I started working with a Virtual Assistant last year when I realized I was over my head with too many to-do’s. Some of them I just hated doing and so I didn’t do them; others, I was just simply clueless about doing and botched up trying to do. Deciding to work with a VA was one of the best decisions I’ve made in 20 years of private practice.
Soon after that, I started looking around for VA’s that might be interested in guest blogging. That’s when Frances J. Harvey came to my rescue and said that she would be happy to talk to us a bit about how those in her profession can help psychotherapists in private practice.
(If you are interested in writing a guest post, check out the guidelines here.)
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A Guest Post by Frances J. Harvey
Being in private practice is very rewarding. 
For a therapist, it is usually the ultimate goal – your own practice, a full case load according to your schedule, and time devoted to family and friends!
You have worked hard to get to this place in your career. Your desire and passion is to help your clients become mentally healthly people, couples and familes! You have invested countless hours, dollars, and I am sure many tears, to accomplish this. You have arrived . . . .
BUT during this process – one very important piece of the pie was missing – being trained and education on the business side of running a private practice. Nobody taught you how to run your practice or you may have had one class on marketing, and most likely no classes on bookkeeping and nothing in regards to managing the business side of mental health! So you have had to figure it out by trail and error, asking for help, reading yet more books, spending countless hours that have cost you time and money. Maybe you’re still in the process of trying to figure it all out.
You were educated to be a mental health clinician, not an administrator, bookkeeper, marketer, social media manager, etc! Yet you are expected to do all of this in addition to the time you spend with your clients, charting, etc – because there is no one to do it for you. This takes precious time from actual client hours or even family time. For many, it is a rude eye opener.
Awe, But There IS One Who Can Do It For You…
We were all designed for a purpose – a specific purpose – and to live out that purpose; however, we are not called to do it all! Yes, we are to be good stewards of what we have been entrusted with, but stewardship is not defined as doing everything yourself.
Here is how Webster defines stewardship:
The conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially – the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.”
So, it’s not about doing everything yourself, it’s about getting the job “done” the best possible way.
Therapists are uniquely called with a special gift of active listening, a heart of compassion along with their education to do this work. It has been a proven fact that when a person works within their strengths they are more productive, successful, less stressed and ultimately at their peak of happiness. When you do what you love, you do it the best!
So You Ask, “How Can I Focus On My Strength and Keep My Practice Going?”
I’m glad you asked! This is where a Virtual Assistant (VA) comes into your life, your practice and releases you from the tasks that can be time suckers, yet are vital to your business. Lets start with the basics – defining what a VA is. Now, I know you are aware of the meaning of words, but it sometimes helps to look at them on paper and put meanings together to get the full picture.
VIRTUAL = Occurring or existing primarily online; having the essence or effect but not the appearance
ASSISTANT = A person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose
So in other words… a VA exists online being effective without being present and contributes to the need or furtherance of an effort or purpose.
In a guest blog last June, Licensed Professional Counselor, Aaron Potratz, wrote about How A VA Could Help Save Your Sanity And Make You Money. He was right on with the math. If you factor in the hourly rate of a VA compared to paying benefits, overhead, taxes and more that come with hiring an employee, you will see right away how you will come out ahead with hiring a VA. You are able to avoid all that ‘extra’ overhead.
Now That We Have Established What a VA Is, The Next Step Is to Understand How a VA Can Help You!
Here Are Just A Few Ways…
- Hand Over Your Calendar – Managing your calendar can be time consuming. Not only do you have clients to keep track of, but you have to interweave it with your family time, errands, personal appointments, etc. You may be so busy, that forgetting to enter just ONE thing can be devastating – not only to you but to your clients.
- Email and Voicemail – When clients are searching for a therapist for the first time – most are anxious, stressed and a little fearful. Waiting too long to respond can be costly to your practice as they will move on. Other email/vm can be filtered by your VA such as spam and other unwanted emails. As your practice grows, so does your inbox! Of course there will be some that only you can take care. By allowing your VA to manage them for you they are able to lift the burden that can weigh you down and cause you to lose potential clients. Once you get the ball rolling with your VA, they will be able to respond to email/vm just like you would.
