The Importance of Clarity

Therapists too often communicate in jargon and processes. Instead of talking about how a client can benefit from therapy, they talk about doing the therapy itself.

I recently experienced this when researching inpatient rehabilitation options for a family member who had suffered a stroke. I received a packet of materials describing one particular program. Some of it was good; much of it was bad. (The description -- not the program!!)

The worst was a chart called "Admitted Diagnoses." The colorful bar codes showed statistics for 2007, 2008, and 2009 ... but the description of what was being measured was lacking.

Some diagnoses were clear: "Ortho," and "Neuro," for example. I even figured out "TBI" (traumatic brain injury). But what is "CVA"? (I later found this to mean a Cerebral Vascular Accident -- like a stroke), but I still don't know what a diagnosis of "Amp" or "MMT" is.

One page highlighted "Our Professionals" (and I quote:)

• Board Certified Physiatrists
• - 5 inpatient specializing in BI, CVA, SCI
• - 3 outpatient specializing in musculoskeletal

What? Huh?

Among the medical jargon and "process" talk were some gems of genuinely good information. In one brochure was this description:

Stroke Rehabilitation Program

When an individual experiences a stroke, the ability to function independently can be impaired. Through early rehabilitation intervention, the [name of facility]'s Stroke Rehabilitation Program helps patients regain their independence. Our specialized treatment team evaluates the needs of each patient and addresses the medical, physical, cognitive, linguistic, and psychosocial challenges they face. A goal-oriented treatment program is developed to recover physical, perceptual, and communication abilities to achieve optimal results.

Still a bit jargon-y and flowery ... but better.

This would have been even better:

Did you -- or a loved one -- suffer a stroke? Are you worried about whether you'll ever be back to "normal" again? About whether you will regain your independence? You're not alone. Many patients can achieve partial or full functioning through our early rehabilitation and intervention services. A team of professionals collaborates to ensure your medical, physical, cognitive, emotional, and other concerns are addressed. We'll set specific goals for your progress that are designed to help return you to a life of independence."

See the difference? The original phrasing is very "US" centered ... while the revised version is very "YOU" (or patient) centered.

-- For more on branding yourself as a therapist, purchase our special report, "The Therapist's Guide to Branding Yourself Online."

Five Minute Marketing For Therapists

What can you do TODAY to get more clients? I call this strategy, "Five Minute Marketing." It's based on the concept that "It doesn't matter so much WHAT you do as THAT you do." (Think about that for a moment.)

Spend five minutes a day marketing.

• Write a letter to a referral source, or write a thank you note to a client.
• Drop a note to a client you haven't heard from in a while.
• Send a birthday card to a client.
• Write a blog post or a Twitter post.
• Spend five minutes writing part of an article.
• Spend five minutes in the front office answering the phone (especially if you have openings in the next week or two.)
• Call and introduce yourself to a therapist who works with a complimentary population.
• Schedule lunch with a therapist, or doctor, or minister who referred to you in the past, but who you haven't talked to in a while.

Just five minutes a day, every day, adds up.

Tips for More Effective Therapist Websites

I'm often asked to critique therapist websites. Here are my general criteria to make your website more effective.

1. Each therapist should have a separate page on the site.

2. Articles are a great addition to a practice website, but they need to be

• Consistent (all PDFs or all links -- ideally, use links)
• Written by a therapist -- not just compiled information. Put YOUR name on it.
• Updated regularly. (Reference a current event in the article to make it relevant.)
• Listed alphabetically, or listed by category. Or, better yet, both.
• Error-free. (No typos!!)
• Internally linked. At the bottom of each article page, it should take you back to the individual therapist's page who wrote the article.

3. Individual therapist's pages should like to a "Contact Us" page. E-mail and phone numbers should be on each therapist's page. The practice phone number should be on every page of the site.

4. The site needs to be professional -- no broken links, no ugly pages.

Making the Most of Your Therapy Directory Listing

My next free teleseminar will be Friday, and the topic is "Making the Most of Your Therapy Directory Listing."

This program is for therapists who currently have a profile on The Therapy Directory (powered by Psychology Today). This 50-minute program is designed to help you maximize your profile (and your online presence in general), increase your brand profile (both offline and online), and convert more prospects into clients.

For more information, visit:
http://www.eventsbot.com/events/eb381611452

Building Your Online Therapist Profile

Thanks to everyone that joined me for the free teleseminar today on "Building Your Online Therapist Profile."

Or try this link to listen using Itunes.

Download the handouts (PDF form) here.

Therapist Profile

Are you a therapist in private practice who could use a couple of new clients? Does your appointment book have a few holes?

Click here to download the HANDOUT for the the "Building Your Online Therapist Profile" teleseminar.
If that version of the handout didn't work, try this PDF version.

Want to check and see if your vanity URL is available? Click on the 1&1 banner below and search for the domain you're interested in registering.



Or click here: http://www.tinyurl.com/netherapist

Purchase the "The Therapy Directory Sign-Up Kit." For just $49, you'll receive:

• A sign-up kit to receive your free 90-day trial to The Therapy Directory.
• One-year registration of a vanity URL to re-direct to your Therapy Directory profile.
• 15-minute consultation to review your Therapy Directory narrative.

If you don't want to purchase the Sign-Up Kit online, you can fax or mail your credit card information to us and we will e-mail you the Sign-Up Kit as an Adobe Acrobat PDF.

Download the order form here.

Ready to write your own profile, and don't need the URL or consulting assistance? Sign up for your free 90-day trial of The Therapy Directory here.

For more information on developing your brand:



And

Building Your Online Identity

One topic I'm hearing a lot about from therapists is how they can build their online identity.

When you Google yourself, what do you find?

I will be offering a teleseminar on this topic on Friday, Dec. 18 from 2-3 p.m. CST.
Register online for free for "Building Your Online Therapist Profile."

In the meantime, step one to building your online identity is to register a domain name (URL) in your name. It's called a "vanity URL."

Suggestions:

• The first one you should try to register is your name: i.e., www.MindyBrown.com
• If that's not available, add "therapy" or "therapist" to your name: www.MindyBrownTherapist.com
• If you don't like that -- make it geographic specific: www.MindyBrownOmaha.com
• If you're known for a particular specialty, you can use that as your URL: www.infertility-omaha.com

Be creative! And don't be afraid to register more than one domain name. They're cheap through 1&1 (currently $6.99 for the first year; $8.99 a year after that) and you can "point" them anywhere you'd like (more on that later).

Click here to look and see if the URL you want is available.

Or click on this banner: