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Essentials of Private Practice: Streamlining Costs, Procedures, and Policies for Less Stress
Are you in private mental health practice?
Are you planning to be soon? Perhaps you are in graduate school and already dreaming about having your own practice? Maybe you are newly-licensed and preparing to be your own boss. Or perhaps you have been working hard in a group practice for several years but are frustrated by not taking home a substantial share of the income.
Wherever you are in the early stages of your career, Essentials of Private Practice can help you get started.Using lessons learned from years of different practice arrangements, Holly Hunt has assembled a collection of effective strategies that will help mental health professionals successfully establish and maintain their private practices. Because graduate school does not typically provide crucial practice management skills, Hunt guides readers through all the fundamental issues ranging from choosing an office in an area whose demographic you want to work with, to covering important first-session policies and paperwork with new clients, to dealing with clients' insurance carriers and getting paid quickly.Increasing efficiency while reducing costs and stress are the themes central to Hunt's practical suggestions to private practitioners. Dividing the book into three primary strategies-lowering overhead expenses, simplifying daily procedures, and implementing efficient client policies-she advises readers on a wide range of practice issues. From locating a safe and accessible office to navigating the lease/sublease option and deciding on phone, pager, and voicemail systems, all the practice basics are addressed. More complex issues are also covered, including making an initial assessment of income base and expenses before launching a private practice, leaving a group and going solo, establishing an expense-sharing arrangement, verifying client's benefits before beginning treatment and keeping billing procedures organized to facilitate insurance payments. In addition, key strategies are detailed to enhance client treatment and ensure payment for services, ranging from collecting client fees, to implementing a successful cancellation policy, and establishing effective phone practices and policies.Filled with highly useful, streamlining steps from a seasoned practitioner, Essentials of Private Practice is a crucial resource for all those in or seeking to create a private practice, teaching professionals how to retain more income, preserve time and energy, and minimize stress in their day-to-day practice.
Are you planning to be soon? Perhaps you are in graduate school and already dreaming about having your own practice? Maybe you are newly-licensed and preparing to be your own boss. Or perhaps you have been working hard in a group practice for several years but are frustrated by not taking home a substantial share of the income.
Wherever you are in the early stages of your career, Essentials of Private Practice can help you get started.Using lessons learned from years of different practice arrangements, Holly Hunt has assembled a collection of effective strategies that will help mental health professionals successfully establish and maintain their private practices. Because graduate school does not typically provide crucial practice management skills, Hunt guides readers through all the fundamental issues ranging from choosing an office in an area whose demographic you want to work with, to covering important first-session policies and paperwork with new clients, to dealing with clients' insurance carriers and getting paid quickly.Increasing efficiency while reducing costs and stress are the themes central to Hunt's practical suggestions to private practitioners. Dividing the book into three primary strategies-lowering overhead expenses, simplifying daily procedures, and implementing efficient client policies-she advises readers on a wide range of practice issues. From locating a safe and accessible office to navigating the lease/sublease option and deciding on phone, pager, and voicemail systems, all the practice basics are addressed. More complex issues are also covered, including making an initial assessment of income base and expenses before launching a private practice, leaving a group and going solo, establishing an expense-sharing arrangement, verifying client's benefits before beginning treatment and keeping billing procedures organized to facilitate insurance payments. In addition, key strategies are detailed to enhance client treatment and ensure payment for services, ranging from collecting client fees, to implementing a successful cancellation policy, and establishing effective phone practices and policies.Filled with highly useful, streamlining steps from a seasoned practitioner, Essentials of Private Practice is a crucial resource for all those in or seeking to create a private practice, teaching professionals how to retain more income, preserve time and energy, and minimize stress in their day-to-day practice.
- GenresBusiness
256 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 18, 2022
I feel like this may have been out of date when it was written.
Example : No one had a beeper in 2004.
Example : No one had a beeper in 2004.
August 9, 2009
I'm a few chapters in and have mixed feelings. While I'm quite excited about starting my own practice, this book leaves me feeling depressed and downtrodden about it thus far. Sure, I know it will take work, planning, and investment... but it seems that the majority of illustrative stories in the text are about splendid failures, unanticipated traumatic experiences, or lamentations about how the good old days of high insurance pay outs are gone forever. This is a brutal crash after reading other upbeat texts about applied coaching practice recently and is a slamming reminder of the deficit-based perspective so many therapists bring to seeing clients and evidently to running their business, too.
The author does not seem aware (or the text is outdated) regarding cheap or free web 2.0 software solutions for billing, record keeping, newsletter and website publication, and communication services.
On the helpful side, there are lovely tables containing to-do and to-consider lists that allow the reader to skip the dismal content and suggestions on how to comparison shop. I have found myself skipping a great deal of the text this way, which makes me happy!
The author does not seem aware (or the text is outdated) regarding cheap or free web 2.0 software solutions for billing, record keeping, newsletter and website publication, and communication services.
On the helpful side, there are lovely tables containing to-do and to-consider lists that allow the reader to skip the dismal content and suggestions on how to comparison shop. I have found myself skipping a great deal of the text this way, which makes me happy!
February 28, 2012
So the rating system isn't really fair for a book like this. Its not exactly a page turner, but there is a lot of good information. The book is a little outdated when it comes to technology and online billing stuff, but I thought her advice about handling the money management and billing parts were on target. Because one is dealing with human emotions, its easy to forget that this is a business too. I also really appreciated the information in the appendices. There are a lot of practical take aways from the book that I'm sure will be useful when I begin my private practice. Also, this book really helped me outline a plan of action for getting started. I'm glad I read it, even though it felt a little slow and repetitive at parts.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews