Private practice is great, but not everybody wants to spend their entire day counseling clients. As much as I love providing interventions that change lives, I have never been that guy who wants to see 6-8 clients in a day. However, I don’t mind the profit margins that clinicians enjoy who have the 6-8 client schedule. So if you are a clinician who is looking for additional options to increase profits for your practice I would like to share a few tips. I have used these tips to grow my private practice and I am hoping they can support you.
Try Clinical Supervision
Have you ever experienced the joy of learning about something new and you can’t wait to share it? Maybe it was a buy one get one free special at the grocery store, or maybe you couldn’t wait to tell your best friend about a new restaurant that just opened. In private practice, we are building expertise every single day. Sharing what we have learned in practice can be a rewarding experience.
Providing clinical supervision is a great way to support other clinicians who want to someday do what you do. Clinical supervision can be fun, and it is also financially rewarding. Offering online clinical supervision services has been a huge part of growing my practice. It has allowed me the opportunity to reduce my client load significantly and it accounts for nearly one-third of my gross profits. On average it may take me one to two hours of prep. What is really awesome is that once you start to expand your groups, you can use the exact same template for each group. When things are rolling pretty strong, I can easily average $250 per 1-hour session.
Look Into Starting A Group
I know I just spoke about my supervision groups, but let’s take a moment to think about groups in general. What is your specialty? Is it working with troubled teens, addictions, anger management? Have you ever thought about starting a group for those who have needs within your niche? For example, if you are great with teens, what parent wouldn’t want to learn skills to help them get their troubled teen in line. Well, there’s your parenting group.
Here’s another group ideal. If you work with those who have addictions, have you ever thought about becoming a coach or starting a support group for clients who have addictions? Let’s say for instance that your county is already overly saturated with addictions mental health providers. Why not take the group online and extend your reach to other parts of your state.
Anger management is my niche. I decided to start an anger management group, and just prior to COVID-19 the group grossed me approximately $1000-1200 a month for weekly 1 hour sessions. Groups can bring high-end profits once you connect with partners who serve clients who are court-appointed for services such as anger management, parenting classes, and support with addictions. If you are a trainer or teacher at heart, starting a group within your private practice may be the ticket to growth that you are looking for.
Offer CEU Units
Have you ever had trouble trying to find that ethics CEU that you were looking for? Maybe your license is about to expire THIS MONTH, and it’s time to binge those CEUS before the state starts sending letters. The urgency and high demand for quality CEUS may be a niche to look into. I see advertisements for 1-day training all the time for $200 plus. Could you imagine what you could make in a day if you booked just 10 clients? You’re looking at a $2000 day. Not bad huh? There are so many diverse ways to bring additional income. The more we explore opportunities, the easier it becomes to take action!
Expand Into Group Practice
There is never a bad time to start hiring new clinicians for your practice especially clinicians who are contract workers that assist you as needed. Hiring a new clinician can be helpful for follow up with clients who are outside of your niche or who need services at times you choose not to be in the office (ie: evenings and weekends). Moving from a solo practice into a group practice is an area that I am still trying to build on. I currently have one contract worker who is absolutely awesome. He has supported me with my anger management group, and he also supports me with my anger management clients and domestic violence clients who prefer one on one sessions. There are only so many clients that we can see. Too many groups can be exhausting as well. Sometimes you have to make the decision to outsource. It will save you energy, free up your time, and make you more profits.
It is so exciting to know that there are so many options available for clinicians to diversify their practices. The only way to find out what will work best for you is to choose something that suits your passion, jump in, and then try it. If fear is a factor, remember, there is no need to reinvent the wheel. Try something that you see someone else doing, change it up a bit, and make it happen! You’ll be glad you did it.
Choya Wise, LICSW, PIP is the owner of Aspire Counseling & Consulting Services in Huntsville, Alabama. Choya specializes in relationship counseling and hosts Online Social Work Clinical Supervision Groups in Alabama.
