Therapist Roll Call: Can We Peek Inside Your Office, Please?

The physical "space" you work  in says a lot about you. Does your office space appeal to your ideal client? Does it speak about your tastes and preferences? Would you be willing to give other shrinks a tour of your office? Why or why not? Every time a new client comes into my office they comment on my denim couch. It feels cozy and casual, which is how I want my clients to feel when they're in my office. The color scheme of the office decor coincides with our logo and website colors...and that's no accident.

I thought it would be fun to peek into the offices of private practitioners to share ideas and get inspiration. So, if you're willing to let the world (or the readers of this blog) see YOUR office space follow these simple step.

1. Take a brief video tour of your waiting area and office (2 minutes or less). You can do this with your iPhone or camera phone.
2. In the video please introduce yourself and tell us what you love about your office space.
3. Upload your video to your Youtube channel and set it as "unlisted." If you don't have a Youtube channel, it's time you set one up.
4. Title your video "Office Tour: [your practice name]"
5. Email me the video link here. Include in the email your name, location, practice name, website link.

I'll feature different office videos in upcoming blog posts with your practice name and website link (this is a free PR opp for your practice & a good excuse to set up a Youtube channel). You'll also be able to embed this video on your own website so potential clients can see inside your office before they meet with you.

Ready, set, go...

Here's a peek into my therapy office Wasatch Family Therapy. I hired a professional to shoot and edit this. Don't worry - your video doesn't have to have music and slick editing :)

photo credit: The Suss-Man (Mike)

Overcoming Blogophobia (part 2): Quick and Easy Blog Post Ideas

Are you a beginning blogger feeling overwhelmed by the thought of coming up with original content to write about on a regular basis? I have some good news for you! Much of what is posted online is not entirely original content. Braden Talbot posted this insightful comment on my post  5 Tips To Overcoming blogophobia.

Once you understand that 99% (if not 100%) of information [posted on blogs] isn't really new, it’s not so scary.

The new part is your story and your spin and you’d be amazed at how many people are interested to hear it.

Adding your perspective on existing information makes blogging less overwhelming. I'm not talking about plagiarism here. I'm talking about using other people's ideas, books, posts, videos as a springboard to sharing your perspective on a particular topic. Remember, always credit the original author you are citing and provide links to the original work.

Here are some easy blog content ideas and examples to help spark your creativity, help you overcome "blogophobia", and add blogging to your private practice marketing strategy.

1) Share a video

Embed or share a video link that explains or expands on some aspect of your therapy work, your philosophy, or approach. Pick one of your favorite psychology "gurus" and write a brief paragraph about how this model or theory informs your clinical work. Here's a video from a brilliant psychologist who has revolutionized couples therapy that I recently shared on my clinic blog.

What is a healthy marriage? video by Dr. Sue Johnson

2) Bulleted or numbered lists

Give quick nuggets of advice or recommend resources that speak to your ideal client in a bulleted or numbered list. For example -- Top 5 parenting books, 6 ways to survive new parenthood, 5 things never to say to your teen, or 10 tips for managing depression. Here's a great post in this style from PsychCentral's Therese J Borchard.

5 Ways to Silence Your Inner Critic By Therese J. Borchard

3) Summarize relevant research

Watch for new and interesting research studies, summarize the research, and share why it's relevant to your practice. Here's a recent example of a research summary post from PsychCentral News.

Attention Problems Limit School Success By Rick Nauert PhD

4) Q & A

Solicit questions on social media sites, on your website, or make up the question based on commonly asked questions or themes drawn from your clinical practice and provide answers. This fun and informative style provides practical information and tools for potential clients and helps them understand your therapy style and philosophy.

For the past 10 years I've been unhappy By Dr. Marie Hartwell-Walker

6) Current events

Regularly visit a local or national news websites and select a top news story to use as a springboard for your blog post topic. Hurricane Irene could lead to a post on helping your family deal with natural disasters, for example. Here's a recent post by one of my colleagues at Wasatch Family Therapy inspired by the 10th anniversary of 9-11.

How to talk to young children about 9-11 By Clair Mellenthin, LCSW

7) Seasonal topics

Consider the time of year and blog about seasonal topics. If you work with families, back to school time could lead to a post about helping your child with attention problems transition back into a routine. If you work with mood disordered clients you could blog in December about surviving the post holiday let down. You get the idea. Here's an example of one of my blog posts that I posted during spring.

"Emotional" Spring Cleaning by Julie Hanks, LCSW

Now that you have tools to overcome "blogophobia", and some blog post ideas, I want to read them! Feel free to post comments, concerns, questions, and your own blog post links below. Happy blogging.

photo credit: miguelavg