Differentiating your Practice

Video Transcription

[MUSIC PLAYING] Welcome back. This lesson, we'll discuss establishing, maintaining, and increasing a competitive edge. So here are the specifics that we'll cover-- specialization, important knowledge areas, increasing expertise.

In private practice, you have freedom to pick your specialization. Having a specialization is one good way to differentiate your practice from another. Counselors who work in niche markets are likely to create a competitive edge quicker than those who do not. Many clients who seek help do a targeted search based on their specific problems and needs. Thus, being sure to advertise yourself in specific specialization domains is useful for gaining clientele.

In addition to choosing a specialization, a counselor may want to complete some market research by surveying local doctors, community agency staff, inpatient treatment staff, local nonprofit organization staff, and clergy to determine their perspectives on needs in the community. You could consider training or further specialization to better support and meet community needs.

It is not possible to be an expert in all domains, but it is critical to attain up-to-date knowledge in aspects of medication management, depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. Note that it's important to have knowledge of these areas because these problems tend to be primary domains for which clients seek help. Even when other problems do exist, many times anxiety and depression may co-occur with other issues. Substance use and abuse also tend to co-occur with other problems. And substances may be used to help cope with a client's problems.

Although counselors cannot prescribe medication, it is within our scope to review and discuss client progress or decline for medications. And this is expected from prescribing doctors, as well. It's within our scope, as well, to refer the client back to their doctor for medication adjustments.

You'll need to become familiar with mental health medications, as well as several families of drugs and behaviors that have an impact on mood and health, including-- blood pressure medications-- for example, this could affect symptoms of depression; smoking-- for example, this could impact sexual dysfunction; alcohol, which could affect sleep. With the legalization of recreational marijuana in many states, this, too, could impact a client's mood and health.

A counselor can increase expertise in a specialization or in the common problems seen in counseling through continuing education. There are several free online sources that require only an internet search. Several insurance companies offer free online CEUs to their providers as a benefit of being credentialed with the insurance company. You can call a pharmaceutical company that has meds in your specialization and request that a rep meet with you and provide pamphlets, education, et cetera. Another way to gain expertise is to obtain certification training, such as addictions, art therapy, play therapy, sex therapy, or couples therapy. Insurance companies sometimes are seeking individuals with specializations in domains such as hypnotherapy, EMDR, addictions, faith-based counseling, certified EAP professionals, or online or phone counseling.

Now these type of specializations are one way to get on an insurance panel even when the panel is closed. So I was able to gain access to a very large and very closed insurance panel simply because I had a specific expertise in a very niche area. Other options for ongoing education and training include-- college courses, paid CEUs, and professional conferences.

It's important for you to determine if your state requires any mandated education for renewal of license. Note that sex trafficking, AIDS/HIV, domestic violence, ethics, and supervision are common examples of courses needed for re-licensure. There are professional benefits such as increased expertise, as well, as the ability to change directions in your work if you're getting bored and burned out with the same demographic. Personal benefits such as knowledge and increased self-awareness and personal growth in continuing education exist, as well. I love continuing education because it stretches me, and it grows me in this field because it always is a benefit, personally.

The more that I learn about relationships, emotions, perceptions, choices, behaviors, the more I'm better understand the world around me and how it functions, as well as a better understanding of my place in it. This is one of the many reasons that I absolutely love what I do. And I hope that you'll find the same benefits, as well. This is one of the very unique fields that is so beautifully joins together the personal and professional and yields a better life. How freaking cool is that?

So here's what we covered in this lesson-- first, specialization; next, important knowledge areas; last, increasing expertise.

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