Opening Your Own Practice? Here’s What You Need to Know

Opening your own practice can be an exciting opportunity, but it’s also a lot of work and responsibility. Before you can break out on your own, there are a few steps you should take in starting your own practice.

1. Think of it as a business. When you open your own practice, you must make the transition from mental health professional to entrepreneur. As the owner of your own business, you will be responsible for a lot more than just the service you provide. From managing employees to making sure your professional liability insurance policy is up to date, you are responsible for the details, both big and small.
2. Find a location. Securing an office space is essential to developing your own practice. From leasing a space or subletting from a medical professional to working from home, having your own space is important.
3. Increase client base. The easiest way to do this is to begin by offering a 2-3 hour seminar on a particular topic. This is followed by a 6-8 week class on the same subject. Finally, at the completion of the course, individuals will make appointments to reserve time for private sessions.
4. Marketing. From marketing the initial seminar to marketing your individual services, you have to promote your business so people know what you have to offer.
5. Conduct your practice in a professional and profitable manner. From managing your money wisely to how you interact with your clients, everything you do must be above reproach. But regardless of how careful you may be, someday you could face allegations of malpractice or improper care. The only way to protect your practice and your license is to be sure to purchase professional liability insurance for mental health providers. Due to the sensitive nature of the work you do, liability insurance for therapists is a necessity. If you incorporate, you will need to upgrade your individual policy to a group or corporate policy to adequately protect your business entity.

Starting your own practice can be immensely rewarding, but it takes a lot of hard work, time, and energy to get things going. Knowing what you’re getting yourself and following the proper steps will guarantee success.