The Merriest Time of the Year...

Everyone is getting ready for the holidays... (the presents, the family, the food) but for some, this can be a very difficult time. Many people are doing their best to put on a happy face while feeling sadness in their hearts. Maybe it is the first Christmas without a loved one or the first holiday sober. Possibly money is tight and you are hoping everyone will be happy with the gifts you were able to afford. Whatever your worry is, it is okay. As wonderful as the holidays can be, it is normal to feel conflicted during this time of year.

Allow yourself to feel whatever is happening for you. Give yourself time to experience your feelings. Find the people in your life that will honor and respect your situation. You might need a quick phone call with an empathetic ear or a good cry in the shower. Whatever you need, give yourself space to take care of you. If you allow yourself to experience your feelings you may have the ability to move through the emotions faster. And remember, it is one day, 24 hours and then it is over.

We are all doing the best that we can, with the resources we have. Some holidays are better than others. Whatever your situation is, have hope the future holidays will be better and do not judge yourself for your feelings. Always remember, you are loved.

Karen Peabody, LICSW is a therapist and business consultant for social workers and therapists interested in starting their private practice. She founded Forgewell Solutions in East Bridgewater, MA. Her office is a great place to start a private practice. Visit her FOR THERAPISTS page to learn more.

Read about Karen in SCORE SE Massachusetts Success Stories.

News: Our Growing Practice

Hello, Wonderful People!

You may have noticed some changes to our office. Thank you for your patience during remodeling. As we were finishing up construction, life presented a great opportunity and we went for it. Forgewell Solutions bought the space next door to our current office, allowing us to double our offices. We will continue to use the same waiting room for both spaces and hope to make changes to allow them to flow more seamlessly in the future. We are very excited to have the new offices allowing us room for talented new therapists!

In other news, we wanted to clarify that we have two handicap spaces close to our building. One is directly in front of the walkway, and the second space is running down the side of the building. There are a few other handicap spaces in the center of the lot and along the back fence as well. With pending snow in the coming months, we ask that clients who do not need handicap spaces use the back of the parking lot.

With that business taken care of... let's talk about some fun stuff. Linda Dunphy is running a Mindfulness Group on Friday mornings. Also, Cassie Len is joining us on Fridays. She specializes in marriage and family therapy. Please contact the office if you would like more information. We also invite you to visit our new website! ForgewellSolutions.com is packed with information and a new blog for clients as well as therapists. All of our therapists are featured on our site allowing you to become more familiar with the Forgewell Solutions crew.

Please join our mailing list for articles about mental health, mindfulness, healthy habits, and coping skills. Additionally, if there are any topics you would like more information about you can contact us and we will write an article for you!

Thank you for your continued support. We feel truly blessed that we can join you on your journey.

Best,

Forgewell Solutions Staff

How spending more and reducing my clinical hours made me more successful.

I've been at this private practice thing for 7 years. I opened in 2013 and I was renting out a 3 office suite. I asked (or begged) a few therapists to rent a room from me. One might think it was a savvy business move to diversify my income, but to be honest I just did not want to be alone. Before long I was overwhelmed with paperwork, behind in my billing, screwing up my accounting and not returning potential client inquires. I was making enough money to keep afloat, but I had no plan to keep it going. It wasn’t awesome. Professional reinforcements were needed immediately, but I did not want to spend my hard-earned money in that way. Let’s not talk about the unthinkable...using my billable hours and not seeing clients!

What I failed to understand was that I was not financially invested in my business. I looked at paying for these services as a defeat. I thought that I needed to pay someone else to do tasks because I couldn't keep it together.

What I realized was that I needed to stay in my lane... which in this case meant being a therapist.

If I started to assign the task that I knew little about and let professionals handle these tasks, I was making more money, even if I had the extra expense of paying them.

I have a team now: my accountant, my SCORE mentor, my biller, my office manager and my marketing designer. All of these gems bring their expertise, energy, and ideas to my office to make this business thrive. My first hire was an accountant. This was painful. To be truthful, sometimes this relationship still is. I have a lot to learn about accounting. He has taught me smarter ways to spend money, which ends up saving money. I can see the results as he provides the structure. I still don’t know what he is talking about a lot of the time, but I do what he tells me to do and we make it work.

My second draft pick was my SCORE mentor. Frank is super special because he volunteers his time for me. Essentially he is OZ in my Emerald City. He is the brains of the operation. He keeps things organized, linear and functional. He holds me accountable for the decisions I have to make or fail to make. He is just a phone call away. People often remark that my business structure is so smart, and I usually feel pretty guilty accepting the praise because it is all Frank.

Next comes Kim, my office manager, personal assistant, personal organizer, quasi therapist, expert problem solver and the muscle behind the operation. She goes through the emails, pays the bills, communicates with the therapists and cleans the office. You probably want a Kim and I don’t blame you.

Last is Tina, marketing guru, tech support, content advisor and yoga instructor (complete bonus). Tina has been my most recent find. She develops my online presence. I am not sure I ever thought I would need such a thing, but guess what! We probably spend 1 to 2 face to face hours a month to hash out what we want to do and how we are doing to it. Probably the very best thing she always says to me is, “Don’t worry, I got you!”.

Long story short... YES, I take time out of my clinical practice and YES, I pay more money out to develop my team, but it works. Currently, I run my office with 9 therapists (plus 5 waiting to join), 2 office buildings, 1 realty company, and another pending consulting company. My original plan was about renting an office space or two and seeing my clients. My team made my plan way better! Trust me, I got you!

Karen Peabody, LICSW is a therapist and business consultant for social workers and therapists interested in starting their private practice. She founded Forgewell Solutions in East Bridgewater, MA. Her office is a great place to start a private practice. Visit her FOR THERAPISTS page to learn more.

Read about Karen in SCORE SE Massachusetts Success Stories.