Mastering the Financial Dimension of Your Psychotherapy Practice

Peter H. Cole, LCSW, and Daisy Reese, LCSW, have been teaching and practicing psychotherapy for more than 25 years. Peter is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine and a chartered financial consultant (ChFC®), specializing in work with mental health professionals. Daisy owns a private practice. They are also founders and co-directors of the Sierra Institute for Contemporary Gestalt Therapy, where they continue to train and mentor therapists in Northern California.

• Introduction. Why a Financial Planning Book for Therapists? Section I. The Lifecycle of a Psychotherapy Practice 1. Moving Through the Seasons 2. The Internship Phase: Having a Good Experience While Preparing for Licensure 3. The Launching Phase 4. The Establishing Phase 5. The Prime Phase 6. The Elder Phase Section II. Psychological and Therapeutic Considerations. 7. Raising Your Money Consciousness: An Important Journey of Individuation 8. The Psychological Dimension 9. Characterological Defenses Around Money Wounds 10. What is Financial Well-Being? 11. The Couple’s Money Dance 12. Complementary Work: Referring to and Working With a Financial Planner 13. Money as a Transference Object in Therapy Section III. Current Practice Considerations 14. Sustaining Your Prosperous Practice Through Changing Economic Times 15. The Affordable Care Act and Beyond: Making Managed Care Work for You 16. Your Online Presence 17. Utilizing Practice Management Software Systems for Your Office Section IV. A Therapist’s Money Guide 18. Filling in the Financial Knowledge Gap 19. Five Common Financial Mistakes of Private Practitioners 20. Tax-Advantaged Investing Plans for Self-Employed Psychotherapists 21. A Therapist’s Guide to Fundamental Investing Concepts 22. Securities That Therapists Commonly Invest In 23. Socially Responsible Investing 24. Debt and Credit Issues 25. An Insurance Primer 26. Estate Planning: Financial Planning for After a Death Section V. Your Money Pages 27. Introduction to a Lifetime Plan for Your Financial Well-Being 28. Financial Worksheets and Process Pages 29. Looking Forward Addenda Addendum I. Further Resources Addendum II. Using QuickBooks® for Your Bookkeeping Addendum III. Glossary of Financial Terms

"In this thoughtful and comprehensive guide, Daisy Reese and Peter Cole help psychotherapy practitioners to address ‘what they didn’t teach in graduate school’ about that most sensitive of subjects, money. A truly indispensable guide for practitioners at all levels. Novices will be guided, mid-career professionals will find reassuring counsel, and seasoned practitioners will discover useful strategies and perspectives. Highly recommended."Justin B. Hecht, PhD, psychologist and Jungian analyst"I could have used this book when I started my private practice years ago! I had no real knowledge of how to manage the financial dimensions of this business and barely recognized that I had a ‘relationship’ to money at all. Peter Cole and Daisy Reese tune into these and other unique concerns of psychotherapy finances from a practical, personal, and clinical perspective. This book brings the reader up to date regarding legal policies, online practices, and investment basics while keeping the goals of psychotherapy in the foreground." Charlie Bowman, MS, LCSW, LMFT, LCAC, president of the Indianapolis Gestalt Institute and past president of the Association for the Advancement of Gestalt Therapy "The authors offer a particularly thought-provoking premise concerning the way a therapist’s psychological issues influence the psychological well-being, or lack thereof, of one’s psychotherapy practice. The chapters extend the groundbreaking ideas of the 2004 book to incorporate thoughtful, thorough, and timely guidance through the ever-shifting, even precarious, economic landscape in which we currently practice. Your psychotherapy practice reference shelf is incomplete without this book!"Dale Blunden, PhD, licensed psychologist in private practice, Sacramento, CA