Earlier this year, I had the honor of being interviewed by Dorlee Michaeli, MBA, LMSW on Social Work Career.
We talked about how to Establish Your Private Practice Like a Pro.
The conversation was rich and lengthy and continued even after the post was published.
Here is a follow-up to that original interview in a post titled 10 Must-Know Private Practice Start-Up Tips.
Thank you, Dorlee, for being so generous with your blog and your audience!
I have a question I’d like to pose to you and your readers. I do my own billing (quite effectively for the most part!), but one thing has me stuck, and that is the way I should word notes that accompany past-due invoices. Case in point, a client going through a divorce with financial stressors owes over $600 for sessions declined by insurance; he has received and ignored three invoices.
What do I say so as to maximize the chances of being paid for my work without completely alienating the client? And do you recommend sending delinquent client accounts to collections?
Thanks! I look forward to hearing everyone’s thoughts on this!
Lori Nash
Bellingham, WA
Welcome back, Lori! This is such a great question.
It’s a situation that is all-too-common and one that early on I made poor choices about.
Here’s what I’ve said in the past – Psychotherapist, Beware! Before You Pursue Your Client’s Unpaid Bill . . . .
And, here’s how Jay Ostrowski recommends that you avoid collections agencies when your clients owe you money
And, here’s a post on Getting Your Money Back from Insurance Companies just in case some of you are running into problems there, too.
Hi Tamara,
Thanks again for the wonderful [meaty] interview, as well as for this kind shoutout!
Best,
Dorlee
I just received my LPCA and I don’t know what my next steps are!
Should I get a NPI number?
Eventually I want to open my private practice too what are the steps I can take now to get there?
Thanks
Hi, Kennedy! Congrats to you on receiving your LPCA!!!
There’s no reason to apply for your NPI now.
And, by the time you are ready to open your private practice, the requirements may be completely different.
The private practitioners that I know who have the strongest practices, started out by getting great experience in community counseling by working in agencies and other institutions.
So, if you haven’t started there, that could be a next step.
While you are gaining that experience, I would encourage you not to narrow your options too quickly.
You may know that you already have a strong interest in working with drugs and alcohol abuse but make sure you take time to also explore other areas that you know little about or have little interest in because, I promise you – those issues are also going to surface in your practice.
And, when they do, you need to be competent in assessing them and addressing them.
Clients almost never show up with “just” the issues we prefer to work with and learning about those issues and gaining skills to work with the individuals that have those other issues is most easily done while working in community health.
Another next step is to use your time in agency work to network, network, network i.e. build those relationships in your community.
Why? Because these are your future referral sources once you move into private practice!
Once you move into private practice, you’ll starve to death if you haven’t built a strong network of professionals who trust you and your clinical skills; now is the time to hone your skills and prove your professionalism to them.
This is also the right time to actively seek out professional mentors – those who are willing to teach you both the clinical and the business ends of mental health.
They can introduce you to other professionals in the community, open doors for you, and point you toward opportunities that you might otherwise not know about all while providing support and encouragement for your professional growth.
Now is a good time to begin interviewing the therapists in private practice that you believe are well established to learn about their transitions into private practice – how they knew they were ready for private practice, what their first steps were, what mistakes they made, and what tips they might offer you.
And, finally, while you are still working in an agency, you can begin to create and collect resources that you will use for your future clients – both community resources and also tangible resources i.e. Worksheets, lists, and other tools.
As you can see, there is not one next step toward private practice; instead, there are lots of next steps and many can be taken concurrently!
Kennedy, private practice can be a fabulous adventure and I’m looking forward to learning more about your work in the field!
I hope you’ll stay in touch and drop back in here often to let us know where you are, what you are doing, and how we can support you on your journey!