In order to reduce therapist overwhelm and work towards more ease, I often help therapists create policies and implement boundaries that help them run their practice more smoothly and in a sustainable way. Once a therapist decides on the policies or boundaries that need to be implemented, the next step is to clearly communicate these policies + boundaries to their clients and other relevant parties. Templates and scripts are tools to help therapists do so.
Having these types of conversations can be anxiety-provoking (especially if you believe you are implementing a big change or communicating something a client or potential client may not want to hear), but having templates and scripts makes it easier and more efficient!
Do you have to follow the template or script exactly?
Of course not
Having a tentative outline of how you want to share your policies and boundaries will help you feel less anxious and more confident + be more concise in how you share information. The more you ramble on and over-explain the more confusing things get for you and your clients.
You may use templates or scripts for email communication (a simple copy and paste + a little tweaking as needed) or as a guide for you in having conversations with your clients via phone or in session.
Therapists can write and use templates or scripts for a variety of situations.
Here are a couple of examples of areas where a therapist may want to create templates or scripts:
- Responding to inquiries from a potential client
- Providing referrals when a client is not a good fit.
- Explaining the process for clients to complete initial paperwork, use your EHR, schedule appointments, etc
- Sharing practice policies with new clients
- Discussing fees with a potential client
- Communicating about any changes in your practice that affect a number of clients (change in schedule, no longer accepting insurance, raising fees).
- Email out of office auto responses
- Clinical documentation (Read more documentation tips here)
- Addressing FAQ from clients
Remember: when writing a template or script you want to keep it short and simple and avoid over-explaining yourself.
By the way, joining me for an upcoming Vibrant Therapist Virtual Work Session would be a great way to carve out some time to knock out a number of templates or scripts + get real time feedback from me and other therapists.
Take Care,
Sarah
P.S. Ready to keep reading? In my next post, I share the exact template/script I use for my automated out of office email reply. I turn this on every single weekend!