Why should I look through these resources? What will these help me to accomplish?
Ultimately, I want to provide information to any interested therapists about practice tools they may not have considered – especially if they are planning to work in their own private practice some day.
What is important for nearly every LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, ASW, AMFT, or APCC? Graduate programs or even employers may briefly talk about these but don’t really offer any feedback or guidance (in my experience). Here’s what I’ll try to offer at least one resource of below – be sure to check back as this list grows:
- Getting insured!
- Learning for licensure!
- Keeping your address private.
- Securing your practice/ patient's stuff fast!
- If interested.. resources to sign up to work through some telehealth platforms (they handle your credentialing, billing, and some platforms help secure leads). Many don't charge an upfront fee as they take their cut off the top.
Paid – Malpractice Insurance
◊ This is so important to have regardless of your employer offering it!
If you can afford it, I would prioritize getting this straight out of Grad School. Why? I’ve heard of shady happenings. Many companies do also offer an Associate discount to make it lighter when you’re first starting off.
I purchased insurance through a few other well-known companies, until CPH was recommended to me by a dear colleague. CPH is run by a small company and because of that, they offer personal customer service. The few times that I needed to make changes, I called them and they were able to recall my email thread with them, and get me what I needed for an office lease within a reasonable amount of time.
They are a strong and knowledgeable resource you may want to have on your side – and their rates are very competitive if not better than others!
>> CPH Insurance <<
Paid – PO Box for Breeze
◊ If having your home address publicly disclosed on Breeze would not bother you, then you can skip this. If you are a survivor of any abuse or crime, I would encourage you to get this.
If you can afford it, I would prioritize getting this straight out of Grad School, just before you send your Associate application to the BBS!
An XS size box is probably sufficient if you are only using this for BBS. I recommend your search for all USPS locations that are within a reasonable radius (that you are willing to drive to) as different locations have their own pricing. Sometimes you will get a free month with a 12-month subscription.
>> USPS PO Box Rentals <<
Licensed Providers
Most of the resources below will be most useful for licensed providers.
Paid – Electronic records
Simple Practice (☆)
Simple Practice offers a HIPAA-compliant and all-in-one Client Portal. By using the link below, you can sign up for a free trial. If you then start a paid subscription for at least 3 months, we’ll both get $200 in account credit towards a future bill.
>> Simple Practice referral <<
Free – Telehealth Platforms
Headway – contractor opportunity (☆)
Headway can help you get credentialed with at least 5 insurances fast The number depends on the state you are in, and if you are licensed in multiple states they can work on all of those too! They require a CAQH profile but no minimum commitment on clients. They have an EMR and video tech if you wish to use it. It is “free” because they take their cut from their negotiated rates before you even get paid. Some clients will register on this site and book directly with you, however, you must do your own marketing and have the clients register here – that will likely be the bulk of your clients! They currently offer some CEUs through Headway Academy – where they also partner with PESI and Violet for their offerings.
Having been working with Headway for over 2 years now, I now let clients know that I partner with them and they do my billing. That’s really the nature of our business relationship at this point. If you sign up with my link, we both get a little something (varies depending on current offer at the time).
>> Headway referral <<
Rula – contractor opportunity (☆)
Rula is another site that helps get you credentialed and require most of what Headway does. However, they require you to use their EMR and video tech. They also only support a primary state license at this time. They currently offer some CEs through Clearly Clinical.
Important note ** This contractor sometimes supports employers to quickly provide staff during strikes, so if you are not into that, prepare to decline the work (they will try to convince therapists by offering $$ incentives to scabs).
>> Rula referral <<
If the referral sign up page requests my NPI (so it can link us), it is: 1982199881.
