Tiffany Frias, MA, LPC-Intern, has been a busy gal. While in pursuit of her license as a professional counselor in Texas, she has collaborated with her colleagues, Virginia Gonzalez, MA, LPC-Intern and Tracy Cooper, MA, LPC-Intern to create a space for mental health professionals to network and gain support.
When we first “spoke” via email, I knew that their story is one that underscores their resilience and solution-focused thinking to solve a problem that many new (and seasoned) therapists experience. So, I asked, and they graciously agreed, to write this guest post sharing how they met some of their own needs in pursuit of licensure and eventually private practice.
(If you are interested in writing a guest post, check out the guidelines here.)
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A Guest Post by Tiffany Frias, MA, LPC-Intern,
Virginia Gonzalex, MA, LPC-Intern, and Tracy Cooper, MA, LPC-Intern
Do you sometimes feel like our profession lacks support and networking opportunities? If so, you are not alone. We we did, too! For that reason, we decided to change this by creating our very own networking group.
The idea to create a networking 
group formulated during lunch one day, as we three friends and colleagues confided to each other the struggles we have encountered since obtaining our LPC-Intern licenses [in San Antonio, Texas]. We all had found sites where we could provide counseling services in private practice settings and we found ourselves asking similar questions.
We each shared our efforts to obtain clients and discovered that we each felt alone in this process, lacking support from colleagues in our profession. As recent graduates, we were perplexed. Why are we as counselors willing to help others, but not each other? Through further conversation, we realized quickly the importance in building professional relationships with our colleagues in order to obtain referrals, resources, and any other helpful information.
The task of developing our first event began on Facebook. We created a Facebook group page, San Antonio Counselor Networking Group, and reached out to our peers and colleagues. The response was overwhelming! We posted the first event and within less than 30 minutes we had twenty people respond with an interest to attend.
The first networking event was on September 22, 2012. We had nine colleagues attend. Our event included discussion of our group’s purpose, guidelines, and introductions. We discussed the theme for this particular group event, which were go-to books and resources for clients. All attendees were encouraged to come prepared to share, and therefore everyone had book recommendations to offer. The event ended with a time to exchange business cards and build referral relationships.
SA Networking Group has grown to include 134 members, and we receive new member requests every week. We have also been told that someone has recently been inspired to recreate a similar group in Killeen, Texas as a result of being a member of our group.
We had a vast amount of people interested in attending and being a part of our group. This response had us believe we were on to something . . . and also reiterated the need for these opportunities within our community.
This group was created in an effort to build professional and supportive relationships in the San Antonio and surrounding areas. The Facebook forum allows all members to post questions and needs, have access to referral lists, seek support, and interact with others in the community. We have also recently added features such a job postings and a featured counselor of the week. Our goal is to have networking meetings open to counselors in the area so that we can (1) build a stronger referral list and (2) market ourselves within the community.
After our first networking event we have seen the counseling community come together and share resources, knowledge, and support. We have obtained a lot of invaluable information. Most importantly, we learned that we are not alone in this process.
We are hosting our next event on December 1, 2012. This time we have a guest speaker. Information can be found here http://sacounselorsnetworking.wordpress.com/2012/11/14/lgbtq-development-across-the-lifespan/. If you are in the San Antonio and surrounding areas, please do not hesitate to join our group.
We are looking forward to meeting you soon!
About the Authors: Tiffany Frias, MA, LPC-Intern, in San Antonio, specializes in experiential work with couples and individuals. Virginia Gonzales, MA, LPC-Intern, also in San Antonio, is a bilingual (Spanish) counselor who works collaboratively to identify personal strengths that can be used to reach client goals. And, Tracy Cooper, MA, LPC-Intern, in Dallas, works with clients by identifying strengths and goals to help them to improve coping skills and handle stressors more effectively.
Tamara, Tiffany, Virginia, and Tracy,
Thank you very much for sharing this! It is an inspiration to start a similar group, and your clear explanation of the steps you took is very helpful! Thanks again!
