(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Hi, welcome to the Abundant Practice Podcast. I'm Allison from Abundance Practice Building. I have a nearly diagnosable obsession with helping therapists build sustainable, joy-filled private practices, just like I've done for tens of thousands of therapists across the world. I'm excited to help you too. If you want to fill your practice with ideal clients, we have loads of free resources and paid support.
Go to abundancepracticebuilding.com slash links. All right, on to the show. So I've talked about therapy notes on here for years. I could talk about the features and the benefits in my sleep, but there are a couple of things I want you to know about therapy notes that doesn't typically make it into an ad script. First is that they actually care if you like their platform. They don't only make themselves available on the phone to troubleshoot so you don't pull your hair out when you get stuck.
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Okay. So last time I actually saw you, I think it was like, I don't even know, a few, few months back where I was like, I was post maybe even six months ago, actually post wedding. And I was like, okay, I'm actually getting back into marketing my practice. And so now where I'm at is since, since then I have like fixed my niche up, like clean that up a little bit and I've gotten back into like Instagram marketing. I had a business mentor as well that was helping me learn how to do that.
Like how to have a strategy. Cause I didn't realize how specific it is. And it's been working very well. And like my psychology today profile, I've like messed with a whole bunch. And like, basically now I'm getting a lot of inquiries, which was my goal. Like at that time, the goal was like, I just want referrals flowing in. That's how I'll know that I'll feel a lot more comfortable if that's the case. So that's been working and I've been getting people from like around the country.
So like now I'm working to like build my, um, my like referral list with a bunch of people who do similar work as me, but, and I am getting some Seattle people to thank goodness. Cause I had to put on my like calendly, like, hi, I'm in Washington. I'm licensed in Washington. I can do coaching around the world, but I usually talk people out of coaching if they call like, but I really like you and I want to work with you.
I'm kind of like, you sound like you need a therapist coaching comes after that. Like, so, um, anyway, moral of the story, things are going very well, but I realized that a, I probably need to start a wait list. And like, I don't know how people do that. Is it just like an Excel spreadsheet or like a word document or like, is there an app? I would love to have a nice little app. I don't know.
And also be when people are mad at me on Instagram, cause now like I'm speaking to a population that can be really, really queuing for people, especially if now they have kids and they had emotionally immature parents and they haven't acknowledged it. Yeah. And people like, well, sometimes like yell at me and some people ask are like respectfully fuck off, but, and that's fine. Um, but some people aren't and I'm like, no, we can't do that here.
Uh, just because of the harm it can cause to people who I work with who are also in the comments. So how do I deal with mad people on Instagram? How do I have a wait list? Those are my two. Yeah. So the mad people on Instagram, there are two different paths you can take, right? You can just delete and block and be done with it. Yeah. And that's totally fine.
You can even have somewhere in your profile or somewhere at the end of each caption that you just copy paste in each one that says, here's the boundary for commenting on this post. And if somebody crosses the boundary, you don't have to engage with them. This is your account. This is not their house. It's yours. So that's one thing you can do.
The other thing I'm thinking is, and I don't know if it's, I don't get the sense that this is your vibe, but a lot of people will take those comments and create more content out of it and be kind of more snarky. And sometimes I see them and they're shaming and sometimes I see them and I'm like, okay, I get that. That was a fair snark back. So you can use it to kind of educate the people who are your ideal clients or your ideal audience based on that, but that's going to bring more.
So that's the downside. If you enjoy creating that content and you can do it in a way that feels authentic to you and not too snarky or too whatever, then by all means go for it. If it's more reactive and triggering for you and you end up being like, oops, that was a little harsh.
I've done a couple like that where I was like, okay, I should've just breathed through it for a day and then created content around it in a way that would be more helpful and less like, I'm going to put you back in your place. If you're going to try to put me in mine, but it ultimately comes down to like, how does it feel for you to just block and bless or respond? And how do your ideal clients or your audience on Instagram feel about it? Like what's helpful for them?
Cause it might feel helpful for them for you to go toe to toe with somebody, but that doesn't mean it feels good to you. Yeah. It's your maintenance first. You got to take care of yourself first. Yeah. Okay. I did like, there was like one person that commented like a respectful, like, why are we blaming our parents for this? Isn't this just being a normal person? And she meant it more snarky than she commented, which totally fine. I commented back and I I'm pretty good at neutralizing people.
