ACA Ethical Standards - My Online Therapy

Barriers to Marketing Your Private Practice

by Kellen Von Houser, M.A.

We have all experienced aggressive telemarketers, relentless email spammers, pushy salespeople, and spurious, unethical advertising. It’s no wonder many therapists view marketing with cynicism and distrust. Many believe it is unethical and the concept of marketing carries with it an image of unbridled capitalistic opportunism and hyped up, aggressive advertising.

This is unfortunate and inaccurate. The activities of telemarketers and their colleagues are not what marketing is about. This is just one example of the misunderstandings and misinformation which dissuade therapists from utilizing the benefits of an ethical and honest marketing strategy. In this article we will look at other misconceptions therapists often hold which prevent them from making informed, intelligent decisions about marketing their work and their practice.

Marketing is not Advertising

Many therapists believe that marketing is the same thing as advertising. Advertising is what the telemarketers and email spammers are doing. It is a way of selling a specific message about a specific product or service. Advertising is a way of announcing or praising a product or service in some public forum that induces people to buy or use it.

Marketing is not about trying to sell something. It is a method for anticipating and identifying the needs of your clients and community, finding a way to meet those needs, and being able to effectively communicate this to clients, potential employers, colleagues, other professionals in the community. Most therapists agree that they need to generate referrals, but how can you get referrals if you aren’t able to describe what services you provide in an effective manner? This is the heart of a good marketing strategy.

Professional Organizations support Marketing

Many therapists believe that professional organizations governing therapeutic practice prohibit or condemn the marketing of therapy services. This is simply not true. In fact, most of the professional organizations have marketing departments themselves. They only require that marketing be done in an honest and ethical manner.

Competency

Marketing is not typically a class taught in any master’s or doctorate program of psychology. Therefore, the majority of us have no training in how to properly develop a marketing strategy and the process may feel rather clumsy at first. As with any skill, acquiring the necessary knowledge and practicing what we learn will lead to eventual competence and feeling more comfortable with our marketing skills.

“I’m a therapist, not a business person”

Why can’t you be both? Or do you think there is something inherently contradictory in the two? Some therapists have very negative views of business people. It’s important to examine ours. We may have become a therapist in order to help people, but unless we are able to reach those people and let them know of the healing skills we possess, we cannot help them. Learning to reconcile the desire to help others with the need to earn a living can be one of the biggest challenges therapists face. Examining our beliefs in this area can be critical.

Ethics and Marketing

Many therapists harbor ethical misconceptions about marketing that prevent them from developing a marketing strategy. These are less concrete misconceptions than the issues addressed above, but can be even more deeply embedded and therefore more difficult to address. This is most commonly seen in therapists’ attitudes about setting fees.

“I don’t know how to assign a dollar figure to what I do.”

Therapeutic benefits are different for each person. How do you determine what your services are worth to different people? Again, you have to look at the knowledge you bring to the treatment. It also helps to talk to other therapists in your area and find out what they are charging. Think about how much you put into a session. Also consider the paperwork required before and after the session. Consider your overhead; are you paying for an office space, a receptionist, an accountant?

Questions to consider:

How do I feel about putting a price on my services?

“I can’t charge more than my colleagues.”

There is a common misconception that you have to charge the same fees as your colleagues. However, this is often inaccurate. Clients will pay reasonable fees if they are truly invested in doing the work, have found someone they trust to help guide them, and believe this is valuable to them. If you can demonstrate that you are that person, the price won’t be an issue for most people.

Many people believe that something which costs more is worth more. Charging higher fees may convey to clients that you are more skilled, have more experienced, or are more highly trained. Many clients want to feel they are hiring the best and finding a therapist who charges the same fees as the “best” in the field communicates that you are in that category. This is where it becomes important to evaluate what you believe your services are worth and set a price that reflects that value.

Are you uncomfortable with this idea? Does it feel elitist? Are you afraid this will block some clients from getting necessary therapy? It’s important to be aware of thoughts and feelings which come up as you read through these sections and process them. But then you already knew that, didn’t you?

Questions to consider:

How do I feel about colleagues who charge more than I do?
How do I feel about colleagues who charge less than I do?

“My clients can’t afford high fees.”

