Dr. Amy E. Keller is a Doctor of Psychology in Psychoanalysis and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She has a private practice in Pasadena, California and is the author of Get Real, Get Going: The Definitive Roadmap to Starting the Private Practice of your Dreams.
All in Dr. Amy Recommends
It is so important to know and to be able to articulate your passion for your work. Passion is contagious, it will draw patients to you and help you attract clients who are a perfect fit for your practice. In this post, Dr. Amy shares some questions to help you discover what you are passionate about.
Breaks are just as important as work. Professional clinicians often have a tight schedule but it’s important to carve some time out of your clinical schedule to refuel your body and your mind. Read on to discover some you can do during your lunch break to make your entire day better.
Professionalism isn’t the job you do, but how you do the job. Read on for some of Dr. Amy’s tips for maintaining your professionalism as you make the transition from student life to work life.
Agencies introduce fledgling therapists to a myriad of new contacts, materials and useful information. There are a few simple steps you can take now, during your agency years, to help store all this information so that you can actually put it to good use! In this post, Dr. Amy explains some key tips to staying organized, keeping everyone straight, and how to make your “Future Self’ immensely happy.
While it’s tempting to spend your early agency years dreaming and preparing for the day you’ll fly solo and start your own private practice, there are gems to be mined from your early career that will help lay the groundwork for your later goals. In this post, Dr. Amy explains some essential things you need to take away from your agency experience.
We live in a world that celebrates work and activity, ignores renewal and recovery, and fails to recognize that both are necessary for sustained high performance. It’s up to you to take your own decompression seriously and incorporate restful activities into your day. In this post, Dr. Amy gives examples of simple things you can do to chill out.
A well-maintained mentor relationship can be the cornerstone of your support system as you work through the challenges of early career development. In this blog post, Dr. Amy defines a what makes a good mentor and explains what characteristics to look for when seeking out your own professional mentors.
Fledgling therapists often resist dressing professionally and their rationalizations can feel pretty convincing. In this article, Dr. Amy shares some common excuses and explains how dressing professionally can benefit your business.
Mindfulness as a clinical practice has become prominent in our field in recent years. A mindfulness routine can sustain us as practitioners as well our patients. During the early years of your career, the hassles and demands of agency life can crowd out self-care. Staying strong and present means that you must find ways to take even small moments to clear your head. Read on for some suggestions from Dr. Amy to help you along your mindfulness journey.
As a mental health clinician, you might find yourself in potentially risky situations which are rarely confronted by members of other professions, this is especially true when you are in the field. In this article, Dr. Amy explains how to trust your instincts and offers some useful tips to keep you safe.
Once you’re licensed, it is vital to have a website. I’d even go so far as to say that it can be professional suicide NOT to have a website. Websites not only provide a source of information about you and your practice, they can add to your credibility, generate leads, showcase your brand, and save you time by handling customer service inquiries and by allowing clients to book appointments directly. Read on for tips on how to get started creating your professional site…
Worried about finding patients for your new practice? One of my favorite networking practices is to simply be friendly! Getting to know my neighbors really helped me grow my practice, discover new referral sources, and make new friends.
Dr. Amy stresses the importance of developing mindfulness practices that that train your body to go from “fight or flight” back to “rest and digest.” But let’s face it, in real life we don’t always get the chance to make that shift in real time. In this post, she explains the difference between stress and pressure and when it’s time to seek professional help.
A finely tuned elevator pitch is the cornerstone to successful networking. A great elevator pitch paints a picture of not only what you do, but also who you are. In this post, Dr. Amy offers tips to help you define and refine your own elevator pitch.
While it’s good to be busy, carrying a full load over the course of months can also be taxing and stressful. If we aren’t careful, we can “burn out,” and burnout, if not treated, can become depression, anxiety and distraction. In this article, Dr. Amy explains how to recognize burnout, what to do when you feel it, and how to prevent it in the first place.
Yes, you that you can make a living -- and a good one! -- as a private practitioner. There will be enough money and enough clients. In this blog, Dr. Amy recommends five practical actions you can take to get over your fears, grow your client base, and have a prosperous private practice.
It’s actually happening! You’ve rented your office and you’re getting ready to welcome your first patient! You’ve picked out some furniture, hung your diplomas, and added some art to the walls. You’ve probably ordered your pens and paper and other basics but are also a number of less obvious supplies that you might not yet have in your toolkit. Here are some of Dr. Amy’s recommendations for office essentials that you may not have thought of….
Once upon a time there was a young graduate student named Dr. Amy who was struggling with money. She found herself up to her eyeballs in debt from school, working for peanuts while getting her training hours for licensure, and all the while trying to figure out how to pay the rent on her crappy little apartment. Then one day little Dr. Amy discovered a very smart lady name Suze Orman and the rest is history….
acknowledges that there are times you have to beg, borrow and max out a credit card to get yourself on a professional track, and that it can be okay to invest in yourself and your career.
It’s time to THINK BIG, have a vision for something that is beyond what you have done before and that likely entails more than a few moving parts. Big-thought-projects tend not to happen in a day, they take longer, which means they demand not just inspiration and motivation, but the stamina to hang on. In this blog, Dr. Amy gives you the resources you need to hang on and achieve your big dreams.
You’re working hard towards your goals, but some nights really all you can do is collapse in front of the TV… What to do then? Dr. Amy suggests that you choose movies that motivate you and remind you that, even when the chips are down, dreams can come true!
