Pink Spoon Free Report

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Principles ofPsychotherapy

Marketing:

The Pink Spoon Method

psychotherapynetworker.org

CLINICAL GUIDE


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Principles of Psychotherapt Marketing: The Pink Spoon MethodFor more free reports, visit http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/free-reports P S Y C H O T H E R A P Y N E T W O R K E R

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Indispensable Resources for Your PracticePsychotherapy Networker is a nonprot educational organization dedicated to offering practical guidance, creative inspira-

tion, and community support to therapists around the world. Whether you want to stay informed about new ideas and current

debates in the eld, connect with colleagues who share your professional interests, or just keep the spirit of discovery alive and

well in your work, Psychotherapy Networker provides indispensable guidance and resources for your practice.

The Networker MagazineFor more than three decades, thePsychotherapy Networker magazine has earned a worldwide readership for its incisive,

tough-minded coverage of the everyday challenges of clinical practice and the therapeutic innovations shaping the direction of

the profession. Written with the practical needs of clinicians in mind, the Networker is the most topical, timely, and widely read

publication in the psychotherapy community today. Celebrated for its engaging style, its won just about every award out there,

including the National Magazine Awardthe Oscar of the magazine industry.

Online Learning & CEsWith one of the largest offerings of distance-learning programsin the eld, the Networker makes it easy to stay on the

cutting edge of practice, expand your clinical repertoire, and earn continuing education (CE) credits at your own pace, in

your own space, and whenever its convenient for you. Learning options include our popular video interviews with the elds

most celebrated practitioners, audio programs on a vast range of clinical topics, and reading courses featuring the work of

therapys nest writers. We also offer the State of the Art virtual conference, bringing together both special premiere events

and the best of the Networkers CE offerings from throughout the year.

The Symposium ExperienceSince 1978, the Networker Symposiumhas hosted a unique annual conference highlighting the latest developments in

psychotherapy. With a teaching faculty of 125 of the elds best and brightest, the Symposium draws more than 3,000 mental

health professionals to Washington, DC each year to take part in an array of learning opportunities. Whatever your clinical

interest, the Symposium offers workshops and events that will tap your creativity, sharpen your clinical skills, and deepen your

understanding as a therapist.

About Psychotherapy Networker

PSYCHOTHERAPY NETWORKER TEAM

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Richard Simon

Senior Editor

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Charles H. Simpkinson


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Ijust received an email from Ann, a psychotherapist in

Washington State: Casey, for the rst time in my 15-year

practice, Im starting to get really scared. At rst, a few

clients decided to take a break and stopped coming. Then

a few more moved from weekly sessions to every other week.

Ive just balanced my books and realized that Im making

only half of what I did this time last year. What can I do to

get my caseload back to where it was before?

Last week, I had a call from Charlotte, a psychologist in

northern California. She, too, said her caseload was downalmost 50 percent: Im still getting calls asking if Im taking

clients, she told me, but these calls are few and far between.

When I do get new clients, they come once or twice and then

realize they cant afford it. Im starting to negotiate and lower

my fees. I need to make at least enough to pay my rent. What

can I do to get more clients who can afford therapy?

The note of desperation in these e-mails is hard to miss.

Ann and Charlotte arent alone. I speak with private practi-

tioners all over the world, and the mood out there is somber.

The resounding chorus from private practitioners everywhere

is the same: This economy is killing me! I need more clients

How do I nd them and get them in the door?

Over the years, business coaches (including me) have

produced an avalanche of books, articles, courses, and work-

shops on how to build a bigger private practice and recession-

proof it. The goal of their advice is always the same: teach-

ing therapists traditionally allergic to doing anything that

smacks of selling themselvesthe marketing skills thatll

draw more private-pay clients to their waiting rooms. The

question to which therapists tirelessly address themselves and

their efforts is and always has been: What can we do to ll

more private-session hours?

Whats the Real Question?

Now Im wondering if this isnt the wrong question. In theeconomic tsunami threatening to overwhelm us, it begins to

seem that the right question isnt How do I get more indi-vidual clients? That just boils down to How do I do more

of the same? Perhaps the real questionshould be How do I

do meaningful clinical work and sustain a good income over

the short and long term, regardless of the economy? Notice

that this question makes no mention of attracting individual,

private-pay clients.

