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What can you do before you bring on new interns so that they’re fully supported? What does a solo practitioner need to know or do before hiring an intern? Why should you speak to interns about the values and mission of your practice?
In this podcast episode, Andrew Burdette speaks about incorporating interns in private practice with Leah Riddell.
Podcast Sponsor: Practice of the Practice
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Meet Leah Riddell
Leah Riddell is the co-founder of TLC and owner of Origins Counseling and Wellness. She is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor with a deep understanding of therapists’ challenges, and is dedicated to providing practical solutions and a supportive community. Her passion for supporting therapists and her professional expertise fuels her commitment to empowering therapists to become more effective, successful, and balanced in their professional lives.
Leah provides coaching services related to group practice building, switching from the 1099 to the W2 model, incorporating interns into your private or group practice, and general practice startup advice.
Visit Therapist Learning Center and Origins Counseling and Wellness.
In This Podcast
- Supporting new interns
- Advice for solo practitioners
- Bring in your values
Supporting new interns
You can take supervision training, like a few CE courses beforehand, so that you are more fully prepared. Additionally, you can even have some consultations with other people who are experienced in working with interns.
Do you have three to five hours to spend with this student every week? That is unpaid! That is your donated time. Do you have the finances to support students? (Leah Riddell)
There are different ways for you to go about setting up a system to support new interns, but you have to be aware that this is an investment and a commitment. You will be spending time, effort, and money to make it work. It can work very well!
But you do need to be prepared to be a teacher and be available for new students who are going to be seeking your guidance and advice.
Like I said, I love teaching and I love managing, that brings me joy which I guess is a good sign for being a group practice owner! But it’s something I wanted to expand … and it’s a good team teaching opportunity and learning opportunity for my employees. (Leah Riddell)
Advice for solo practitioners
Leah recommends that solo practitioners start first with practicum students. If someone needs 240 direct hours in a 15-week semester, that’s easily 16 to 20 one-on-one sessions with clients every week – that’s a whole caseload!
So, you can start to identify how many clients you can have ready to go to fill up your intern’s schedules.
I recommend [that] you start easy, if you can … Start with a practicum student because those … 40 direct hours that you need over 15 weeks is three clients a week, and it’s pretty easy to find three clients who want some reduced fee therapy! (Leah Riddell)
However, check with your board and your state before you hire an intern since there are different laws and regulations that you need to follow about whether or not you can charge fees for your interns.
Bring in your values
As with hiring staff or clinicians, with your interns, you need to be interviewing them thoroughly not just regarding their passions or experience, but also by keeping in mind the values of the practice and seeing if they align with them.
Like anything else, don’t hire and bring on someone who you don’t think is the right fit, or who doesn’t show genuine interest, since this may make it difficult to create a productive or peaceful environment.
We want to make sure that you’re interviewing the students as well because if a student wants to work with children, and you’re an adult-only practice, they might not have the best time … So I think it’s really important that the students that you interview and accept into your program also align with the values that you have as a practice. (Leah Riddell)
Books mentioned in this episode:
Kathy Swan, John K. Lee, S.G. Grant – Inquiry Design Model: Building Inquiries in Social Studies
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- What’s your phase of practice? Click here to get full access, totally free!
- Visit Therapist Learning Center and Origins Counseling and Wellness.
Check out these additional resources:
- Group Practice Boss: www.practiceofthepractice.com/grouppracticeboss $149 a month
Meet Andrew Burdette
Andrew founded Mindful Counseling PLLC in Asheville, NC shortly after completing his graduate program in clinical mental health counseling. At the start of the pandemic, he pivoted to an online solo practice, and in 2022, began to grow a group practice. He most enjoys helping clients and colleagues identify what ignites their passions and assisting them in creating a life rooted in authenticity. Andrew approaches his business development with alignment in mind and enjoys the integration process connecting the many puzzle pieces and systems required to run a successful practice.
Visit Andrew’s website and Apply to work with him.
Email him at [email protected]
