Comments on: What is the purpose of your business? http://therapistleadershipinstitute.com/blog/1647/purpose/ Supporting and enriching the lives and careers of therapists worldwide. Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:02:30 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 hourly 1 By: Renee Meggs http://therapistleadershipinstitute.com/blog/1647/purpose/comment-page-1/#comment-767 Renee Meggs Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:54:25 +0000 http://therapistleadershipinstitute.com/blog/?p=1647#comment-767 Thanks for both your questions and the article. I appreciated reading the comments from others as well. I opened my private practice this year after working more than 20 years in the helping profession with municipal and provincial government agencies as well as agencies contracted by the government. It seemed like a natural progression for me, an opportunity for another challenge, and an opportunity to build something the way I wanted to--free from politics or anyone else's agendas. The idea of having more flexibility was also appealing as well as having more time with my family. The time dream so far has been just that, but it'll come!! My purpose has always been to help people using a non-pathologizing and strength-based approach--i.e. solution focused brief therapy. My most gratifying moments have been working with people who have gone from the depths of despair to feeling hopeful and doing what works for them in a relatively short period of time--no matter what their troubles were. My goal is to be able to do that while making a comfortable living. I am nowhere near reaching that goal, but I'm working hard at it. I look forward to hearing the tele-seminar tonight. Sincerely, Renee Meggs, Registered Psychologist Focused Solutions Counselling & Coaching www.reneemeggs.com Thanks for both your questions and the article. I appreciated reading the comments from others as well. I opened my private practice this year after working more than 20 years in the helping profession with municipal and provincial government agencies as well as agencies contracted by the government. It seemed like a natural progression for me, an opportunity for another challenge, and an opportunity to build something the way I wanted to–free from politics or anyone else’s agendas. The idea of having more flexibility was also appealing as well as having more time with my family. The time dream so far has been just that, but it’ll come!!

My purpose has always been to help people using a non-pathologizing and strength-based approach–i.e. solution focused brief therapy. My most gratifying moments have been working with people who have gone from the depths of despair to feeling hopeful and doing what works for them in a relatively short period of time–no matter what their troubles were. My goal is to be able to do that while making a comfortable living. I am nowhere near reaching that goal, but I’m working hard at it. I look forward to hearing the tele-seminar tonight.

Sincerely,
Renee Meggs, Registered Psychologist
Focused Solutions Counselling & Coaching
http://www.reneemeggs.com

]]> By: Tanya Ruckstuhl-Valenti http://therapistleadershipinstitute.com/blog/1647/purpose/comment-page-1/#comment-766 Tanya Ruckstuhl-Valenti Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:28:30 +0000 http://therapistleadershipinstitute.com/blog/?p=1647#comment-766 Great article! I think my purpose is to have as much fun as possible while helping others at the same time. In service to this goal, I only charge for the intakes in which I actually want to work with the client and the client wants to work with me. Fortunately this is most of the time, but it has gotten me out of the sticky situation of rejecting a client that has just paid me money to hear his or her story. Great article! I think my purpose is to have as much fun as possible while helping others at the same time. In service to this goal, I only charge for the intakes in which I actually want to work with the client and the client wants to work with me. Fortunately this is most of the time, but it has gotten me out of the sticky situation of rejecting a client that has just paid me money to hear his or her story.

