u/DrJocelyn1

I feel a lot of young people today see mental health as an important part of self care and not some luxury like other generations. And I say this because I deal with a lot of young clients and I see the way they perceive therapy and mental health problems.

Huge credit for this obviously goes to the social media. Although I am not fond of the biases they come in with.

Nonetheless, my read of this change is that the future of mental health is very bright. People will be more likely to seek therapy and also less likely to cut down on therapy expenses in times of economic problems or even in general.

If there is one thing I have learnt about dealing with insurance cos., it is just just do the Paperwork properly.

Clawbacks, audits, non-payments, etc have nothing to do your skills. Trust me. You might be following the best plan but if your notes do not explain why the plan is needed, you are more likely to fail audits than pass them. You codes should in place, no clerical errors, ec etc.

To be honest, its very simple from the way I see it - payer companies have rules and you just need to make sure you follow them for a good practice which includes proper documentation, accurate billing structures, etc etc.

One thing I used to do very sincerely was reading the provider manuals by insurance companies. Nowadays, you can just use chatgpt but I would suggest you to read it atleast once. Chatgpt might be great for answering questions but not for an overall plan (I have tried it).

Once you understand that, then all you need do is to make sure all your paperwork align with contract language.

Hope it helps someone!

I was talking to a colleague today and he mentioned that 3 out of 10 claims in mental health are denied by insurance cos. Which sounded kind of unreal to me because I dont remember the last time I had a denial. So, I am just curious - what are the reasons for such denial? Admin issue like wrong entries dont count.

Hey everyone, I posted a short message last week, promoting starting of a private practice, hoping to motivate whoever reads it to start private practice or to just not give up. I just wrote it because I felt like doing it. Not thinking much of it. But the amount of love (& DMs) I got in last 7-8 days since the post has been immense. I was not expecting that at all. I was actually away from Reddit for a few days.

But, reading that, and seeing the response I feel I have more to offer. So one other thing I would like to say is - if you are starting a practice, use technology to its maximum potential. It is not an easy journey, and you should use every tool available at your disposal to make your life easier.

1. Get an EHR. Managing spreadsheets looks cheap and stuff but its actually painful as you scale. Notes, scheduling, telehealth, billing - these days EHRs have so much features that you will easily save 8-10 hours per month. That's like 3-4 extra sessions. Just do it. There are enough options available - Sessions (recently switched to it), Simple Practice, etc.

2. Taxes: This is a big one especially since none of us was taught this in school. But, just use chatgpt and youtube. I almost ask everything to chatgpt about my finances and taxes these days. Use it for every question you wonder about late at night (e.g. what can be termed as business expenses) - You will save so much money on consulting and taxes that you might want to gift me something from it. I accept Amazon vouchers :D

3. Insurance credentialing: If you can invest a little, work with one of these guys Headway, Alma, Rula and close it faster. Insurance is a great way to ramp up practice initially. I am personally a fan of keeping a good mix. If not, then invest in a good website (Wordpress) for marketing to cash patients.

4. AI scribes: This is another life saver if you can get yourself to adopt it. It is such a mental unblock when you know your notes are not piling up. Just spend 2-3 hours to read all the notes and finalise them before you submit. Atleast get your insurance work done on time. I personally use Supanote but I also liked Mentalyc when I was trying. I chose Supanote because of its EHR integrations.

5. Do all your scheduling through links using EHR so that everything about your practice is in sync all the time. That's why my first suggestion was get a good EHR.

6. If you are into creating content for any thing (flyers, social media, etc) - Canva is an absolute must. It has just so many templates to choose from that its crazy. I can make any design in less than an hour.

7. Bookkeeping: Get a separate credit card for all your practice related expenses, and never mix your expenses. Otherwise it gets really frustrating at year end when you have to bifurcate. Categorize monthly, and use an accounting software Quickbooks.

8. Telehealth: Nothing much to say here because you cannot really do this without using technology. Anything that works for you should be fine here. Again, something with EHR integration should be prioritized.

9. Appointment reminder / practice management: I hate when clients miss appointments especially for reasons such as "slipped my mind" so having a system to automatically remind them is actually very useful. I do not have data but I know my missed appointments have reduced a lot over the years. Most EHRs have it from what I know. Atleast Sessions has it.

10. Communication: I don't use a separate tool except my EHR. I dont see the need of it but you can try one. But, as long as you keep all the patient related information outside your comm tools, you dont really need one.

In case I have missed anything, please do remind me. But, the idea I want to put across is that you are not alone, and you dont really need to struggle. There are so many good tools available today which can make your so much easier - all the client wants is a great therapist.

I know what you're thinking which is ofcourse the most scary bit. The clients won't come. How will you manage your expenses and lifestyle for a year without clients.

Here's what nobody tells you: the first 6 months are the grind - more or less.

That's it. That's the whole secret. There's no clever shortcut.

You hustle for referrals. You network. Meet new people. Attend events. Mail every school counselor, every office HR within your city. Network with therapists who are full and ask them to send you the overflow. Say yes more than you say no.

And trust me, slowly and gradually, it will start building by month 7 and by year 2 it will start compounding. Your existing clients will start referring folks. People (HR, therapists, etc) in the community will remember you and will start sending clients.

That's when the real magic happens. You start saying no more than than you say yes. The flexibility kicks in. You choose the days, you choose the hours. Stuff I still do this for even today.

Solo and group both are nice in their own ways. Go solo if you like control and quiet. But, if accounting, billing, etc is something you want to avoid - just go group. Share the overheads.

I don't want to say anything bad about any line of work. Everything is good but for me, I value my freedom.

Put in the 6 months. Build the caseload. Then watch what happens.

My caseload was shrinking late last year and thats when I joined Reddit, made a blog, updated my PT profile. And it is starting to show results. Also, I am enjoying this new phase of building practice. I can't imagine ever going back.

If you ever need help or want to brainstorm, DM me (although, I am sure there are better folks on this group) or post here.

I will go first: Understand how taxes work. applicable for everyone!

P.s. I want to create sort of a great thread for anyone who thinks of going solo and searches for this question (which I hope /assume they do).

Thank you everyone for your contribution! Posted on r/therapistsinPractice

My post was deleted because it was about AI, and I was told to post on the megathread:

"General Al discussions, personal experiences with Al tools, client use of Al, and news articles should be posted in the Al Megathread instead."

How do I find this so I can post my question? TIA

Just curious, about how others manage it. I have used a second phone for the last 12 years.

But, I read a reddit thread today and just wondering if HIPAA compliance is a big worry here even if nothing related to therapy is being shared on texts or calls?

Link to post: https://www.reddit.com/r/psychotherapists/comments/1s3ifww/private_practice_folks_what_are_you_using_for/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

I own a PP and I've been getting emails in the name of current and former contractors, stating that they have a new bank account and are requesting their direct deposits go there. I knew it was a scam (since we don't do direct deposits). I've been receiving repeated emails under two different contractors. Be aware. Beware.
(Had to do a 'self care' flair...couldn't find one that seemed more appropriate)