The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy

Is Your Practice Ready for Paid Digital Marketing?An interview with John Sanders, owner of RevKey, about Google and Social Media Ads. Curt and Katie talk with John about the importance of a solid website, effective sales process, and metrics when considering paid digital advertising. We also explore what to expect when you create Google or Facebook Ads. We also talk about why you may want to outsource this and the financial risks for getting this marketing wrong.  It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age.Interview with John Sanders, RevKeyJohn is an expert in paid search, specifically, Google Ads (which used to be called Google AdWords). He holds a BBA and MBA, and he has put this education to work in a variety of positions in the marketing field, including inside sales, purchasing, E-Commerce, and marketing management. Once he found Google Ads, John was hooked. He enjoys helping businesses generate leads through Google Ads that will help their companies grow, and he has partnered with businesses in a range of professions, including medical offices, B2B companies, and national product brands. John can help your business achieve its full potential.In this episode we talk about: Google Ads and other digital advertising (social media for example) The mistakes folks make in purchasing digital ads, typical pitfalls Specific to Google Search Ads: why not to use smart or dynamic ads Keywords and negative keywords The importance of tracking your results and what results you’re looking for The difference between social media and Google ads What a good ad looks like and what page it goes to What’s needed on a website before starting Google Ads (sufficient, relevant content and pages) Service pages and the specificity of the search How social media ads work (e.g., Facebook and Instagram) Building an audience within social media to target with your ads The value of an ideal client or niche when using social media ads Social media is more of a branding exercise than Google Ads Facebook has a lot of specific rules for advertising What return on investment you should expect, the goal of placing ads How to assess what is not working Looking through the full sales cycle to determine where to improve efforts (including answering your phone) The technical savvy that is needed to run and assess these ads The usefulness of Google analytics Determining DIY versus hiring out advertising How to outsource paid digital advertising How to determine the average value of a client Advantage of paid digital advertising versus Search Engine Optimization (SEO) The potential to lose money if this is done wrong The benefit if it is set up properly Setting up a multitier marketing plan including Google Ads and SEO 

Conspiracy Theories in Your OfficeCurt and Katie chat about clients who bring conspiracy theories into therapy. We talk about differentiating between psychosis and believing in conspiracy theories, the characteristics of folks who may be likely to subscribe to these theories, and the importance of the relationship in working with these folks. We also look at steps we would like professional organizations to take to support clinicians.It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age.In this episode we talk about: How to handle when clients bring conspiracy theories into your office Distinguishing between delusions, shared psychosis, and conspiracy theories Reality testing, obsessive research, and other factors that may distinguish between psychosis and conspiracy theory The impact of internet research and social media algorithms The characteristics of folks who are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories How fear of uncertainty, lack of trust can play into this dynamic Societal impacts like advertising certainty The different responsibility that therapists have when someone brings in a conspiracy theory Hesitation in addressing these theories both in the room and at the professional org level The continuum of engagement with conspiracy theories (from “entertainment” to going down the rabbit hole) The level of investment in the theory, groups forming around these theories, and cults The risk factors and legal/ethical responsibilities related to harm Allen Lipscomb’s BRUH modality (Bonding Recognition Understanding and Healing) The problem with direct challenging The importance of identifying is it a conspiracy theory or is someone actually out to get you, especially with clients who are in traditionally marginalized communities Building trust within the relationship through deep understanding of the client’s experiences Societal measures that can help (like deplatforming leaders of the theories) Starting from compassion and curiosity; managing reactions Exploring the nuance of challenging irrational fears versus conspiracy theories Seeking common ground and identifying impacts The call to action to professional organizations for guidance and taking a stance (and the understanding of why they balk at doing so)

