The Business of Psychology – Details, episodes & analysis

Hello and welcome to the Business of Psychology Summer School edition. 

Over the six weeks of the English school holidays, we are doing things a little bit differently around here. If you're looking to start up an independent practice in September, then this is the place to be as each week I'm dropping in with a quick lesson and tasks that can be completed in 30 minutes or less from your sun lounger.

By the end of the six weeks, you will feel ready to step into your practice in September, confident that you can find clients and have a safe and viable business foundation. 

Each week, the lessons will go out on this podcast feed, but if you want the weekly tasks, workbooks, private community, and a live session with me at the end of the summer to hold you accountable and make sure nothing stands in your way, you will need to sign up here: PBS Summer School

I would love to see you in the community.

Full show notes of this episode are available at The Business of Psychology

Links & References:

PBS Summer School Sign Up

PBS Start and Grow

Rosie on Instagram:

@rosiegilderthorp

@thepregnancypsychologist

Welcome to Lesson 6 of Summer School, our final lesson! Today I'm going to be talking to you about third parties and insurance companies, because often when we start out in private practice, it can be helpful to supplement our own referrals with some from third parties, the most common being associate work for a larger, well established practice, referrals directly from insurance companies, or referrals from case managers representing medico legal firms.

Associate work can be great to help you get your confidence and practice processes up and running at the beginning of your practice. In fact, many people choose to stay working as an associate rather than creating their own referrals.

The upside is you get the benefit of steady referrals and the best associate practices offer training and supervision opportunities or other benefits like free room rental when you see their clients. They also tend to handle the admin for you, so it can be very welcome in the scary early days.

The downside of associate work is less money, but less costs as well, so that might actually be fine. Just check that you don't go below your minimum fee that we worked out a couple of lessons ago, and also possible limitations on your own business growth. You need to check an associate contract very carefully for non compete clauses. These are clauses that state that you can't poach clients from the associate practice, which is very much fair enough. But, some of them do have some quite drastic terms in them. The chunkiest I've ever read was, 'You can never work with any mental health client within a 50 mile radius of the associate practice for one year after you finish with your last patient with us’. And I won't get into the pros and cons of that type of clause here, but just be aware, and if you see one that you think might limit your potential business growth in the future, then walk...

Hello and welcome to the Business of Psychology Summer School edition. 

Over the six weeks of the English school holidays, we are doing things a little bit differently around here. If you're looking to start up an independent practice in September, then this is the place to be as each week I'm dropping in with a quick lesson and tasks that can be completed in 30 minutes or less from your sun lounger.

By the end of the six weeks, you will feel ready to step into your practice in September, confident that you can find clients and have a safe and viable business foundation. 

Each week, the lessons will go out on this podcast feed, but if you want the weekly tasks, workbooks, private community, and a live session with me at the end of the summer to hold you accountable and make sure nothing stands in your way, you will need to sign up here: PBS Summer School

I would love to see you in the community.

Full show notes of this episode are available at The Business of Psychology

Links & References:

PBS Summer School Sign Up

PBS Start and Grow

Rosie on Instagram:

@rosiegilderthorp

@thepregnancypsychologist

For lesson five of our summer school, we are thinking about directory sites. It's a good idea to be on a directory site or two if you're in independent practice. They can be a good source of referrals, but on top of that, they give you a home on the internet that you can direct people to before you get your own website up and running. They show up in search engines and they can give you a real boost of credibility. 

There are a myriad of directory sites to choose from, and the good news is that most of them offer a free trial, so you can test which ones work for you. 

What I do, and what I'm going to talk through today, is I create a perfect profile, which I save in a Google Doc, and then I just copy and paste it into different platforms that I want to try out.

At a minimum, I'd recommend trying out Psychology Today, Counseling Directory, and Find My Psychologist, but it's worth doing a search for a 'psychologist or therapist near me' and seeing what directory sites are dominating the search results near you, because it is different postcode to postcode, and you really want to make sure you're on those sites that are coming top for your area. For example, where I am, if I type in ‘psychologist in Tunbridge Wells’, the first results are from Harley Therapy, Psychology Today and Counseling Directory. So if I was starting out, those would be places that I'd really want to consider. 

There are some basic principles for a good directory site profile, that if you follow, you're going to be streets ahead of most people out there, because most profiles on directory sites are really awful. I'm going to talk you through some top tips, and then if you're in summer school, you will be able to use my template, which I've put underneath this lesson, in order to craft your directory site profile. 

If this is difficult and it doesn't come...