Like that's a skill I have. I'm pretty good at responding in a way that it's like, good luck. Like coming back, like getting mad at me for that. Like, I, I don't know. And I did have the thought, like, I did start making like a response video sort of like where I like blocked out. I know some people like leave the, like the name. I like block out the name because I don't want it to be like, I'm calling someone in.
I want it to be more like, Oh my gosh, this is a really cognitive, a really common distortion where it's like the internalizers are like, everything's my fault. The externalizers are like, everything's your fault. And this is why we probably need to remove the word blame if we're not blaming or just like identifying causes. But then I didn't post it just because I was like, I stopped caring. I was kind of like, I don't know.
I feel like I can't tell whether I feel like I'm like feeding a troll or not. And so I, that makes sense where it's kind of like, like breathe through it and just see how you feel about it. Like, do you want to respond? Yeah. And I'm a big when in doubt, just don't. Yeah. Just get rid of them. It's fine. Yeah. If it's, if it's meant to be snarky, if it is like a respectful, I'm trying to understand this better kind of a thing that's different obviously.
But when it's somebody who's just trying to put you in your place in some way, um, and we can feel it when they're doing that, then, you know, you don't have to engage with them and you don't have to create content off of it. If you feel inspired to do so go for it. But otherwise you really can just block them. Right. Right. Okay. Yeah. Cause I get freaked out that I'm like, well, what if I do that? And they like, and they're like really toxic. So I have to block them.
And now they have like a fake account or now they have friends that are like, I don't know. I should also be careful. I'd be very careful and like, take my time and like check the facts when I'm getting those sort of comments. Because like I was raised by people who are super narcissistic and that's something they would do.
So it's like, not everyone is like these people who you were raised by who it's always like, uh, I'm going, I'm going to get you and I'm going to, and one way or another, I'm going to find you. I'm going to get you like, you know? So like I, yeah. Okay. But your parents also weren't like that with every single person they encountered.
Yeah. And you're a momentary encounter for these people that even if they are like that with the people in their lives, it doesn't mean they're going to latch onto you necessarily. Right. Okay. Okay. And then also wait, I just had a thought too. What about like, I realized that I also am bad at responding to people. Like, unless I really have like a good authentic me type thing to say, like, I don't know what to say.
Even when people are like making normal comments, like they'll be like, or when they're like, Oh my gosh, my mom is like this. And they get really in depth. I'm kind of like, Oh shit. Like that's a lot for the gram. Like, Oh. Um, and like, I don't know. Others therapists are really good at commenting back. Like they have like key phrases that they say. And I'm just like, and I try to borrow theirs, but I don't, what do you say to people?
I mean, you could just say like, I'm so sorry you went through that. You absolutely didn't deserve it. Okay. Okay. That clean and easy where they feel heard and seen and you're also not therapizing them. Right. Okay. I never know if I should say like, I'm sorry or not. I don't know why I would get worried. I'm like, do people want me sympathizing or is that going to feel condescending? I don't know.
I also have to be careful because I work with dbt people who, um, some of the clients from the dbt program I'm a part of, we'll find things you say and be like, what? And I'm like, shit, it's like out of my head. Cause they're not clients. Imagine you were at a dinner party and somebody just kind of trauma dumped on you real quick, which we've all, we've got that energy. So it happens.
I'm like, what would you say to them at a dinner party to not go any more in depth, but also to show that it sucks. Like you acknowledge how much that sucks that they went through that. Okay. Okay. Yeah, no, that's good to remember. Like, what would I say to someone in person? Yeah. Okay. That is helpful. Thank you. Yeah. And then how do I keep a wait list? So are you sure you want to have a wait list? I don't know. Why would I, what are the other options?
So I worked at my last job that I had our wait list was sometimes six months long. So my experience of wait list was just total anxiety because so many times people would finally get off off the wait list and they had either gotten so much worse that they would have been triaged to come in much sooner or like they kind of got over whatever the situation was. And they just kind of were like, well, thanks a lot, but I don't need you now. I needed you then.
Yeah. So for me, I've never been a wait list person. I've always made sure that my referrals are coming in consistently. So before, before you get your name, a wait list, I would make sure that you have consistent referrals coming in that can keep you steady. I would look at the length of time that you see clients on average and start having kind of timelines for the clients.
You see, if you're going to have a wait list, not that they're like, well, your 10 weeks is up or whatever, but like, you know, I'm seeing Susie. I feel like we're really coming to the end of some of our work together. And probably in the next month or two, she'll be done. And that would give you an idea of what, what that looks like for a wait list, but that's also a lot of tracking. It's a lot of keeping up with.