- Marketing – Unless you are having extensive training or an extremely natural outgoing personality, this can be one of the biggest monsters a therapist will face, but it is one of the most IMPORTANT components for your business to survive and thrive! It has been stated that it takes 3 months to see the fruit of your marketing efforts. So marketing is not just a ONE TIME event. If you want to continue to build and keep a full caseload, it is a continuous effort. If you are considering hiring a VA, and the area of marketing is not your forte – make sure to find one that has experience or is willing to learn and handle this for you.
- Social Media – These words alone can be intimidating. Now of course, if it’s for your own personal use, it can be fun. But when it comes to Social Media for business that’s another story and a possible monster to face. And yet once again, it is a vital part of your practice. The world is not the same as it was 20 years ago, and technology/social media has become the number one source to communicate, especially when people are looking for a service. Yes, relationships are still most effective eventually, but people will do their homework finding just the right one. Make sure to ask the VA what their experience and view is in this area.
- Bookkeeping –Having to keep track of income/expenses is – at best – a chore. But in order to know how you are doing, if you are making money, losing or just breaking even, you have to MEASURE. You can’t grow if you don’t know!
- Scheduling NEW Clients – Now wait. Before you freak out, I know what you’re thinking. J You are shaking your head saying “not possible. They wont know what to say or how to talk with them. I could never trust this part of my practice to a VA.” This would be a gold mine to find that VA with a “niche” – It is rare, but they do exsist. A VA who is experienced in mental health, understands how to talk with potential new clients and turn them into intakes. Finding a VA with all of the above qualities and added experience in mental health gives you the ability to off-load more than you may believe is possible.
- Blogging – One thing people love is FREEBIES!!! Even advise and tips. Blogging has been a great platform for the mental health field for many reasons.
- It’s FREE advertising for you!
- When done well, it gives readers a take away – free stuff.
- Writing about different topics that people struggle with not only lets you “give” away valauble information, but it gives your reader a chance to see “who” you are.
- It can influence their decision to work with you or keep looking.
But, blogging is time consuming as it takes research, learning your “style” and more. A good VA should be able to help in many ways when it comes to blogging.
There are many other things you can off-load to your VA. The great thing about it is that you get to decide what you want to do and what you want your VA to do.
How might VA’s be useful to you in your practice? I welcome your comments, suggestions and ideas. I am happy to answer any questions or concerns and would love to talk to you if you are interested in more information.
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Frances J. Harvey is a Virtual Assistant Manager and Certified Professional 
Coach residing in Long Beach, CA. She specializes in working with therapists, coaches, and other professionals in the mental health field. She has over 25 years experience managing executive offices. Helping others is her passion and she does it with dedication, skill and a happy spirit.
Good morning, Frances! Thanks so much for guest posting here!
My VA is brilliant at setting up my auto-responder on Aweber. For some reason, I just can’t seem to get it. I send her my content, she makes it beautiful, and I hit “send.” Poof! It’s done. Before I worked with Mindy, I paid every month for my auto-responder (for literally years) but never touched it.
And, I get the double perk of my VA having a background in editing and publishing.) Frances, I can only imagine that with your background in office management, your clients are also getting lots of extra perks.
I’ve also hired people to transcribe my webinars, input handwritten data into spreadsheets, and tweet for me during webinars. I’m sure some / all of these things seem so brainlessly simple to do IF they are your strong suits. But, these have been huge stumbling blocks to getting things done and moving my business forward for significant periods of my business life. If you think about it, the list is endless for what VA’s can do to simplify my life . . . and get things done that otherwise would not.
Tamara, this post is brilliant. Not only is the basic information really helpful as a starting point (it’s wonderful to think that there are people that specialize in this marketing side of things AND also have some knowledge about mental health. Sounds like a match made in private practice heaven.