It now seems to me that the way we automatically think of

building and maintaining a therapy practice may no longer

be an economically viable way of sustaining ourselves. For

the past hundred years, psychotherapy has operated generally

as the private meeting of one patient with one well-trained

mental health expert for roughly one hour of presumably

helpful conversation. Despite our attachment to this model,

it isnt the most efcient or creative way of helping people or

of making money. Many therapists would like to help more

people than they can responsibly jam into an 8-, 10-, or even12-hour workday. Or theyd like to be able to do something

for all the people needing help who cant afford one-to-one

therapy by the hour. Then theres the money crunch: even if

therapists raise their hourly fees, their total income wont rise

by much. In fact, trading hours for dollars means we have

jobs, rather than independent businessesjobs that dont pro-vide retirement plans, sick pay, or paid vacation days. Since

our income reects the number of in-person sessions we pro-

vide, a recession that constricts peoples sense that they can

afford therapy can send our nances hurtling right off a cliff.

The New ZeitgeistThe economic downturn aside, the biggest problem with theold fee-for-service therapy model is that it isnt in sync with

social and cultural shifts in how increasing numbers of people

think about therapy and therapists. those seeking psychologi-

cal help today dont think of themselves as patients, or even

clients, as much as they consider themselves consumersor cus-tomers. They want to be served what they want, on their terms.When they have emotional or relationship problems, they

look for a quick, effective solution, which will help them get

through a tough time. Theyre less interested in an intense,

open-ended relationship with a highly trained stranger than

with a practical, appealing, and reasonably pricedproduct, one

thatll provide some short-term relief and maybe a littlelong-term wisdom.

One reason for the increasing impatience with standard

therapy (besides cost, of course) is our Internet-reinforced

demand for instant gratication. Last year, my mother-law

became ill, and we needed help dealing with her dementia.

Id spent 10 years working with the geriatric psychiatric

population, but when it was my familys problem, I wantedinformation quickly. Therapy might have helped us through

Principles of Psychotherapy Marketing:The Pink Spoon Method

BY CASEY TRUFFO


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the crisis, but it would have taken a lot longer than the hour

I spent searching the web to nd helpful resources, including

free checklists and articles, as well as downloadable material

I could purchase online.

Today anybody facing nearly any life challenge can do

the same thinggo online and within a day, an hour, or even

minutes nd that particularly helpful special report, audio

recording, or book, and have it delivered instantly to their

e-mail inbox. They can be reading or listening to solutionsin the time it would have taken them to leave a message for

a therapist. This means that therapists are competing with a

ood of authors, coaches, lecturers, and other experts (and

with enterprising quacks), all of whom offer various forms

of self-help.

Another social transformation of our era is the almost

universal time crunch; none of us ever has nearly enough

of it. Taking a couple of hours from a busy day to go to a

therapist for a personal session feels to many like a grossly

inefcient use of time. Its much more convenient to hire a

life coach or relationship coach, open to spur-of-the-moment

telephone and electronic sessions.

What to Do?Some psychotherapists, seeing the writing on the wall, are

responding by updating how they do one-to-one therapy to

bring themselves more in line with what people want. Theyre

adding e-therapy, web chats, text or e-mail consultations.

Theyre offering phone sessions in hour-long and abbrevi-

ated formats15-minute laser sessions, for example, to

help clients get back on track after a disturbing interaction at

home or at work.

The problem with these solutions is the method of deliv-

ery. While meeting the need to be more exible, it still means

that therapists can provide service to relatively few peopleat a time, which still limits their income and intensies the

struggle to get more clients in the door.

We need to get off the one-person for-one-hour-for-one-

fee track and think more broadly about what we can offer

the world and how to communicate it to asmany people as

possible. We need to share our wisdom and knowledge in

ways that serve the community while leveraging our time and

energy. We need to devise a model that supports us when the

economy is booming and doesnt desert us when the economy

is tanking.

Some years ago, I, too, was at a point where I was tired

of hustling to get more clients into my practice, which was

feeling more like a job than a vocation. This hit home oneDecember when I felt burned out and needed time off to rest

and reenergize. I began to think about the odd contradic-

tion of our profession: were a helping profession, yet when

we need to help ourselves, we do so at the expense of our

income. I knew there had to be a better way. Then I discov -

ered a business model that had been used successfully in other

elds, most notably in the coaching profession: the Multiple

Streams of Income model. I found it useful and decided to

modify it for therapists.

Simply put, this model helps clinicians augment their in-

person practice with information productsbooks, CDs,

audiotapes, e-books, and e-coursescreated once and then

sold repeatedly. The products may be physical, but the power

of the model comes from using the Internet to sell and deliver

them. Using this model meets consumer demand for instant

gratication; lets therapists help people who cant afford

therapy; extends therapists reach beyond their local commu-nities; and offers dependable, additional income.

When implementing this model, some therapists choose

to reduce the number of one-to-one hours and limit their

in-person time to high-end workshops or retreats. Others

choose to stop all clinical work and spend more time creating

and selling products, or providing speaking and consulting

services. The beauty of this model is that it can be adapted

to each providers desires and personality.

Getting Startedthe Lure of the PinkSpoonThe model makes sense, but will it work? Can clinicians

compete in the oversaturated self-help market and still makea good living? People have been publishing self-help literature

for decades. How can we break into that market?