]]> By: Ken Howard, LCSW http://therapistleadershipinstitute.com/blog/1647/purpose/comment-page-1/#comment-765 Ken Howard, LCSW Thu, 17 Sep 2009 04:53:49 +0000 http://therapistleadershipinstitute.com/blog/?p=1647#comment-765 1) I feel my purpose is to support the community of urban gay men that I am a part of. It is my profession, and it also my biography. My purpose is to use my skills, education, talent, passion, and compassion to fight back against the social ills that affect the community of gay men who are my brethren. Ills such as homophobia, discrimination, violence, general antipathy, and also more specific situations like HIV infection, substance or behavioral addictions that enslave and disempower otherwise vibrant men from reaching their full potential, and psychiatric disorders that threaten to sabotage clever, compassionate, creative, brilliant minds. I can't eradicate these ills, but I can do all I can -- which after 17 years of experience is a lot -- to minimize their impact and help "my peeps" to live vibrant, more fulfilling, and happier lives. And, I take Casey's advice and I "make a living (and a good one, I admit!) by making a difference." It's a win-win situation. What's not to love about that? 2) My business and marketing choices are simply to let the people who could benefit from my help know that I am there for them. The people who could benefit from my work can't get the help they need or want if they don't know who I am, where I am, what I do, how they can access me, and how our work together might benefit them in important areas of their lives. That's why I advertise and do myriad marketing; I'm just telling the people who need or want to work with me to achieve their specific, individual goals that I am here for them. It wouldn't be right for someone to need my help and not know the first thing about how to get it. 3) My next steps are to take YEARS of following Casey's advice and take it to still higher levels -- not just filling a practice with close to full-fee, non-insurance clients, but also to provide myself with Multiple Streams of Income by offering online products and services that help people whom I might not ever meet in person, but they can benefit from my experience, knowledge, skills, compassion, and passion in the specific areas that I study and serve. It's expanding my sphere of influence from very local clients to potentially national or global ones, which my website visitor analysis indicates exists already from people all over the world. Every therapist could benefit from the MSOITs, no matter what "niche" we have chosen to develop as our "calling". My next steps are also about recovering from this awful Recession and building an even fuller practice, using Casey's techniques and other sources of inspiration that are PUT INTO PRACTICE beyond "awareness of theory". I hope this helps others, and as always, my gratitude to Casey for giving us all specific methodolgies that truly help us to make a living while making a difference. Good luck to everyone on this -- it's a noble goal worth pursuing! 1) I feel my purpose is to support the community of urban gay men that I am a part of. It is my profession, and it also my biography. My purpose is to use my skills, education, talent, passion, and compassion to fight back against the social ills that affect the community of gay men who are my brethren. Ills such as homophobia, discrimination, violence, general antipathy, and also more specific situations like HIV infection, substance or behavioral addictions that enslave and disempower otherwise vibrant men from reaching their full potential, and psychiatric disorders that threaten to sabotage clever, compassionate, creative, brilliant minds. I can’t eradicate these ills, but I can do all I can — which after 17 years of experience is a lot — to minimize their impact and help “my peeps” to live vibrant, more fulfilling, and happier lives. And, I take Casey’s advice and I “make a living (and a good one, I admit!) by making a difference.” It’s a win-win situation. What’s not to love about that?

2) My business and marketing choices are simply to let the people who could benefit from my help know that I am there for them. The people who could benefit from my work can’t get the help they need or want if they don’t know who I am, where I am, what I do, how they can access me, and how our work together might benefit them in important areas of their lives. That’s why I advertise and do myriad marketing; I’m just telling the people who need or want to work with me to achieve their specific, individual goals that I am here for them. It wouldn’t be right for someone to need my help and not know the first thing about how to get it.

3) My next steps are to take YEARS of following Casey’s advice and take it to still higher levels — not just filling a practice with close to full-fee, non-insurance clients, but also to provide myself with Multiple Streams of Income by offering online products and services that help people whom I might not ever meet in person, but they can benefit from my experience, knowledge, skills, compassion, and passion in the specific areas that I study and serve. It’s expanding my sphere of influence from very local clients to potentially national or global ones, which my website visitor analysis indicates exists already from people all over the world. Every therapist could benefit from the MSOITs, no matter what “niche” we have chosen to develop as our “calling”. My next steps are also about recovering from this awful Recession and building an even fuller practice, using Casey’s techniques and other sources of inspiration that are PUT INTO PRACTICE beyond “awareness of theory”.

I hope this helps others, and as always, my gratitude to Casey for giving us all specific methodolgies that truly help us to make a living while making a difference. Good luck to everyone on this — it’s a noble goal worth pursuing!

]]> By: Kerry http://therapistleadershipinstitute.com/blog/1647/purpose/comment-page-1/#comment-764 Kerry Thu, 17 Sep 2009 04:04:00 +0000 http://therapistleadershipinstitute.com/blog/?p=1647#comment-764 Casey, I expected to learn from you, but you altered my perspective on exactly what it is that I want! I really thought that I wanted to have a successful private practice with real paying clients, but you have opened my eyes to the fact that I have been called to serve the poor and homeless. I can't believe that all it took was to have you point out that I can apply for grants and raise donations so that I can afford to do exactly that. Amazing how we can be totally blind to the obvious! Thank you so much for your insights. You will never know how many you have helped, but you will be blessed anyway. Casey,
I expected to learn from you, but you altered my perspective on exactly what it is that I want! I really thought that I wanted to have a successful private practice with real paying clients, but you have opened my eyes to the fact that I have been called to serve the poor and homeless. I can’t believe that all it took was to have you point out that I can apply for grants and raise donations so that I can afford to do exactly that. Amazing how we can be totally blind to the obvious! Thank you so much for your insights. You will never know how many you have helped, but you will be blessed anyway.

]]>