Why thinking like a client will help you tailor your services, improve relationships, and increase profits.

What do your clients want in a professional mental health services provider? The same things you do! With the myriad options available for therapists and counselors, it's important that you tailor your practice and professional image so that you position yourself as the quality, professional alternative to the everyday therapist. How do you do that?

1. Shop around.

   As a therapist, you understand the importance of seeking your own supportive treatment. Well, look around when you visit your therapist. Notice how things are decorated, set up, etc. What are the fees for other therapists in town that have similar training to your own? Shopping around will allow you to price your services accordingly, as well as shape your style and image as a therapist offering services to the public.

2. Emphasize quality whenever possible.

   Too many therapists subscribe to the "starving artist" model of providing services. Their offices look like they've been preserved as models for museums on 1970's décor. They dress like they did in graduate school-back in 1985. Make sure you are emphasizing quality whenever possible. This can be done on a budget, also, so that is no excuse for falling into the "starving artist" paradigm trap. Upgrade your office furnishings when possible. Make sure you dress nicely, which conveys a professional image and respect to your clients. Men can benefit from avoiding the clichéd look of glasses and a goatee, and women can avoid looking frumpy by ditching the shoulder padded blouses. Get the idea?

3. Don't nickel and dime your clients

   Especially in these distressed economic times, don't fall into the trap of charging your clients for everything possible. I know therapists that charge for random phone calls, or for one-page therapy summaries, or for water in the waiting room. This sends the wrong kind of message to your clients; mainly, that any contact with you will be punished via fees. Is that what you want them to think in their interactions with you?