I also wanted to take a moment to thank you for acknowledging points that are not your strongest suit. That doesn’t make them weaknesses in the sense that they are bad things, but they are relative weaknesses. Frances makes a good point that we have years of education and training about how to work with clients, but the business side of things is not even acknowledged, let alone a focus.
Great stuff!
Good morning, Lauren! You’re so welcome! And, I’m thinking that with your interest in distance counseling, perhaps there are some ways a VA might be useful to you, too?
Lauren,
Thank you for your compliments! I believe it is so important to have people and help in our business to come along side us to make us successful! We should not expect to do everything ourselves as it does take away from what we are called to do!
I am glad I can offer some insight and help and would welcome the opportunity to service you and your practice. 🙂
Frances, I love what you have explained here. I’m not currently in private practice, but when I eventually do that (even if it’s years down the road), I’ll be keeping you in mind.
How do you have online communications about confidential information? Do you use platforms similar to the HIPAA-compliant ones that are available for distance counseling?
Oh, Lauren! I’m so glad you asked this question! I’m interested in what tools / platforms you might use to insure this, too, Frances. While it is the therapist’s responsibility to investigate and insure that confidentiality takes place and therapists will definitely want to know about these.
And, of course, if you are working with a VA who has access to Protected Health Information, then you will also need a Business Associate Agreement.
Lauren
I have worked with therapists that have different platforms they use. I work with their tools, as it is easy to accommodate them. Many of my clients use Google Apps, such as Google calendar, Google drive, etc. Here is a link where Google has provided information about being HIPAA compliant along with the request for the Business Associate Agreement (BAA) https://support.google.com/a/answer/3407054?hl=en
Thanks for the info. I had no idea that was an option with Google apps. (It may be that I read it somewhere before, but didn’t catalog it.)
Frances, I love your language here i.e. “Google has provided information about being HIPAA compliant . . . .” I was just in a discussion while ago with a group of therapists who kept referring to Google or their online platforms or their scheduling software or their email programs as being “HIPAA-compliant” and that’s just incorrect. Programs, software, platforms, organization, and tools aren’t mandated to be or accurately described as being “HIPAA-compliant.” Individuals who handle Protected Health Information are. Thanks for sharing the link. Very helpful!
Tamara, while you are right that it is the clinician’s job to be HIPAA-compliant, I think the reason the term is so widely used to describe platforms and programs is because the programs have to have the backend capability for this to work. For instance, the reason that most e-mail isn’t considered compliant is because of the server that is in between the sender and receiver. That portion of the exchange is out of our control, so the HIPAA-compliant e-mail providers and other platforms have to advertise that they are protecting the middle link in the chain.
If there is anyone here is interested in HIPAA-compliant e-mail, Hushmail works really well. They offer a free account that you have to check every so many weeks (I forget if it’s two or three) in order to keep it active or you can pay around $30 per year. Hushmail is only HIPAA-compliant if it is sent from one Hushmail account to another.
One thing to consider with this is that client contact via e-mail is largely not billable (like phone contact), so I use it for discussions between clinicians. It may also be helpful for making or rescheduling appointments or sharing data (like if someone mentions that they have lost a worksheet or homework assignment) without having lengthy therapeutic conversations. Of course, when considering having therapeutic conversations via distance means, I would recommend training about the differences. There are a lot of important nuances to learn.
Sounds great, but where do you find these cyber angels?
I mean virtual assistants?
Ahhhh, Frank! You’re reading my mind! Frances will be back next week to tell us just that!
Hi Frank!
Yes, as Tamara said, I WILL BE BACK! I have the “how to” up next. 🙂
Frank,
You can check out my website at http://www.mysolutionservices.com
And, this, gang, is an appropriate way – the only appropriate way – to share a link to your website in the comments section of someone else’s blog. By providing great information and having readers then ask for more information, Frances has just had the door opened for her to share her URL. (Nice job, Frances! Thanks for the teaching moment.)
All too often I see therapists just drop in to a site, leave some less-than-thoughtful comment like “Way to go!” and then use that as an excuse to leave their URL. That’s really like being invited into someone else’s online home and then start hawking your services and, in effect, taking the party back to your own home.
