How Many Clients Do You Have?
I received some basic, but important questions via email about what is involved in being a psychotherapist, and thought I'd respond to two of them in this blog.
How many clients do you have and how often do they come and see you?
The number of clients I have tends to fluctuate. At the moment I have 27 clients, and they include couples, families and individuals. This is about as many clients as I can see in any given week. (If my practice is full, I compile a wait list. If the length of time a client must wait is more than one month, I keep a referral list of other therapists that I recommend to potential clients.) Anyway of this 27 clients about half are couples, with one or two families and the remainder are individuals. I generally work Tuesday through Friday. 25-30 hours of my work week is spent with clients face-to-face. I spend 5-10 hours per week attending professional meetings, peer supervision with colleagues and paid supervision with other experienced professionals, conducting research, talking with "collateral" agencies (this means other professionals who are involved in clients' lives, such as psychiatrists, other therapists, social workers, teachers, etc.) marketing my practice, book-keeping and answering/returning phone calls. When I started my private practice, I was determined not to burn myself out and decided that a four day work week was probably a more humane approach to working. I pride myself on being a very conscientious therapist and spend a lot of time reading and researching on different issues that clients raise. This might mean learning educating myself about another culture, another religion or spiritual practice, learning about the stressors attached to various professions that clients have, consulting with other clinicians with a particular expertise, etc.
Some people come to see me once each week for a therapy "hour" which is generally, but not always, 50 minutes long. For busy couples, especially those with children and the accompanying headache of finding regular babysitters, I usually suggest that they attend a 2 hour session every other week. Clients in crisis will often request extra sessions during the week, although unless the client is in an emotional crisis or is very depressed I usually suggest that they only come in once a week. While coming to therapy can be very helpful for people, becoming dependent on your therapist is not. (I'll write a whole blog about this in the near future!) I often encourage clients to build supports into their lives in the form of friendships, communities, support groups and/or 12 step programs. It doesn't take a whole village just to raise a child - adults need villages of caring support also. Oh, and the reasons that therapists, including myself, will see clients for 50 minutes is that we often need to have ten minutes before the next client. This allows me time to jot down any notes that I need to remember, check my messages and return any urgent calls and clear my head before the next person comes in to the office.
How long do people stay in therapy?
Some people who come and see me will come with a specific goal in mind. There are as many reasons for people to attend therapy as there are people on the planet: a parenting challenge; the death of a parent; a sexual problem; a miscarriage, etc. These people may spend 3-6 months in therapy and leave. Often they will come back in for a "refresher" later on, or they will return to therapy if another issue comes up that they think I could be of help with.
Some people come in with bigger challenges: long-term depression; a marital crisis that has come about as a result of years and years of marital neglect and estrangement; families recovering from the effects of a family member's long-term alcoholism and new sobriety; people with a lifetime of struggle, who are just beginning to realize how much they have been affected by the family they grew up in and want to learn how to make different choices for themselves; men and women with histories of sexual abuse who want to learn different ways of being in the world. These issues are often more long term. I have some clients who have been with me for 4+ years. Others stay for a year or more and then leave, possibly returning later if they feel it would help them. Sometimes people come in to therapy and are not yet ready to do the work. I always leave the door open for these people to return. I know from personal experience that it can take time to pluck up the courage to sit and face your demons. (This topic will also be covered in a blog entitled, “Clients Who Freak Out And Leave Therapy.”)
How many clients do you have and how often do they come and see you?
The number of clients I have tends to fluctuate. At the moment I have 27 clients, and they include couples, families and individuals. This is about as many clients as I can see in any given week. (If my practice is full, I compile a wait list. If the length of time a client must wait is more than one month, I keep a referral list of other therapists that I recommend to potential clients.) Anyway of this 27 clients about half are couples, with one or two families and the remainder are individuals. I generally work Tuesday through Friday. 25-30 hours of my work week is spent with clients face-to-face. I spend 5-10 hours per week attending professional meetings, peer supervision with colleagues and paid supervision with other experienced professionals, conducting research, talking with "collateral" agencies (this means other professionals who are involved in clients' lives, such as psychiatrists, other therapists, social workers, teachers, etc.) marketing my practice, book-keeping and answering/returning phone calls. When I started my private practice, I was determined not to burn myself out and decided that a four day work week was probably a more humane approach to working. I pride myself on being a very conscientious therapist and spend a lot of time reading and researching on different issues that clients raise. This might mean learning educating myself about another culture, another religion or spiritual practice, learning about the stressors attached to various professions that clients have, consulting with other clinicians with a particular expertise, etc.
Some people come to see me once each week for a therapy "hour" which is generally, but not always, 50 minutes long. For busy couples, especially those with children and the accompanying headache of finding regular babysitters, I usually suggest that they attend a 2 hour session every other week. Clients in crisis will often request extra sessions during the week, although unless the client is in an emotional crisis or is very depressed I usually suggest that they only come in once a week. While coming to therapy can be very helpful for people, becoming dependent on your therapist is not. (I'll write a whole blog about this in the near future!) I often encourage clients to build supports into their lives in the form of friendships, communities, support groups and/or 12 step programs. It doesn't take a whole village just to raise a child - adults need villages of caring support also. Oh, and the reasons that therapists, including myself, will see clients for 50 minutes is that we often need to have ten minutes before the next client. This allows me time to jot down any notes that I need to remember, check my messages and return any urgent calls and clear my head before the next person comes in to the office.
How long do people stay in therapy?
Some people who come and see me will come with a specific goal in mind. There are as many reasons for people to attend therapy as there are people on the planet: a parenting challenge; the death of a parent; a sexual problem; a miscarriage, etc. These people may spend 3-6 months in therapy and leave. Often they will come back in for a "refresher" later on, or they will return to therapy if another issue comes up that they think I could be of help with.
Some people come in with bigger challenges: long-term depression; a marital crisis that has come about as a result of years and years of marital neglect and estrangement; families recovering from the effects of a family member's long-term alcoholism and new sobriety; people with a lifetime of struggle, who are just beginning to realize how much they have been affected by the family they grew up in and want to learn how to make different choices for themselves; men and women with histories of sexual abuse who want to learn different ways of being in the world. These issues are often more long term. I have some clients who have been with me for 4+ years. Others stay for a year or more and then leave, possibly returning later if they feel it would help them. Sometimes people come in to therapy and are not yet ready to do the work. I always leave the door open for these people to return. I know from personal experience that it can take time to pluck up the courage to sit and face your demons. (This topic will also be covered in a blog entitled, “Clients Who Freak Out And Leave Therapy.”)
posted by Jassy @ 6:46 PM
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