Therapists Shaming TherapistsAn interview with Katie Read about therapists shaming each other when they raise their fees or start playing bigger. Curt and Katie talk with Katie about the puritanical culture within the therapist community that leads to group think, public shaming, and milquetoast messaging to mitigate their fear that anything different will be attacked. We look at reasons behind this (jealousy, guilt, shame, and moralism) as well as what therapists can do to step outside of this culture to create more success. It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age.Interview with Katie Read, LMFT, Six Figure FlagshipKatie takes lessons from her nearly-20 successful years in the field to help clinicians grow...then OUTgrow...their practices.Immediately upon licensure, Katie was made Director of a large Transitional Aged Youth program in Oakland, CA. Later, she was recruited to Direct one of Sacramento’s largest Wraparound Programs, and from there she moved into the role of Director of Clinical Supervision, personally supervising 40+ interns towards licensure.Concurrently, Katie had private practices in multiple cities, taught graduate psychology students, and wrote and created therapist training materials.Katie is also a special needs mom and loves helping other moms tune into their own intuition and lead their best-possible lives by taking the sometimes-scary leap into following what’s best for them, deep down.She is the creator of:The Clinician to Coach® Academy,The Clini-Coach® Certification,and the Six-Figure Flagship™ Program.She’s a little bit obsessed with helping therapists get profitable doing the creative, out-of-the-box, authentic work you're called to do!In this episode we talk about: How therapists are treating each other The concept of trolling, piling on, shame The Article in the Atlantic – New Puritans – and the concept of the illiberal left How identity plays a role and the group dynamics within therapist Facebook groups The shaming related to increasing your fees Katie Read’s origin story as an on the street social work The value placed on sacrifice and avoiding guilt for the difference in privilege when working with clients who are impoverished Socially-prescribed perfectionism, self-imposed perfectionism The fine line about what is acceptable to charge or make as a therapist Cancel culture and the lack of allowance for errors Echo chambers, factions, and exclusion The fear of dissenting opinions The low context of the internet paired with the high context nature of a therapist’s job Milquetoast messaging to avoid getting attacked Dialing down authenticity to fit into what is acceptable Challenging our financial mindset Cultural and societal factors that frame us as cheap labor The seeming requirement for therapists to suffer in order to understand our clients The reality of therapists as business owners Therapist guilt for “earning money” Feminized professions and the expectation of doing things out the goodness of our hearts Rapidly changing social rules versus entrenchment in what has been How this identity shift is spilling over into real life Jealousy, guilt, and shame, and moralism The best therapists have the worst impostor syndrome How to navigate when you’re a therapist going against the grain The importance of every therapist doing their own money mindset work

Advocacy in the Wake of Looming Mental Healthcare Workforce ShortagesCurt and Katie chat about the looming (and current) mental health workforce shortages. We talk about the exodus of mental health providers, legislation and proposed bills that seek to address these shortages, and what modern therapists can do to advocate for the needed changes. We also talk about inadequate or harmful strategies (like cheering, scholarships, and subway sandwiches) that are often implemented by agencies and legislatures. We provide individual and collective calls to action. It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age.In this episode we talk about: Recent data that shows that there will be huge workforce shortages in coming years The difficulty for folks in accessing mental health services in all sectors The reasons that mental health workers are leaving the profession High caseloads, higher acuity Systemic burnout, jaded supervisors The inadequate “support” of mental health workers with subway sandwiches, cheering heroes Legislation that has gone through to support healthcare workers in receiving mental health Legislation that funds hiring more workers Bills addressing scholarships to increase folks going to school for mental health The problem with scholarship bills versus loan forgiveness bills Bills working to decrease wait times for those seeking services Creating and filling in mental health treatment needs with paraprofessionals, peer counselors Navigating funding and worker shortages with new treatment planning The challenge in “steeling our hearts” to make choices in how we work and who we work for Both individual and systemic action that we can take to address these issues A request for the National Guard to come in and staff residential treatment centers The importance of taking action now to get involved in legislative advocacy

