Five years ago I was having lunch with my father, a psychiatrist of almost 45 years. He was curious to know how I was getting such a full …
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Hi Lisa,
Thank you for an original topic.
I would like to add;
I too struggled with ethics of cyber advertising, but when we live in this forever advancing techno world, I believe it would be naive of us to avoid this wave of opportunity due to generational boundaries and conditioning.
This is the way forward, is it not?
The statement you make about creating a balance;
“…balance between demystifying themselves and remaining in their ethical comfort zone.”
Looking at a photograph of the face of a potential therapist can indeed reduce some anxiety for the patient, as we can all judge a book by its cover…Then why? Do therapists (predominantly in the US) put photographs of them selves much younger, thus, deceiving a patient who must be alarmed when they actually meet face to face?
Regards
Dawn Pugh
Dawn,
I have always been mystified how some professions have frowned on advertising in the past. The fact that PsychCentral.com attracts thousands of viewers looking for help proves that advertising is a wonderful thing. I can see how it can make some folks look like “used-car-salesmen.” As a person who writes, has a great little website, and also uses other forms of media I can only say that the main beneficiaries are my patients. I say, if you have a great product or ability then the world should know about it. I would be selfish to keep my light under a bushel.
Samuel Lopez De Victoria, Ph.D.
http://www.DrSam.tv
I will have my master’s in Addiction Counseling in September of 2010, and would like to know how you go about becoming a therapist on the internet.
Thank you.
Dawn,
Very interesting question you’ve posed about why some therapists put photos up that are significantly outdated. I’ve noticed and wondered the same thing as you. I can’t say that I know it’s a problem that predominantly exists in the U.S. vs other countries – but it certainly exists.
Curious.
Lisa Brookes Kift, MFT
http://MarinTherapyandCounseling.com
Samuel,
I’ve struggled trying to figure out how to reconcile my “therapist hat” with my “business hat.” The two were initially at odds. At the end of the day, I’ve concluded that the two can co-exist peacefully – without feeling like a “used car salesman.”
I am providing the public with mental health and relationship information and education via htt://lisakifttherapy.com – for free (except for my couples therapy workbooks). This is a valuable service and educational tool for those who are looking for information. And – I love doing it! A win-win as far as I’m concerned.
Lisa Brookes Kift, MFT
Lisa – Thanks for raising this issue in such a delightfully readable way. This change brings both new challenges and opportunities.Patients/clients have so much more information about the profession in general and their therapist in particular before they walk through the door. This helps them make better informed choices. You are a wonderful role model for your Dad and others who should:
1. Think carefully about their unique value to current and potential patients
2. Craft their brand and their presence on the internet to reflect this uniqueness while providing value to readers.
3. Relish the opportunity to spread the word about our profession and what we offer because the world certainly needs it.
Warm Regards -
Anne
Lisa,
Great article. I really appreciate the insight on the new balancing act that we face as therapists. I am finding that the comfort zone of visibility varies not only by era but by field of study and prior work experience. As someone who has always worked (since graduation) in a private practice setting I see the value of visibility very differently than colleagues who have their professional roots in hospitals and/or agencies.
Thanks for opening up the discussion.
Anne,
Thank you for your kind words about my piece – and excellent nuggets of advice for other therapists trying to figure out where they fit in this new landscape!
Lisa
Esther,
A “balancing act” indeed. One that will be dictated by the individual’s level of comfort for sure. Thanks for the feedback on my article!
Lisa
Lisa,
First, congratulations on your debut here at PsychCentral!
Like you, I also think often about what is “out there” that potential and current patients read before we meet. (And, like you, I have the vantage point of knowing how it went in the “old days” – my father was a psychologist for 47 years.)
It’s a very different experience, walking into the waiting room to meet a new patient, and (a) they already know what I look like, but not the other way around; (b) they already know my educational history and approach to therapy; and (c) they’ve made a choice to see me, rather than (as in the old days) simply being referred by someone else. It’s a different way to start the therapeutic relationship, for sure.
