Psychotherapy with Interfaith Couples

The goal of psychotherapy with interfaith couples is to help them work out their differences so that they can form a peaceful and lasting union. In counseling, these couples explore their family backgrounds and religious beliefs so they can develop a language in which to have these important discussions and to find what they share. Counseling focuses on how partners will work through the challenges of family life, knowing that they have come from very different religious backgrounds and traditions. Interfaith couples need to think about how to deal with extended family traditions, holidays, the calendar, and more. The author covers the joys and challenges of this niche area of practice, along with business aspects of practice and recommendations for developing such a practice.

Intensive Outpatient Treatment for Eating Disorders

As the vast majority of people with eating disorders cannot recover with traditional outpatient psychotherapy, a multimodal and multidisciplinary approach is recognized as the best practice for treatment of this population. Treatment begins with assessment of psychological, psychiatric, and nutritional functioning followed by a combination of individual, family, nutrition, and group therapy. The author shares how she became interested in this field and describes some of the joys and challenges she has experienced in developing a freestanding, psychologist-owned intensive outpatient facility. This chapter covers levels of care, treatment components, and some of the common misconceptions associated with these individuals. The author discusses the business aspects of her practice. Resources are provided for developing this niche.

Treating Trauma and Abuse

This chapter explores the challenges and benefits of developing a private practice that specializes in the treatment of trauma and abuse. It identifies key areas a clinician must consider in formulating a treatment approach with these clients. The chapter discusses the importance of understanding how to run a business and the clinician’s need to get beyond fears of asking for payment with these often-challenging clients in order to make a living. Concrete ideas for developing this interest into a niche practice are offered. Key resources are also presented.

Evaluations for Testing Accommodations for Adolescents and Adults with Specific Learning Disorders or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Testing to determine if adolescents or adults have a specific learning disorder or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a niche practice area for psychologists experienced with assessment. Testing may be done to update earlier documentation or to determine whether an individual having difficulty in school or on the job has a learning disability or ADHD that accounts for his or her difficulties. Often, one goal of these evaluations is to determine if an individual qualifies for accommodations on classroom and standardized tests. This chapter describe the author’s training and the information clinicians need to have to complete these evaluations. Clinicians must be familiar with research on learning disabilities and ADHD in adolescents and adults, so that their evaluations will be evidence based, and with disability law. The positive and negative aspects of this practice area and business considerations are discussed. The chapter concludes with advice for how clinicians interested in these evaluations can obtain training.

The Private Practitioner and Family Issues

Independent practice can provide an opportunity for practitioners who are parents to maximize flexibility and work/life balance. It can allow them to carry on a meaningful and financially sustainable career while at the same time being available for their children and family in developmentally appropriate ways. The author proposes that by understanding their dual role as clinician and small business owner early in their career, mental health practitioners who are parents can plan for practice activities and niches that coordinate with the availability of their partners and the developmental needs of their children at any stage. The experiences of mothers versus fathers in practice are compared. Recommendations for effectively addressing these issues are provided.

Collaborating with Legal Professionals

This chapter provides information designed to assist mental health professionals in effectively marketing their services to courts, attorneys, and the legal system in general. Suggestions are offered to help mental health professionals decide whether they will be comfortable working in an adversarial environment. Methods for developing the skillsets necessary for performing forensic consultations in a competent, ethical manner are provided. Information regarding how to effectively market mental health services to legal professionals are reviewed. Various areas of subspecialty practice are described.

Optimizing Customer Service in Private Practice

Excellent customer service is essential for the success of every business, including mental health private practices. This chapter explains how outstanding customer service is needed in addition to providing high-quality clinical services. How to integrate the principles and practices of customer service into day-to-day practice activities is explained. The concept of customer delight is introduced to help private practitioners achieve the best possible results in developing and maintaining a successful practice. Customer service is an essential business practice that helps ensure a steady flow of clients and business success. Specific factors impacting the client experience are reviewed and their relevance to active customer service efforts is explained. Basic strategies to achieve an optimal customer service experience for clients and referral partners are provided.

The Basics of Managed Care and Its Impact on Private Practice

This chapter describes “managed care” insurance systems and practices that were created to manage healthcare costs. Effects on private mental health practice are identified, such as decreases in reimbursement, documentation requirements, treatment reviews, and other intrusions into clinician–client privacy and decision making. Potential advantages of participation are also identified. Key factors that private practitioners should take into account when deciding whether to participate with managed care organizations include careful contract reviews, likely credentialing requirements, and the impact of reimbursement on a practice. Potential solutions to common challenges are provided, such as limits on balance billing and waiver of co-payments. Ethical concerns specific to providing mental health treatment in the managed care context are discussed, such as limits on privacy and confidentiality. Potential implications of the ongoing seismic changes in the healthcare system for the future of managed care and private practitioners are explored.

The Role of the Attorney in a Private Practice

This chapter addresses the broad variety of legal professionals that private practitioners may need to consult. Topics include pre-practice concerns for unlicensed individuals and the issues that arise when one builds, maintains, and enhances a private practice. Attorneys can be of critical importance in the areas of marketing, establishing a fee structure and payment practices, adding colleagues, and responding to difficult and/or threatening clients. Other situations in which attorneys can play a vital role include responding to licensing board complaints, malpractice lawsuits, and criminal complaints, as well as interactions with insurance companies and planning for practice transition and termination. Suggestions are provided for how to locate good attorneys, how to work with attorneys, and how to stop working with them when necessary.

Basic Bookkeeping and Accounting for the Private Practitioner

Running a practice with sound financial management practices is not as complex as many believe. The concepts require basic math skills and the establishment of an infrastructure that provides an awareness of what is happening financially in the business. Ways of approaching common business decisions about purchases, leases, managed care contracts, and accounts receivables are discussed. Basic bookkeeping and accounting systems are described. Common accounting terms and financial reports, such as profit and loss statements, are defined and described. Budgets, practice “dashboards” for consolidating practice data, and safeguards for loss prevention are described.