Tasky Checklist 2021 Revamp

1 A Tasky , CONFIDENCE-BOOSTING Checklist ! FOR BEFORE YOU SEE YOUR FIRST PRIVATE PRACTICE CLIENT CAN I JUST STARTWITH A QUICK PEPTALK? Therapists are inherently goodentrepreneurs. We are trained tocope with the emotions thatoften sideline business hold pain for a living; we seeresilience every day; we connecteasily & deeply. We entered thisfield because we care intenselyabout people, which makes usnaturals with customer training requires clinicalsupervision, so we know how toadmit our ignorance & ask forhelp from someone who knowswhat we need. We already have what it takes todo this - we just need direction. PROPERLY LICENSEDBEFORE YOU SEE ACLIENT(IN ROUGH ORDER) GET (OR FIND) YOUR NATIONAL PROVIDER NUMBER (NPI) IF YOU'RE IN THE GET MALPRACTICE INSURANCE GET AN EMPLOYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (EIN) IF YOU WANT TO TAKE INSURANCE, START THAT PROCESS ASAP HAVE AN OFFICE WITH FOUR WALLS (IF YOU'RE MEETING IN PERSON) HAVE TWO CHAIRS IN THE OFFICE, A CLOCK, & CURTAINS IF NECESSARY FORPRIVACY GET A BUSINESS LICENSE IF YOUR STATE/CITY REQUIRES ONE DECIDE ON WHAT PHONE NUMBER YOU RE GOING TO USE HAVE AN EMAIL PLAN HAVE THIS NECESSARY PAPERWORK.

2 INFORMED CONSENT FINANCIAL AGREEMENT HIPAA STATEMENT RELEASE OF INFORMATION (ROI) SUPERBILL INTAKE PAPERWORK WRITTEN PRACTICE POLICIES CREATE AN ASSESSMENT FORM TO COMPLETE DURING SESSION HAVE A WAY TO KEEP TRACK OF MONEY HAVE A DOCUMENTED PLAN IN CASE YOU HAVE A HIPAA BREACH HAVE A TELEPHONE SPIEL WRITTEN OUT HAVE A TRANSITION PLAN IN PLACE MAINTAIN HOPE, CONFIDENCE AND BELIEF IN YOURSELF OPEN A BUSINESS BANK ACCOUNTSTART PAPERWORK TO BECOME AN S-CORPORATION DECIDE ON A PRACTICE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM DECIDE ON A CREDIT CARD PROCESSORCHOOSE YOUR BUSINESS CARDSBUILD A WEBSITEBEFORE YOU SEE A CLIENTIN AN IDEAL (THESE CAN WAIT A BIT) ESTABLISH A SLIDING SCALE PLAN NOW THE EXPLANATION/RESOURCE PAGESFOLLOW.

3 FOR MORE TIPS TO HELP YOUPREPARE FOR YOUR FIRST CLIENTS, CHECKOUT THE LAST PAGES. EXPLANATIONS &RESOURCES The Whys & the Hows It may seem obvious, but just in case there s aaaaany question, I want to be clear. Insome states you can do therapy as soon as you have your associate license (LMSW, LPCA, LMFTA, LMHCA, etc). In others, you have to have your associate licensefor two years before you can have a private practice & you have to be in regularsupervision while you do it. Some fully licensed folks aren t legally allowed to have aprivate practice. What?! If your state offers a LCSW AND a LICSW, make sure you getthat LICSW, otherwise you probably aren t compliant.

4 No matter what, check with yourstate board. Be properly licensed This may sound weird, but first, see if you already have an NPI by clicking here. Searchany other last name you ve gone by just in case. If you ve ever taken insurance, youragency may have applied for an NPI on your behalf. That sucker is yours for life, at leastif you remain a sole proprietor. If you aren t showing up on the search, you can applyfor one here by creating a new account here. It s free. NPI Make sure it covers you if your business is a corporation, which we re going to talkabout in a minute. Some of the companies marketing to therapists don t covercorporations but are appropriate for sole proprietors.

5 I like American Professionalbecause they cover corporations, various levels of various licensures, & their rates arepretty low. You ll want at least $1,000,000/$3,000,000 coverage no matter whatcompany you go with. Get malpractice insurance EXPLANATIONS &RESOURCES The Whys & the Hows Just click here. It s free, it s fast, & it ll save you from handing your social securitynumber over to your clients (who may be incredibly ethical people, but also may not). Get an Employer Identification Number (EIN) It takes about 3-4 months. I d put it first but you have to have a license, NPI, EIN, &malpractice insurance to get it. Whether or not to take insurance is a loaded issue.

6 I mpro whatever you want for your practice & help people build whatever makes the mostsense for them. You can get tons of your questions answered to help you sort throughthis & tons of other private practice questions in the free Abundance Practice-BuildersFacebook Group. Also be aware during this process that if you get a letter from the insurance companysaying you are participating or that you ve moved from non-par to par that is NOTthe same as being in-network. If you want to take insurance, start that process ASAP You may take walks with clients, I get that, but there also has to be an option for strictprivacy. I have heard of therapists doing therapy exclusively at Starbucks, I'm not evenkidding.

7 Do not do that. That is not okay for one million reasons. Your office doesn thave to be stylish (you can spruce it up when you are more established,) but it shouldbe private & both information & people should be safe. Have an office with four walls (if you're meeting in person) &RESOURCES The Whys & the Hows That s all you need. This is one of the great excuses for not putting yourself out there toreferral sources. I have a really nicely decorated office that I love, & I can t tell you howmany times someone I ve seen for months has said has that painting (that s huge &above a mantle & 4 feet from them vertically) always been there? Yes, homey orupscale or modernist-chic is awesome in an office, but when you're starting out it s notalways possible.

8 Please remember that some of your clients are the type to not noticethe socks they ve left all over their own homes or the dishes overflowing in their probably won t judge you for your 2 Ikea chairs + thrifted clock, especially if it isthe only place they talk about the things that they can t tell anyone else. I recommend a clock because it s good for both of you. You should definitely not bechecking your cell phone for time. Having a clock visible to both of you keeps you onthe same page. Please, please, please start & end your sessions on time. Don t do 15minutes more because it s really going well when you don t have a client immediatelyafterwards.

9 Boundaries are important. They create safety. A client needs to be able tocount on the agreed upon amount of time. You need to not feel resentful because yourclient now expects 75 minute sessions instead of 50 minute sessions because youtrained them that way. Boundaries are good for everybody. Have 2 chairs in the office, a clock, & curtains if necessaryfor privacyYou can use your cellphone, but be clear on what that means, especially as it relates toyour specific client population. If you re a DBT specialist working with folks with BPD, Iwouldn t recommend it. If most of the clients you work with or plan to work with arehigh functioning & have low crisis risk, it may be cool.

10 You can also go with a workcellphone, an additional line that goes to your cellphone, or an office landline. If you restoring client info in your phone, I d recommend encrypting it. Decide on what phone number you re going to use &RESOURCES The Whys & the Hows A note about Google Voice (a free phone number from Google): I had a practice builderhave the messages meant for her go to a stranger. Use with extreme , when someone leaves a message, Google Voice identifies itself as GoogleVoice, which doesn't really scream "I'm a professional. The truth is, it s hard to find aHIPAA-compliant VoIP (a type of online phone number) that doesn t cost an arm & a leg.