Adventures with Dr. Lady Cutie Troublemaker

I’m answering this multiple times a day right now, so I thought I’d put it all in one place. It’s hard to answer basic questions like “When do you start?” and “What will you be doing?” because the position is kind of not a position. It’s not a nice round peg to fit into a round hole. For the average worker, there are things like start dates and job duties and salaries. As a member of a small group practice, things are very square peggish.

So this is a brand new group practice. I am the third of three therapists. The other two are co-owners. The office has three therapist offices, a playroom, and a waiting room. In the hallway, there is a small fridge and microwave, and there is a printer in the closet. My office has a door AND a window (my dream). It’s furnished, which isn’t always the case in small group practices. Both of the other women work with children. I meet with them for the first time next week to discuss more of the nitty gritty stuff like getting me on insurance panels so that people’s insurance can cover their sessions with me.

I am not walking into a situation where things are happening already. As I begin, I will receive cases, but I can’t start 40 hours all at once. I will receive cases from them (aka “referrals” – they have done a lot of marketing already) as they are available. It will probably take a little time to build up to full time. They both said they consider 30 hours of appointments full-time. This is because there is a lot of paperwork and report writing that I will be doing that will take up the extra time in the week. The greater the percentage of time I spend doing assessments, the more writing time I need. Luckily, assessments pay very well, so I should have the time I need to write them.

Salary is hard to explain, too. One of the reasons I didn’t “hang out my own shingle” is that in order to do that, you have to have all the money you would have to rent an apartment: rent, utilities, etc. I can’t afford the initial output that would be required to go into business for myself, nor would I have (I feel) enough local connections for me to feel competent doing that. While I have excellent professional skills, they are somewhat generic, since I have done all my training in Indiana, Memphis, and Boston. I don’t know much about local resources, and that knowledge is important. Being in an office with people who can answer my questions is a real bonus. I’m lucky that I will still be receiving regular supervision for a while. For them, it is a way of getting to know how I work, quality control, and for me, I get the support I need since I’m still “new” to the area in a professional sense. There is a fee for each client coming in. I pay a certain percentage of what I bring in to the practice to cover all the expenses of working there. This arrangement was crucial for me because (like I said) I am not in a financial position to be able to cover that on my own.

What will I do? I will do what I do! What do I do? Individual, family, and group therapy; parent training; neuropsychological and psychoeducational assessment; consultation with parents and teachers. I do whatever I need to do to help the adults in a child’s life learn about how their child learns and how to advocate for them and support them. I do whatever I need to do for kids to succeed and work through issues they are having: emotionally, behaviorally, educationally, whatever “-ly” is relevant.

So in short, the whole ride starts next week, but it’s a gradual buildup, with lots of details to iron out. The business is new, and I’m even newer. There is a lot they need to do, and there is a lot I need to do, for the clients to start showing up. But the wheels have begun to turn, and that’s the most I can ask for right now.

This really is exactly what I was looking for all along. It’s a dream situation, and I’m feeling really grateful these days. Thanks, Universe! I know you’d come through!