Financial Success In Private Psychotherapy Practice Is Rare

The Internet is filled with adds about six-figure incomes of counselors and psychotherapists. Unfortunately, real life stories of persons who can demonstrate their financial success in providing counseling cannot be found.

Below are some of the factors that limit the income that counselors can expect from private practice:

·      Most Americans prefer to use their insurance (Managed Health Care) to pay for counseling or psychotherapy. Therefore, self-pay is limiting and not the norm.

·      The reimbursement rates for Managed Health Care are far too low for anyone to work forty hours per week and gross more than $40,000 per year.

·      The U.S. Department of Labor reports the annual earnings of a mental health counselor as $41,820.

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes211014.htm

·      The hourly fees paid to Masters Level providers in $62.

Comparison of annual earnings for various professions, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Occupation	Annual earnings
Primary care physicians	$186,044/yr.
Psychiatry	$163,660/yr.
Physical therapists	$72,790/yr.
Nurses	$62,450/yr.
Psychologists who provide individual and family services	$57,440/yr.
Auto Mechanics who work at a dealer	$40,788/yr.
Mental health and substance abuse workers	$37,210/yr.
Marriage and family therapists	$36,730/yr.
Carpenters	$36,171/yr.

·      Office rent, social security, personal health insurance, telephone, business tax, malpractice, marketing and other related expenses would reduce the annual gross income of counselors significantly.

·      There are currently more counselors in the U.S. than needed. Consequently, most counselors cannot expect to fill even 20 hours per week of counseling.

Demonstrated competence in a niche that is needed offers promise

·      If given a choice, couples seeking help are more likely to select a provider who offers Emotional Intelligence Coaching rather than psychotherapy. Emotional Intelligence is new, popular and can include evidenced based interventions.

·      College is a difficult adjustment for many students. Counselors who have training and are able to offer a non-psychiatric intervention such as EI coaching can do well and good in this niche.

·      There is a growing need for Behavioral Health Intervention for youngsters who lack adequate interpersonal skills such as Asperger’s. Training, experience and skills in coaching these youngsters in EI for self-awareness, self-control, social awareness, empathy, assertive communication, impulse control and other EI skills can be lucrative.

·       Poor impulse control/anger management is rampant and is not a DSM-5 diagnosable disorder. School Districts, Courts, HR Managers, Jails, Prisons, Police Departments, the U.S. Military, parents and University Departments of Judicial Affairs are contracting with providers who are Certified Anger Management Facilitators. (CAMF)

·      Anger management has always been a factor in substance abuse treatment and sobriety. Successful substance organizations are now contracting with Certified Anger Management Facilitators to provide this service on a contractual basis.

Specialization in Emotional Intelligence coaching or classes offers the provider a route to proceed in which to generate more income in a shorter period of time besides providing an arena for a clients’ growth. For example, if we run an hour class of 8 persons and charge a fee of $60 per client, we have generated $480 in an hour. Very few counselors make $480 in an hour in individual psychotherapy. So Emotional Intelligence intervention can not only be a tremendous paradigm and experience for the client but also a great income stream for one’s private practice.

George Anderson, LCSW, BCD, CAMF

www.andersonservices

CTI Coaching Feedback for Anderson & Anderson, APC

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Motivation Is The Key To Change In Executive Coaching

Motivation comes from the Latin word for “to move”. It is a goal-oriented behavior. In essence, we take action because it feels good to do so. It feels right to take a break when we are on overload, then it feels right to go back to work. The real challenge is to make it feel right to take action that does not have an immediate reward. In order to feel motivated, we have to tap into the part of ourselves that has a longer view, which also feels right.

Take the long view

Executives like everyone else make countless decisions every hour. In part, we make those decisions unconsciously based on our patterns and habits. So, if we want to redirect our decision to take a longer view, we need to both shape unconscious habits and examine priorities to make sure they match. Therefore, completing the coaching assignments between sessions is far more likely to lead to permanent change than the time spent in the sessions.

Creating the correct environment can motivate others

In addition to motivating ourselves, it is important to learn to create an environment where others can become motivated. There are many ways to do so. For example, one major hospital chain offers a wide range of in house courses for physicians that are designed to assist them in communication with staff and patients. Other courses are offered relative to team building and leadership.

Physicians whose behavior is defined as “disruptive” are given an opportunity to access these classes without cost. If a “disruptive” physician fails to show improvement after attending these courses, he or she may be mandated to attend Emotional Intelligence Coaching for “impulse control, have his or her pay reduced or given a “last chance” agreement.

When carrots fail, sticks are seen as another option. Once a physician enters Emotional Intelligence Coaching, it is the responsibility of the coach to provide a coaching experience that may motivate the physician to actively participate in the change process. The physician should be helped to focus on the deficits learned from his or her assessment and commit to practice skill enhancement techniques offered in the DVDs, client workbooks and other ancillary coaching material.

Learn to think of consequences

Teachers, parents, and others have often told us to control our emotions and cut them off from the decision-making process, especially feelings of anger and fear. For physicians and executives, poor impulse control can be a career detailer. Therefore, it is imperative that as coaches, we constantly remind our clients of the consequences of impulsive actions.

You can change if you want

A careful review of the initial Emotional Intelligence Assessment (EQ-i-2.0.) provides a comprehensive list of competencies in emotional intelligence. As a coaching client becomes more conscious of the patterns that he or she exhibits, it becomes possible to:

·      Analyze these behaviors and replace them if they are inappropriate.

·      Interrupt the pattern or replace it with conscious behavior that moves us close to our real goals.

This is simple, but it’s not easy. It is a task that requires hard work and a desire to change—but it is not difficult to begin.

It can be as simple as taking a brief pause to allow the conscious brain to begin to intervene in the pattern.

George Anderson, the Anger Management Guru

www.andersonservices.com