I am thinking of getting a therapist to work with my private practice in psychiatry. I just have been referring patients to various independent therapists but would like better continuity of care. Does anyone have any experience or suggestions to get this setup? I have my own space with an extra office which the therapist could use. My main concern is how to be financially smart but fair. I would be hesitant to pay any straight salary and had heard that other psychiatrists receive a certain cut of the therapist's money generated if they provide the office space, billing etc. I would wonder what cut is considered reasonable. Any input from others with such experiece would greatly be appreciated.
Getting a Therapist for Private Practice
- Thread starter pike73
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I'm just throwing numbers out here. Assume 25% for overhead, 15% for profit for a total of 40%. Let's say your psychologist's pre-overhead hourly rate is $150/ hour. Subtract 40% (for running the business and making a profit) brings down the hourly rate to $90/hour that you'll be paying the psychologist. $90/ hour is more than most institutions would hire a psychologist for. Granted...you need to decide if you want to offer health insurance and whether it's going to fit in your 25% overhead budget. You'll also need to decide if you want to hire your psychologist as an independent contractor and have them file for self-employment taxes. You may want to throw in some contract paperwork just in case your psychologist decides him/herself to work 1 hour per day and doesn't come close to meeting your overhead costs. Maybe somebody with some expertise on running a business and hiring staff can give additional input. This could be useful information for psychiatrists wanting to start up a private practice.
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This is obvious. Get one that's good. Anyone with any experience in this field know that some mental health professionals don't know WTF they are doing.
At the private practice where I work, there's one particular therapist and I swear she's one of those types that just nods her head and says "yes." She doesn't take any legible notes and when you ask her about a particular person, she doesn't know what's going on.
The only clients that like her I believe are the ones that want someone to just listen to them.
At the private practice where I work, there's one particular therapist and I swear she's one of those types that just nods her head and says "yes." She doesn't take any legible notes and when you ask her about a particular person, she doesn't know what's going on.
The only clients that like her I believe are the ones that want someone to just listen to them.
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Hopefully this individual is not a doctoral level psychologist. Egad! I went the full gamut specifically to get the expertise and clinical experience to differentiate myself from the whole MA, MSW, MEd mess...
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Just based off of my own mental exhaustion from doing seemingly endless psychotherapy in my 3rd year of psych residency, I'll probably look into hiring a psychologist for my future private practice once I graduate. Right now I'm learning psychodynamic, analytic, emotion-focused, supportive, and a ton of different CBT protocols. I'm sure I'll offer psychotherapy in my future practice, but I don't know if I'll have to capacity to be the primary therapist for every new intake (which is what I'm required to do in my program). I've been very appreciative of the few therapists helping me out with my caseloads.
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Nope, master's level with a liscence for counseling (that requires thousands of hours so I consider that something above a master's but perhaps just slightly below a doctor). As though with any field, there's good and bad in everywhere. I know plenty of licensed counselors, case managers, and nurses I'd trust over several psychiatrists.
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From this end I would just like to remind you that there are many different types of therapists ranging from B.A. to Ph.D. Rules for licensure and reimbursement differ from state to state.
There are many Bachelors level practitioners. Depending on state they may be called Licensed Counselors or psychotherapists, etc.
Social Worker - A social worker may have a bachelor's degree (B.A., B.S., or B.S.W), a master's degree (M.A., M.S., M.S.W, or M.S.S.W), or a doctoral degree (D.S.W or Ph.D.).
Masters Level Psychologist (M.A. or M.S.)
Pastoral Counselors (???)
Marriage and Family Therapists (MFT)
Mental Health Counselor - generally has a master's degree in counseling or counseling psychology (M.A.)
School Psychologists (both M.A. and Ph.D)
Doctoral-level psychologists - this could include those trained in clinical, counseling, or school psychology. Clinical psychology includes Ph.D and Psy.D.
Without biasing you one way or the other, these different therapists have different training and reimbursement rates. Some receive little to know training in therapy, some receive a lot. Usually, only doctoral level practitioners are allowed to provide assessments. The empirical research shows no difference in therapy outcomes. However, I think you will find different level of expertise between the different fields.
The reimbursement rates and how much each type of therapist usually charges differs. I have found if there is an in house therapist in a psychiatry office, it is usually a masters level practitioner. Why? My guess, the cost/benefit ratio is best. But again, there is a large range in training within the masters-level practitioners. The potential for higher earnings would include someone that can provide assessments but they will cost you more. Thus, it may be best to farm that out.
There are many Bachelors level practitioners. Depending on state they may be called Licensed Counselors or psychotherapists, etc.
Social Worker - A social worker may have a bachelor's degree (B.A., B.S., or B.S.W), a master's degree (M.A., M.S., M.S.W, or M.S.S.W), or a doctoral degree (D.S.W or Ph.D.).
Masters Level Psychologist (M.A. or M.S.)
Pastoral Counselors (???)
Marriage and Family Therapists (MFT)
Mental Health Counselor - generally has a master's degree in counseling or counseling psychology (M.A.)
School Psychologists (both M.A. and Ph.D)
Doctoral-level psychologists - this could include those trained in clinical, counseling, or school psychology. Clinical psychology includes Ph.D and Psy.D.
Without biasing you one way or the other, these different therapists have different training and reimbursement rates. Some receive little to know training in therapy, some receive a lot. Usually, only doctoral level practitioners are allowed to provide assessments. The empirical research shows no difference in therapy outcomes. However, I think you will find different level of expertise between the different fields.
The reimbursement rates and how much each type of therapist usually charges differs. I have found if there is an in house therapist in a psychiatry office, it is usually a masters level practitioner. Why? My guess, the cost/benefit ratio is best. But again, there is a large range in training within the masters-level practitioners. The potential for higher earnings would include someone that can provide assessments but they will cost you more. Thus, it may be best to farm that out.
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When I was solo, I shared office space with an LPC. She paid me a portion of the rent based on the square footage of her office (we split the public areas). Other than that, we were completely separate. She was self-employed and so was I, we just shared an office. But it did make coordinating care easier when we had patients in common. Neither of us employed any kind of office staff.
