Professional Counseling Archives - Page 18 of 22

Package pricing comes with risks for therapists

August 9, 2017 by Ben Caldwell

Therapists and counselors in private practice find all kinds of creative ways to keep clients coming back. Some therapists offer clients package pricing, which they might also call a prepayment discount. For example, a therapist who charges $100 per session might offer five sessions for $450 if the client agrees to pay up front. Under either name, the therapist agrees to a price cut in exchange for a commitment to a certain number of sessions.

At first glance, everyone wins with such an arrangement. The therapist has cash in hand, the client saves money, and the client’s commitment to therapy may reduce dropouts and missed sessions. But such arrangements carry meaningful risks for therapists. These discounts can wind up costing therapists much more than they are worth.

Essential resources for prelicensed therapists

March 7, 2018July 10, 2017 by Ben Caldwell

Prelicensed therapists and counselors face a difficult road. Getting to licensure is a long and expensive process, so much so that even many well-qualified people drop out.

All of us here at Psychotherapy Notes want to make your path to licensure a little easier. So we’ve collected resources here that can help you along the way. You may already be familiar with some, but hopefully some are new and useful to you. Here are some essential resources for prelicensed therapists.

Four myths about counselor licensing exams

June 26, 2017 by Ben Caldwell

Ryan McGuire / Gratisography - licensed under Creative Commons Zero If you’re in the process of preparing for counselor licensing exams, you may be dreading them. Those fears may be based on what you’ve heard about the exams — and what you’ve heard may not be true.

I hear complaints about counselor licensing exams on a regular basis. Some of the complaints have merit, but most are based on mythology. It’s as if we (quite understandably) have anxiety-based associations with our testing process, past or future, and then conjure up rational-sounding but factually baseless complaints about the process in an attempt to justify those fears.

Every person who becomes a licensed professional counselor has to go through an examination process. While different states organize the process differently, common counselor licensing exams include the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Exam (NCMHCE) or the National Counselor Examination for Licensure and Certification (NCE). Many states also supplement their national exam with a separate exam covering areas of state law (for example, state-based requirements for child abuse reporting).

Applying for disability accommodations on licensing exams

June 15, 2017 by Ben Caldwell

If you have a recognized disability, you can apply for a quiet room, additional time, or other appropriate accommodations for your licensing exam. Exact rules, and the process for applying, will vary by state. But every state has to make reasonable accommodations in the exam process under federal law.

Though there is little hard data, I’ve heard from multiple people who work for state licensing boards around the country that requests for disability accommodations are becoming more common in license exams for psychologists, counselors, social workers, and family therapists.

What we know about online therapy

April 10, 2017 by Ben Caldwell

The world of online therapy continues to develop rapidly. There are now dozens of videoconference platforms designed or marketed specifically to therapists. The research base is steadily growing. States and provinces are working feverishly to provide clarity in law for therapists working online.

In such a rapidly-changing environment, it can be difficult for therapists to reasonably assess the current state of online psychotherapy. Here’s what we can safely say we know as of April 2017. Unless otherwise noted, “online therapy” here refers to interactive, video-based work. Other forms of technology, including phone, text, and chat, are often used in therapy, but less is known about them.