Waiving Goodbye to Telehealth ProgressAn interview with Dr. Ben Caldwell, LMFT about the impacts of rolling back the covid telehealth waivers. Curt and Katie talk with Ben about how the expiration of emergency orders will impact the profession. As a case study, we talk through how the California professional boards and associations are navigating these challenges, including looking at disciplinary action that has caused alarm (although we don’t think it should). We also talk about calls to action to get involved now, so you can shape future policy on telehealth, tele-supervision, and remote work.It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age.Interview with Dr. Ben Caldwell, LMFTDr. Benjamin Caldwell, PsyD is a California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (#42723) and the Continuing Education Director for SimplePractice Learning. He currently serves as adjunct faculty for California State University Northridge in Los Angeles. He has taught at the graduate level for more than 15 years, primarily in Law and Ethics, and has written and trained extensively on ethical applications in mental health care. In addition to serving a three-year term on the AAMFT Ethics Committee, Dr. Caldwell served as the Chair of the Legislative and Advocacy Committee for AAMFT-California for 10 years. He served as Editor for the User’s Guide to the 2015 AAMFT Code of Ethics and is the author for several books, including Saving Psychotherapy and Basics of California Law for LMFTS, LPCCs, and LCSWs.In this episode we talk about: As a case study: the California Board of Behavioral Sciences rolling back covid waivers and losing the progress made during the pandemic The emergency orders - covid waivers - that are expiring related to telehealth, tele-supervision The specifics of remote supervision when emergency orders are rescinded. Looking at permanent legislation concerns as well as the best-case timeline for when remote supervision can come back The concerns about moving backward and losing all progress made during the pandemic related to electronic and telehealth efforts The short-sightedness of requiring an in-person meeting when starting telehealth or tele-supervision Disciplinary action case regarding remote supervision and a prelicensed individual working from home – but there’s so much more nuance than that Current legislation related to where mental health employees can work (which is actually quite flexible in CA) Equity and access issues related to not allowing clinicians to provide mental health from home On-going responsibilities for supervisors to ensure confidentiality and data security The requirements that supervisors have regardless of where supervisees are working Calls to Action to attend Board meetings for your licensing board, so you can be informed and help to shape future policy.

Reimagining Therapy ReimaginedCurt and Katie chat about their decision to step back from the Therapy Reimagined Conference and what they will be focusing their energy on moving forward. We explore how we came to this decision and the importance of examining what is working in your business practice. We also talk about how other Modern Therapists can get involved in the Therapy Reimagined movement.It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age.In this episode we talk about: Taking a step back and looking at what the mission for Therapy Reimagined is. Why we decided to take a step back from the Therapy Reimagined Conference. What we will be focusing our energy on in place of the conference. How and what you can begin advocating for to help improve the field. Factors that get in the way of advocacy. Ways to get involved with Therapy Reimagined.

Why You Shouldn’t Just Do it All YourselfAn interview with Bibi Goldstein, on how clinicians can grow their business by assessing what they can automate, delegate, or eliminate. We explore the importance of getting rid of the tasks you don’t enjoy doing and benefit of creating more time for things you do enjoy (including getting some rest!). We also talk about how to balance spending money to outsource responsibilities in order to make revenue. It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age. Interview with Bibi Goldstein, Founder of Buying Time, LLCBuying Time, LLC founder, Bibi Goldstein is a time management and systems expert, speaker, co-author of Get Organized Today, Navigating Entrepreneurship and Business Success with Ease, where she provides information on establishing systems in every size business. She is an Infusionsoft Certified Partner and works with many entrepreneurs to automate and systemize their businesses in order to maximize their time. Her team proudly launched www.virtualassistantsuniversity.com in 2021 to provide an opportunity for the millions of people finding themselves needing alternatives to a traditional work environment due to the pandemic.She is an active member of her business community in the South Bay. Bibi is current chair for the South Bay Women’s Conference, Board Member at the Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce, Community Chair/Board Member at the Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce, Advisory Board Member for Walk With Sally, a mentoring program and Past President and current Vice President of the South Bay Business Women’s Association, she served as a committee member and past chair for the Manhattan Beach Women In Business, past President of the Kiwanis Club of Manhattan Beach, and a member of the 2011 class of Leadership Redondo.Bibi has strong lifelong ties to the South Bay community, she lives in Redondo Beach with her husband Mark and has a daughter Julie who is a hairstylist and a local entrepreneur. In this episode we talk about: Who Bibi Goldstein is and what she puts out in the world. What people, specifically healers, get wrong in scaling their businesses. How clinicians can figure out what to outsource for their business and what to manage themselves. Understanding how to balance what outsourcing will cost you and how much it will make you. Important things new clinicians should know about scaling their business and action steps they can take now. The things clinicians should not outsource. How clinicians can do a quick assessment of what they need to automate, delegate, or eliminate. Understanding the importance of rest and doing the things you enjoy to help grow your practice. Getting over not wanting to outsource because of anxiety about how “bad” you’ve been doing it thus far. What Buying Time and Virtual Assistant University are all about.

