Hello, and welcome to Counselor Weekly!  The newsletter that's more satisfying than chips and guacamole. 🥑

Thanks again for being part of the community!

Until I have an official sponsor, looks like I'm the sponsor!

I'm launching a new site in the next couple weeks and you can sign up to be notified when it's ready to go!  Just click HERE, or the photo above and it will take you right to the site.  If you are an LPC Supervisor in Texas (sorry, starting in Texas only and will look at options for other states down the road), or a potential Supervisee looking for a Supervisor, this is the place for you!  It's a directory for LPC Supervisors to market their services by listing their information so that potential Supervisees can connect with them and hopefully find a perfect match!  If you have any questions, click REPLY to this email and I can answer any questions you have.  Thanks again for allowing me this personal promotion!  🙏

So let's get to it!

Today is 5/10/23 and it's National Shrimp Day!  You know what to do... get out there and grill some shrimp! 🦐 🍤

Here's the short and skinny of today's newsletter:

• Quote of the Day

• Interesting Articles

• Business Section

• Cat Photo

Quote of the Day

Just a quick reminder of the great importance our work provides to those in need.

And now some interesting articles:

The Surprising Dramatic Role of Nutrition in Mental Health

This is a TedX talk from Julia Rucklidge.  I like how it challenges some of the ideas in the current medical model that provides prescribed meds.  She argues the major impact a healthy diet can play in coping with stress and mental illness.  Food for thought... think about the poor quality food provided to inmates in prison.  I wonder if a healthier, balanced diet could reduce the levels of mental illness and prescribed meds in prison environments?

Counselor Video Case Study: Entering Into a Nonprofessional Relationship With a Client

HPSO provides some pretty good material in their emails.  Here's a case study on a nonprofessional relationship.  You can watch the video, or scroll down to download a copy of the study.  It's still fascinating to me how often mental health professionals cross lines with clients.

If you're not taking care of yourself as a mental health professional, it becomes easier to cross boundaries with a client.

Clinical Tip: Dealing With Difficult Family Members

Short Youtube video from the Beck Institute on some simple strategies to deal with difficult family members.  Yes, it's okay to admit you need to watch this video!

Business Section

If you're in private practice, marketing is probably the #1 focus you should be spending time/money on (other than working with clients).  If you don't have awesome marketing skills, here are some must haves:

A Website!  Yes, this may seem straightforward, but many counselors don't have a business website dedicated to their counseling practice.

A GREAT Website- focus on creating a beautiful, quality website that makes clients want to hit that "Schedule Session" button.  You can do it yourself with sites like Squarespace, or Wix.  You can hire someone to create your website for you.  You can pay for a pre-made site like at Therapysites, but I don't typically recommend it for a few reasons, but that's for another newsletter down the road.

Get on Psychology Today- you really can receive referrals from the site because it draws so many visitors.  It's not a huge fee either.  Make sure to fully complete your profile and have lots of good information.

Look into Google Ads- this requires a little more tech skills (but it's not that difficult).  In some areas, for a very cheap price per click, you can be placed at the top of specific Google searches.  Here's an introduction article on how to set up a Google Ads Account.

Hyper local marketing.  Quick example: if you specialize in working with children, contact all the nearby pediatricians and ask if you can come by and introduce yourself and provide referral material.  With a little bit of time and energy, you can build long lasting referral sources that cost nothing.

Any other marketing techniques you feel work well?  If so, reply and I'll add them to my list to share with everyone.

And, Finally the Cat Picture

Not sure what to call this!  It's a strange photo of our own cat!  By my son, Cole.