If this comes as new information to you guys, then you might want to consider joining me next week in BlogStart for Therapists. We’ll spend one whole class talking about risk management and etiquette as it relates to blogging. I’m happy to bring you up to speed!
Thanks Tamara,
There is much to be said about etiquette when comes to things like blogging, sharing URL’s, etc. I try to be mindful of that, and I am always looking to learn and improve! I love that you are willing to point these things out and teach as we go along!
I can point them out because I’ve made the mistakes! Haha.
When I first started blogging, it was considered “smart” and “savvy” to comment solely for the purpose of being able to leave your URL links.And, that’s exactly what I did. I left comments like “Loved the article” (and then left my link) on some of the biggest blogs I followed. In hindsight, I was just embarrassing myself!
Initially, that seemed to be well-received. However, over time, I noticed that those bloggers quit publishing my comments. That meant that they were viewing them as spam or at least not contributing anything worthwhile to their discussions.
I did a little research and learned that the culture and etiquette of blogging had changed since it’s early years.
Today, it’s important for therapists to know that bloggers cherish thoughtful comments that add to the conversations. (It also adds to our weight with the search engines.) To drop in and just say “Good job!” and leave your URL doesn’t in any way extend the conversation or leave space for anyone else to expand the conversation.
A better way to leave comments that get noticed, pique curiosity, and leave others wanting to know more about you and your services is to offer another point of view, add a resource that was not mentioned, or say something that references a point made in the post and then talk about how you can related to that. It’s the same courtesy you would extend in a face-to-face networking opportunity. You join a conversation by adding to it, not just nodding your head and saying “Come over to my house and play!”
(I see this same mistake happen in email discussion groups and online chats, too – therapists leaving their URLS just hoping someone will come check them out. Everyone knows exactly what they’re doing and it’s perceived as . . . tacky at best, pitchy at worst.)
Tamara,
Thank you for the opportunity to be a guest blogger! Yes, it is a struggle when you have so many “tasks” to do that are VITAL for your practice, but it’s not your strong points. I truly believe that we are all created with a “purpose” and strengths to go along with that. Just as therapists struggle with the admin, social media, marketing, blogging, etc side of their practice, I to have no idea what it takes to be a clinician and be a good one at that. 🙂
So being a “good” steward is to find that person that has the strengths and expertise of what we need to get done, let them do their job so you can do yours! 🙂
So blessed and happy to be here.
Great post! With the exception of billing, I pretty much do everything in my practice. I’m not at a place where I can afford to hire someone as an employee. In addition, my office does not have available space for a receptionist. Added to that, I recently fractured my right wrist (right-handed) and I’m still working on completing dissertation. I definitely need the help, and if the prices are reasonable this may be a viable option for me. Thank you
Carla
Thank you for the compliment. Wow, you are definitely facing some challenges! I believe that a VA would be a great fit for you and the challenges you are facing. Feel free to check out my website at http://www.mysolutionservices.com and we can talk and see how I can help you. 🙂
The time that it took me to respond back to this post shows my need for assistance! 🙁 Frances I will be looking into your website soon and seeing how this will fit into my practice.
Hi Carla,
I will look for to hearing from you and seeing how we can help you offload and grow your business. The good thing is you are ready and I am here! 🙂 Let’s just move forward and get going. You will be glad you made the move. 🙂 How is the wrist healing?
Hi Carla
I will look forward to hearing from you and seeing how we can work together to offload those tasks you don’t like and help grow your business!
Carla, I’m so sorry to hear about your wrist! Ugh!
I can appreciate that you can’t “afford to hire someone as an employee.” And, as long as you still have time to see the next new client that calls you, that may make sense. However, I got to a point in my practice where I was having to give up doing the things I liked (like seeing clients or offering classes) because I was all tied up in trying to figure out how to do billing and how to set up emailauto-responders.