This may be true for some clients and you may want to make a certain percentage of your practice pro bono work, as recommended by most licensing boards. In my experience, most clients are not totally destitute, but fall somewhere in the middle. They have income, but it’s limited. I then look at what they spend their money on. If they are spending $3.00 on Starbuck’s coffee a few times every day, eating out on a regular basis, buying things on Ebay they don’t really need, traveling, etc. Much of this type of spending is to make them feel better. I have to question whether they are truly unable to afford therapy. If they are spending money on alcohol or drugs I seriously question their inability to pay for therapy. Sometimes it is a matter of what they value. Forcing them to make choices of healthy self-care over unhealthy self-care methods can be therapeutic.

Claiming to be unable to pay for therapy may also be an excuse to avoid doing the work. People invest in what they value. They will piddle away huge amounts of money shopping and eating to change their moods. They will spend large amounts of money on hobbies, which may or may not be therapeutic, depending on the hobby. Why is it that therapists are afraid to ask them to spend the same amount of money on healing themselves?

I have worked with clients who earn a higher salary than I do, but who claim they can’t afford therapy. If I can afford therapy, so can they. I have also worked with clients who truly were having a financial hardship but found ways of earning the money to pay for therapy, but it was that important to them. In many ways, the people who have to work so hard to pay for it get much more out of it, because they value it that much more and therefore work that much harder.

Another consideration might be your marketing. If you are consistently attracting people who can’t afford your services you may need to look at your marketing strategy.

If you continuously find that your potential clients are telling you they can't afford your fees you might want to think about how you are articulating the value you provide. I’ve seen therapists who draw clients to them who are unwilling to pay and unwilling to do the work, much like women who consistently draw alcoholic men to them. If this is the case you might want to check the message you are sending out.

Questions to consider:

How do I feel about clients who can’t afford therapy?
How do I feel about clients who can afford to pay full fees for therapy?
How do I feel about offering pro bono services to some clients?

“I love doing therapy. I’m not in it to get rich.”

Does this mean you shouldn’t get paid at all? If so, this is a good example of an all-or-nothing cognitive distortion. Are the only alternatives: 1) you not make enough money to live on or 2) you become independently wealthy from doing therapy? How about making enough money to live comfortably?

Many therapists have the belief that they are doing a service to humanity and therefore it should be free. Doctors and nurses perform a service for humanity, but still expect to get paid for it. It’s interesting that this line of thinking is often seen in the healing professions in general; massage therapists, acupuncturists, etc. Perhaps it is more difficult to put a dollar value on a service than if you were providing a product. But think about a doctor. Are you paying him for the pills he prescribes, the stitches he administers, the bandage he applies? No. You are paying him for his knowledge, the expertise and skills which enable him to be able to diagnose the problem and to know which medication or procedure to apply. The same is true of your hairdresser. You do not pay her for the bottle of hair color she applies or the perm solution she uses. You pay her for the knowledge with which she applies them. Yet your hairdresser has no trouble charging you what she feels she is worth. Why are therapists different? Isn’t the service we provide even more valuable than a hairdresser’s?

Therapists may also harbor the misconception that therapy can’t be done honorably or ethically if you profit from it. I don’t know the origins of this idea, but it is quite common. It’s important to examine your beliefs about what it means to you to be “successful” as a therapist.

Many therapists seem to have the idea that therapy is more valuable if it is free. I have provided therapy in a community mental health clinic and a non-profit organization. Even therapy provided “free” for indigent clients is not “free”. It is grant funded and the therapists providing services are getting paid salaries and provided health benefits. Even therapy provided by therapists doing pro bono work in their private practice is not “free”. The therapist has to maintain the office space, pay insurance, licensing, and CEU fees, etc. So the “free” therapy they are providing is partially funded by the clients who pay full fees. I really encourage you to examine your beliefs about “free” therapy.

Questions to consider:

How do I feel about colleagues who are successful in their private practices?
How do I feel about putting a value on a service?
How do you feel about profiting from doing therapy?
How do I feel about clinicians who profit from doing therapy?

“The field is flooded with counselors/therapists/social workers. If I charge too much, I’ll price myself out of clients.”

Granted, the field is flooded with therapists. This is true. But they are not all providing the same services or asking the same fees. So which therapists are you afraid to price yourself above, the successful ones or the unsuccessful ones?

