For those of us in the wellness profession (massage therapists, counselors, doctors, dietitians, and others), our office space is a vital aspect of the services we provide clients. Our space communicates many messages to those that come through our doors. It can provide a welcoming atmosphere, extoll our professionalism, and begins to shape the work […]
You can make the most amazing website, hire the best designer, and decorate your office to the nines, but if you do not do good work with people your business will not last very long. You might be asking, “How does one go about doing good work?” There are a number a different factors that […]
Editors note. This is a guest post from Luke Brasel. We occasionally have other practitioners share their story of building a private practice. Luke offers some great insights into this process. if you have ideas you’d like to share with our readers, click here to contact us for more information. When Samuel asked me to share […]
Today marks the 60th published article here at A SMART PRACTICE. When we launched in January of this year, we weren’t exactly sure how everything was going to shake out. Looking back over the past 6 months, and 60 articles, there’s been a lot of great content, resources, and community development here. Our goal here is to […]
Editors note: This is a guest post from Jeff Morgan. We occasionally have other practitioners share their story and experience of building a private practice. Jeff shares some insights he has gained from building a private practice in Nashville. We’d love to hear your story. If you have ideas you’d like to share with our readers, click here to contact us for […]
Editors note: This is a guest post from Erin Pierson. We occasionally have other practitioners share their story and experience of building a private practice. Erin offers her reflections on being in the early stages of her career. We’d love to hear your story. If you have ideas you’d like to share with our readers, click here to […]
“How do you like your fitbit?” Every so often I get asked for my opinion on wearing a Fitbit (a device worn on your wrist to track your physical activity and other health related data). I usually respond with the positives and negatives of wearing it, giving a 45 second product review like I’m on a […]
Part of what you are giving to the client is not only your presence, but “place”. Place is a space set up for a specific or particular purpose. And so, the hope is that we will create an office environment that is both inviting and hospitable to our clients and their process. In other words, […]
“Caleb, I know you have a business to run, and I know you probably just thought it was a credit card, but when you charged my card, you charged my debit card and wiped out our funds for the rest of the month.” My heart sank. I realized that I had caused my client a difficult hardship. […]
We therapists are notorious for not being able (or perhaps we’re not willing?) to answer the phone. Often this is because of how our schedules work. I have traded voicemails with potential clients for many days due to not being able to connect at the right time. There are times at the end of a […]
It was Thursday afternoon at 4:30 and I was finished with my full day of appointments. As I locked my office, my colleague noticed I was leaving and said, “You look exhausted.” His observation couldn’t have been more true. I’d scheduled 7 sessions for that Thursday, with a scant 30 minute lunch break. One day of […]
To practice your craft for the good of your clients you have to have a fee. The fee is foundational to building a practice. For young and old counselors alike, this can be a difficult task. There are many reasons for this. Maybe the therapist has not integrated himself/herself as a therapist and a business person […]
Often our clients only see one side of who we are as persons, which is our therapist self. Hopefully, they experience a non-anxious presence that provides safety and encourages them as persons, facilitating their growth process. Because of the nature of the therapeutic relationships, they do not experience another side of us who takes care […]
