Jumpstart Your Practice Outside Of The Box (And Outside Of Your Office, Too)

I was trawling through Google+ or Facebook when I noticed that one of my colleagues here in Colorado was hosting a really cool, out-of-the-ordinary luncheon as a way to introduce her clinical services to her local community.  So I invited Licensed Professional Counselor Kate Daigle to guest post today to inspire you to borrow or tweak or come up with your own way to share your brilliance in service to others.

  (If you are interested in writing a guest post, check out the guidelines here.)

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A Guest Post by Kate Daigle, MA, NCC, LPC

I was sitting in my office one sunny spring day, looking at the green grass and blooming flowers outside the window, and thought:  “Man, I wish I was sitting outside right now, feeling the cool, soft grass on my bare feet, smelling the sweet flowers, and indulging in the gifts of nature, instead of stuffed up inside my office!”  After that thought, my next client and I practiced mindful eating, as I often do with clients, and I had another thought: “How can I enrich my clients’ experience with mindfulness and healing and find more dynamic, interactive, experiential methods to practice these techniques?”  We then proceeded to take our mindful lunch outdoors!

Practicing Outside of the Box

There are so many ways to grow your private practice, whether your practice is brand new, or if you’d been at it for a while.  I’ve tried many of these ideas – some fitting with me, some truly not!  My journeys in the world of private practice have often brought me to challenge myself and my clients to “think outside of the box” – as that is where change can truly happen.

I decided to form a Mindful Eating and Mindfulness in the Park Group (through meetup.com), held once per month, where I step outside the therapist role and invite folks of all walks of life to enjoy the simple pleasures of mindful eating and mindfulness in beautiful City Park, Denver.  This is not a therapy group but an informal gathering in which the focus is to enjoy, experience, and enrich our relationships with food in a mindful and peaceful way.

Here’s What That Can Look Like

In this arena, I am also a participant in the practice and get to enjoy and model the benefits of mindful eating as well, with the hope that the group facilitates discussion, interest in mindfulness, and building a community.  Each participant signs a liability form and we talk explicitly about the fact that this is not a therapy type group.

Each month, we meet in the park with our lunches, and I come prepared with several mindful eating exercises for us to try out as we sit amidst the offerings of the beautiful park.  Last month we had centipedes, squirrels, and goslings join us in our experience!

Taking Inspiration from Those Around You

I was inspired to “think outside of my therapist’s chair” by colleagues who are doing similar types of really cool “outside the chair” work.  One of them is Jenny Glick, LMFT, who offers “Walk and Talk therapy” and she introduced me to Jonathon Stalls, whose company Walk2Connect, takes folks on walks across the city, building community and fostering health through walking.

Since a big part of my passion is helping people who are stuck in a disordered or disconnected relationship with their bodies shift that experience and find joy, peace, and energy in their bodies instead, I felt that a mindful eating group outside in the park would be a great way to further the reach of this work in nature’s healing presence and help build my practice.

And it has!

Benefits for Your Private Practice

Here are some benefits of offering alternative types of services in your practice.  Getting “out of your chair” can:

• Get your name out there as a specialist.
• Help boost your web presence and SEO ranking.
• Connect you with new types of populations you might not find through traditional marketing measures – what does your ideal client like to do, and where might you find them?  Go THERE!
• Motivate you to find new ways to engage people in what you’re passionate about without being confined to an office – let people know who you are, what you love to do, and how you can help them!
• Create alternative forms of revenue.  While I only charge $5 for this group, this is to make it accessible to many people and for them to get to know me, possibly garnering a referral and new clients down the road.
• Allow people to get to know you not in a “therapist’s role”, and they may decide to call you for a consultation or tell a friend.
• Combat burnout and isolation.  Even though I’ve got wonderful support networks, I can sometimes feel isolated and tired of sitting in my office all day long.  Alternative ways of offering services can invigorate your practice and help renew your energy!
• Invite people to fully experience what they are doing – actually practicing mindful eating instead of just talking about it – leading to a greater possibility of regular practice in their own lives.
• Help people build connections over a common interest.  So many people come to counseling due to feeling lonely and isolated.  For my clients, eating can often be scary and anxiety-provoking.  By practicing a mindful way to nourish our bodies in a peaceful and stress-free environment, this can reduce anxiety and foster healthy relationships.

My Mindful Eating group has truly re-invigorated my passion for helping people find joy and acceptance of themselves and of their bodies through mindfulness.   Our next meeting is August 2^nd – come join us if you can!

What are you passionate about?  Have you had an “out of the box” idea that you’ve wanted to try, but haven’t yet?  What’s holding you back?  What do you see as the benefits that this idea could bring to your practice?

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 Kate Daigle, MA, NCC, LPC is a psychotherapist in central Denver, Colorado who specializes in helping people find a more peaceful, healthy, accepting, and connected relationship with food, their bodies, and themselves.  Using techniques from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and DBT, she guides her clients in recovery from eating disorders and body image struggles.  Check out her website for a video on mindful eating tips.