Sarah
Hi, Sarah Jayne! Welcome back to Private Practice from the Inside Out!
I took a quick look at your website and thought “Yes! This out-of-the-box solution could work just as easily for your organizing solutions business (and the attorneys and physical therapists that lurk on this site, too)!” Then I read a little further and discovered that you are also a student in mental health.
How ever you (and others) decide to use this idea to support the growth of your own business, I hope you will drop back in to let us know so that we can all grow from your experience, too!
Here in the Bradenton/Sarasota FL area we also have a networking group that sounds similar ‘Manasota Professionals for Mental Well Being. While our numbers are smaller, those of us who partake in the networking are benefitting from the knowledge the group offers.
From my own experience, I was encouraged to begin a private practice as an intern, actually rented space from 2 members until licensure; gain valuable referral sources; have experienced clinicians from many discipliines to bounce things off of and have built some amazing relationships.
Delphine! Welcome back! It’s been too long since I’ve heard from you! Thanks so much for taking time to share your experiences – both your formal networking group in Florida and also your strategy for gaining experience and building relationships even as an intern! That is such useful information for students of mental health to know and to implement into their own professional journeys! (Should you ever wish to write up a guest post on your networking group or more about strategies for students, drop me a note back channel!)
Tiffany, Virginia, and Tracy,
Thank you for sharing and doing this. It resonates with me strongly what I have spoke to my students about in class. I will share the link with them and encourage them to make a note on the wisdom here. Many are involved in unique private practices that are out-of-the-box. In other words, therapy for a new generation.
Bryan
“Unique private practices that are out-of-the-box?” Bryan, can you say more about those? Up for writing a guest post for a “new generation?” I’m intrigued!
And, thanks for sharing a link to the blog post, too. Please let your students know that their voices are always welcome and wanted here! No need to be shy!
Tiffany, Virginia, and Tracy, I love your enthusiasm!
I’m reminded of the divisions in the agency where I work and how there are several of us who consult with one another about licensure and supervision issues, and others just look at us like we have gone bonkers.
I think the idea that you have a supportive environment or people to learn together is really important. I don’t know much about the licensure process in Texas, but sometimes the one in Pennsylvania can be frustrating because certain things are not the most clear and there is an abundant amount of fine print. It’s really helpful to go through the process with somebody else who is either simultaneously seeking licensure or has been licensed recently enough to understand the emotional component of licensure/certification processes.
I don’t know whether any or all of you are members of ACA, but if so, you might want to contact them. Here’s a link to where you can send information to Counseling Today: http://ct.counseling.org/feedback/ . I don’t know whether they will publish an article about this or not, but it would definitely increase the chances of similar groups being formed nationwide. I don’t remember the specific rules, but I remember reading something about how the content on Tamara’s blog cannot be used elsewhere (other than to link to it), but I’m sure Tamera can clarify that.
Great idea!
Hmmmm. Lauren, the content here is protected by copyright – as all writing on the web is protected unless otherwise noted. However, you are welcome to reproduce complete posts as long as they are credited back to the author and this blog (Private Practice from the Inside Out) including a link back to http://www.AllThingsPrivatePractice.
Tiffany, Tracy, and I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to read about our group and the efforts we’re trying to do in building a supportive counseling community. We would also like to thank all that have shared their encouraging words and their own personal experiences in the field and advice. This is truly why we decided to create the group for all to be able to communicate and feel supported.
Tamara, thank you for approaching us and giving us the opportunity to write a guest post.
How did you invite people to the facebook group? I don’t know that many therapists in my area and many are not my facebook friends. Thanks!
Marilee, welcome! I hope that Tiffany, Virginia, and Tracy will all weigh in here but I also wanted to add my suggestions as well.In addition to reaching out directly through Facebook, you might also want to consider telling folks right here! If you have a Facebook group already set up for therapists, leave the URL here and who you are looking for to join you!
You might also consider publicizing on other Facebook groups by putting out an announcement that the group is open or a call for assistance in passing the info along. Twitter and LinkedIn are other great ways to spread the word far and wide that you have support available for therapist in your area.