In an age of impersonal interactions and corporate everything, I think its important to understand the way a typical counselor works and operates. We are a unique group in the helping professions. We maintain the highest levels of privacy and deal with the most difficult parts of peoples lives. Our background and expertise can be in the fields of mental health, social work or psychology. Counselors often have experience as teachers as well.
There are many large agencies out there who hire counselors who help large populations in the schools and homes of individuals and families. These agencies can and do hire excellent counselors, often working as recent graduate interns to acquire licensure. These individuals are often energetic and learning the profession. They must practice under the supervision of experienced supervisor at all times. These companies , however can be slow to respond to your needs, and have a high turnover of staff, causing insurance hang ups and often leaving you in the lurch. They are also independent contractors and are only paid for direct service to you, bearing the burden of expenses and losses.
Another type of business is a group counseling or consulting practice where a sucessful counselor will hire other counselors to take on the clients they cannot make time for. Usually counselors are paid a percentage or a flat rate. These counselors are often able to take many insurances through the business name. They are also independent contractors and are only paid for direct service to you, bearing the burden of expenses and losses.
The private practice is a term used by counselors who have completed requirements for licensure. This can take up to 5 years in the field. TO backtrack, all counselors must complete a 2 year masters program that teaches the clinical , person to person aspects of helping clients with diagnosable mental health disorders, from depression to complex psychotic disorders. We learn to use evidence-based practices, ways that have been proven to work. We must be able to listen and adjust to changing dialogue in the session. In the process, we often develop a specialty, a niche, a way of practicing that is a reflection of our own individuality.
I am a private practice. Most if not all work in this field is done as independent contractor, sole proprietor or business owner. This requires a good deal of business administration, marketing, learning to form an LLC, acquiring malpratice insurance and organizing our work with electronic health software that is HIPAA compliant. We must continue our education every year by law. We must learn to be accountants, clerical workers, schedulers, tax specialists and billers as well as healers. The cost of these services is often unaffordable in relation to insurance reimbursements, making it a hard business to afford. The cost of office space is sometimes out of the question.
With all this in mind, I hope that you can understand and respect the commitment of your counselor, and can make the same commitment to your therapy.
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