How To Add Consulting Services To Your Private Practice

Every successful practitioner that I know has diversified her practice.  S/he offers a variety of services that usually include some combination of clinical work, education / training, consulting, supervision (either clinical or administrative),writing and publishing, and some other mishmash of a project or two.  I do this and I want to encourage you to do this, too.

For those of us that have a lot of different interests, it feeds our spirits.  It keeps us interested in our work and interesting to others.  For those of us who deal with very serious or chronic issues in our clinical work, that same variety helps us maintain balance for our own (and our clients’) well-being.  And, for all of us in private practice, this diversity of income helps us weather the financial ebb and flow of clinical practice.

Stephanie Adams of College Station, Texas, is considering adding consulting as one piece of her business and has written in to inquire how to go about this . . . . She writes,

. . . I had a question about how you decided to add consulting to your business as well. I know diversifying your services can often lead to the ability to reduce fees for individuals, as has been mentioned in previous comments.

I have just received my LPC and I’m thinking about starting a small business (as you recommended in another article, starting as small as possible and then build from there!)

I am wondering how you decide when and if to add consulting services, and if you have to have any special licenses to practice legally.

Thanks for your always-insightful articles!”

Consulting services are generally provided by those who have an advanced body of information to share with a specific population to meet a particular need.  I realized (after just about starving to death) that over time I had acquired a unique perspective and wealth of information that could help other therapists  lay a strong foundation for building their own private practices.  That’s how Private Practice from the Inside Out started.

If you are thinking about offering consulting services, you too need to be perceived as having had significant success in the area in which you are offering your consulting services before others will be willing to hire you.  There are no hard and fast rules for when you have “enough” success but here are some guidelines (based on what I look for) to help you gauge when it’s right for that transition in your practice . . . .

• Establishe yourself as the “go-to” therapist for a particular issue for five or more years before moving into an area of consultation.  Once your community recognizes that you have the information and experience they want and need, you will be able to diversify into the role of consultant.
• Create a niche for your area of interest in order to establish the perception of credibility.
• Be different.  If no one else in town is offering consulting in your chosen area of interest, your chance of establishing your services as  worthy of  consideration is significantly increased.
• Obtain excellent post-graduate training in your area of interest in addition to your own self-study.  By doing so you will stand a greater chance of positioning yourself in your community as a valuable consultant.

Are you already offering consulting services?  If so, why not take a minute to toot your horn right here by leaving a link to your website and a little bit about what you are doing . . . . And, if you are just thinking about adding consulting services to your practice, do you have any questions for us here?