Healthy competition can be a good thing. It means there is a lot happening in the field and therefore a lot of public awareness is being generated, which will eventually mean more clients for everyone. However, in a competitive climate, it becomes even more important to identify a need in the therapeutic community which is not being met and have a well-articulated message which effectively communicates how your services fill that need. With a large number of practitioners working, referrals should not be a problem for a therapist filling a niche who is able to effectively communicate that to his or her colleagues.

In a high volume climate, it is also possible that many clinicians who are getting paid what they are worth have now generated more referrals than they can handle. Their success demonstrates the efficacy of a good marketing strategy. By utilizing your own you could make yourself available for their extra referrals.

The more unique and capable your services are, the more they will stand out. The more adept you are at communicating their value to potential clients and other practitioners the higher the likelihood that you will be able to get paid what you are worth.

Questions to consider:

How do I feel about my ability to compete with other therapists?
How do I feel about my skills compared to other therapists?
How do I feel about pricing my services in the same range as other successful therapists?

“I’m not a salesperson. I can’t “market” myself.”

This may be absolutely true. But that doesn’t mean you can’t learn. But first, let’s look at what you think “marketing yourself” means. If you think it means presenting some slick, high-pressure presentation, think again. It’s important to differentiate between “sales” and “marketing”. When I think of sales I think of pushing a product. Marketing is totally different. Marketing is a matter of determining the value of the service you provide then effectively communicating that value to people who would benefit from the service. That does not mean mass marketing or advertising. It’s a matter of creating a reputation for yourself in the therapeutic community and the community which you wish to serve. It is not a hyped-up presentation either. It has to be an honest representation of your skills, abilities and experience.

Sometimes the problem is not that you can’t market what you do, but that you’re not clear what you do. Part of developing a successful marketing strategy is taking the time to determine where your strengths lie. We’ll discuss this more in the “Marketing: Developing your Strategy” section and provide some specific questions to help guide you.

Questions to consider:

How do I feel about talking to people about what I do?
How do I feel about colleagues who market their services?

To be able to successfully market your private practice, you need to examine your beliefs and correct any distortions you have about marketing. This will help eliminate the barriers that stand between you and a thriving private practice.

