Offering a Free Therapy Consultation Session in Private Practice | Pros and Cons
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Most therapists offer some form of free initial contact like a phone call before scheduling an initial session, but what about offering a face-to-face initial session to clients free of charge? Different therapists have different opinions, and it’s best to choose what’s best for you. In this video I go over the pros and cons of offering a free initial therapy session to potential clients.
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This video is geared for therapists of all kinds, including psychologists, MFTs, LPCCs, social workers, and others in the clinical counseling field.
Welcome to Private Practice Skills! I’m Dr. Marie Fang, psychologist in private practice. I post videos offering tools I learned the hard way about starting and growing private practice so that you don’t have to.
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This video is not intended as professional or legal advice. Be sure to seek the services of a professional if you are in need of them.
The idea behind offering a free initial session is obvious: finding a therapist that’s a good fit is a challenging task! It’s a big enough deal to figure out who to contact for an initial phone call, let alone figuring if that therapist will be the right fit within that call. And if a therapist charges out of pocket, that’s a huge expense to waste your money on if it’s not a good fit!
I get it. So much so that when I first started out in private practice I seriously considered offering a free initial session to my clients. But with some thought I opted not to. Here are some pros and cons to reflect on if you’re considering offering a free initial session in private practice:
PROS:
1. Putting the client’s needs first. This is a huge pro of offering a free initial session. Of course, clients who are a bit unsure of whether you might be the best fit for them will likely be more happy to schedule with you if they know the session is free.
2. Get more clients to schedule an initial session. The hope of many therapists is that by offering a free session, more clients will schedule an initial appointment and then feel safe enough to continue as a paying client. Unfortunately, it’s been my experience observing colleagues who offer a free initial appointment that most of the time, this is not the case.
CONS:
1. Lost income. Think about it: how many free session time slots are you willing to offer up per week? 1? 3? 5? You may get people calling to schedule simply to snag their free session, so your lost income might be pretty significant. Even one free intake per week amounts to $660 in lost income per month at my fee. That’s nearly $8000 per year!
2. Time Investment. If you meet face-to-face, even if it’s free of charge, you are officially this person’s therapist. The client must complete the initial paperwork and you need to start a file for this client with the appropriate documentation. For me, doing the affiliated paperwork after an intake session takes at least 5 times longer than writing a progress note for an ongoing client. That’s a HUGE time investment for no pay.
I have seen therapists offer a free initial session without completing the affiliated documentation unless the client schedules a follow-up session. This is a HUGE no-no. It’s illegal to offer your therapeutic services without informed consent and completing the required documentation.
3. Lack of client investment. Sometimes offering things for free is not always good for business. By offering a free initial session, you may have several people come through who are not interested in pursuing more than one or two sessions, or who are not especially invested in the work of therapy. Working with unmotivated clients without getting paid is a recipe for therapist resentment and burnout.
Whether you decide to offer a free initial in-person consultation or not, be sure to weigh all the pros and cons before making the decision that’s best for you and your clients.