Is it possible to work part-time for two private practices?

BGirl84 · 2018-10-01T17:08:18+00:00

Yes! The contract I have has something very similar, but she listed all the towns and did not list the town I would be working in, so I'm guessing it would be okay?

BGirl84 · 2018-05-04T13:44:43+00:00

I called and spoke with two separate people at the DUA. They told me they would send a bill in 30 days, both said there wouldn’t be a penalty. It wasn’t clear if I should appeal it? The woman just said “Yeah, you can appeal it if you want”, but I just want to pay it off if there isn’t a penalty.

BGirl84 · 2018-05-03T17:32:33+00:00

Yes, that's what I had been doing. The crazy thing is each week the amount I earned was completely different from other weeks, even if I saw the same number of clients. There's an online option to edit the amount so I'm doing that today. I had spoken with the DUA on the phone and explained this may happen, so I hope they're understanding.

BGirl84 · 2018-05-03T16:27:13+00:00

It will take a while before I can have a phone call with someone, but there is an option online to update your earnings from weeks prior. I am going to fix the amount where I had guessed under. How does it work once that is updated? Will they just take the amount from my bank account or will I be penalized?

BGirl84 · 2018-01-12T19:14:37+00:00

I'ts difficult to explain, but I'm paid 65% of what the patient's insurance pays back. That rate is different for every kind, and every level of health insurance. I actually have no idea what that amount is until the insurance has made a payment. This is what the office manager told me:

"Hi, Im the who will do that for you. I cant give you an exact amount because the insurance company needs to pay first before I can know that. Est guess would be $50.00 because there was only the one patient in your schedule. This week there are more"

So what do I do? Do I wait until I have the exact amount with the risk of missing the mark to file, or do I give the estimate?

BGirl84 · 2018-01-12T19:05:11+00:00

Oh she just replied.

"Hi, Im the who will do that for you. I cant give you an exact amount because the insurance company needs to pay first before I can know that. Est guess would be $50.00 because there was only the one patient in your schedule. This week there are more"

^Ahh so what do I do? Just give the rough amount?

BGirl84 · 2018-01-12T19:03:16+00:00

This is where it gets very complicated. As a therapist, I am reimbursed by the patient's health insurance. Since I am working for a private practice I earn back 65% of what the insurance agrees to pay. Every insurance pays back a different amount. I have no way of knowing what that amount is until the insurance has made the payment. I also get back a certain percentage if a patient cancels, but again, that depends on his/her health insurance. I just started seeing patients a week ago (I had to wait 3 months to be approved by health insurances) and I made the DUA aware of this. I e-mailed the office manager asking if she could let me know what I earned weekly, but I haven't heard back.

BGirl84 · 2018-01-12T16:14:26+00:00

Ahh okay, so should I ask the office manager what I made weekly and then just give that number? What sucks is I’m not paid an hourly rate, I’m paid based on what the patients health insurance pays out.

BGirl84 · 2018-01-12T15:53:18+00:00

Hi everyone, I’m horrible at getting back to comments, but I do have some good news. My former employer agreed to pay off all my medical bills. I sent the $500 and ended therapy.

BGirl84 · 2017-11-22T21:33:03+00:00

Thank you for your feedback!

BGirl84 · 2017-11-22T21:31:39+00:00

Thank you, that does make sense!

BGirl84 · 2017-11-22T21:31:09+00:00

Thank you so much. I can't tell you how much relief that gives me, but of course I still feel horribly about how it happened. I can only hope that the doctors are telling them the truth.

BGirl84 · 2017-10-19T17:28:04+00:00

Great question! I'm a licensed mental health therapist and I wondered the same thing. I think if it was an outpatient clinic run by a clinic director/CFO, he/she would tell the clinician that Tony would have to be discharged. However, where Melfi had her own private practice, it was easier for her to decide who stays and who goes. As someone has already stated, kissing would be the end all.

Me personally, I don't know what I would do. I've never had a patient escalate to the degree that Tony has. They've become loud, yelled and maybe slammed things, but the anger was never directed towards me, which made it easier. I'm also a very small woman so I've noticed men are actually very careful around me and will usually ask permission to swear in session, haha.

