This INTRODUCTORY workshop is designed for those considering private practice as a career path. In professional training, little emphasis is placed on learning the business aspects of private practice. This workshop will help participants decide if private practice is the right career path. Issues related to entrepreneurship, choice of practice arrangement, fee setting, billing and collecting, the use of ancillary professionals, financial planning, and practicing outside of managed care will be discussed.

Research data will be presented on career satisfaction in private practice, sources of stress in private practice, characteristics of successful entrepreneurs, and on activities performed by psychologists and clinical social workers in private practice that fall outside of the purview of managed care.

• Identify the advantages and disadvantages of choosing private practice as a career path,

• Demonstrate knowledge of components of entrepreneurship that are essential to success in private practice,

• Recognize the advantages of starting your own practice or joining an existing practice and differing organizational structures,

• Identify other professionals that may be helpful in the operation of a successful practice and how they can be helpful,

• Recognize steps in fee setting and the billing and collection of fees that meet ethical and legal guidelines,

• Identify methods in which psychologists can earn a living that fall out of the purview of managed care, and

• Recognize the need for sound financial planning to effectively ensure the business and personal financial future of the practitioner.

Steven Walfish, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist in private practice, is the Associate Editor of the Independent Practitioner and has served on the Editorial Boards of several journals. He has published in the areas of substance abuse, weight loss surgery, and professional training and practice. He is recipient of the APA Division of Consulting Psychology Award for Outstanding Research in Consulting Psychology and the Walter Barton Award for Outstanding Research in Mental Health Administration from the American College of Mental Health Administration. His first book (co-edited with Allen Hess) was Succeeding in Graduate School: The Career Guide for Psychology Students. His most recent book, Financial Success in Mental Health Practice:  Essential Tools and Strategies for Practitioners, is published by APA Books. He has been a Visiting Professor at Kennesaw State University and Georgia State University and is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Walfish’s office is located at 2004 Cliff Valley Way, Ste. 101, Atlanta, GA 30329.

Cost: 
October 10, 2008, 9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., lunch not included Registration:  $100 if postmarked or paid by October 3; $115 late registration.  Space is limited.

REFUND POLICY: Requests must be in writing. Refunds will be given on requests postmarked or faxed no later than 5 business days prior to the seminar. No refunds will be issued for “late arrivals” and “no shows.” Address: Ridgeview Institute, Marketing Department, Metro Atlanta, Georgia, FAX: (770) 431-7025. Requests may also be e-mailed to dgay@ridgeviewinstitute.com.