1st Edition

Mastering the Financial Dimension of Your Psychotherapy Practice The Definitive Resource for Private Practice

By Peter H. Cole, Daisy Anne Reese Copyright 2018
    314 Pages 6 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    314 Pages 6 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Written by two therapists with extensive business experience, Mastering the Financial Dimension of Your Psychotherapy Practice addresses the clinical and financial challenges of establishing and maintaining a successful private practice. This book contains updated content on investing strategies, changes in the insurance marketplace, and trends in the marketing of a psychotherapy practice. The first of five sections explores the life cycle of the modern therapy practice, offering best business and investing practices for each phase. In the second and third sections, the authors consider the emotional dimension in the development of a private practice. The fourth section offers a basic course in financial planning, including an investigation into five common financial mistakes therapists make and various solutions to each situation. The fifth section is designed to offer a road map of actions to take in establishing a financial plan. Concluding the book is an inspirational discussion of how the therapist in private practice can create a career with meaning, fulfillment, personal satisfaction, and solid financial rewards.

    Introduction. Why a Financial Planning Book for Therapists? Section I. The Lifecycle of a Psychotherapy Practice  1. Moving Through the Seasons  2. The Internship Phase: Having a Good Experience While Preparing for Licensure  3. The Launching Phase  4. The Establishing Phase  5. The Prime Phase  6. The Elder Phase  Section II. Psychological and Therapeutic Considerations.  7. Raising Your Money Consciousness: An Important Journey of Individuation  8. The Psychological Dimension  9. Characterological Defenses Around Money Wounds  10. What is Financial Well-Being?  11. The Couple’s Money Dance  12. Complementary Work: Referring to and Working With a Financial Planner  13. Money as a Transference Object in Therapy  Section III. Current Practice Considerations  14. Sustaining Your Prosperous Practice Through Changing Economic Times  15. The Affordable Care Act and Beyond: Making Managed Care Work for You  16. Your Online Presence  17. Utilizing Practice Management Software Systems for Your Office  Section IV. A Therapist’s Money Guide  18. Filling in the Financial Knowledge Gap  19. Five Common Financial Mistakes of Private Practitioners  20. Tax-Advantaged Investing Plans for Self-Employed Psychotherapists  21. A Therapist’s Guide to Fundamental Investing Concepts  22. Securities That Therapists Commonly Invest In  23. Socially Responsible Investing  24. Debt and Credit Issues  25. An Insurance Primer  26. Estate Planning: Financial Planning for After a Death  Section V. Your Money Pages  27. Introduction to a Lifetime Plan for Your Financial Well-Being  28. Financial Worksheets and Process Pages  29. Looking Forward  Addenda  Addendum I. Further Resources  Addendum II. Using QuickBooks® for Your Bookkeeping  Addendum III. Glossary of Financial Terms

    Biography

    Peter H. Cole, LCSW, and Daisy Reese, LCSW, have been teaching and practicing psychotherapy for more than 25 years. Peter is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine and a chartered financial consultant (ChFC®), specializing in work with mental health professionals. Daisy owns a private practice. They are also founders and co-directors of the Sierra Institute for Contemporary Gestalt Therapy, where they continue to train and mentor therapists in Northern California.

    "In this thoughtful and comprehensive guide, Daisy Reese and Peter Cole help psychotherapy practitioners to address ‘what they didn’t teach in graduate school’ about that most sensitive of subjects, money. A truly indispensable guide for practitioners at all levels. Novices will be guided, mid-career professionals will find reassuring counsel, and seasoned practitioners will discover useful strategies and perspectives. Highly recommended."
    Justin B. Hecht, PhD, psychologist and Jungian analyst

    "I could have used this book when I started my private practice years ago! I had no real knowledge of how to manage the financial dimensions of this business and barely recognized that I had a ‘relationship’ to money at all. Peter Cole and Daisy Reese tune into these and other unique concerns of psychotherapy finances from a practical, personal, and clinical perspective. This book brings the reader up to date regarding legal policies, online practices, and investment basics while keeping the goals of psychotherapy in the foreground." 
    Charlie Bowman, MS, LCSW, LMFT, LCAC, president of the Indianapolis Gestalt Institute and past president of the Association for the Advancement of Gestalt Therapy 

    "The authors offer a particularly thought-provoking premise concerning the way a therapist’s psychological issues influence the psychological well-being, or lack thereof, of one’s psychotherapy practice. The chapters extend the groundbreaking ideas of the 2004 book to incorporate thoughtful, thorough, and timely guidance through the ever-shifting, even precarious, economic landscape in which we currently practice. Your psychotherapy practice reference shelf is incomplete without this book!"
    Dale Blunden, PhD, licensed psychologist in private practice, Sacramento, CA