Dr. Lani Chin | Creating An App To Diversify Private Practice Income | TPOT 196
The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
Release Date: 09/20/2021
The Practice of Therapy Podcast with Gordon Brewer
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Your private practice may look profitable on paper, but does the money actually feel available? In this episode, Gordon talks with Margo Masri, founder of Heartfelt CFO and Tax Services, about the financial decisions that can quietly create cash flow problems for private practice owners. They explore the risks of over-hiring, ignoring taxes, taking on office space too soon, and trying to grow without fully understanding the costs involved. Margo also shares why practice owners need to know what they personally need to live on, build financial systems that can grow with the business, and...
info_outlineDr. Chin is here to chat all about her new app, CE Hub. CE Hub is a tool for mental health professionals to store their continuing education certificates and track their units earned toward licensure. You can upload your certificates, and CE Hub will take care of the rest. Tune in as we talk about diversifying your income, the importance of outsourcing, and the nuts and bolts of creating your very own application.
Meet Dr. Lani Chin
In therapy, my goal is to assist you in addressing issues that are difficult to confront on your own, which often manifest as anxiety, depression, or dissatisfaction in relationships and/or your career. I approach our work together collaboratively, by helping you to articulate your thoughts and feelings in a safe, confidential, and nonjudgmental environment. My task is to encourage you to express yourself, clarify your goals, and explore the obstacles that have held you back.
I listen, reflect, and use clinical methods based on my training and expertise. I strive to help you develop strategies that support the progress you desire. I listen for the patterns in your life and help you identify them so that you can develop a clearer understanding of your life experiences and develop new, more satisfying ways of relating. My understanding as a therapist is informed by my training and clinical experience but also grounded by a long-held commitment to my own psychological work and development.
The Double Pandemic of Social Isolation
Dr. Chin works with people that identify as being different. So whether they are cultural minorities or people in the LGBTQ community, those are mostly the people she works with. Also, Dr. Chin works with individuals, couples, and anyone who identifies as different or feels like they're outside. Usually, Dr. Chin's clients feel a level of isolation in general. Plus, the pandemic has been incredibly difficult. People already feel isolated because they are different on top of the isolation from the pandemic – it's a double whammy for patients.
Track Your Continuing Education Certificates
Dr. Chin launched the CE Hub App. It's a new, easier way to store and track your Continuing Education certificates. You can safely and conveniently store all of the documents you need to renew your license in one place. Plus, the app lets you track your progress along the way, so you know exactly where you stand. No longer will therapists have to search for misplaced certification, there will be no more guesswork about how many credits you've earned, and no more miscounting when it's time to renew.
How The CE Hub App Works
First, people log in. The first screen asks you questions about the certificates that you've earned. So you'll enter the title, the number of credits earned, and whether or not it was a live course. You can indicate that on the app and then save a copy of the certificate as a PDF. Then you enter in your license information and what your profession is like psychologist, marriage and family therapist, licensed clinical social worker, or licensed professional counselor. You'll also input what state you're in and the number of units you need to complete.
Creating Goals Around Continuing Education
You can keep a mental goal for yourself. If you want to pursue EMDR training or have X number of diversity credits that you've earned, you can set your personal goals within the app that might go beyond what the state requires. The app then matches what you've entered against what the requirements are. It puts that information into a pie chart. So it graphs out how many certificates you've done, and then it breaks it down by category according to what subject area the credit was in. It stores the certificates for you. So it's all through PDF. Then, if anything happens where you need an additional copy of the certificate, you can get on there and email the PDF to yourself.
Outsourcing Work When Creating An App
Dr. Chin outsourced the work for her app. She first started with a wireframing of the app. Dr. Chin knew what screens she wanted in the app and the function that they would provide. She's been fortunate that they could translate what she drew and made a pretty nice representation of what she had imagined. The app went from PowerPoint to a fully functioning application. To find people to work on the app, Dr. Chin did a lot of interviews. She wanted someone who understood mental health workers and what psychologists do. If you're looking to outsource, Dr. Chin recommends checking out UpWork.
How Creating An App Can Diversify Your Income
Dr. Chin likes to do a variety of things during the workweek. Doing an online course wasn't part of her personality – it didn't seem to resonate with who she is. So, Dr. Chin decided to make an app as a way to diversify her income. After talking to her peers, people were excited about the CE Hub App. It's always great to diversify income because you never know what is going to happen. Also, being strictly in private practice can be very overwhelming. The app is a helpful way for Dr. Chin to interact with people in a different context.
Being transparent… Some of the resources below use affiliate links which simply means we receive a commission if you purchase using the links, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for using the links!
Dr. Lani Chin's Resources
CE Hub App - Use Code "GORDON"
CE Hub App on Instagram
CE Hub App on Facebook
Website
Resources
Use the promo code "GORDON" to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free.
Blueprint Health
Using Google Workspace As A Practice Platform Course
Fall Into Cash 2021
Space Holder Live With Marissa Lawton
Killin'It Camp
Join the Google Workspace for Therapists Users Group
Follow @PracticeofTherapy on Instagram
Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT
Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast wherever you listen to it. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn, and Pinterest, “Like” us on Facebook.