Chapter One
Professional
Identity
The
more than century-old discipline of social work offers a specific identity embodied
in the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics which includes the
values of service, human dignity, and integrity. Social work training articulates skills
including reflective listening, open-ended questions, and non-verbal
communication. Psychotherapy theorists
define interventions like identifying specific behaviors, solutions, and
relationship styles. Laws and court
decisions require steps like risk assessment, mandated reporting, and
documentation. Insurance means
diagnosis, informed consent, and billing.
These are among the questions to be answered in developing a
professional identity. When you decide
to “hang out your own shingle”, how does all that fit on the sign? Of course, the business sign these days is
not a sign at all. And, business is
generally not generated by drop-in or drive-by customers. In ten years, despite investing in print
advertising, memberships in therapy directories, and direct mail and e-mail
marketing, most of my referrals still come by word of mouth from clients
themselves.
There are a variety of platforms that serve as
the modern day business sign, among them websites, Facebook, Linkedin, and
Plaxo, and I use them all. But the one
that has been most useful, flexible, and personal is my website: www.michaelajoneslcsw.com.
However, it is not having the website that defines my professional
identity but the process of developing it.
It requires answering and continuing to reflect on the big questions:
Who are you? What do you believe? What do you have to offer? How do you think about people and their
challenges? How do you work? On what
education, knowledge, and experience is your work based? With whom will you work? What will you do or not do? Who are your colleagues and connections? Because this business sign exists in the
ether and not at a specific physical address or even on paper it can represent
me where ever I work and whatever I do. It
holds a space for my professional identity and ideas whether I am in private
practice or working for another organization or not at all. It can be changed and updated and refreshed
whenever I am.
The
process started by reviewing a lot of websites, both those of other therapists
and those of other businesses. Then I
had to determine the necessary content, like contact information, and nice
content, like intake forms and other resources.
Most importantly it may be a client’s first introduction to me and my
services. In that way it provides a
first impression and first informed consent, the legal and ethical information required
to be provided to clients. This is
included in a professional biography, philosophy, and frequently asked
questions also contained in the forms clients sign to provide informed consent
for treatment and notice of privacy practices.
The latter leads to thinking and planning how client information and
files, both paper and electronic, will be stored and secured for retrieval
until they can legally be destroyed. In
my case, it is a locked filing cabinet inside a locked office and password protected
software and computer. The first intake
forms I used I borrowed directly from the more experienced therapists with whom
I worked, changing and updating them to meet my needs as my own experience and
training progressed. The forms are
therapeutic tools after all, including important background information,
symptom checklists, and risk assessments that contribute to treatment.
Providing them online was a practical way to save printing costs but also to
allow clients to begin to consider the kinds of topics that might be covered in
session. Developing a list of resources
required me to make connections and to consider what referrals my clients might
need from emergency to supportive services.
A bibliography suggests options for biblio-therapy.
These
days websites are simple to create and maintain by registering a domain name
and hiring a hosting company, even designing the site yourself as one of my
colleagues did with a Microsoft program.
I paid a web designer to pull my ideas together into a cohesive
presentation. First, I had to figure out
what to call my website. My television
handle, Mike Jones, fit nicely on the screen but a quick Google search showed
it was already taken by hundreds of others and my business would be difficult
to find on the internet. Having my face
in the public eye made it easy to put it on my website and business cards. Most of my colleagues do not do this either
because they see it as undignified, as if we are selling real estate, or they
are simply not as vain as I. But there
is a clinical reason I plaster my picture all over my media. Going to therapy, like the doctor and the
dentist, it not always easy or comfortable.
Many clients are in crisis or distress.
In line with trauma-informed care, showing a client who they will meet,
where they will meet, and what they can expect reduces anticipatory anxiety. It is really the beginning of the therapeutic
process, contemplating change. An
explanation of services explains your practice model and socializes a client to
the therapeutic process. Answering
frequently-asked-questions helps to define professional boundaries. The same rationale applies to including maps,
directions, and pictures of the office and building along with parking
information and amenities. Including
links to blog, Facebook, and Twitter, if not LinkedIn and Plaxo, too, are other
ways to extend the reach of a professional identity. These are the mission and vision of a private practice.
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