August Group Supervision

Our 2nd Friday morning group is meeting Aug 11th, from 9:30-11:30am

Our 2nd Friday afternoon group is meeting Aug 11th, from 1:00-3:00pm

Our 3rd Thursday (early bird) group is meeting Aug 17th, from 6:00-8:00am

Our 3rd Thursday (post coffee) group is meeting Aug 17th, from 10:00-12:00pm

NEW - 3rd Wednesday (1-hour)group, Aug 16th, from 12:00-1:00pm

NEW - 3rd Friday group, Aug 18th, from 2:00-4:00pm

Contingency Planning

So usually when we think contingency planning as social workers, therapists and counselors, we tend to think about contingency planning with our clients and supporting them with their own backup plans. When we start thinking about our own businesses, however, we need to have a plan in case something happens to us.

This is not a topic that many of us are going to enjoy thinking about, but it is a responsibility we should not only think about, but actively plan for. The reality is, many therapists do not have contingency plans in place. And while we’re not expecting that anything happen to us, we must be aware of the impact on those around us in case something does.

First, our family - If we were no longer able to run our business - our family ends up taking this burden on with often very little information to go off of with how to proceed. Imagine all your clients suddenly don’t hear from you, they’re going to start calling, mailing, etc - all the while your family is likely navigating grief of whatever has happened to you - now they are also trying to figure out what to do with your business and clients. What happens when your practice gets a subpoena? or you have invoices that have not gone out? or no one is set up to take over your bank accounts? We want to have answers to these questions, so when the worse happens, at least the business side can feel taken care of.

Second, our clients - We have to remember that often we’re supporting our clients in very vulnerable spaces, navigating through trauma, stress, strain, mental illness. We are obligated by our ethical code to ensure there is a plan in place to support in transitioning them to the support they need. We want them to know that despite the very difficult circumstances that we’ve put parameters in place to make the transition as smooth as possible.

We’ll be reviewing a template contingency plan during this months sessions. Unfortunately, there is little information for private practice owners to create a plan. So we’ll give you a starting point.

Here are some resources below that can facilitate creating your plan:

• Here is one great resource that covers the basics of having to close a practice due to retirements, death, or disability Private Practice Preparedness

• Another good direction to go is to create a professional will - this gets really into the nuts and bolts of what happens to the business itself, the assets within your business, and the storage of your client records. Here’s a good resource for this. This is one that you want to have an attorney named on.

What you will need to bring:

• You!

I look forward to seeing you all there!