I just got back from the Psychotherapy Networker Symposium, where I presented on Creating Effective Websites. One of the traps I see private practitioners falling into is twofold:
1) I don’t know enough/I should know more about the techniques/theories that are hot in my field now
and
2) If I just did one more training within one of these hot specialty areas, then I would get all the clients I need. 
This is a fallacy for several reasons. First of all, most people who have been in any field for at least five years know a lot more than they think. While you should always update your technical skills, competency is rarely the biggest problem in creating a successful practice. Secondly, if you don’t know how to market your services, the greatest training in the world still won’t get you more clients.
Ten years ago I took a terrific training on how to deliver a certain type of psycho-educational workshop. There were 18 people in my training. I kept in touch with the trainers and the people who were trained. After six months, I had done 2 workshops that brought in a profit after expenses of $4400. Not a great result, but one that more than paid for the training almost immediately (since then the same workshop has brought in over $75,000 in profit, as well as leading to numerous referrals for other services). Of the 18 people in my training, 16 had not put on one workshop in six months, and probably never will. 1 person did put on a workshop that brought in 3 clients for a total of $630.
Now the training was excellent, and we were put on a national website that we thought would get us a lot of referrals. It didn’t. When everyone got back home, they were excited but didn’t have the first clue where to start. Where do I get participants for the workshop? Where do I hold it? How much do I charge? How do I know how big a room to reserve if I don’t know how many will show up?
So don’t fall for this trap. Yes there are many superb clinical trainings available today, and your skill as a practitioner would definitely improve if you took some of the trainings (and unfortunately, some trainings are setup more to pad the trainers’ bank account than add to your skill base). But don’t confuse an increase in technical skill with an increase in referrals. Technical expertise is a necessary but not sufficient condition for success.
www.uncommonpractices.com
Joe, every other day I receive a brochure for a seminar in my city. My first thought is, “Wow, I should go, this will help me in my practice!” After I look at the $200 price tag and think a little, I realize that I just had this training in graduate school. Usually the same information.
Further, remembering what I learned in school…the relationship is key, not so much what you know. My goal needs to be to get them in the door because I know my relational ability is sound.
Getting them in the door is the more difficult part and that is why I enjoy reading your posts and learning how to do just that.
Thanks Joe, and keep up the good work!
By: John on March 31, 2009
at 11:13 am
Dear Joe,
First of all: Congratulations for having presented at the Psychotherapy Networker DC Symposium and for your recent article on Websites in the Psychotherapy Networker Journal. Bravo!
On your blog not “If I did One More Training…” , I completely agree with you. I fell into this trap for many years, adding training one after the other without getting the notion on how to finally monetize all this great training. Also, often the trainers themselves had no idea how to market their great findings, i.e. Mental Research Institute of Palo Alto. What is striking for me is that the large public audience have no idea of the recent advances of psychotherapy. I thing the major trap of all of us in out field of psychotherapy is that we market mainly our knowledge and trainings to the people of our field, not to the mass. Now with internet, it is fortunately changing. Your advices for website building, the good way (the way to attract traffic to the website and convert the visitors into clients) are excellent! I also think that video (skype) consult, telepsychotherapy/coaching is the future too. Thank you again for your excellent work and congratulation for your success!
By: Sophie Duriez, M.D. on April 1, 2009
at 11:15 am
Bottom line, it’s time to get out there and market! Thanks for the reminder that many times we’ve got all we need. I’ve been in the field about twelve years, and I have often disqualified myself in the past. No more! It’s time to share all the great things we do as therapist, to educate our prospective clients of how we can meet their most pressing needs (once we have listended to them long enough to know their needs, that is)
By: Steve on April 6, 2009
at 4:51 pm