Welcome to the Business of Psychology podcast. In this series, we're exploring the different ways that psychologists and therapists can work in independent practice. I've been talking to a lot of authors recently, and it's always a real pleasure to do so because the passion and commitment that it takes to author a book is infectious, so I've been really looking forward to our interview with Dr Kirstie Rees today. Dr Kirstie Rees is a child and educational psychologist, specialised in the areas of disability, neurodiversity and mental health and wellbeing. She is also the author of a new book, The Mental Health and Wellbeing of Children and Young People with Learning Difficulties.

Full show notes and a transcript of this episode are available at The Business of Psychology

Links for Kirstie:

Website: www.kirstiereespsychology.com

LinkedIn: ​​Dr Kirstie Rees

Book: The Mental Health and Wellbeing of Children and Young People with Learning Difficulties: A Guide for Educators - by Dr Kirstie Rees

Rosie on Instagram:

@rosiegilderthorp

@thepregnancypsychologist

• Kirstie tells us how she got started in educational psychology 00:51
• We discuss the language used around disability 12:05
• Kirstie talks about her move into independent work 16:13
• Kirstie tells us about what sparked the idea for her book 22:03
• I ask Kirstie about the writing process 26:52
• We discuss going direct to a publisher, rather than using an agent 32:42
• Kirstie gives us her advice for psychologists and therapists wanting to write a book 37:50

Thank you so much for listening to the Business of Psychology podcast. I'd really appreciate it if you could take the time to subscribe, rate and review the show. It helps more mental health professionals just like you to find us, and it also means a lot to me personally when I read the reviews. Thank you in advance and we'll see you next week for another episode of practical strategy and inspiration to move your independent practice forward.

Christine is a highly experienced occupational psychologist and leadership development consultant. Her career to date has spanned across the public and private sector and she has held several positions in the British Psychological Society. 

• I introduce Christine and she tells us about her career path and the road she took to independent practice 00:17
• We discuss the importance of talking to people about our careers and asking for help 04:23
• I ask Christine what it was like to be in a management role and introduce psychological thinking 07:20
• Christine tells us where her career went next, after developing her competence as an occupational psychologist in a management role 09:58
• Christine talks about her move into self employment and how she knew what she could do independently 13:56
• Christine talks about the growth of her independent practice 19:25
• Christine tells us about the coaching side of her work 27:26
• We discuss the difference between therapy and coaching 30:00
• I ask Christine how people can skill themselves up to work in this area 36:32
• Christine tells us the first steps for occupational psychologists who are thinking about starting a private practice 40:22
• I thank Christine and she tells us how to find her on LinkedIn 45:32

Links:

Linked In - Christine’s profile 

ILM - coaching qualification accrediting body

EMCC - coaching qualification accrediting body

ICF - coaching qualification accrediting body

**********

Do you sometimes wake up at 2 am worried that you’ve made a terrible error that will bring professional ruin upon you and disgrace your family?

I’m laughing now but when I first set up in private practice I was completely terrified that I had “missed” something big when setting up insurance or data protection.

Even now, three years in, I sometimes catch myself wondering if I have really covered all the bases.

It is hard, no impossible, to think creatively and have the impact you should be having in your practice if you aren’t confident that you have a secure business. BUT it can be overwhelming to figure out exactly what you need to prioritise before those clients start coming in.

I’ve created a free checklist (plus resources list) to take the thinking out of it. Tick off every box and you can see your clients confident in the knowledge that you have everything in place for your security and theirs.

Download it now from the new link:

https://psychologybusinessschool.com/client-checklist

**************

SPEAKERS

Rosie Gilderthorp, Christine Hamilton

Rosie Gilderthorp  00:01

Welcome to the business of psychology podcast, the show that helps you to reach more people, help more people and build the life you want to live by doing more than...

Today’s episode is part of the audio from a class I recorded on efficient processes for our Psychology Business School students. Systems expert Amy Mitchell shares why and how to create processes for everything that create so much space and so much less overwhelm in your day. Working with Amy has really changed my life and business so I knew after we recorded the class that I needed to share it with all of you.

Before we get started I just wanted to let you know that, if you’d like more help taking the overwhelm out of your practice the doors are now open for Psychology Business School. PBS is our complete course covering everything you need to get your practice up and running and bringing you the fulfilment you deserve. We’ve got live classes covering everything from mindset, pricing, business planning to advanced marketing strategies. Plus you get a bundle of legal templates created by a specialist GDPR lawyer just for us so you don’t have to worry whether your privacy policy and terms and conditions are compliant any more.

