great partner.”

“I help frustrated parents and teens.”

Here is the biggest mistake some therapists accidentally make when creating this short answer:

They didn’t ask their fictitious, identifiable, ideal client what he or she really wants.

For example….

My ideal client’s name is Dannie Williams. She lives in the suburbs outside San Francisco, CA. She is 42 years old and has been licensed for 7 years. Her husband is named David and he has two daughters from a previous marriage. Both children are now in college.

When I take Dannie to Starbucks, (in a gestalt way - after all, she is fictitious..), I ask her “What’s eating you? What do you need help with?” She says “I am tired of managed care headaches. I want more clients! I am worth more than this.”

So I ask Dannie, “Would you hire me if I said ‘I help you believe in your own worth?’”

Dannie says … “Hmm…probably not.”

I try again “Would you hire me if I said ‘I can teach you how to double, triple and even quadruple your cash-paying clients?’”

She gets out her credit card.

Remember: the ideal client is not a real client. She is a fictitious client with a real problem. Create a vivid picture of her in your mind. Then have gestalt conversations with her about her deepest concerns.

When you know what makes your ideal client want to hire you, you have the answer to the question “So what do you do for a living?” Then your job is to test it out in your community and tweak it as necessary.

If you find yourself struggling with your answer to the question “So what do you do for a living?” and you are tired of trying to figure it out alone, why not join me and some other sharp, savvy therapists for our next 6-month workgroup? The workgroup starts September 25 and will be held twice a month over the phone.

For info or to register, please visit:
http://www.attractmoreclientsnow.com/workgroup.html

I wish you great success, happy practice building and oh, by the way…

“What do you do for a living?”

Blessings,

P.S. Do you sometimes feel uncomfortable and uneasy implementing good marketing ideas? Maybe you already know what to do but just aren’t doing it? There can be some very good reasons and you aren’t to blame. Drs. Ellyn Bader and Peter Pearson of The Couples Institute and I are going to have a powerhouse teleseminar on this soon! Stay tuned!