The Return of Why Therapists QuitCurt and Katie chat about how therapists can maintain joy in their practice when they begin to feel burned out. We explore different ways to incorporate self-care into your life and practice, including making future plans and developing your whole identity. We also talk about how privilege impacts therapists’ ability to engage in self-care and career opportunities.It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age.In this episode we talk about: Discussion of why Katie has not quit the field. Fighting burnout by focusing on what brings you joy in your practice (the Marie Kondo approach). The importance of self-care and incorporating new hobbies/interests into your life. Assessing the distinction between “not great days” and a “not great workplace”. Considering privilege in the ability for therapists to engage in self-care as well as career opportunities. The impact COVID has had on therapist’s being able to participate in self-care. Learning how to incorporate time to make plans for future career goals. How to notice burnout and sacrificial helping. The importance of fostering all aspects of your identity (because you are not your job). Resources mentioned:We’ve pulled together resources mentioned in this episode and put together some handy-dandy links. Please note that some of the links below might be affiliate links, so if you purchase after clicking below, we may get a little bit of cash in our pockets. We thank you in advance!Marie KondoSteven Covey's Big RocksRelevant Episodes: Why Therapists Quit Why Therapists Quit Part 2 Burnout or Depression We Can’t Help Ourselves Quarantine Self-Care for Therapists The Danger of Poor Self-Care for Therapists Negotiating Sliding Scale Overcoming Your Poverty Mindset Career Trekking with MTSGConnect with us!Our Facebook Group – The Modern Therapists Group Get Notified About Therapy Reimagined 2021

Episode 226: How to Fire Your Clients (Ethically) Part 1.5Curt and Katie chat about different therapist-client mismatches and how to manage them. We explore how to balance dealing with discomfort in therapy and seeking consultation with knowing when and how to refer out clients. We also talk about how to incorporate ideas of redefining and decolonizing therapy.It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age.In this episode we talk about: How to manage situations when the client having a clinical need that the therapist does not feel capable to treat. Different kinds of therapist-client mismatches. Cultural considerations in therapist-client matching and incorporating ideas of redefining and decolonizing therapy. How to refer out clients when there is a mismatch and what to do if the client doesn’t want to be referred out. What to do when you have different ideologies than your clients. The benefit of sitting with discomfort when you disagree with your client and knowing when to seek consultation. How to support clients when they aren’t aware that a different therapeutic style (e.g., direct vs. indirect) may be beneficial to them. The importance of reviewing treatment plans with client (even when not required). Revisiting how to address therapy interfering behaviors and how to appropriately terminate with clients when necessary. Barriers in referring clients out.

What to do When Clients Get in Their Own WayCurt and Katie chat about what therapy interfering behaviors (TIBs) are and how to address them in therapy. We explore the balance between reducing barriers for clients while also holding them accountable for their behavior. We also talk about how to identify if it is the therapist or the client engaging in a TIB.It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age.In this episode we talk about: What therapy interfering behaviors (TIBs) are and how TIBs show up in the therapy room. How to address TIBs in therapy (we may disagree a little here). The balance between reducing barriers for clients and holding them accountable. If you should still have session when a client shows up late. Using appropriate self-disclosure to address TIBs. Should you fire clients for TIBs? When therapists engage in TIBs. How to evaluate if it’s a client TIB or therapist TIB. Managing imposter syndrome when a client becomes hostile because the therapist cannot provide what the client wants.