If you want to: 

• Make enough money to support yourself in your practice
• Break free from the fear of not having enough clients by developing a marketing strategy that works on repeat
• Create REAL work/life balance that doesn’t involve doing your reports at 2am

Then our 12 week programme is perfect for you. Doors will only be open for a week so come over and check out the details at:

https://psychologybusinessschool.com/the-psychology-business-school/

• I introduce Amy and tell you how working with her has changed my life 00:17
• I let you know that the doors are now open for Psychology Business School 00:41
• Amy talks about her love for making things as simple as possible, and using tools to do that 02:04
• We look at the key processes that people need to have in place, beginning with client onboarding 04:53
• Amy tells us the key components a good client onboarding and monitoring system should have 12:59
• Amy takes us through systems we can use for responding to, and monitoring enquiries 17:00
• We discuss putting processes into action, and how to map out your processes without making it into a massive job 22.10
• We talk about processes for invoicing and collecting CPD resources 27.01
• Amy takes us through the tech we can use to help us 33:57
• Amy tells us about the Asana mini training she has 43:53
• I remind you about Psychology Business School 47:02

Links to find Amy

https://www.amymitchell.ca

Asana mini training: https://www.amymitchell.ca/get-asana-mini-training

If this makes you want to try WriteUpp please use my referral link to sign up. It doesn't cost you anything and means they give me a small bonus, thank you!***********

I just wanted to let you know that the doors are now open for Psychology Business School. PBS is our complete course covering everything you need to get your practice up and running and bringing you the fulfilment you deserve. We’ve got live classes covering everything from mindset, pricing, business planning to advanced marketing strategies. Plus you get a bundle of legal templates created by a specialist GDPR lawyer...

In today’s episode, we will cover why you should outsource, how to decide what to outsource and when, the types of tasks that you can outsource and some of my tips on how to do this effectively.

Have you noticed that if you ask me the date or time for something I never know?

It really is a huge problem for me. I am reasonably intelligent, have a good head for many things but I cannot hold any kind of number or date in my mind so, almost as soon as a date or time is mentioned to me, I have forgotten it. Any of the students on Psychology Business School or members of Do More Than Therapy will probably be aware of this fact...

This is a problem in private practice. Even though I use all of the tools like Calendly for scheduling meetings, WriteUpp for running my clinics and Google calendar for everything else I STILL double book myself all the time. And then I procrastinate about putting it right because I find it so stressful to try and find an alternative date for someone.

In the first year of my practice, I lost a lot of money because of this. I would turn down clients because I thought I had no space when that wasn’t true and I came across as deeply unprofessional with some who I had to re-book several times. I also had a contract with a company who wanted me to keep my availability up to date on their online system so they could book their employees in with me whenever they wanted and I just could not manage to do it so I rarely got work from them. 

After 12 months of hating myself, I listened to a podcast that told me about a magical person called a virtual assistant. Until that moment, in my head, I had imagined that only very successful, established practices could afford help with admin. Coming from the NHS land of scarce admin support and the horrendously unequal way that support was distributed, had made me think I wasn’t really worth of it. I am guessing some of you may relate to that way of thinking. If that is you I am hoping this will be a lightbulb moment for you too…

If you are doing less admin you can see more clients and earn more money than you pay for admin support!

I will say that again. If you do less admin you will earn more money.

For me it was instant. I took on my first VA, Samantha Dawkins from Koala VA in Plymouth and within a week she had made me £300 simply by keeping my diary up to date on the online booking system for the company I had a contract with. She is a specialist VA and they tend to charge between £20 and £40 per hour so they are not cheap but, because she is good at what she doe, reconciling my diary every day took her only a few minutes. It would have taken me a full hour.

Even better… Once you hand over tasks that really stress you out like that you have more time available for marketing, networking events and seeing the people on your waiting list so whatever your problem whether you have not enough or too many clients, outsourcing the stuff that sucks your time and that you are just bad at is really helpful. 

Here are some key outsourcing principles I wish I had known from the beginning:

Outsource what you are worst at first. If there is something that takes you ages because it...

Today I am talking to Allie Linn, who has joined us all the way from Philadelphia in the US. Allie used to be a therapist, got burned out and found writing. Now she helps other therapists to write the copy for their websites and I am thrilled to have her here to give us some top tips today.

