The NHS initiative, Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) has made for an exciting time in the therapeutic world and increasing numbers of CBT therapists are venturing into private practice.

Working independently allows you flexibility, in terms of how and when you work, but it also requires you to learn new skills in accounting, marketing and branding.

If your practice is going to be successful, you need to cover your overheads and move into profitability quickly. Building a resilient caseload is a priority. Being a psychotherapist is stressful enough without the extra worry of having insufficient clients.

If you are just setting up in private practice, or you have been in private practice for a while but not yet developed a consistent, reliable caseload, this webinar is for you.

Our approach is one of business coaching and marketing training. Although our focus will be on face-to-face therapy rather than on-line, many of the strategies overlap.

We will introduce you to the four pillars of building a resilient caseload for a successful and sustainable private practice.

Pillar 1 – Why it is important to have a clear marketing message. We'll give you a worksheet providing a step-by-step guide for you to develop your message.

Pillar 2 – Business drivers - What will drive your business – websites – SEO – blog writing – using social media, branding and educating. You will receive a worksheet helping you to identify all the elements that are relevant to you.

Pillar 3 – Working with professional organisations – You will receive a comprehensive list of referral agencies and insurance companies you can work with, as well as tips on how to effectively engage with them.

Pillar 4 - The importance of the local and online community: how to build a community and work with it so you are seen as an authority in your field; how to retain your clients in a way that is professional and ethical.

You'll get an immediate booking confirmation from Eventbrite when you register, and a link for logging on to the webinar three days before the due date. We'll be online thirty minutes before the webinar begins. Please log on in plenty of time so that you can sort out any last minute technical issues. We'll start with a brief registration period, during which time we will remind you how Zoom (the platform we use) works, and iron out any last minute technical problems you may be experiencing. There will be opportunities to interact with the presenters and fellow participants. If you haven't used Zoom before, we strongly encourage you to create a free account and practise making a Zoom video call with a friend or colleague in order to feel confident using the system.

Information Presenter: Sarah Rees

Webinar Facilitator: Sophie Wood

Booking will close 3 days before the event is due to start. Places are limited, so we suggest you book early.

Sarah Rees is a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist based in Manchester who has worked in the field of mental health for over 20 years.

Sarah’s professional background is working as a Mental Health Nurse in hospital and community settings. She passionately believes that treatment approaches need to treat the individual not the diagnosis. She thinks we need to be constantly looking for the most effective strategies and making them accessible for everyone. Sarah trained in CBT in 2009. Since then she has also trained in CFT, Mindfulness and EMDR.

On qualifying as a CBT therapist Sarah initially worked in an NHS IAPT service before moving on to full time private practice 5 years ago. Sarah has undertaken business marketing courses and individual business coaching to develop her marketing and business development skills.

Sarah’s website is at https://sarahdrees.co.uk/

Sarah runs a successful clinic based near Manchester in the heart of Wilmslow, Cheshire. She mainly sees clients who are funding their own treatment, or who have private health care insurance. Sarah is also registered with a number of referral agencies.

In addition to seeing private clients ranging from teenagers to people in later life, Sarah provides clinical supervision to other therapists. She writes a monthly blog for her website, which covers all areas of modern mental health approaches and strategies and she is author of ‘The CBT Journal’ which will be launching this September 2018.

Sarah consults on the development for products for the Pocket Practitioner site, which provides resources and tools aimed at people working in or setting up in private practice to help make their business journey smoother: https://buzzwebconsultancy.co.uk/pocket-practitoner/

Sophie Wood - Sophie runs Buzz Web Design and Consultancy, offering branding, marketing and WordPress websites specialising in the healthcare space.

FAQs

Who is the target group for this webinar?

This webinar is designed for CBT practitioners working in independent practice, although much of the material will also be of interest to mental health practitioners working in other modalities in an independent practice setting.

What do I need to do before the webinar?

We will be using the Zoom Platform for this event. Once you have registered for this event, you will receive confirmation of your booking from Eventbrite. You will then be emailed an invitation to register for a unique Zoom registration link 3 days before the event. Please do not share this link with anyone else as your link may not work properly if you do.

You can email any questions or requests you may have in advance to the Webinar Host, Adam May: adamatclothhall@gmail.com.

What will happen when I join the webinar?

Please log in a few minutes before the webinar start time of 5pm. You will find yourself in the virtual webinar room. We will briefly remind you how to use Zoom when we start. If you experience any technical difficulties at this time, use the chat option to message Adam, the Webinar Host. If you get stuck and cannot access the webinar, then you can email Adam at adamatclothhall@gmail.com.

You will be able to use the online chat option to message the presenters and the rest of the group. Zoom also allows us to bring your image up on screen along with the presenters, so that you can interact more directly with us. Don't worry, we won't suddenly promote you to an active participant without warning though, and you can always switch off your camera and microphone if you wish.

What happens after the webinar?

We will be directing you to an online survey after this event. Your feedback will be much appreciated. Completion of the survey will trigger us to email you time limited access to a video recording of the event, and a Certificate Of Enrolment.

What happens if I experience technical difficulties?

If you experience technical difficulties which cannot be quickly resolved when accessing the webinar, please notify us immediately within the webinar messaging facility, or by email. We will ask you to disconnect and you will receive a full refund.

What is the refund policy?

No refunds will be made in respect of people making a booking and subsequently finding they are unable to attend the webinar. Refunds will be made in the event of unforeseen technical difficulties which prevent the participant from joining or hearing the webinar. In these circumstances, participants should make every effort to contact the webinar provider by email or using the text communication options within Zoom itself during the thrity minute registration period before the webinar begins. This refund policy excludes refunds in respect of technical difficulties with cameras which may stop people from broadcasting their own image or being able to see the webinar presenters.

What is your contact email adddress?

You can contact Adam, your Webinar Host at adamatclothhall@gmail.com