I couldn’t see it at the time but, in hindsight, those things were costing money and quality of life (1) because sometimes they were done poorly, (2) sometimes they weren’t done at all, and (3) all the time I was doing them I was also doing this “poor,pitiful me” routine! By hiring a VA to do in 30 minutes what took me 3 days to do, I ended up paying her $15-20 and I still had 3 days to do what I preferred to be doing.
Don’t assume you can’t afford it until you actually investigate the costs / benefits. You may be surprised.
I agree Tamara! I spend so much time doing the things that I do not like (all of the administrative work of the practice), that I do not have time to prepare properly and am getting very close to burn out. It took me 3 months to come back to revisit this idea. I think it is time! I am TIRED!!!
Welcome back, Carla! I talk to gifted therapists every day who buy into believing that they need to put off investing in their own purpose and their own dreams because they “don’t have time” and “don’t have the money.” In my experience, most therapists fail because of their own fear, self talk, and lack of planning that results in a lack of physical and financial support that, in turn, leads to a death of a private practice.
It took me years to realize that I was wasting my time, energy, and resources by trying to do everything myself. At the time, I believed that I just couldn’t afford to hire anyone else to support me in any way. I really believed I had to do it all on my own. What I know now is that the core of that belief was fear – fear that I didn’t have enough . . . fear that I wouldn’t have enough . . . and fear that I couldn’t have enough . . . to have the office I needed, the office equipment I needed, the website I needed . . . the advertising I needed . . . the marketing expertise I needed . . . the professional advice I needed, etc.
Kudos to you, Carla, for breaking through and making the choice to go after everything that you need to support you in doing the work you were meant to do!
I totally agree with Tamara!
FEAR (False Evidence Appearing Real) keeps us from doing a lot of things in life, especially when we are on the move of growing and moving forward! I too dealt with that before I started my own VA business. It (the fear) only proved to be completely useless and a waste of time, because once I stepped out, things exploded…for the good! We are designed to work in our STRENGTHS and GIFTS…when we try to do it all on our own…those strengths and gifts get push to the side. Yes…judos to you Carla for breaking through! 😉
I always suggest getting a VA who is familiar with what it takes to operate and grow a private practice. The VA should not be looked at as a jack of all trades and I would not trust them to do everything under the sun. Answering and scheduling patients appointments is one thing while bookkeeping and medical insurance billing is a whole different tasks many aren’t familiar with. They should be FULLY well versed in HIPAA regulations and know what to do when a breach takes place. Hiring a VA is a great start but if they don’t have a clue on what it takes to operate and grow a private practice I would not hire them.
Hi, Alicia! Thanks so much for dropping in tonight! I think that depends on what you want your VA to do. I have my VA do graphic design work, set up email auto-responders, and even transcribe workshops for me. I don’t need her to know how to market or operate a private practice. I can do that part just fine. It’s technical things that I use my VA for.
On the other hand, if she was hired to do bookkeeping and file insurance, I would absolutely need her to be skilled in that area; and, if she was interfacing with the public on my behalf – by phone or in person – I would want her to have strong people-skills and be highly knowledgeable about my practice.
And, as for being HIPAA-savvy – it’s the therapist’s job to train ancillary staff (including contractors) about HIPAA. They are rarely going to come with that knowledge up front. I so appreciate you noting that it is important that and VA be knowledgable about the areas in which she is going to work for a therapist including HIPAA.
Great article! Thank you. So it’s been about a year since this was posted and I am curious if any readers and commenters have tried a VA since this and what the results have been. I am trying to figure out how to find the right VA to help me with my small practice. I went down to part time and am in the process of slowly building it back up. I would love to have someone help me with answering and returning phone calls and emails from prospective clients, helping me manage some paperwork, and also helping me update my website. I am hesitant to have someone speak “for me” but remembering to return phone calls in a timely manner after a long day is probably one of the worst weaknesses I have and a huge hindrance to my practice. I plan to also contact Frances Harvey’s company (checked out her website!) but I may need to start more small potatoes. Not sure. Any thoughts and experiences on this? Thanks!
Hi Elizabeth!
