Why Now Is the Best Time to Open a Private Practice
Over the past few years, up until March of 2020, the demand for mental health services in the United States increased steadily. The breakdown of common stigmas previously associated with therapy has often been cited as the likely reason for the demand growth.
While this meaningful change in attitudes surrounding mental health services continued to make strides, the steady increase in demand turned into an unprecedented spike in demand when COVID-19 began to grip the U.S in March. Between unpredictability, fear, isolation, economic uncertainty, and loss of everyday routines, COVID has taken a substantial toll on our mental health.
In April, a poll taken by the Kaiser Family Foundation showed that 45% of all U.S. adults said that the pandemic affected their mental health. Shortly after, Ginger conducted a survey that showed a nearly 50% increase in virtual therapy and psychiatry sessions per week since the beginning of February.
Not only is the demand for mental health services rising now, but researchers are predicting that the pandemic is likely to result in long-lasting emotional trauma and leave millions of people wrestling with debilitating psychological disorders.
The dramatic increase in demand for therapy has yet to subside and continues today. As many private practices find their schedules almost completely full, clinicians are left feeling overwhelmed, and many individuals looking for help cannot find it.
While the idea of opening a private practice during a time where you may be dealing with job loss, assisting children with online learning, or managing any of the other day-to-day challenges that come with a pandemic may seem overwhelming, one thing is certain. There has never been a greater need for your services as a clinician.
If you have been considering opening a practice, we want to tell you that “you can do it!” and now is the perfect time to get started.
Want to Learn More About Getting Started in Private Practice?
Register for our upcoming free webinar: Why Now Is the Best Time To Open a Private Practice (and How to Get Started)
Where to Start
In this blog post, we’re going to provide our top tips for how you can get started opening a private practice, with our end goal being to give you the confidence and strategies needed to succeed.
1. Find Your Niche
By first determining who your ideal client is and what issues they are facing, you’ll be much more successful in creating marketing initiatives and connecting with clients who are the best fit for you. When a client knows you specialize in the exact problem they have, trust is immediately increased, and the potential client’s attraction to your services is enhanced.
During COVID, almost everyone is struggling in some way, no matter which niche you choose. However, it’s important to note that while everyone struggles, they are not all struggling with the same problem. People almost always turn to the internet as their first step in seeking out mental health, and when they do, they are looking for a specialist, not a generalist, to help with their issues.
By finding your niche, you will be able to stand out from the pack, rank higher in online searches, and ultimately help more people.
2. Offer Telehealth (and Advertise It!)
When the effects of COVID-19 began to spread throughout the country at the beginning of this year, private practices everywhere had to quickly shift away from in-office appointments and pivot to Telehealth as their primary method of seeing clients. For clinicians who are just getting started, launching a private practice that is entirely remote removes many entry barriers that exist when renting a physical office space.
When you start a completely remote practice, the process of registering your business, choosing a telehealth platform, and setting up the appropriate paperwork can all be done within a couple of days – no need to secure a lease or buy new furniture!
After you are up and running, marketing your telehealth services on social media, directory listings, and your website is a quick way to attract new clients. To learn more about how to get started with Telehealth, check out our past blog post How to Move Your Practice Entirely Online.
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3. Network With Other Therapists
As mentioned earlier, therapists today are more overwhelmed than ever before and are currently looking for other therapists to refer their overflow clients confidently. This is a huge opportunity that you can take advantage of to help quickly fill out your client list.
Even though in-person meetings are out of the question right now, calling other local therapists and establishing new relationships can boost your referrals. Let your new colleagues know that you are opening a new practice, offering telehealth services, and open to taking any overflow clients they might not have time for right now.
Another great way you can start networking in your community is by joining existing Facebook and LinkedIn Groups or starting your own. These groups are both free and a fantastic way to connect and network with other local therapists who share your area of expertise or with whom you can create a mutually beneficial relationship.
When a client reaches out to someone in your network for a particular service they don’t specialize in, or if someone in your network doesn’t have time to take on a new client, they can refer that client to you.
4. Get Your Website Ready
In this digital age, when almost everything has shifted online, not having a professional online presence can mean life or death for a new practice.
A well-designed website is a powerful way to introduce yourself to prospects and build trust with new clients.
When it comes to building a new website, you will also want to make sure you have a solid SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategy in place. After all, you want your new private practice website to show up on the first page of Google, Bing, Yahoo, or wherever the user is searching.
Every Brighter Vision client receives free SEO services for their website. Still, if you are interested in increasing your online visibility on your own, you can check out our past blog post, The How-To Guide to Powerful SEO for Private Practices, for extra SEO tips and tricks.
Want to see how a Brighter Vision website can help you get more clients?
Contact us today.
We have been helping many therapists just like you become more comfortable in the cyber world with a powerful, affordable web presence. That’s our main focus – to help mental health professionals. Why? So that we can be the best at what we do.
See? Even Brighter Vision knows that the riches are in the niches!
5. Create and Share Original Content
As the demand for mental health services increases, as does the need for mental health resources. With online learning at a peak right now, everyone is at home, looking for new ways to learn. This is an excellent opportunity to create online resources to grow or expand your following and create additional revenue streams to help get your practice off the ground.
Posting new content to your website and social media can help boost your SEO, increase your online visibility. Plus, it’s also a great way to share knowledge with your ideal clients, establish yourself as an expert in the field, and attract more clients.
Looking for a way to automate your content marketing?
Fill out the form below to sign up for a 14-day free trial of our blog & social media automation tool, Social Genie:
If you want to learn more about how you can publish a book, e-course, or online workshop for your private practice, check out our past webinar, Get More Referrals & Increase Revenue: A Guide to Creating & Publishing Your Own Therapy Related Product.
Final Thoughts
Within a very short period of time, this pandemic has undoubtedly transformed the entire mental health industry. Now, more than ever before, people need help. As you’re reading this article, tens of thousands of people are looking for something to assist them through these difficult times.
If you are interested in learning more about how you can take advantage of this huge opportunity and open your own private practice – or if you just want to learn more about why now is the perfect time to open a new practice – please consider registering for our upcoming free webinar: Why Now Is the Best Time to Open a Private Practice (and How to Get Started)
Looking for help with marketing your practice online? That’s what we do better than anyone!
Brighter Vision is the ultimate marketing package for therapists, centered around the best therapist website you’ve ever had.
Fill out the form below to learn more about our team of professionals who can’t wait to help your practice grow like never before 🙂