Planning for the future

For the several years that I have been completing my doctoral training in clinical psychology at the Adler School of Professional Psychology in Chicago, I have been planning to open my own private group practice once I have received my license. This summer I am preparing to take the NCC exam to receive the Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) license in Illinois so that I can practice at the Master’s level over the next couple of years while writing my dissertation and developing my internship options.

I see my background as a web programmer and internet marketer as being invaluable to my future career path, because the people I respect the most have consistently told me that marketing a private psychotherapy practice is the most difficult part of the business. And people are increasingly finding the services they need by searching the internet, rather than checking phone books, asking their doctors or clergymen, etc. So one of my key strategies for achieving success as a psychotherapist and as a business owner will be to market my counseling business online.

I recently wrote an article for the Thrive Learning Institute about the importance of using the principles of internet marketing to promote offline businesses. This is a topic I may be writing about more on this web site, because it is something that I am and will be working very hard on over the coming years.