In your Therapy Practice: Don’t Confuse Cost Savings with Cost Effectiveness


Photo no (48)One way to sabotage your practice is to confuse cost savings with cost effectiveness. Some costs have to be incurred in order to run your practice. Some are optional. Some costs will generate income for you down the road, others will not. Some costs will bring other benefits, such as developing your skill base, or your confidence. Be aware of where you have choices, and choose not just the cheapest option, but the most cost effective.

You might choose to work from home and save the rent, rather than work in a centre where referrals are available for a cost. However, you need to weigh up whether you will actually generate enough income on your own working from home, or whether you are choosing a false economy. You also need to take into account not just the costs of rent and referrals, but also the impact of being surrounded by other therapists, who can support you in many ways.

In making choices about promotional materials, shop around and think it through. Bargains are often available for larger quantities, so it may seem cheaper to bulk buy printed items such as brochures or flyers. However, bear in mind their “shelf-life.” Will the content still be relevant by the time you get to use them all up? Or will you have grown tired of it? Design can be costly. When you first get materials done, you might opt for fiverr.com rather than an expensive designer. Our first attempt at these things is rarely our best, particularly if we have no background in copywriting or design.

It’s important to monitor the return you get from advertising costs. In the early days after I set up with my colleague Jennifer, we took some advertising in a local newspaper. It seemed a good idea at the time, and we kept it up for about a year, but we received few new clients as a result. In retrospect, a more focussed advert might have been more productive. Bear in mind that an advert in a newspaper is unlikely to last longer in your potential client’s mind than the time it takes to turn the page. A more value for money prospect might be either something that repeats (repeat exposure is more likely to result in business, as someone gets to know you through seeing your ad), or something that remains in place for a while (eg a poster.)

CPD is another significant cost for many therapists. Keep a look out for opportunities to avail of free or low cost CPD. However, bear in mind that not all your CPD needs to come from attending courses. You may already be undertaking some activities that count for some or all of your CPD hours. In the IAHIP guidelines for example, alternatives include

  • Engagement as a client in personal therapy or group therapy
  • Receiving supervision
  • Activities for or on behalf of the Association e.g. committee work, membership of Governing Body, etc.
  • Engagement in self-care and self-reflective activities e.g. meditation, yoga, martial arts, journaling
  • Writing and publishing articles or books relating to psychotherapy

(Check your professional body’s rules for more specific details)

Supervision is one of the most significant costs for therapists. Ensure you’re getting sufficient hours to qualify for accreditation or re-accreditation. Could some of your hourly requirement be met by peer supervision? Perhaps this is something you could arrange with a group of colleagues, and it’s a good opportunity to network at the same time. Don’t skimp on the supervision purely to save money. Good supervision goes way beyond a discussion of the client’s issues, and is worth paying for.

Doing something yourself may be a false economy. If you could otherwise be spending your time generating new work, it might be more cost effective to get someone else to do it for you. If like me, you like to have a go at learning everything, this may be hard for you. A good way to think about this is using the “Cost per wear” approach. If it costs €50 of advertising to generate a new client, but that client stays with you for six months and pays you €60 or €70 a week, then €50 is well worth spending.

The Cost Saving Paradox

Sometimes when things are tough financially, it might seem like the obvious thing is to pull back on Photo no (51)expenses and retrench. Paradoxically, this may be the best time to spend more. The energy of constantly penny pinching and holding back may not be compatible with the abundant practice you’d like to have. When you do spend a little or a lot, spend it willing and with an eye to the benefits you’ll reap down the road, rather than begrudging the cost.

One participant at our recent “Attract More Clients” wrote in a testimonial that as a result of the morning,

Since then, without advertising at all, I have an abundance of bookings from new people who have found me, existing clients have become comfortable with the idea of extending the term of treatment, and concrete inquiries looking for referrals.

A great example of how spending a little can reap great rewards. I like to think that it was as much about opening himself to new possibilities, as it was about the content of the session.

Where could you be more cost effective or cost smart in your practice? Have you been saving costs in a way that supports or restricts your growth? Contact me for a free 20 minute consultation. I may be able to help you with this.