Private Practice 101

Well, no, this is not an update on the television series...it is a commentary on how confusing my life is right now. Surprised? You really shouldn't be. It always seems that "stuff" comes in a series piled on top of a lot of other "stuff" that usually falls on days that are too short and filled with delays that are unforeseen and filled with unexpected "stuff"....anyway, you get the picture.
Three years ago when I decided to retire from teaching, I was told by a college instructor/supervisor (who shall not be named in this post) that as a Licensed Associate Counselor, I would be a "perfect fit" to go into a practice with a friend who had an established practice and was a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC - the thing I am finally now). I jumped in, bought an outdoor sign to go with hers, had business cards made, letterhead made, bought my laptop, etc. She gave me the names and addresses for the 60+ insurance companies that she was set up with as a provider. I wrote to them to request being added to their list. As the summer progressed I began getting my denial letters from them....all 60+ of them until I had gotten them all. LAC's it seems could not EVER be added and be able to file insurance for clients. Basically that means that folks would have to just pay cash or go find another therapist down the road that their insurance worked with. You can imagine my feelings. I had one client all summer. That did not cover my rent and utilities that I was sharing with my friend.
By the end of the summer I knew that I would have to do something differently. I had to have 3000 client contact hours in order to become an LPC and at the rate that I had just gone through over the summer, I would be about 102 years old by the time I completed that!!! That's how I ended up doing contract work for the company (that shall remain nameless here) that I work for at this time.
Fortunately, public school work is what I know. Especially school work in Fort Smith. I was assigned one of the high schools here and soon fell in love with the job....but not some parts of it. I never dreamed that the Medicaid paperwork was so gruesome and time consuming. I spend as much time outside of therapy typing up my reports and notes to turn in as I do in actual counseling sessions. Some people have found a way to do it during the day, but even when I try to start doing that the interruptions always get in the way. Someone shows up at my door with a "got to see you now" or they call from the office needing me or there is something else that pulls me away. But the work is something I LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!! And I feel that I'm really getting better at it all the time. There are always one or two that you know that it just isn't working and those you have to find help for them somewhere else, but it is such a good feeling when things work.
Now that I have my LPC, I have made the decision to try my hand at my own office. I have found a location for a part time office space for now, have gotten a phone line installed (have the phone with answering machine in the trunk of my car), have gotten an ad in the upcoming yellow pages in the new phone book and that is about all.
I wish there were a guide book that says "here are the steps for you to follow." There are so many unknowns and everyone seems to do it a different way, so when you talk to one person you hear one thing and then another person tells you something different.
I think I need to catch up on my paperwork so I can think clearly. Maybe when I'm on that plane to New Hampshire in a few weeks, up over the earth with nothing but clouds between me and the ground, I will feel the inspiration for what I need to do with myself and be able to start moving on forward. Right now I'm stuck. Couldn't be that I'm simply exhausted.
More later on that private practice. Maybe I should tell the people I contract with about it soon.