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Do you and some of your colleagues interested in creating a group that’s beneficial to your practices as well as your skillsets as therapists? Would you create a membership community? How can you take what you already have and build from it?
In this podcast episode, LaToya Smith speaks about membership communities with Dr. Mēgan Pickens.
Podcast Sponsor: Blueprint
Providing great therapy day after day can be challenging – even for the best of us!
At Blueprint, they believe that nothing should get in the way of you doing your best work, which is why they created a platform that provides therapists with an array of clinical tools – things like therapy worksheets, intervention ideas, and digital assessments – that are designed to help you and your clients can stay connected and confident throughout the care journey. Even better, Blueprint helps streamline your documentation so that you can spend less time on your notes and more time on the things that matter.
To learn more and request a free 30-day trial, visit blueprint-health.com
Meet Dr. Mēgan Pickens
Dr. Mēgan Pickens is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor with nearly 20 years of clinical experience. She provides supervision and training for counseling students and associates new to the field (about LPC Supervision).
Dr. Mēgan was once a High Achieving Black Woman (HABW™) who struggled with setting boundaries in all of her relationships. During a ten-year troubled relationship, she learned that the more you accept and allow people to take what they want, the more they will continue to take. She worked in the counseling field for several years before realizing that she had a calling to help other HABW™, specifically black women who have been socialized to believe that the only normalcy is not having healthy boundaries.
Visit The Volition Collective and connect on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
In This Podcast
- The MBHPN
- How to start a membership community
- Create a variety of offerings
The MBHPN
The Multicultural Behavioral Health Provider Network is an organization made up of therapists.
Dr. Pickens created a group of therapists with her supervisor – and later mentor – to facilitate and create a space where black mental health providers could connect.
As the organization began to evolve, they could start providing CEUs.
MBHPN right now is a membership group. We have a private network, [and] I still answer questions [personally].
Dr. Pickens
MBHPN hosts talks, continuing education, supervision, peer revision, and much more. It’s a community of black mental health providers where people can learn from and support one another in their private practice journeys.
How to start a membership community
At a foundational level, you can just start it! Meet with people and start collaborating. Dig into your existing network, see where you can create a network, plan a day and a time, and invite them to join with any questions or ideas to dive into.
Therapy can be very isolating, especially if you’re an individual practice, and I think even more so for group practice owners because you’re the boss, so there’s a layer between you and the employees in a sense … so, I would say, just start it!
Dr. Pickens
If you don’t yet have a following, think twice about charging a joining fee. Build up a base and a name first before charging people to join, otherwise, it might be difficult to get people in the door.
Create a variety of offerings
Once your community starts building a following and your attendees are committed enough to invest in it, consider offering a variety of different choices that they can choose from.
Have free events or meetings available, and then events or speakers too.
We have the regular monthly events and then … bonus events … so if you’re a member of MBHPN you can get that for free as part of your membership.
Dr. Pickens
If your membership is well-structured and well-resourced, it could be cheaper than other CEU programs that your attendees might be considering.
A membership community of therapists is not only then a place for networking and support, but also more affordable continual education and skill development.
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- To learn more and request a free 30-day trial, visit blueprint-health.com
- Visit The Volition Collective and connect on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Check out these additional resources:
- Scale Your Practice with Speaking Engagements with Dr. Laura Louis | GP 168
- Practice of the Practice Network
- Group Practice Launch
- Group Practice Boss: www.practiceofthepractice.com/grouppracticeboss $149 a month
- PoP Group Practice Owners Facebook Group
- Free resources to help you start, grow, and scale
- Work with us
- Practice of the Practice Network
Meet LaToya Smith
LaToya is a consultant with Practice of the Practice and the owner of LCS Counseling and Consulting Agency in Fortworth Texas. She firmly believes that people don’t have to remain stuck in their pain or the place they became wounded. In addition to this, LaToya encourages her clients to be active in their treatment and work towards their desired outcomes.
She has also launched Strong Witness which is a platform designed to connect, transform, and heal communities through the power of storytelling.
Visit LaToya’s website. Connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, Strong Witness Instagram, and Twitter.
Email her at [email protected]
