What do we need to know about private practice?

[Sanman]

In one of the other threads, the fact that psychologists were unaware of their income potential and untrained for business. So, I thought that I would start a thread that allowed all of us to weigh in on the issues about private practice that students aren't aware of. I especially welcome those of us who are in practice or about to start to give tips they have picked up. Thanks.

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[50960]

Be very flexible. If you specialize in adult trauma, EMDR, whatever...be open to seeing 13 y/o kids. Do get on panels, but do not become an insurance slag. Remember to focus on helping people to get better, not just feel better when they leave. You are seeing patients, not clients. Have your wife help you decorate your office...Barry Bonds posters may not be best for everyone!!! Tired....

slainte

 

[Sanman]

Actually, your comment on flexibility leads to another question I have been pondering. Though I still have a way to go, I have been thinking about internship and beyond. My question is whether one would be better off specializing or keeping their education more general. Specifically, I have an interest in educationally related neuro psych disorders (LD,ADD,ped epilepsy, etc). Is it more viable job-wise to complete a general neuropsych internship/ post-doc and then simply have a larger portion of these individuals or a peds neuropsych internship/post-doc and have a niche practice. Ideally I like to work either in a larger community hospital or a private practice. I don't see myself going towards the bigger name academic medical centers at the moment.

 

[PublicHealth]

I'm aware of several pediatric neuropsychologists in the New England area who have VERY successful private practices. According to them, it's key to develop some business skills so that you're able to generate referrals and ensure that patients come back to you for follow-up evaluations and/or psychotherapy. They have also developed referral networks through local children's hospitals. As far as training, most of them both completed general child clinical internships and pediatric neuropsychology postdoctoral fellowships. PDD, autism, LD, and seizure disorders are their most common referrals. Last I checked, many of them have pretty long waiting lists.

 

[lazure]

I plan on taking some college level courses (would that be community college in the US?!) on business administration etc. in order to know something about running a business. To borrow someone else's words on this forum, Dr. Ivory Tower did not teach us that either....
I'm currently working for a clinical psychologist in private practice who strictly does assessments and no therapy - she told me that it's hard to do therapy since nurses and social workers have taken over this domain.....

 

[50960]

I think specializing is the way to go! Part of that is specialized training in school, and part will be realizing what you prefer doing and getting good at it once you are out there. However, just because one is specialized should not limit them from seeing other types of pts. I specialize in kids/adolescents as well as medical /health psych, but I do not let let this stop me from seeing a 21 year-old anorexic or a 70 year old medicare pt if I think I can help them. Alot of people fall into that trap early on...I am specialized so I will only see these types of patients.

 

[PublicHealth]

I think specializing is the way to go! Part of that is specialized training in school, and part will be realizing what you prefer doing and getting good at it once you are out there. However, just because one is specialized should not limit them from seeing other types of pts. I specialize in kids/adolescents as well as medical /health psych, but I do not let let this stop me from seeing a 21 year-old anorexic or a 70 year old medicare pt if I think I can help them. Alot of people fall into that trap early on...I am specialized so I will only see these types of patients.

Specialization tends to work for the medical folks. Why not psychology?

 

[LM02]

I prefer specialization. I'd go for the peds/neuro specialty option.

Another area where there is (and will continue to be) high need is geriatrics.

 

[PublicHealth]

Another area where there is (and will continue to be) high need is geriatrics.

Right! But is there a geriatric division of the American Psychological Association? Are there internship or post-docs that allow psychologists to specialize in this area? Psychology seems to be late in keeping up with shifts in healthcare. Is this assessment correct?

 

[LM02]

I said peds because that's what the OP said they were interested in. There are geriatric internships and post-docs that allow specialization. No, your assessment is not correct.

I'm not certain if there are official internship tracks devoted to geriatrics, but (as Jon Snow said) there are several internships that provide opportunities in geriatric psychology.

There are also several fellowships devoted to such training. Two places that come to mind are WPIC and Duke. There is a very active group of neuropsychologists at WPIC who study late-life depression and dementia. At Duke Medical Center, there is a group of clinical psychologists who are studying late-life depression, personality disorders, and psychosocial interventions for such.

 

[West Wing]

How hard is it to open/join a private practice once you have a liscense (ex: PsyD in Clinical Psychology)?

 

[DryDoc]

Right! But is there a geriatric division of the American Psychological Association? Are there internship or post-docs that allow psychologists to specialize in this area? Psychology seems to be late in keeping up with shifts in healthcare. Is this assessment correct?

Division 20 of APA is devoted to adult development and aging. Internships are required by APA accreditation to be devoted to "broad and general training" rather than specialty training. there are post-docs devoted to geriatrics.