About our Therapy

About our Services

About our Products

About Us

Barriers to Marketing Your Private Practice


About our Therapy What to Expect from Therapy About Online Therapy Frequently Asked Questions About our Services Services and Fees Sign Up for Services About our Products Self Help Library CDs and DVDs Bookstore About Us Email Privacy Privacy Statement Contact Me	Barriers to Marketing Your Private Practice by Kellen Von Houser, M.A. We have all experienced aggressive telemarketers, relentless email spammers, pushy salespeople, and spurious, unethical advertising. It’s no wonder many therapists view marketing with cynicism and distrust. Many believe it is unethical and the concept of marketing carries with it an image of unbridled capitalistic opportunism and hyped up, aggressive advertising. This is unfortunate and inaccurate. The activities of telemarketers and their colleagues are not what marketing is about. This is just one example of the misunderstandings and misinformation which dissuade therapists from utilizing the benefits of an ethical and honest marketing strategy. In this article we will look at other misconceptions therapists often hold which prevent them from making informed, intelligent decisions about marketing their work and their practice. Marketing is not Advertising Many therapists believe that marketing is the same thing as advertising. Advertising is what the telemarketers and email spammers are doing. It is a way of selling a specific message about a specific product or service. Advertising is a way of announcing or praising a product or service in some public forum that induces people to buy or use it. Marketing is not about trying to sell something. It is a method for anticipating and identifying the needs of your clients and community, finding a way to meet those needs, and being able to effectively communicate this to clients, potential employers, colleagues, other professionals in the community. Most therapists agree that they need to generate referrals, but how can you get referrals if you aren’t able to describe what services you provide in an effective manner? This is the heart of a good marketing strategy. Professional Organizations support Marketing Many therapists believe that professional organizations governing therapeutic practice prohibit or condemn the marketing of therapy services. This is simply not true. In fact, most of the professional organizations have marketing departments themselves. They only require that marketing be done in an honest and ethical manner. Competency Marketing is not typically a class taught in any master’s or doctorate program of psychology. Therefore, the majority of us have no training in how to properly develop a marketing strategy and the process may feel rather clumsy at first. As with any skill, acquiring the necessary knowledge and practicing what we learn will lead to eventual competence and feeling more comfortable with our marketing skills. “I’m a therapist, not a business person” Why can’t you be both? Or do you think there is something inherently contradictory in the two? Some therapists have very negative views of business people. It’s important to examine ours. We may have become a therapist in order to help people, but unless we are able to reach those people and let them know of the healing skills we possess, we cannot help them. Learning to reconcile the desire to help others with the need to earn a living can be one of the biggest challenges therapists face. Examining our beliefs in this area can be critical. Ethics and Marketing Many therapists harbor ethical misconceptions about marketing that prevent them from developing a marketing strategy. These are less concrete misconceptions than the issues addressed above, but can be even more deeply embedded and therefore more difficult to address. This is most commonly seen in therapists’ attitudes about setting fees. “I don’t know how to assign a dollar figure to what I do.” Therapeutic benefits are different for each person. How do you determine what your services are worth to different people? Again, you have to look at the knowledge you bring to the treatment. It also helps to talk to other therapists in your area and find out what they are charging. Think about how much you put into a session. Also consider the paperwork required before and after the session. Consider your overhead; are you paying for an office space, a receptionist, an accountant? Questions to consider: How do I feel about putting a price on my services? “I can’t charge more than my colleagues.” There is a common misconception that you have to charge the same fees as your colleagues. However, this is often inaccurate. Clients will pay reasonable fees if they are truly invested in doing the work, have found someone they trust to help guide them, and believe this is valuable to them. If you can demonstrate that you are that person, the price won’t be an issue for most people. Many people believe that something which costs more is worth more. Charging higher fees may convey to clients that you are more skilled, have more experienced, or are more highly trained. Many clients want to feel they are hiring the best and finding a therapist who charges the same fees as the “best” in the field communicates that you are in that category. This is where it becomes important to evaluate what you believe your services are worth and set a price that reflects that value. Are you uncomfortable with this idea? Does it feel elitist? Are you afraid this will block some clients from getting necessary therapy? It’s important to be aware of thoughts and feelings which come up as you read through these sections and process them. But then you already knew that, didn’t you? Questions to consider: How do I feel about colleagues who charge more than I do? How do I feel about colleagues who charge less than I do? “My clients can’t afford high fees.” This may be true for some clients and you may want to make a certain percentage of your practice pro bono work, as recommended by most licensing boards. In my experience, most clients are not totally destitute, but fall somewhere in the middle. They have income, but it’s limited. I then look at what they spend their money on. If they are spending $3.00 on Starbuck’s coffee a few times every day, eating out on a regular basis, buying things on Ebay they don’t really need, traveling, etc. Much of this type of spending is to make them feel better. I have to question whether they are truly unable to afford therapy. If they are spending money on alcohol or drugs I seriously question their inability to pay for therapy. Sometimes it is a matter of what they value. Forcing them to make choices of healthy self-care over unhealthy self-care methods can be therapeutic. Claiming to be unable to pay for therapy may also be an excuse to avoid doing the work. People invest in what they value. They will piddle away huge amounts of money shopping and eating to change their moods. They will spend large amounts of money on hobbies, which may or may not be therapeutic, depending on the hobby. Why is it that therapists are afraid to ask them to spend the same amount of money on healing themselves? I have worked with clients who earn a higher salary than I do, but who