Before You See Your First Client: 55 Things Counselors, Therapists and Human Service Workers Need to Know

by Rosenthal; Howard

• ISBN13: 9780415950640
• ISBN10: 0415950643
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2004-10-17
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Before You See Your First Clientbegins where courses, workshops, training seminars, and textbooks leave off, providing a candid behind-the-scenes look at the fields of therapy, counseling and human services. In a reader-friendly and accessible style, Dr. Howard Rosenthal offers his readers useful and practical ideas for the implementation, improvement, and expansion of one's mental health practice. Each of 55 concise chapters provides vital information regarding clinical work and policy issues on topics such as opening a risk-free private practice, maximizing one's salary, resume-building, ethical issues of advertising & marketing, managed care, billing, confidentiality, and malpractice policy rates. Stand-alone chapters allow the reader to easily find a topic of particular interest for a quick overview of the issue, followed by worthwhile tips and advice. Based on the author's own personal experiences, the book is written in an intimate and personal style to which inexperienced and beginningtherapists can easily relate.

Author Biography

Howard Rosenthal is Professor and Coordinator of the Human Services program at St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Join Forces with a Psychiatrist to Open a Risk-Free Private Practice

Don't Become Married to a Single Referral Source

Accept the Fact That Salaries in this Field Are Often Unfair

It Pays to Be Assertive When You're Shopping for Your Salary

Managed Care Panels Often Slam the Door in Your Face

Managed Care Firms Dictate Who, When and How

The Multicultural Diversity Secret: You Can Work with a Wider Range of People than You Think

Never Give Any Client Information without a Signed Release-of-Information Form

You Must Use a DSM or ICD Diagnosis to Secure Third-party Payments

The Insurance Superbill Must Have Your Name as the Provider

Lecturing May Not Flood Your Waiting Room with Clients

Referrals Received Do Not Determine How Many New Clients You Actually See

Managed Care Companies Discriminate against Some Counseling and Psychotherapy Theories

Refer Severely Depressed Clients for a Medical or Psychiatric Evaluation

Find Out if the Psychological and Psycho-Educational Test Reports You Receive Are Individualized

Don't Be Mislead by Clients Who Initially Put You on a Pedestal

Most Professional Certifications Won't Help You Secure Insurance Payments

Don't Use Paradoxical Interventions with Suicidal and Homicidal Clients

Conduct a Suicide Assessment on Each Initial Client

Don't Try to Clone Your Favorite Therapist

When in Doubt, Use a Person-Centered Response

Read Ethical Guidelines Before You Even So Much as Hug a Client

Don't Rush to Therapeutic Judgment Until You Get All the Facts

The Number One Therapeutic Blunder: Confronting Sooner than Later

You Are Not a Failure if You Don't Land Your Dream Job

Your Supervisor's Knowledge and Experience Should Not Be Underestimated

Use Verbiage Your Client Will Understand

Be a Better Helper by Networking with Others in the Field

Grandfathering: The Fast Track for Snaring Licenses and Certifications

Use Free Advertising to Build Your Agency or Practice

Helpers are Mandated Child-Abuse Reporters

Beyond Confidentiality: Professional Counselors and Therapists Have a Duty to Warn

If You Want to Work in a Public School, Contact the Department of Education

Don't Let a Day from Hell in Court Lower Your Professional Self-Esteem

Save Your Course Catalogs to Invest in Your Future

Enhance Sessions by Adjusting Group Treatment Exercises and Using Small Talk

If a Client Was Disappointed with the Previous Helper Find Out Why

Use Caution When Considering the "In" Diagnosis

Don't Go into This Field to Recount Old War Stories about Your Own Recovery

Don't Become Married to a Single System of Psychotherapy

Be Enthusiastic if You Want to Be a Better Workshop Presenter

Don't Try to Clone Your Favorite Mental Health Lecturer

If a Client You Have Been Seeing for an Extended Period of Time Requests Marriage, Family or Couples Therapy, Consider a Referral to Another Therapist

Be Prepared to Change Therapeutic Strategies at a Moment's Notice

Documentation: The Royal Road to Promotion

Avoid Dual Relationships Like the Plague

Insider Tips for a Good Cover Letter and Human Service Resume

If You Are Daydreaming, Your Client Will Perceive You as an Uninterested Helper

Pick a Theory of Intervention and a Job You Believe In

Despite the Pitfalls, Make Friends with the Media to Promote Yourself and Your Agency

Writing a Book or Starting a Project? Ask Your Agency First

Your Employment and Credentials Determine What You Pay for Malpractice Insurance

Private Practice is Not a Panacea for Everything that Ails You

Steer Clear of False Memory Syndrome

Create an Emotional Trophy Closet to Help You Through a Bad Day

Conclusion

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