Creating a Specialist Information Brochure 650
For this interactive assignment, you will assume the role of a clinical or counseling psychologist who has recently opened a private practice or begun working for a mental health agency. You are eager to begin working with client(s) and need to market your services. One way to attract clients is to develop professional relationships with individuals who may need to refer their clients, patients, students, or congregants to a psychologist. It can be helpful to provide these professionals with informational materials that provide an overview of your services.
Potential Referring Professionals: First, identify the target audience for your informational brochure (see common examples in the list below). Utilize the brochure to market your services to the audience you identify in order to obtain client referrals from them.
Attorneys
Clergy/religious leaders
Employee Assistance Program personnel
Life/wellness coaches
Physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners including family practice specialists and psychiatrists
Teachers and school counselors who may refer patients to you
Other mental health professionals (e.g., nutritionists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, recreational therapists)
Other mental health professionals (e.g., counselors, social workers, behavioral technicians, art therapists)
Your brochure must include the following information:
Disclaimer: Include the following statement in your brochure: “This informational brochure was developed for a class assignment. I am not holding myself out to be a mental health provider in any manner.”
Name, Photo/Image, and Credentials: Include your name degree, type of license, and any professional membership organizations appropriate to your assumed role. Also list any appropriate division memberships and certifications applicable to your specialty. Include a personal professional headshot or other image appropriate to your brochure’s content.
Personal Statement: Create a 50-100-word personal statement in which you describe attributes that make your practice or agency unique.
Specialties: Identify at least three areas of specialization (e.g., child and adolescent psychology, behavioral disorders, learning disorders, trauma, family and relationships issues, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, neuropsychology, personality disorders, substance disorders). Access the APA’s Recognized Specialties and Proficiencies in Professional Psychology Links to an external site. page for more information on this topic.
Treatment Proficiencies: Compare the possible theoretical orientations appropriate to your assumed role and identify your treatment orientation(s). Identify which modalities (e.g., individual, couples, family, and/or group) you use with clients.
Client Focus: Describe the populations that you would primarily serve. Include information regarding age, gender, religious orientations, ethnicities, and/or special populations. List all languages you speak fluently and provide any additional information on cultural specialization you may have.
Confidentiality and Limitations: Explain what information will remain confidential in your sessions as well as the limitations of confidentiality.
You are encouraged to post your required replies earlier in the week to promote more meaningful interactive discourse in this discussion.
Take on the role of a referring professional and carefully review the information provided in your peer’s brochure. Describe the components of the brochure that resonated with you.
Analyze the American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct related to the information provided within your colleague’s brochure and offer suggestions regarding other ethical issues that should be considered in their “Confidentiality and Limitations” section.
Pose questions you have as a potential referring professional that might prevent you from referring someone to them for their services. Suggest ways in which the brochure might be improved and explain your rationale for the modification(s).