It’s also a bit unnerving to have had a couple of anonymous “reviews” by patients (former and current) mysteriously appear on the web. I’m glad that so far they’ve been positive, but wonder about the possibility of angry transference going very public.
Finally, I remember when my father, on the Ethics board for the state for 35+ years, was part of enforcing the APA’s ethics rule that yellow-pages listings (forget about ads!) could not even appear in bold type. It was considered undue pressure on a vulnerable population.
I look forward to hearing more from you here!
Hi Marsha -
Thank you for the warm welcome to PsychCentral! I’m honored to be a part and look forward to contributing more.
Yes, a flip side to having a “digital footprint” is the potential for “angry transference” or people reviewing us like they do restaurants or hotels.
Might end up a case of “Be careful what you wish for.”
Lisa
nice article….would you mind talking a bit more about this “passive income” idea. as a young therapist just starting out, i realize that i havent met a single other therapist who has just one income stream! so, im always interested in how they set up their multiple streams….
I am glad to have stumbled across this article. I was not getting a therapist from my ‘health care facility’; Six months after they took me on, I still had only a Rx provider and a case manager( I didn’t need one). I finally asked if I could search for an independent therapist, they said yes as well as they are willing to communicate with us. I search the internet for my DX, used the therapist finder to find someone that had a history/ theory of practice outlined. I communicated with her by e-mail a couple of times, then decided to meet. I have been seeing her for almost two years now. The internet gives a security of person that is helpful for doing this type of connection.
I could care less whether my psychotherapist puts his (or her, as the case may be) picture up on the Internet, on his website. But I do think I would start to feel queasy if it felt like he had a full caseload and was spending more time blogging, Twittering, and promoting his practice than he was thinking and studying in his non-session “prep” time about my work as his client, and about the 25 or 30 other people he was seeing.
There is an dictum in college that one should spend three hours of study time for every hour of class time. I don’t think that’s necessarily the rule for a psychotherapist, but maybe thirty-to-forty-five minutes of “prep” per client would make sense. In some situations — where a client presents with something unusual, I could see where that number could easily double or triple.
I would hope my therapist would spend far more time doing professional reading than blogging. I would hope he would be furthering his studies toward a Ph.D. or Psy. D. degree if he hasn’t reached that level yet. I would hope he would be getting some sort of professional certification he doesn’t already hold, or maybe supervising other, newer therapists, instead of blogging or Twittering. I would hope he would be reviewing process notes, or listening to session tapes if he makes them, not just from his current cases, but even from prior clients. I would hope he would be working on treatment plans, whether long term, mid-term, or session-to-session, instead of coming into the room and winging it.
Yes. Marketing is important. But doing the best possible work with one’s clients is far more important, and there are only so many hours in the day to allocate. Priorities, priorities.
TGP,
Yes, if a therapist spends more time with the marketing aspects of their business than considering their case load, client prep, etc – that’s potentially a problem. For me, my first love is really the practice of psychotherapy and client work itself – all of the rest comes second (but happens to be fun for me too). I believe people can do both – and do both well.
Lisa
Lisa,
Your point is well-taken. I believe like you do that some people can do both, and do both well. But I think my point is well-taken, too. If the therapist spends more time thinking about marketing than about what’s best for their case load, that’s a problem.
Just curious: how much preparation time do you do per client, on an average or median basis, per session? I know your answer will be a rough estimate, but I’d love to know, I’d love to hear from the other psychotherapists on this board on this subject as well. It helps demystify the process for us clients!
Finally, I want to say something about Marsha Lucas’ comment above that a client posting a negative evaluation of a therapist online could be the result of “angry transference going very public.” Maybe. But if the posting of positive comments isn’t the result of ‘positive transference going very public,’ but is instead an actual opinion by the client of his/her experience? I bet negative comments would would be the same. That is, a less-than-positive here-and-now evaluation by the ex-client of their therapeutic experience.
Welcome to PsychCentral!
I am not a therapists, at least not yet and that won’t happen for some time now. I just want to say that I have read some good things. That advertisement or buisness online is a great thing.
Also why should one limit there net when the ocean is full of fish.