• I announce that we are running the Find Your Specialism webinar again on 1st April 2021 at 7:30 00:01
• Allie tells us about her journey, and how she found herself where she is today 02:53 
• Allie talks about why it’s helpful to be a therapist when writing for therapists, and finding the right fit 05:26
• We discuss the importance of knowing your own voice and how to find it 09:47
• Allie tells us the biggest mistakes she tends to see us making on our websites 13:22
• Allie tells us what bits of our websites are most important to work on, including how to rank in a google search 15:35
• We talk about crafting a good story, and where to use storytelling on our website 23:25
• Allie takes us through how we can tell if our writing is working for our audience 27:34
• Allie talks about when it’s the right time to use a copywriter 32:59
• We discuss some of the tools available to help with your writing 40:12
• Allie tells us the two action step she wants us to go away and do now 43:20
• Allie tells us where to find her if we want to connect with her 46:04
• I give a reminder about the Find Your Specialism webinar 46:35

Links to find Allie

https://www.allielinnwrites.com

Instagram: @allielinnwrites

https://www.instagram.com/allielinnwrites/

LinkedIn: Allie Linn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/allielinn/

I really wanted to take a moment to tell you about something very exciting that's coming up soon. On Thursday, the 1st of April at 7:30 we are running our Find Your Specialism webinar. This was a big hit when we ran it back in January, and lots of you got in touch to ask if we were going to be running it again, and I'm very pleased to say that we are. So in the webinar we are going to cover why you need to specialise, the secret of a successful specialism, and then we're going to help you figure out what your specialism can be. And I really encourage you, if you are feeling overwhelmed in your private practice, if you're struggling with all the things that you could do, all the shiny objects that are out there, and you need a bit of clarity to move you forward, this is the webinar for you. I'd really encourage anybody who's starting out on their private practice journey to join us for an hour of free training. I'll be there as well to answer any questions that you might have about getting started in private practice. And there will be a special offer at the end for anybody who's thinking about joining our next cohort of Psychology Business School in April. So that is the 1st of April 2021 at 7:30. I hope to see as many of you as possible there.

Link: https://psychologybusinessschool.com/webinar

************

SPEAKERS

Allie Linn, Rosie Gilderthorp

Rosie Gilderthorp  00:01

Welcome to the Business of Psychology podcast, the show that helps you to reach more people, help more people...

Today I am talking to Dr Shabnam Berry Khan about her business, Psych Works. Shabnam is a Clinical Psychologist and member of the Do More Than Therapy membership so I have been wanting her to come on the podcast since I met her on a coaching call last year because she works in an area of psychology that I didn’t know much about and it sounds really exciting.

• Shabnam tells us how she got into the niche area of psychology led case management 01:02
• Shabnam explains what case management is, and who it is there to help 04:42
• Shabnam talks about what elements the work involves, and how that’s related to costings 08:61
• We discuss how psychologists are well placed to carry out case management 11:00
• Shabnam tells us how her business evolved after starting this type of work in an employed role 14:53
• We talk about imposter syndrome and holding your own as a psychologist with other professions that seem more self assured 18:58
• Shabnam tells us how she’s looking for more case management associates, and also those interested in broad range private practice within the medico-legal field, and what you need and don’t need for that 24:51
• Shabnam tells us where people can find her if they want to connect 31:08

Links to find Shabnam

www.psychworks.org.uk

https://www.instagram.com/adminpsychworks.org.uk/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-shabnam-berry-khan-135a6753/

*******

Do you sometimes wake up at 2 am worried that you’ve made a terrible error that will bring professional ruin upon you and disgrace your family?

I’m laughing now but when I first set up in private practice I was completely terrified that I had “missed” something big when setting up insurance or data protection.

Even now, three years in, I sometimes catch myself wondering if I have really covered all the bases.

It is hard, no impossible, to think creatively and have the impact you should be having in your practice if you aren’t confident that you have a secure business. BUT it can be overwhelming to figure out exactly what you need to prioritise before those clients start coming in.

I’ve created a free checklist (plus resources list) to take the thinking out of it. Tick off every box and you can see your clients confident in the knowledge that you have everything in place for your security and theirs.

Download it now from

https://psychologists.drrosie.co.uk/client-checklist

*******

SPEAKERS

Shabnam Berry-Khan, Rosie Gilderthorp

Rosie Gilderthorp  00:01

Welcome to the Business of Psychology podcast, the show that helps you to reach more people, help more people and build the life you want to live by doing more than therapy. 

Rosie Gilderthorp  00:16

Today I'm talking to Dr. Shabnam Berry-Khan about her business, Psych Works. Shabnam is a clinical psychologist and a member of Do More Than Therapy, who I've been wanting to come on the podcast since I met...

Today I’m here with Jase Taylor from Oxford Communication Skills. Jase is a communication skills expert and is also married to a Clinical psychologist so he has a lot of insight into what we do and has some really useful insights to help us amplify our messages around mental health. 