You dont do it by trying to get your idea published or pro-duced by a big company; few are likely to take on the projects

of an unknown psychotherapist. Not to worry! Technology

has made it easy for independent practitioners to create

downloadable written or audio products and compete with

the big companies quickly and inexpensively.

You dont have to start big; in fact, one of the charms of

this approach is that it doesnt require a huge commitment of

time and money.

First, before you do anything else, identify a nichethespecic clients, group, issues, areas of therapy, or specialty

that interests and excites you. Lets say you love working

with kids and are particularly concerned about school bully-

ingsomething you emphasize at your website. (You dohave

a website, dont you?) You then develop material that provides

information for people in your area of interest.

When a parent happens into your website, she sees your

offer of a free report on Why Some Kids Get Picked On by

Bullies. This parent doesnt know you, doesnt necessarily

feel the need to put her child in therapy, and isnt ready to

shell out lots of money for treatment; but since her child is

being picked on in school, shes drawn to your reportand

besides, its free.She signs up, leaving her e-mail and/or mailing address,

and gets the report. You, in turn, get the opportunity to con-

vert a chance visitor to a new customer or client by gradually

taking her through different levels of interest, commitment,

and expense.

This vital rst step is known as pink-spoon marketing,

referring to the free samples of ice cream that shops promot-

ing new avors provide in tiny pink spoons. Customers may


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like a free sample so much that they buy a cone to consume

on the spot or a half-gallon to take home. Similarly, once your

customer has her pink spoonful and you have her contact

information, you can follow up by sending her a newsletter.

Most important, you can introduce her to the rst of several

levels of products along an increasing price continuum.

Once someone has obtained, and liked, your free item,

its quite easy for her to decide to buy your 30-page e-book,

Teach Your Child to Stop Bullies in Their Tracks, for $17,or even your $40 one-hour teleseminar. Shes getting the help

she needs for her son without having to commit to ve in-

ofce sessions for $800 to $1,000. Its a bargain!

Now, having plunked down the money for the e-book

or taken the one-hour teleseminar, she may feel she knows,

likes, and trusts you well enough to wade even deeper into

the help you have to offer. At level three, shes moved past the

taste-testing phase and is ready to spend thinking money

(shell think about the purchase before making it) for a $100

CD/DVD set, a $125 half-day workshop, or a $175 six-week

e-course.

At the fourth level, $200 to $500, the customer will be

ready to spring for your big-ticket items, such as a workbook,six CDs, and follow-up calls. Shes reached what we call the

sweet spot, the point at which she feels connected to you

and your message and regards you as someone who can help

her. Or you could team up with a partner and create a full-

day workshop. One of you could work with the children and

one could work with the parents. This could be marketed

locally and on your website. Then you could take the hand-

outs and exercises and create a workbook. Add a lecture on a

CD and you have a product to sell online.

Finally, we reach the heights of level ve, at which you

offer your most valuable commodity: your time. Counseling,

coaching, consulting, speaking, and training are usually

offered at this level, and people are willing to spend $500 an

hour or even $2,000 to $5,000 a day or much more to work

with you one-to-one. Because youve taken the time to culti-vate a strong relationship through the funnel of products you

developed, there are multiple possibilities to offer.

In an almost underground manner, some therapists

around the world are implementing this Multiple Streams of

Income for Therapists model. Some are just getting started

and some have been doing it for years. Lets take a look at a

few of them.

Josue Maymi, a therapist in Houston, has been practicing

since 1993. He decided that hed like to create some small

booklets with advice on varioustopics, and has focused on theproblems of couples in relationships. Hes written a playful

yet insightful booklet, Ten Qualities You Want in a Friend, Lover,Employee & Business Partner and Twenty-One That You Dont Want,

which he sells on his website, www.menarestupidwomenare-

crazy.com. I have a lot more ideas for products, he said.

This is very exciting to see how I can sell information prod-

ucts on my website and help a lot of people that might not

even be in my area.

Esther Kane, a counselor in British Columbia, Canada,

offers books on relationships for women. She has a special

afnity for those with eating disorders and has created six

audio recordings that can be purchased and downloaded

on to her site: www.endyoureatingdisorder.com. For $19.95,

clients can purchase audio recordings on such topics as

Mindful Eating. These can be downloaded to an mp3

player and listened to anytime.

Belleruth Naparstek, a licensed social worker in Cleveland,is the author of Invisible Heroes: Survivors of Trauma & How They

Heal. In 1988, she had a robust practice, so she wasnt lookingfor a way to make more money; however, to meet the needs

of a client who was undergoing chemotherapy, she made a

guided-imagery tape. The tape was a hit. Not only did it help

the client, but a waiting-room nurse in the hospital began

requesting copies to use with other patients. Intrigued that

an audiotape could provide such results, Naparstek started

creating more tapes.