I am glad you found my blog helpful…that is the reason for it! 🙂
I understand how difficult it is to do “everything’ yourself in your practice and the challenges it brings! I don’t believe it was meant to be that way… I DO believe when we work in our strengths we get more accomplished…leaving the other things to those who are strong in the areas we are not!
I also understand how scary it is to “release” those things, especially potential client calls, to others and let them speak for you! Therefore, it is important to find that right fit!
Thank you for checking out my website, and you may be surprised to learn we could work together! 😉 If not, I have tones of connects and network with VA’s that I can help you find one that is a good fit.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you, Frances, for staying connected to this thread and chiming in! I was just talking with Ernesto Segismundo earlier today about your work with him. He was singing your praises!
Hi, Elizabeth! Thanks for dropping in. I apologize for the delay. I was busy working on a presentation for the Colorado Counseling Association’s annual conference in Denver.
Because this post is older, it won’t get a lot of traffic / comments. You might be interested in posting your query in my Facebook Group for Private Practice from the Inside Out. You (and other mental health professionals) are welcome to request to join the group right here.
I can say that I love Frances Harvey and have heard great things about her work. Here’s another guest post she wrote a while back: 6 Steps to Finding a Top Notch Virtual Assistant for Your Psychotherapy Practice .
A different option might be finding a responsible college student or high school student to train for these tasks.
Hi, Ms. Suttle. My name is Shayla. I am a stay at home mom, with experience in social work, and would like to work from home as an VA for therapists. Could you give any advice on how to get myself out there? My email is ssaustin428@gmail.com.
Shayla
Hi Shayla
Congrats on the little one.
You may want to start in your community and find out what practices there are locally and introduce yourself.
I did receive your direct email and I will reply as soon as possible. 🙂
Shayla! I have no idea how I missed your comment until now!
I’m so sorry!
Frances (above) has given you some great advice.
Start by making a list of every big and little task that you might be able to do for other professionals.
If you aren’t sure what that might include, then google other VA’s websites and check out the services that they are offering.
Once you have a list of the services you can offer (and the fees you intend to charge), get a business card made up that you can distribute easily.
If you have the ability, put up a website; if you aren’t able to do so right now, then put it on your to-do list with a date by which it will be done.
Then, start contacting the therapists, doctors, attorneys, consultants, etc. in your community to let them know about your services.
And, feel free to stay engaged right here.
Interact with therapists and other professionals (on blogs and other social media) who may now or in the future need your services.
And, if I can be of further help . . . Or you would like to consult 1:1, feel free to reach out!
There’s plenty of work out there waiting for you, Shayla!
starting my own practice in oct- looking for virtual assistant to help with blogging/social media. I want to know more and pricing thank you
Wow – how THANKFUL I am to have come across this thread! Tamara & Frances, I have really enjoyed ALL of these comments and discussions I have been able to read! I have been a Virtual Assistant for Mental Health Professionals for just a few months now and I am ALWAYS looking to expand my knowledge, gain more understanding of professionals struggles, and improve! This was an absolutely incredible guest post, as well as the discussions that followed; it has given some great insights to the professionals who really need our help!
I am so thankful for my therapist and all mental health professionals in general, the world wouldn’t be able to function without Mental Health Care. I am also grateful for the opportunity to be able to provide professionals the support THEY DESERVE TOO! My biggest message is that Therapists, Psychologists, & so many other Mental Health Professionals in general are SO caring and invested in their patients, they often forget about themselves; but you need the love & support too! Thank you thank you thank you for providing this world with compassion
Hi! I really appreciate this post! I am in private practice and really interested in hiring an assistant, could you provide some resources or ideas on how to find an assistant or where to post a job listing?
Where to post a job listing is pretty easy.
Your professional associations and local conferences may have job boards that you can use.
Additionally, many therapists use social media to post their job descriptions and interests in hiring for various positions.
Obviously, getting referrals from those professionals you already know and trust can be useful.
And, finally, speaking to your own health care providers may result in finding someone who could be a perfect fit for your practice.
If you or others here in our community have ideas, feel free to add them here!