So an alternative would be to find really great people to refer these folks to instead of keeping them on a wait list, unless you're like eminently somebody is about to move, or, you know, that their treatment plan is coming to a close. Then you could say, I think I'm going to have some availability in the next two weeks or whatever. And I can call you when that happens. I know we wanted to work.
We wanted our daughter to work with a specific therapist here in town, and she didn't have a wait list. And she said, you know, you can keep calling to check in to see when I have availability. She'd given me referrals, but I was like, well, we want you. And this was the way she handled it is I would just like call and check in every couple of weeks to see and just put it in my calendar because I wanted her specifically.
But I as a therapist refer out because I can't with a wait list after my experience at the agency. Okay. But that only works if you're getting consistent referrals. If you're somebody who gets referrals and fits and starts, it might make sense to have a wait list or to figure out the fits and starts piece. That's that would actually be my recommendation is figure out when, when you're flowing. Why? Like what's happening? What are you doing marketing wise? That's working. Okay. That makes sense.
Cause like right now this exact time I'm in kind of a nice position. Cause like I also contract with the dbt program. So I always have five people and I'm okay with decreasing that. So they all have like discharge dates that are like planned and routine and administrative and whatever.
So like that gives me an opportunity to like have a five people But yeah, at that point, if I like say I wasn't seeing any more people from the program, then yeah, I guess that would be more complicated because it would, the average treatment duration is about six months. So, yeah. Okay. And so if you know, like, you know, so-and-so has been with you for five months and things are rolling along as expected, then you might be able to say, I may have some availability a month. Here's a referral.
If you don't want to wait that long, or if the maybe part is rough for you, which I totally get. And I can call you in a month. If you'd like me to do that when, or I can call you when this person rolls off. If, if so, and I would do a spreadsheet in that case, some EHRs have waitlists baked into them. So I would explore yours to see. I don't, since I don't do waitlists, I don't remember which ones do and don't, but I would do like a HIPAA compliant.
Like if you have a BAA with like Google or like password protected on your computer, if you're using Excel and you can password protect your computer and this, and maybe use first name only kind of a thing. Yeah. Then that might be a way to do it. Okay. That's a lot to think about. Yeah. It's a lot of processes to make sure that it's done well for a waitlist, which can sometimes feel really burdensome, but also for some people having a waitlist makes them feel safer.
And they know that they have clients coming in and the longer typically that that waitlist goes, the less likely that person is going to come see you. Right. Okay. Yeah. That makes sense. Totally makes sense. Yeah. And I kind of figured like, I was hoping that like my marketing would be so good that like, I would only have people on the waitlist who were like, no, I really only want to see you.
So I actually am likely to wait, but I totally know what you're saying though, where it's like, yeah, but still it's like, you know, they might have already found someone else that there's actually a really good fit for them too, or they might not need to, or not, they might not want the treatment anymore. Right. At time. Okay. Okay. Then I guess the only other thing I was like curious about, and this is probably something where I can go back into the abundance party. I'm sure.
I'm sure it's a module has to be, but for when you're full and doing well, people keep talking about like passive income and stuff. What is that? Like, and then people post their like pretty worksheets and I'm like, I'm not an artist. I can't make a workbook. I don't want to, that sounds horrible. Like, so I don't know what those options are. Yeah. I mean, I think like the idea of passive income, even those words just make me cringe because there's no income that's passive.
There was so much work. It's a completely different skillset. The learning curve is steep. The expectations are always higher than the reality. This is me actively not selling you passive income options. That being said, they're out there. There are so many different things that you can do. If you want to have, I'll call it like an alternative stream of income, because like I said, there's a lot of work involved.
A lot of people, particularly people who like sell the alternative stream of income or passive income programs will make it sound like it's so easy. And it is not, it's not at all. So like for abundance, for instance, we have four full-time staff people that are working to keep all the things in motion and we market literally every single day.
And so if you really love marketing so much and you want to do it every single day and you want to maybe hire staff to keep the wheels on the bus for you, alternative streams of income can be great. But I would rather see people make more money if they want to make more money by raising rates or seeing the clients they want to see and keeping their lives simpler unless there's something specific you are on fire about.
Like you could not have talked me out of starting abundance when I started abundance. There was no way. I was just too excited about helping people. And if you've got that kind of fire and that kind of energy to work the extra hours every week to build this thing that will then truly like make you money in your sleep, that does happen. But it's not without 10 years of consistent, constant daily marketing.
