Earning a Living Outside of Managed Mental Health Care

Psychologists are increasingly dissatisfied with managed care companies. While many practitioners would prefer to develop a fee-for-service practice to improve clinical care and income, there is limited available information on how to establish one. This book illustrates 50 strategies for growing a practice that is not managed care or insurance dependent. Contributors describe how they successfully carved out a niche in areas as varied as family and divorce counseling, teaching and supervision, healthcare, product development, and organizational consulting. In each vignette, the author describes his or her practice arrangements, training experiences, primary activities, pros and cons of this career path, effective business approaches, and also recommends professional resources, including books, journals, websites, and societies. This book provides plenty of ideas for early career psychologists and graduate students interested in starting a private practice as well as seasoned practitioners who want to develop alternative income sources to minimize dependence on insurance companies.

Steven Walfish, PhD, is a licensed psychologist in independent practice in Atlanta. He is the associate editor of 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 a recipient of the American Psychological Association (APA) Division of Consulting Psychology Award for Outstanding Research in Consulting Psychology, the Walter Barton Award for Outstanding Research in Mental Health Administration from the American College of Mental Health Administration, and the APA Division of Independent Practice Mentoring Award. His first book (coedited with Allen Hess) was! Succeeding in Graduate School: The Career Guide for Psychology Student. His second book (coauthored with Jeffrey Barnett), Financial Success in Mental Health Practice: Essential Tools and Strategies for Practitioners, was published by APA in 2008.

Dr. Walfish received his PhD in clinical and community psychology from the University of South Florida and has been a visiting professor at Kennesaw State University and Georgia State University. He is currently a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine.