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Many therapists working on a 1:1 basis or with couples, find themselves constantly challenged by the peaks and flows of running a sustainable practice rsspect.org They find it hard to sustain a regular flow of clients they want to work with and their attention is drawn away from the work they love to concerns about whether it is viable to continue ambafrance-kwt.org This drains their creativity and makes them less valuable to their clients bruceonbass.com Their chief concerns are how to attract and retain the type of clients that match their skill base and stretch their skills and own desires for professional development. Why do many – if not most – therapists struggle with the basics of easily attracting therapy clients into their practice? This is even more bewildering since all around they see examples of unhappiness and challenges by people who talk of seeking a skilled therapist with whom to work bubblewonder.com How can therapists and clients literally ‘get together’? The problem is broadly two-fold call2avoidforeclosure.com The first lies within the therapist who harbors myths, beliefs and expectations of how therapists should behave and what is appropriate in terms of running a practice cdnoblehomes.com The second follows on from the first and points to the outdated methods they use to attract their clients. Therapists (like any other human beings) are influenced by social and cultural myths of what is appropriate charmingdallashomes.com For the therapist, these are strongly influenced by their professional training and invariably therapists – particularly psychologists, psychotherapists and counselors – believe that somehow it is wrong to take a business approach to their client work. They often believe that the rules of marketing, selling or revealing information about themselves to their potential clients, is somehow wrong. Many believe it interferes with the therapeutic process. Unfortunately for many therapists, if these views are so entrenched and they resist seeing their practice as having business aspects, they will find themselves unable to continue. The clients simply won’t find them or will find other therapists with whom they feel more aligned. The second challenge therapists face lies in the methods they use to attract clients. Traditional methods include brochures, referral lists, word of mouth or relationships with referring GP’s. The information they provide those sources are often shopping lists of the ailments they believe their clients suffer from e.g. anxiety, depression, low self-esteem. Cursory information is given on themselves other than contact details, professional qualifications or the modality within which they practice. The reasons given for such paucity of information is that it interferes with the therapeutic process. If you want to run a successful and sustainable practice, you must realize that today’s clients are changing. Whilst their psychological and social challenges may be similar or even greater, the ways in which they navigate the social world are different. The Internet has empowered people to extend their choices in all areas, not least how they seek help to overcome their difficulties. No longer are many clients content with seeking their GP’s advice or limiting their search to the Yellow Pages. Today they search extensively to find a therapist with whom they believe they can work. Not only do you need an online presence, you also need to project more about yourself to the world since the would-be client is looking for someone with whom they feel comfortable to share their challenges. The shopping list of ailments is often rejected by clients who seek a more personalized relationship with someone they believe will be able to empathize with their predicament. Therapists who are comfortable in providing a little more information about how they work, their philosophy and their values, will be rewarded with more clients who are the most likely to benefit form their interventions.
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