www.drmonag.com
Dr. Mona Ghosheh has created a 100% online therapy practice based in
Texas. In just over a year, she has transitioned from her job as
counselor in a college counseling center to her own private practice that
is completely online. Due to family needs, she has to travel between
Austin and Houston and Dallas and is able to take her practice with her!
Today she talks about how she built this business – the ups an downs,
benefits and challenges. We talk about it all – from setting up your
office and getting the lighting right to the choice of platforms and
marketing your practice. She is incredibly helpful and there is a ton of
great information here for all of us – newbies or seasoned therapists-
we all can learn a lot from Dr. Ghosheh.
Many of you are familiar with many of the ‘online clinics’ that are available out there. Talk Space, BetterHelp, and Breakthrough are just a few of the leaders in the field. They can be an easy entry point for a therapist who is considering doing online counseling, as they do all of the marketing for you and they offer the technology (Text, IM, Email or video) that you would use to connect. They also sometimes act as an ‘intake coordinator’ and match clients with the best therapist for their needs. Ken Fields who operates from Hawaii and is the founder of Open Mind Counseling has been using these clinics to build his practice since almost the beginning of their creation – back in 2006. He has incredible experience from the inside on how they have developed and how they have grown and improved over the years. They can be a wonderful source for a client who wishes a certain level of anonymity. I’ve heard many of you express concerns about their business models – so here is a chance to hear from someone who has used them extensively.