Okay, because I guess the only thing I can think of that I would want to do would be like video. I don't even know how to do that. Like the logistics then also stop me in my tracks. I'm like, wait, what? I record a video? How do you record a video? Like you're like, you just do it on Zoom. It's really simple. And I'm like, that's not simple to me. But anyway, I don't know. I would love to teach dbt skills and just have like a dbt skills video. And I would, it would not be free.
I would charge for it just because like, I'm really freaking good at that. And like, it's worth money. And what's your Instagram following? Like, that might be an easier path. But what's your follower count? Thereabouts. It's so cute and it's growing. Okay, let's see. Right now. Oh, I just got someone 2,562. A month ago, it was like 500. So that's like, that's really great growth. Okay, good. And the fact that you were posting things that are pissing people off, right?
Like you're getting haters in the comments, actually, like, that tells me that's why I asked the number because you that you're on a trajectory. And it could be you do some simple videos for dbt skills, you set up a cart for it, and you sell it on Instagram. But for it to create an actual income, and not just like some money here and there for it to create legitimate income that would allow you to step back from as much therapy as you're doing or something like that.
The marketing has to be really, really consistent. I realized I don't want anything that replaces being a therapist at this at this point in time where I'm at. And I don't know if I ever will. I mean, that obviously could change.
But like, I more so see the way that I practice changing because like whenever I'm like on my little like portal for like how to market for like the coaching program I have, I'm like my heart's just not in that like my heart really isn't just being a therapist and seeing my people that I say do that and enjoy it and keep your life simpler. I think the promise of passive income like it sounds so good, but it is so much more work than people talk about.
It's like a soapbox I've been on a lot lately because a lot of people have been asking. Oh, really? And I think it's because the people who teach how to do alternative streams of income, they're in people's inboxes more, they're showing up in their feeds more. I like that people are exploring what's possible. And like I said, if there's something you're super passionate about, like dbt, teaching those skills, that could be a really great way to make a little extra cash.
Or if you want to go really hard on it, make a lot but can't imagine running a practice, all the energy, I had to scale back my practice so much to be able to do abundance. Mm hmm. And that was okay with me, because that's where my passion was. But you love being a therapist. So be a therapist and enjoy your life. Okay, damn. That's good to know. That's good to know. This is very helpful. Very, very helpful. Um, let's see. I think I think that's it.
Because then the only other question I had a few months back, and I went back and I watched a recorded video in the like portal about networking and calling. I have the script in my phone. But I wrote down the script and about like who to call. Okay, this is a dumb, weird question. Is it weird to call a vet office as a possible networking thing? My clients tend to love animals. Uh huh. And obviously, animals get sick, they die, like they get to know their vets.
Like I don't know, I was thinking about that. Yeah, absolutely. And I think it also helps the vet. I'm friends with a lot of vets. Lots of depression amongst veterinarians. And I'm friends with vets. And I can imagine it feeling like it's such a powerless thing to have to put a pet down and sit there with the family while the pet goes like it's powerless and awful. And to be able to say like, I know this is so hard.
And here's somebody who really understands if you feel like you might need some grief therapy. I think when I think about my friends, they would feel like it helps them make it less hard for the clients or the patients. Wow, that's that's so interesting. And that's like, my niche is like this one thing, but that's like, that's good to know.
Just because like, when I also just look at my values and my clients values, like we we something we share is, we love animals like we'd love, love, love them. So like, I still do think actually would be a really potentially helpful person for people who are grieving because some people don't get it. Some people don't get the animal thing. They're like, what your pet died, big deal. And like, I think that people really need someone who gets it.
Like, no, this is a total catastrophe and it's unfixable. Absolutely. And I think I had to take a week off just to function when our dog passed. It's just, it's too heartbreaking to go about life like it's normal. So yeah, right. It's not right. Absolutely. You're walking around like this crazy thing just happened and nobody knows. Like everyone's just living normal. And I feel like I just watched a rocket come down into earth. Sweet babies. That's cool. Okay. Network with a vet.
Okay. I think that's all I have to ask about. Okay, cool. Cool. Well, let us know in the Facebook group, like how things are going. If you decide to go the wait list route or not beyond those five clients, I like the idea of clients since you do have dates for those. Okay. I will. Awesome. Very cool. Well, I will talk to you soon. All right. Thank you so much. I appreciate you. Yeah, you too. Bye. Bye. If you're ready for a much easier practice, therapy notes is the way to go.
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