The highlights

• Jase tells us the interesting story behind his career, and how he became a communication skills expert 00:48 
• Jase talks about how we can train ourselves to be better communicators 10:51
• Jase defines for us what he means by communication skills 13:06
• Jase talks about when it is most important to get our communication right 16:38
• We discuss being authentic, and how it has to be your message to be comfortable  18:19
• Jase tells us what communication strengths he sees in mental health professionals 31:51
• We talk about bringing out individual style and strengths, and the importance of this for diversity and inclusivity  36:04
• Jase tells us what tips he would give if I was invited to do a TED talk tomorrow 42:21
• Jase tells us how people can find him if they want to work with him 46:17

Links to find Jase

https://www.oxfordcommunicationskills.com

[email protected]

Twitter & Instagram: @oxcommskills

https://www.instagram.com/oxcommskills/

https://twitter.com/OxCommSkills

Do you sometimes wake up at 2 am worried that you’ve made a terrible error that will bring professional ruin upon you and disgrace your family?

I’m laughing now but when I first set up in private practice I was completely terrified that I had “missed” something big when setting up insurance or data protection.

Even now, three years in, I sometimes catch myself wondering if I have really covered all the bases.

It is hard, no impossible, to think creatively and have the impact you should be having in your practice if you aren’t confident that you have a secure business. BUT it can be overwhelming to figure out exactly what you need to prioritise before those clients start coming in.

I’ve created a free checklist (plus resources list) to take the thinking out of it. Tick off every box and you can see your clients confident in the knowledge that you have everything in place for your security and theirs.

Download it now from

https://psychologists.drrosie.co.uk/client-checklist

TRANSCRIPT

SPEAKERS

Rosie Gilderthorp, Jase Taylor

Rosie Gilderthorp  00:01

Welcome to the Business of Psychology podcast, the show that helps you to reach more people, help more people and build the life you want to live by doing more than therapy. Today, I'm here with Jase Taylor from Oxford Communication Skills. Jase is a communication skills expert, and is also married to a clinical psychologist. So he's got a lot of insight into what we do and has some really useful ideas to help us amplify our messages around mental health. So welcome to the podcast, Jase. Before we...

Kathy Adcock is a clinical psychologist, a boxer, and the founder of social enterprise In Your Corner. She's also a passionate social entrepreneur. She's here today to talk a bit about her journey, and how we can develop that entrepreneurial spirit.

• Kathy tells us what she does with In Your Corner, and how it all began 02:52
• Kathy explains how she turned In Your Corner into a reality 04:14
• Kathy talks about finding people who believe in the idea and being a sole director 08:21
• We discuss trusting others with your idea 09:24
• We talk about the speed of decision making when it’s your own business 11:07
• We discuss the benefits of doing different jobs in the NHS in order to learn key skills, and how NHS experiences give us the impetus to create a social enterprise 12:00
• We talk about the importance of having qualified and experienced people working on social enterprises, and the impact on costs 15:20
• Kathy speaks about the need to be assertive and not undersell yourself 18:39
• We discuss income, and charging the right amount 20:15
• Kathy explains how entrepreneurship is not just having the idea, but doing it 21:27
• We discuss how marketing is listening, and the importance of listening to feedback and objections 23:42
• We talk about the identity of being a psychologist and an entrepreneur 30:40
• We explore the ownership of expertise, and collaborative versus leadership skills 38:15
• Kathy discusses how the autonomy of the psychology profession is a good fit for entrepreneurship 43:19
• Kathy tells the things she recommends would-be entrepreneurs work on 44:19
• We discuss getting help for, and giving away the bits you don’t want, like finance 46:41
• Kathy tells us where we can find out more, and how to get in touch if you’re interested in becoming a partner 49:12

In Your Corner: www.inyourcorner.uk

Facebook, Instagram and Twitter: @iycboxing

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iycboxing

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iycboxing/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/IYCboxing

********************** 

Do you sometimes wake up at 2 am worried that you’ve

made a terrible error that will bring professional ruin upon you and disgrace

your family?

I’m laughing now but when I first set up in private practice I

was completely terrified that I had “missed” something big when setting up

insurance or data protection.

Even now, three years in, I sometimes catch myself wondering if

I have really covered all the bases.

It is hard, no impossible, to think creatively and have the

impact you should be having in your practice if you aren’t confident that you

have a secure business. BUT it can be overwhelming to figure out exactly what

you need to prioritise before those clients start coming in.

I’ve created a free checklist (plus resources list) to take the

thinking out of it. Tick off every box and you can see your clients confident

in the knowledge that you have everything in place for your security and theirs.

Download it now from