Some practice owners bring on new clinicians as independent contractors rather than as employees, which saves the practice owner money, time and paperwork. When clinicians working in the practice are designated as employees, the practice owner is responsible for paying half of their Social Security and Medicare taxes. The practice owner also needs to withhold […]
Continue Reading ...Launching a telepsychology practice involves numerous tasks, some similar to starting any private practice and others more pertinent to the practice of telespychology. Following are some of the things I did to launch my practice, with a focus on the aspects that more specifically pertain to telepsychology. First I wrote an ebook and listed it […]
Continue Reading ...A wave of Medicare audits has triggered anxiety among many psychologists and often costs them time and money as they spend hours tediously compiling records instead of seeing patients, not to mention payment delays for months even if their documentation is up to par. Psychologists whose caseloads are predominantly Medicare patients are the most likely […]
Continue Reading ...It may be hard for psychologists to believe, but there was a time when the topic of healthcare wasn’t politically charged. So claims Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent at Kaiser Health News. She recalls past conversations as “not just bipartisan, but nonpartisan,” often flavored with policy consensus. The 1992 presidential election of Bill Clinton changed […]
Continue Reading ...When we consider risk management in psychological practice, we readily think of: informed consent, documentation, consultation, personal characteristics of patient and provider, best-practice clinical strategies and levels of risk. But rarely do we think of self-care. And yet, self-care might be the most foundational, most all-encompassing risk management tool of all. Imagine for a moment […]
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At the beginning of 2019 psychologists who test children or adults were required to learn a complex coding and billing system after the American Medical Association (AMA) and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) overhauled the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes for central nervous system assessments. Prior to the change going into effect, […]
Continue Reading ...In The Analytic Attitude, Roy Shaefer, Ph.D., reminded us that the therapist’s flaunting of intelligence with patients can be distancing, if not anti-therapeutic. Interpersonal relational models of psychotherapy, psychoanalysis and counseling, have elevated the role of authenticity over intellect. Might the principle of “relating” rather than “impressing” also apply to the intimate partner milieu? At […]
Continue Reading ...Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death across age groups in the United States, making its prevention and accurate assessment an ongoing effort in the field of psychology. Despite a growing body of knowledge regarding suicide risk and protective factors, as well as neurological and neuropsychological correlates of suicidal behavior, assessment has remained strikingly […]
Continue Reading ...I have previously stressed the importance of fully integrating a mental health professional in the critical and intensive care units (ICUs) of general hospitals. In this article, I will outline a suggested model to make systemic changes to improve overall patient care in these settings. What follows is a detailed description of day-to-day functioning of […]
Continue Reading ...When I first heard about exposure therapy I was early in my graduate career sitting on a bench with a professional mentor who told me that her son had a needle phobia and was in treatment to reduce his fear so that he could be vaccinated. She described the therapist showing pictures and watching videos […]
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