So many exciting opportunities!
Hosting a support group can be empowering and give you the right motivation to grow your practice. Seeing the benefits of your support group will encourage you to want to do more for your community. It will also allow you to come up with fresh new ideas for other offers that can potentially create other streams of income
With good intentions come great results. Here are just a few benefits that hosting a support group can have on your growing practice
Give Back To The Community
Being able to give back to the community by providing a support group I think is the best way to give back. Remember, your knowledge is power.
Your support group can really make a difference. It can lead people to therapy in general that may not be as open to therapy. A support group can offer inspiration to the community. Even if it is a group that only meets once a month it can really make a difference.
Think about if someone found out about your practice because they heard you ran a free support group. It leaves a good taste in your mouth and makes your practice the one they will turn to when they need help. Or the one they refer others too
Market Your Practice
I am always telling my practice owners that giving stuff out for free is the best marketing tool. What a great way to market your practice than to offer a sneak peek of the support a client will get when working with your practice in a support group
This can establish a relationship between the client and your practice and even warm up the idea of therapy in general. Some people start off in a support group and then once they get comfortable decide to attend therapy
Pro Tip! - If you’re having a hard time figuring out where to start with your marketing efforts, we highly recommend checking out Your Mental Health Today!
Promote Your Offers
When it comes to a support group it may be a good idea to provide other offers like group therapy. This can be something that you offer at a cost but in addition to the support group for people that need further support.
You may even offer a workshop like learning mindfulness. This would be something at a low cost but it will still add up if your support group is a large one.
Again, Your Mental Health Today is PERFECT for promoting your offers to potential clients!
Case Study
Let's say you have an idea for a virtual workshop but you are not sure what direction to go in. You can always ask the support group if they want to participate in the virtual workshop and give honest feedback on what they thought was the most helpful.
This will help you to be able to produce a successful virtual workshop and it will give the participants an opportunity to experience the workshop for free. It is really a win, win for both sides.
Network
Sounds strange right, how in the world would a support group lead to networking with others in the community? There are many different ways this can happen. Let's say you are looking to offer a support group for women who have suffered trauma.
If you reach out to referral sources like OBGYN's you will be able to spread the word about the support group faster and you will also begin to build a relationship with the office to have others be referred to the support group.
You can also work with a referral source like a Yoga studio to host the support group there. This will benefit the Yoga studio because some people find that Yoga is a great way to deal with trauma and you will be able to advertise your support group in the Yoga studio making the support group more accessible
Final Thoughts
There are many ways a support group can grow your practice and provide an additional stream of income. A support group can also set the tone for how you run your practice and offer support to clients.
At first, you may spend a bit of time working out all of the details for the support group. But eventually, it will get easier and be something you look forward to. If your practice has values that align with giving back, offering a support group may be the best option for you.
Need more help? That’s what we’re here for!
If you need some guidance with your practice. Feel free to schedule a free consultation. Schedule a call today.
As we mentioned above, Marketing your Private Practice with Your Mental Health Today couldn't be easier!
The possibilities are almost endless when it comes to what you can promote on this site. Whether you have a podcast, an e-book, or you want to create a Virtual Support Group of your own, your one stop shop for promoting all your offers is hands down, Your Mental Health Today!
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