A reader asked me to specifically address contracts with medical practices. So this is for you Trey!
Below is a post I wrote a couple of years ago at the request of a reader. Since that time, I have had the opportunity to a) further develop my consulting model (see the model), and b) contract directly with a group of physicians and their staff. The post still holds up as is but I wanted to add links to the fully developed model to help readers who find this older post. All the best! Bryan
Original post:
A caveat. Most of my direct contact with medical practices has not been contracts that I have set up myself. Rather, they have been set up by therapists I trained to do consulting or colleagues in practices I joined. My contracts have been more in the spheres of education, non-profits, family-based business, churches, and manufacturing. But, since my reader asked, here's what I know . . .
Contracts with medical services that I personally am aware of include . . .
A contract to do counseling with a program to help young mother's learn to breastfeed and take care of their babies. (The therapist first became aware of the need through a client then approached the program.)
A contract with a gynecologist to do brief counseling for women and couple's who were having issues with pregnancy or the emotional impact of expecting. (This was born out of the therapist going to the gynecologist for her own pregnancy and noticing how many women were crying before or after the appointments.)
A chiropractor who was moving to a wholistic model including message and counseling.
A Urology clinic that was looking to provide support services to their clientele and support to their staff and professionals.
A cancer program who wanted to provide counseling to those newly diagnosed.
Other contracts that I have been a part of include . . .
A short-term EAP service (including trainings) for a manufacturing company.
A retainer contract for supervision of therapy.
An EAP service for a local church.
A contract for in-school counseling (5 schools) for identified at-risk students.
A project to integrate the mental health services of four non-profit agencies.
Here's the bottom line. If you can . . . 1) find a need and . . . if the organization is 2) aware of (or can be made aware of) the need . . . and they are 3) willing to spend money to address the need. You can, assuming you have the requisite knowledge and skills, propose a contract to meet that need.
For me that means a process I describe as:
1. An exploratory meeting
2. An agreement to conduct preliminary assessment
3. A proposal for an intervention
4. The intervention
5. The follow-up
It's not rocket-science. However, it helps to have a clear plan, know the risks and pitfalls, be clear how to price your work so it's worth your time and be willing to advocate to be involved at a level that will really allow you to help them accomplish their goals.
Hope that helps Trey! If you have questions feel free to contact me at drbryanmiller@gmail.com