Private Practice Primer: Get Informed and Inspired

A One-Day Intensive Workshop

Start and Grow your Private Practice - 6 contact hours of learning
Sunday, March 11, 2018
Cold Spring (Hudson Valley)  10:00- 5:00 (1 hour break at 1:00)

Get to work on your business in this brief but rigorous six hour workshop. Many mental health professionals would agree that working in private practice allows for the ideal work situation: professional integrity, freedom, creativity, and the absence of compromise. But fears and practical questions get in the way. This workshop will inspire you to go for it or take your current practice to the next level.  In addition to teaching practical information it is our goal to guide practitioners  to develop ethical and effective strategies for running a successful practice that respects and considers the needs of consumers while helping the counselor reach his/her professional goals    This course is designed for:

• creative arts therapists,
• clinical social workers
• marriage & family therapists
• professional counselors
• psychologists
• nurse practioners
• and other mental health practitioners

This course includes lots of hands-on art making, writing and other interactive and creative activities to enhance learning and make things more fun!

Workshop topics include four 90-minute segments:

1. Planning, Visioning, and Shining a Light on Our Fears
Defining your Professional Mission and Vision is a fundamental step for ANY new business. Do not underestimate the importance of this aspect of your business planning. 
This 90-minute segment will use guided imagery, writing and art directives to help participants develop a professional vision that allows their personal style, interest and skills to shine. And once that is done, we'll use a creative arts exercise to identify the negative thoughts that are creeping in as possible obstacles to your success — so that you can overcome them!

2. Insurance 101 and Billing
Why do insurance companies behave the way they do? It is not as irrational and haphazard as it may sometimes seem. Review Coding and Billing for Reimbursement. 
Get up to date on the new CPT codes. Learn the difference between the ICD-10 and DSM diagnostic codes. Learn how to ethically and responsibly code within the scope of practice rules of your mental health profession. Get a sample invoice, hear some case examples, and a learn a simple step-by-step procedure for filling out claim forms. We will discuss the pros and cons of in-network status, out-of-network claims, and not accepting insurance at all.

3. Branding and Marketing: If No One Knows About You, You Don't Exist 
Attract the clients who need and want your services. How do you differentiate yourself in a market glutted with psychotherapists? This segment will apply proven marketing strategies to the promotion of your business, so that you present yourself ethically and professionally.  Learn about parity products and who your competition really is. Consider how social media can help or hinder your business, especially in terms of boundaries and privacy concerns. Fine tune how you talk about what you do? Practice how to lose the lingo of therapy and meet your listeners where they are.  Learn how to handle initial contact with new clients. (when they ask about insurance and payment, flooding, explaining what you do, “can you help me?” etc). Understand the customer's experience!

4. Nuts and Bolts: Setting fees, incorporating your business, and other practicalities.
We will discuss and answer questions and address practical matters related to running a private practice in New York State. Learn how to collect your fees once they have been set. We'll discuss pros and cons of different payment methods and how they do (or don't) depart from traditional therapeutic practice. Learn about professional licensing, corporate structures, malpractice insurance and other nuts-and-bolts issues. Can I hire limited-permit holders? Should I be a for-profit or a non-profit (501c3)? What is the difference between an LLC, PLLC, PC, S-Corp, etc? Do I need to form a corporation? TIN, EIN, SS? Make sense of all the lingo.

Your instructor
Drena Fagen, LCSW-R, LCAT, ATR-BC is the co-founder and Director of Programs at New York Creative Arts Therapists. She and her partner, Nadia Jenefsky, have managed the growth of their practice since 2005 when they started off sharing a single room in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Their practice now employs eight salaried therapists, in three studio locations, and trains two graduate interns each year. She loves talking about business and how to turn big ideas into reality. Drena has an uncanny ability to talk about boring yet essential topics like insurance and billing with as much humor as is humanly possible. Before she was a therapist and a business owner, Drena worked in advertising in Los Angeles and got to make cool print ads for Star Trek the Next Generation, Fender guitars and Roland synthesizers.

Where is Cold Spring? Cold Spring is located 60-miles North of New York City on the scenic Hudson Line of the Metro North Railroad.  $29 Round Trip train tickets are available at Grand Central Terminal in NYC. Trains leave hourly from GCT on the weekends. The trip takes approximately one hour.  Our art therapy studio is a 20-30 minute walk through the historic village built in the mid 1800's. There are also taxis available at the station.  If you travel by car it's a gorgeous drive up the Pacific Palisades over the Bear Mountain Bridge to Route 9D. We have ample parking.