claim they can’t afford therapy. If I can afford therapy, so can they. I have also worked with clients who truly were having a financial hardship but found ways of earning the money to pay for therapy, but it was that important to them. In many ways, the people who have to work so hard to pay for it get much more out of it, because they value it that much more and therefore work that much harder. Another consideration might be your marketing. If you are consistently attracting people who can’t afford your services you may need to look at your marketing strategy. If you continuously find that your potential clients are telling you they can't afford your fees you might want to think about how you are articulating the value you provide. I’ve seen therapists who draw clients to them who are unwilling to pay and unwilling to do the work, much like women who consistently draw alcoholic men to them. If this is the case you might want to check the message you are sending out. Questions to consider: How do I feel about clients who can’t afford therapy? How do I feel about clients who can afford to pay full fees for therapy? How do I feel about offering pro bono services to some clients? “I love doing therapy. I’m not in it to get rich.” Does this mean you shouldn’t get paid at all? If so, this is a good example of an all-or-nothing cognitive distortion. Are the only alternatives: 1) you not make enough money to live on or 2) you become independently wealthy from doing therapy? How about making enough money to live comfortably? Many therapists have the belief that they are doing a service to humanity and therefore it should be free. Doctors and nurses perform a service for humanity, but still expect to get paid for it. It’s interesting that this line of thinking is often seen in the healing professions in general; massage therapists, acupuncturists, etc. Perhaps it is more difficult to put a dollar value on a service than if you were providing a product. But think about a doctor. Are you paying him for the pills he prescribes, the stitches he administers, the bandage he applies? No. You are paying him for his knowledge, the expertise and skills which enable him to be able to diagnose the problem and to know which medication or procedure to apply. The same is true of your hairdresser. You do not pay her for the bottle of hair color she applies or the perm solution she uses. You pay her for the knowledge with which she applies them. Yet your hairdresser has no trouble charging you what she feels she is worth. Why are therapists different? Isn’t the service we provide even more valuable than a hairdresser’s? Therapists may also harbor the misconception that therapy can’t be done honorably or ethically if you profit from it. I don’t know the origins of this idea, but it is quite common. It’s important to examine your beliefs about what it means to you to be “successful” as a therapist. Many therapists seem to have the idea that therapy is more valuable if it is free. I have provided therapy in a community mental health clinic and a non-profit organization. Even therapy provided “free” for indigent clients is not “free”. It is grant funded and the therapists providing services are getting paid salaries and provided health benefits. Even therapy provided by therapists doing pro bono work in their private practice is not “free”. The therapist has to maintain the office space, pay insurance, licensing, and CEU fees, etc. So the “free” therapy they are providing is partially funded by the clients who pay full fees. I really encourage you to examine your beliefs about “free” therapy. Questions to consider: How do I feel about colleagues who are successful in their private practices? How do I feel about putting a value on a service? How do you feel about profiting from doing therapy? How do I feel about clinicians who profit from doing therapy? “The field is flooded with counselors/therapists/social workers. If I charge too much, I’ll price myself out of clients.” Granted, the field is flooded with therapists. This is true. But they are not all providing the same services or asking the same fees. So which therapists are you afraid to price yourself above, the successful ones or the unsuccessful ones? Healthy competition can be a good thing. It means there is a lot happening in the field and therefore a lot of public awareness is being generated, which will eventually mean more clients for everyone. However, in a competitive climate, it becomes even more important to identify a need in the therapeutic community which is not being met and have a well-articulated message which effectively communicates how your services fill that need. With a large number of practitioners working, referrals should not be a problem for a therapist filling a niche who is able to effectively communicate that to his or her colleagues. In a high volume climate, it is also possible that many clinicians who are getting paid what they are worth have now generated more referrals than they can handle. Their success demonstrates the efficacy of a good marketing strategy. By utilizing your own you could make yourself available for their extra referrals. The more unique and capable your services are, the more they will stand out. The more adept you are at communicating their value to potential clients and other practitioners the higher the likelihood that you will be able to get paid what you are worth. Questions to consider: How do I feel about my ability to compete with other therapists? How do I feel about my skills compared to other therapists? How do I feel about pricing my services in the same range as other successful therapists? “I’m not a salesperson. I can’t “market” myself.” This may be absolutely true. But that doesn’t mean you can’t learn. But first, let’s look at what you think “marketing yourself” means. If you think it means presenting some slick, high-pressure presentation, think again. It’s important to differentiate between “sales” and “marketing”. When I think of sales I think of pushing a product. Marketing is totally different. Marketing is a matter of determining the value of the service you provide then effectively communicating that value to people who would benefit from the service. That does not mean mass marketing or advertising. It’s a matter of creating a reputation for yourself in the therapeutic community and the community which you wish to serve. It is not a hyped-up presentation either. It has to be an honest representation of your skills, abilities and experience. Sometimes the problem is not that you can’t market what you do, but that you’re not clear what you do. Part of developing a successful marketing strategy is taking the time to determine where your strengths lie. We’ll discuss this more in the “Marketing: Developing your Strategy” section and provide some specific questions to help guide you. Questions to consider: How do I feel about talking to people about what I do? How do I feel about colleagues who market their services? To be able to successfully market your private practice, you need to examine your beliefs and correct any distortions you have about marketing. This will help eliminate the barriers that stand between you and a thriving private practice.
Contact Us * * Home Page