For years, she kept her practice while developing guided-

imagery tapes for people struggling with different diagnoses.

Then she decided to turn this process into a business. I

recognized that I was only going to help so many people withmy practice, but with these tapes, I could help a lot of people,

and I wouldnt even have to be there. Naparstek and a busi -ness partner persuaded Time Warner to publish the tapes,

and have since created www.healthjourneys.com, a portal

that posts research and practice articles, and offers scores of

tapes, CDs, videos, and software. The site has a growing list

of titles by other practitioners that promote not just guided

imagery, but meditation, yoga, qigong, acupressure, and a

host of other research-supported, mind-body methods.

I love the autonomy and creativity that this business pro -

vides me. But it isnt just that, Naparstek reports. Studies

at Duke University are now showing that for PTSD, guided

imagery, delivered via an audio download, leads to outcomes

that are as good as or better than interventions with cognitive

behavioral therapy, and better than supportive therapy. This

isnt just an alternative to regular therapy: its a portable,

scaleable, affordable, self-administered product that works.

And at a time when other businesses are struggling, ours

is doing well, because we provide an inexpensive group of

resources for stress.

While Belleruth Naparstek fell into the Multiple Streams

of Income for Therapists model, Bill OHanlon specically

chose it. He saw the power of Internet technology and recog-

nized that it could be a way to deliver content to people who

were searching for information. Excited about this medium,he loved the challenge of creating products and services that

would help people and be a passive-revenue stream for

him. This allows me to reach a much wider audience than I

could have in my clinical practice, he notes.

OHanlon, an author of more than 29 books, offers doz-

ens of free and for-fee information via websites, podcasts,

blogs, web-based courses, teleclasses, and audio and video

programs. At this point, I dont do any clinical work, he


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reports, only writing, speaking, a little phone coaching, and

lots of Internet-based stuff: e-books, online courses, digital

audio and video, et cetera. I love what I do, and work way less

than I used to, so I now have a life instead of just work with

a little life on the side.

When visiting his site, www.billohanlon.com, people

can get a variety of free items and purchase an array of

products as well. For example, a web visitor can buy A Lazy

Mans Guide to Success, a $15 e-book. Someone struggling withanxiety or feeling desperate can get Calm Beneath the Waves, a

$12 hypnotheapy audio download. He also offers an e-mail

membership program called Change: 101 Email Tips for

$10. Members receive a tip every four days to help them

get off the dime and make positive changes in their lives.

OHanlons in-person contact with clients takes the form of

speaking engagements and workshops.

Not everyone chooses to close his or her practice, as

Belleruth Naparstek and Bill OHanlon did. In 1983, the

husband-and-wife team of Ellyn Bader and Peter Pearson

opened The Couples Institute in Menlo Park, California.

Since then, theyve expanded and added additional therapists

to their institute, allowing them to serve more people. Butover the years, their experience with couples taught them that

people want to learn how to improve their relationships in

many ways besides sitting in a room with a therapist. Via their

website, www.couplesinstitute.com, Bader and Pearson now

offer books, audio recordings, and membership programs

for therapists and couples, but they continue to see couples

in their ofces in traditional one-to-one counseling sessions.

Providing additional, affordable resources for couples is a

win-win situation for the Couples Institute and the couples

it serves.

All these clinicians have been using the Multiple Streams

of Income for Therapists model for years. Their businesses

are highly successful today, but they all started with that rst

product, like Naparsteks initial audiotape. Our current social

and economic conditions are calling to us to provide alternate

solutions. Therapists are uniquely trained and qualied to

provide the educational materials that society wants today.

You dont have to be a Dr. Phil or John Gray to do it. It just

takes the courage to take the rst step: to look at a potential

market and think, What do I most want to share with them?

Sadly, many private practices wont survive this economic

turndown. The challenge for therapists is to respond to the

social and economic climate with a model that works: the

Multiple Streams of Income for Therapists. It allows us to

respond appropriately to important cultural changes and stayin business, making both money and meaning.

Building our practices on the basis of seeing one client per

hour worked well when the psychotherapy eld was growing,

but it has become a root-bound approach. We need to expand

our thinking and nd a bigger, more capacious modelone

encompassing new ways of thinking about how we work and

deliver our services to those who need them. Simply put, we

need a bigger pot.

Casey Truffo, MFT, is the CEO and founder of the

Therapist Leadership Institute and a marketing coach

and owner of www.beawealthytherapist.com, where

she offers free audios, articles, and teleclasses to help

therapists market their private practices and enhance

the lives, careers, and reputations. Contact: casey@

beawealthytherapist.com.

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