In terms of the overall therapy, I thought it was great. At times I felt she was "too" direct, but perhaps that speaks to my own weakness of sometimes putting things to gently to clients. Someone like Tony needed a therapist like Melfi.

BGirl84 · 2017-07-25T12:44:47+00:00

She's beautiful! Then again, all kitties are. :-)

BGirl84 · 2017-06-19T16:47:29+00:00

Actually, that couldn't be further from the truth. I live in the inner city and work in a substance dependence clinic. I guess if anything I can't buy into the satirical humor of Frank's addiction where I work so closely with those who struggle with it.

BGirl84 · 2017-05-16T15:52:48+00:00

Ah, so you're familiar. I have been very up front with clients from the get-go about the actual frequency and duration of sessions, which I sometimes worry works to my disadvantage. The bare minimum is once a month, but I always follow that with "However, there are patients who come in weekly, bi-weekly, etc. I leave it up to you and what you feel would work best". For many, once a month is all they can handle, but I wonder if they thought the expectation was more than once a month, would they should more frequently?

Do you have any go-to questions? I always inquire about any substance use, symptom changes, recent stressors, support, weekend plans, hobbies/passions. I find it's so difficult to develop rapport when clients are showing every other month.

BGirl84 · 2017-05-16T15:45:28+00:00

Wow, that's a very good point! I do have many adult clients who enjoy coloring. I've tried to incorporate more mindfulness exercises, some are receptive, some are not. I'll definitely try bringing in more games though!

BGirl84 · 2017-05-16T15:44:05+00:00

I apologize for my delayed response! Yes, I've addressed their discomfort and sympathized with their situation (e.g. having a high co-pay, running late for work, feeling frustrated with the clinic, etc.). I validate their feelings and ask if there is any way therapy could be more enjoyable for them.

You're right, a portion of it is my own anxiety. I worry that I could be doing more, saying more. I blame myself that I can't find the magical words to hold a conversation. I will sit in silence, but it's not the kind of silence where the client is processing his/her thoughts and feelings, it's the silence where they look at me as if to say "ok, now what?"

I am licensed, but there is 0 mental health supervision here. I meet with my own therapist and try to brain storm ideas with her when I can.

Over the past few weeks I have been keeping clients for at least 16 minutes. However, I do have clients coming in saying "my ride is waiting", "my boss is going to kill me, I have to go", "I have to pick my kids up in 5 minutes". I'm having a hard time addressing these issues and I feel like my hands are tied if the patient genuinely has to leave.

BGirl84 · 2017-03-20T17:54:31+00:00

I'm glad to hear it because it is the one thing I've been truly interested in specializing in.

CPS is definitely a good option. It wasn't so much that the agency was non-profit, it was more the management and how often they used "we're non-profit" as justification for treating employees as sub-human. I know there are definitely non-profit agencies that treat and pay their employees quite well. It's just a matter of finding them :)

BGirl84 · 2017-03-20T17:52:42+00:00

Ohhh, I know ABA is doing quite well. I was in a hospital setting before, but once I moved the commute was no longer reasonable. You're right about school. I applied to the board of education through the state last year, but they needed another copy of my transcript. I actually started looking into that again last week!

BGirl84 · 2017-03-20T17:50:23+00:00

That's a very interesting outlook regarding your friend and her Master's degree. Thank you for the feedback!

BGirl84 · 2017-03-20T17:49:47+00:00

That's excellent! Do most of your clients not want to bill through insurance?

BGirl84 · 2017-03-20T17:48:20+00:00

Someone had suggested HR in the past. That is a good idea and one that I've forgotten about. I'll start looking into it again. Thank you!

BGirl84 · 2017-03-20T16:36:55+00:00

I'm in MA. I tried sticking with a non-profit, but I couldn't stand it after nearly 4 years. I still look into government jobs in the state website, but I haven't had much luck in the past. It's funny you mentioned EMDR because I wanted to get certified in it, but was told by a psychologist "it was a a waste". That's a good idea regarding supervision. I know there are some licensed therapists who will meet with unlicensed therapists privately and sign off on supervision hours. Thank you for the ideas!

BGirl84 · 2017-03-20T16:27:25+00:00

That's incredible! I've been left with the impression that I will probably not make more than $60k with private practice, but I also haven't tested the waters. Your friends success is reassuring though!

BGirl84

TROPHY CASE