How to Survive and Thrive as a Therapist: Information, Ideas, and Resources for Psychologists in Practice

by Kenneth S. Pope, Melba J.T. Vasquez, Melba Jean Trinidad Vasquez

Book Overview

This book is a nuts-and-bolts guide to starting, growing, or improving a psychotherapy practice. 15 appendices make key APA professional standards and guidelines and other resources available for... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1591472318
• ISBN13: 9781591472315
• Release Date: February 2005
• Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
• Length: 496 Pages
• Weight: 1.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 7.0" x 10.0"

Customer Reviews

Best book in this area by far

This is a WONDERFUL book! I've been in full-time independent practice for many years but found this book a treasure -- everything from developing a creative business plan and finding an office (and attorney, and professional liability policy) to finding clients and referral sources to all the nuts and bolts of planning, setting up, maintaining, and growing a practice. Great strategies for avoiding problems (e.g., malpractice or ethics complaints; computer foul-ups; billing problems) and how to respond if troubles come. I especially liked the emphasis (and tips) on creating a practice that fits my own wants, needs, and values. Nothing else has been quite so practical in walking me through the steps of what needs to be done, including things I might overlook like self-care. I guess I agree with the review of "Barbara Finn, Licensed Psychologist" below but am trying to find some other way to say it! :)

How did I survive?

How did I survive 46 years as a therapist without this book? It is chock full of essential information and advice that will help me thrive for the next 46 years.--Thomas Greening, Ph.D., ABPP, Independent Practice; editor, Journal of Humanistic Psychology

Superb!!!

This is simply a superb book-- period. This book contains everything you could possibly need to know and then some about starting and maintaining a successful and ethical practice in psychology. Information for which I've had to search far and wide during my 18 years in practice is now right here in the most practical and informative resource imaginable. This amazing resource contains not only all the "must know" information, but also multitudes of tips and tidbits in the "if only I had thought of this earlier" category. Because of the information in this book, I am now able to act pre-emptively to avoid what to me had been unforseen problems and complications down the road. Most, if not all of us in this field have had to learn the hard way. Pope and Vasquez have put an end to that with the publication of this invaluable resource. My only regret is that they didn't write it 18 years earlier! Whether you are a psychology student, intern, practitioner, professor, or mentor to others in the field, this book is simply a "must have" resource.

Another great book from two superlative authors

Since I'm one of the blurbs on the back of this book I've already made my opinion known, but thought it wouldn't hurt to spread the word to those of you who haven't seen the back cover. This is a real gem; if you're a new therapist you'll need this book to know how to set up and maintain your practice; if you're a grad student, ditto. If you're already in practice this book is like having a great consultant ready to hand at all times. Ken and Melba always do an excellent job; they're simultaneously practical and deeply rooted in the ethics of psychology.

World Class!

This is by far the best book on this topic. Hard to live up to the blurbs, but this book did it and then some! (Most books have 3-5 blurbs on the cover -- this one has over 25 on the cover and inside pages from a number of APA presidents, some of the biggest names in the field, and people who have spent their careers "in the trenches" and know what it takes to build and grow a therapy practice.) The 15 appendixes with formal guidelines from APA, CPA, etc., alone would be worth the price of this book, but it gives you *practical* guidance on how to do everything from making a business plan, finding an attorney, finding malpractice insurance, finding an office, and finding clients, to self-care, how to respond to formal complaints and law suits, how to use computers and the internet, and how to prepare a professional will. If you're in practice or want to be, this is THE book!