by ashley.marzullo | May 11, 2016 | Front Page
You’ve likely got many responsibilities pulling at you each day. At times you might even feel like the hamster on a wheel, running and running and not getting anywhere. Private practice requires you to focus on: your clients and clinical work; getting more clients and referrals; billing and other administrative tasks; collaboration of care with other professionals; professional development; and so much more. How to you juggle all of that and make sure that your efforts are truly productive? Here are 5 tips to help improve your productivity: Tip 1: Make a plan and work it! Get into the habit of creating a plan (or simply a to-do list) of things you need to accomplish. Each morning, read over your plan and check in with it midday to make sure you are on track. Taking action is only thing that makes your plan more than a piece of scrap paper Tip 2: Don’t procrastinate Get the tough things done first, whenever possible. If you haven’t done so already, read the book “Eat That Frog”. It is a good lesson in eating your vegetables first. Find the time of day that is most productive for you and use it to get those big projects done. Do them first whenever possible. You may get a lot of little things done by avoiding the big thing, but don’t confuse “busy” with productive Tip 3: Don’t be afraid to say no If you want your business to thrive, you must get important things done now! There will always be someone or something asking for your time. Don’t mindlessly say yes. Think...
by ashley.marzullo | May 3, 2016 | Front Page, Uncategorized
Here’s a quick list of five things you can do to get more clients… Think of 2-3 referral sources that have clients for you, but who are not yet sending them your way. Get in front of them (somehow) — an appointment, a drop in, a phone call, an email, a flyer — whatever it takes Find out what you can do to help them with regard to mental help services. Can you provide them with a newsletter or handouts for their patients about: anxiety, depression, stress, parenting, healthy relationships, etc? Can you run an information group in their waiting room for folks who need to know more about symptom management of anxiety or depression; how about a postpartum info session? Follow through immediately with what you said you will do for them I get GREAT results by asking “What can I do for you” BEFORE I ask for referrals Identify your top 2-3 referral sources and let them know that you’ve just added some hours to your schedule and you wanted to let them know first so they are aware you can accommodate more referrals Most referral sources really appreciate you thinking about them and in a spirit of reciprocity will send you a couple of referrals as soon as they have them If you don’t already have a website — get one! If you do have a website — change it up. People aren’t going to keep coming to your website if it is the same ol’ thing every time they visit. Give them a reason to visit: Keep an active blog Place the link to your...
by ashley.marzullo | Aug 25, 2015 | Front Page, Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA), the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES), and the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) have jointly endorsed a plan for counselor licensure portability. This plan from leading counselor organizations establishes a regulatory platform allowing licensed counselors to move between and practice in multiple states. The AMHCA-ACES-NBCC portability plan is built on sound principles of quality assurance and national standards. The plan will promote acceptance of a license from another state when the individual holds a degree from a clinically focused counselor preparation program accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP), holds certification as a National Certified Counselor, or meets standards adopted by the state board of counseling. Dr. Keith Mobley, president of AMHCA, states: “The AMHCA leadership commends the efforts of NBCC and ACES for collaborating on this agreement, as it demonstrates strides toward professional unification and portability of licensure. It has been the long-standing goal of AMHCA to seek consistently high standards among credentials for clinical mental health counselors so that our profession may benefit by achieving status equivalent to other practitioners in federally funded programs and gain license portability among states.” The sentiments are echoed by ACES President Dr. Tarrell Portman, who says: “the counseling profession has too long suffered from inconsistency in education and training standards. These varying requirements have hampered the growth of the profession and the ability of counselors to move across state lines. ACES is excited to be part of this strategic partnership to establish a national education and training standard for licensure portability.” “This...
