Are fewer people seeking out therapy? Good nationwide data is hard to come by, but we have some signals. Online therapy provider BetterHelp reports a dwindling subscriber base, down about 20% from its peak two years ago, even as they continue to spend millions of dollars on advertising. And anecdotally, we’re hearing lots of individual therapists report that they’re struggling to bring in new clients over the last few months.
If your practice has been struggling with fewer therapy referrals, here are three possible reasons for it – and solutions for each.
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Discussions about value-based care among therapists are often confusing and unproductive. In my experience, that seems to be because a lot of us simply don’t know what the term means. So it gets either dismissed as just a new term for things many of us already do (like measuring outcomes), or it gets framed as the boogeyman intent on destroying therapy as we know it.
In response to mass shootings, wildfires, and other disasters, many therapists and counselors have sought to support impacted areas. One way they have done so is with free services. Marketing therapy after disasters can be difficult, though. Done well, it reinforces our roles as community caregivers. It shows off the best of who we are as professionals. With some common mistakes, it can instead come off as a tacky form of marketing, accidentally pushing people in need away from help. Here’s how to tastefully and effectively offer counseling and therapy services to those in need.
Last week, the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB)