Shownotes
f you’re replying to emails late at night, chasing invoices between sessions, or taking your laptop on holiday “just in case”, it might feel like admin is taking over your life.
For private practice therapists, enquiries, invoicing, cancellations, GDPR, practice management systems, and Making Tax Digital can eat into the time that you'd much rather be using for seeing clients.
In this episode, I’m joined by Anna Bunch of Psych VA to explore how virtual assistants for therapists can help lighten that admin load.
We talk about:
- What a virtual assistant actually does in a therapy practice
- Managing client enquiries and follow ups
- Support with invoicing and insurance companies
- Getting set up with practice management systems such as WriteUpp
- Making Tax Digital and accounting software like Xero
- Confidentiality and GDPR when outsourcing admin
- How to know when it might be time to get help
If admin is creeping into your evenings and weekends, this conversation will help you decide what support could look like for you.
About Anna: Anna Bunch is the founder of Psych VA, a UK based virtual assistant agency supporting therapists and psychologists in private practice. Her team helps with admin, inbox and diary management, invoicing, insurance work, and practice management systems, helping clinics run smoothly and sustainably. You can find Anna HERE at her website, where you can book an appointment or contact her for her time tracker tool.
Setting up in private practice? Download my free checklist HERE
Need ideas for how to get clients? Download my free handout 21 Ways for Counsellors to Attract New Clients HERE
You can also find me here:
The Good Enough Counsellors Facebook Group
Josephine Hughes on Facebook
Josephine Hughes on YouTube
My website: josephinehughes.com
Keywords: private practice support, virtual assistant for therapists, therapist work-life balance, outsourcing therapy tasks, efficient client management, therapy growth strategies, practice management systems, therapist burnout prevention, administrative support for therapists
The information contained in Good Enough Counsellors is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this podcast are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this podcast. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this podcast.
Josephine Hughes disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this podcast.
Transcripts
I had one client the other month who came on board and she was saying every time she goes on holiday, she takes a laptop with her and she's checking in all the time and she had a holiday coming up.
Speaker A:And I says, right, well, for your next holiday, you're not taking your laptop with you.
Speaker A:You don't need to check your emails every day.
Speaker A:You know, we're going to do that for you.
Speaker A:And she went away and had a holiday and she said, that's the first holiday I've had since I've worked in private practice where she was able to switch off and know that, you know, nothing bad was going to happen, you know, the business was still going to, inquiries were going to be answered and that is just worth it.
Speaker A:That's priceless, isn't.
Speaker B:Welcome to Good Enough Counsellors, the podcast for growing a private practice without the pressure to be perfect.
Speaker B:I'm Josephine Hughes, counsellor and creator of Therapy Growth Group, helping you get the clients you want and create the practice of your dreams.
Speaker A:Foreign.
Speaker B:I'm talking about something I know a lot of therapists relate to.
Speaker B:I love working with clients, but the admin not quite so much.
Speaker B:As therapists running our private practices, we do tend to do everything ourselves.
Speaker B:But if your marketing starts working really well, you can begin to find yourself struggling with handling all the different inquiries, especially if you're also running a full practice and need to handle things like writing notes, changing appointments, sending reminders and keeping up with the finances.
Speaker B:So today I am joined by Anna Bunch, who runs Psych va, to talk about what virtual assistant support can actually look like in a therapeutic practice.
Speaker B:We're going to cover the practicalities, like what is a VA and how they can help.
Speaker B:And also I know a lot of you will be asking what happens about confidentiality.
Speaker B:Anna's also experienced in using a number of practice management systems and we're going to talk about those too.
Speaker B:So if you'd much rather be focusing on your clients than your inbox, I think you'll find this a really helpful episode.
Speaker B:So welcome, Anna.
Speaker B:Nice to see you.
Speaker B:Thank you for coming.
Speaker B:Hi.
Speaker A:Thanks for having me.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's lovely to see you.
Speaker B:Just such a useful service and I think a lot of people get really confused about what it all involves.
Speaker B:So it's lovely to have you here, but can I ask a little bit about you?
Speaker B:Can you just introduce yourself and tell us how you've ended up working with therapists in in practice?
Speaker A:Yeah, sure.
Speaker A:So, I'm Anna Bunch and my business is Psych va. We'll be going into our eighth year next month.
Speaker B:Congratulations.
Speaker A:Thank you.
Speaker A:Yes, it's been a long road.
Speaker A:My background is, oh, quite varied.
Speaker A:Lots of admin roles in my younger.
Speaker A:In my younger years and customer service roles.
Speaker A:And then I found myself working for, in private training, audit compliance.
Speaker A:So nothing like what I do at the moment.
Speaker A: n I was on maternity leave in: Speaker A:And then one of my friends is a consultant neuropsychologist and she said, oh, I've got a va. And I was like, what's one of them?
Speaker B:Right, yeah.
Speaker A:And she.
Speaker A:And she said, oh, she does all my back office admin for me and told me what she paid her and I was like, hmm, I'll do that for you.
Speaker A:And that's how it started.
Speaker A:So I wasn't aware of virtual assistants at this time.
Speaker A:So I started working for her in her practice, dealing with all of the admin tasks you would expect.
Speaker A:Inbox diary management, invoicing, general coordination, making sure she was in the right place at the right time.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And it just grew from there all through word of mouth.
Speaker A:And that's where most of our business comes from, which is lovely because it means that we're doing a good job.
Speaker A:And yeah, we just grew.
Speaker A:And then I was at capacity and then I decided to take on some associates and now we're a team of about 20.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:And we've come big, big.
Speaker B:A lot of work there.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:So we're very niche.
Speaker A:Well, private healthcare.
Speaker A:So a lot of our client base are psychologists, but we work with counselors, educational psychologists, we've got audiologists, podiatrists, so basically anyone in private healthcare running a clinic, and that ranges from solo clinicians through to larger clinics.
Speaker A:Everyone's got the same pain points, the same backend systems, the same needs.
Speaker A:So you know, it works for.
Speaker A:It works for all.
Speaker B:Yeah, I was going to say just tell us a little bit about.
Speaker B:So what were the sort of things you do?
Speaker B:Could you explain a bit more about what you do?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So we work remotely, we work on all of our clients systems.
Speaker A:So we don't hold any information on our own computers.
Speaker A:So we would have a login and an email address within your domain.
Speaker A:Log on to your write up or whatever systems that you use and your accounting software.
Speaker A:And people buy hours from us a month.
Speaker A:Some people just need a small amount of hours.
Speaker A:A common pain point is invoicing, especially if you're dealing with Insurance companies that can pose a headache.
Speaker A:Sending out invoices and then following up with late payments.
Speaker A:Obviously the therapist, you've got therapeutic relationship with your clients and you don't want to be at the end of the session saying, by the way, you still owe me 60 pound from your last session.
Speaker A:So it's nice to have someone el to do that bit for you.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And also dealing with.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Insurance payments.
Speaker A:And if you deal with insurance companies, they can be a bit of a headache and take a lot of time and head space trying to get money and dealing with excess payments.
Speaker A:And then we've got clients that we do inbox management, so we'll check the inbox once or twice a day, deal with any inquiries on board, new clients, making sure all the paperwork's complete before you see them, make sure they've paid up front.
Speaker A:If that's how you work, managing your actual database, making sure.
Speaker A:Dealing with appointment changes.
Speaker B:So would you sort of like just contact the client yourself then?
Speaker B:In that sort of instance, if somebody like.
Speaker B:Like I've been poorly recently, so I've had to cancel a lot of stuff.
Speaker B:So literally someone could just get in touch and say, could you get in touch with all my clients and cancel my appointments?
Speaker B:Would it be something like that or.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:So, yeah, we use WhatsApp with, with our clients for, for situations like that, because we might not be in your inbox.
Speaker A:So if someone's ill, seven o' clock in the morning, you could say, I'm ill, please can you cancel all my appointments that day?
Speaker A:And then your virtual assistant will jump on the computer, get in touch with all your clients, whether that's through phone call or whichever method that is suitable for the situation, and yet let them know, and cancel that.
Speaker A:So that's.
Speaker A:That's a big help and people are always very grateful for that
Speaker B:because it is.
Speaker B:It's these sorts of things that just.
Speaker B:You don't realize how much of your time they're actually taking.
Speaker B:And I think there's also that sense of your focus as well, because, you know, you're sort of like doing all these different things.
Speaker B:Well, actually, it's just really lovely to be able to just focus on the client, really, isn't it?
Speaker B:It sounds like what you do is really lighten the load for, for your clients, for your psycho psychologists and counsellors and different people working in healthcare.
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:I mean, when you set out to do your training to be a counsellor, you weren't thinking, oh, I want to be tied to my inbox in an evening or, you know, dealing in between appointments when you should be doing your notes, you know, dealing with cancellations or anything.
Speaker B:Invoices.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:I think if you get into private practice, especially if you've come from the nhs, then you, you don't realize that how long all these things take.
Speaker A:And because you do a bit here, a bit there, it's, it's sometimes quite hard to quantify.
Speaker A:But if you do add all these things up, it does, it does add up to, you know, a big chunk.
Speaker B:And I'm thinking, you know, because often I think, like you say, one of the pain points that comes up for people is they'll get someone who books in and then they send them through the contract and then the client.
Speaker B:I think often therapists worry that that means if the client doesn't reply, oh, you know, they're not interested.
Speaker B:But often I think it's just a case.
Speaker B:They do need those follow ups, don't they?
Speaker B:But I think when we're sort of, you know, we're quite involved, we really want them to book in.
Speaker B:It's our, what would we call it?
Speaker B:It's our income, isn't it?
Speaker B:And I think that can make us sort of panic a little bit.
Speaker B:Whereas if you've got someone who's doing that for you, it's just part of the work, isn't it?
Speaker B:And you can just follow up and it's.
Speaker B:There's no emotion involved.
Speaker B:I think that's what I'm trying to get at.
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely, yeah.
Speaker A:So, yeah, we're kind of your gatekeep in effect too.
Speaker A:And a lot of people find it hard to say no when they're at capacity or say no to a client and it's easier for someone else to tell them no and signpost them on to someone else.
Speaker A:So there is that.
Speaker A:It takes away some of that guilt because, you know, when you're self employed it is really hard to turn away business but sometimes you need to for your own mental health and.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:To avoid burning out.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:So at what point do you think people would take you on?
Speaker B:Is it only people who are really busy, who you work with or just what are sort of some of the entry points that.
Speaker B:Where people would want to start working with you, do you think?
Speaker A:So there's various different entry points.
Speaker A:I get the client who's fresh out the NHS or new to private practice and they know they need to set up their processes.
Speaker A:The admin side, they haven't got an idea of what systems to use and how that's all going to work, so I can help advise what they need and we can talk through processes, from inquiry through to discharge and everything in between, how you're going to deal with things.
Speaker A:And that's very thought proven provoking because then you think about, oh, when am I going to invoice them?
Speaker A:What is my cancellation policy going to be?
Speaker A:And to get all that down at that point is a great place to start.
Speaker A:But not everyone's, you know, thinks that way when you go into private practice, because you think, you know, I've got three or four clients, you're using an Excel sheet, you might not be sending invoices using a paper diary.
Speaker A:And that's something I hear majority of my client calls and people sometimes like, oh, I'm really sorry, I'm still using a paper diary.
Speaker A:And it's like, that's fine because that's been working for you.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:But when you get to a point where you're getting busier, you might want to be taking on someone else to join your clinic as an associate, or you just you at capacity and it all just becomes a bit too much.
Speaker A:So it's again, it's not uncommon for me to get an email that just simply in the subject says help.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:And I think once people start to working with lots of clients and then the admin starts to creep into evenings, weekends, and people become a bit resentful of the work that they're doing and thinking, this isn't what I started out to do.
Speaker A:You know, I'm spending too much time with this, or knowing you've got to renaxa and, you know that you're going to be on hold for an hour and, you know, trying to sort something out.
Speaker A:All these things that just can really start to stack on top of each other, so that, that's common as well.
Speaker A:And then there's sometimes there's other things going on in people's lives.
Speaker A:You know, life changes, which means that they need some support or they're wanting to grow the business themselves and they're wanting either advice on that or just to make things run a bit more efficient and streamlined.
Speaker A:And that's where we come in.
Speaker A:So, you know, it doesn't matter where you're at when you journey, whether there's just you or whether there's 10 of you, you know, there's a.
Speaker A:There's a place for, for us to be able to help you within that with one of our services.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And we're very flexible.
Speaker A:We tailor everything per client.
Speaker A:We don't tie people into contracts.
Speaker A:We are very customer focused and we basically want to solve your problems and take some work off your plate so you can actually do what you set out to do and that is to help people.
Speaker B:Yeah, I know sometimes I've talked to therapists and I can think of at least a couple where they've literally just started and they've written an advert that really speaks to people and then they're absolutely inundated with inquiries.
Speaker B:Actually, if that happens to you, it's really difficult to keep up with the inquiries because you're getting them all the time and literally they're coming in, you might end up.
Speaker B:And I have known this happening to people, you know, 15, 20, 30 quarries a week, and you just haven't got the capacity for that.
Speaker B:So I can imagine having someone like you at that point would be really helpful to just manage the flow as well and help, I suppose, to a certain extent.
Speaker B:Do you help people filter?
Speaker B:So, you know, if somebody was in that scenario, you'd be able to filter the inquiries, would you?
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:So in the situation you've just said, then again that that's common and people feel guilty for not responding to everyone or getting back to them on time, and even if they're at capacity, you know, saying that, you know, admitting that they're like, we just don't reply to them, you know, and that kind of adds guilt because you're like, these people have asked for help and I. I don't have the, you know, the time to reply to you, to tell you that I'm busy.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, we can.
Speaker A:That's something that we can do and signpost them on to people that you can recommend and do a simple triage as well.
Speaker A:You know, finding out what the problems are and being able to know whether you're the best person or your client's the best person for them.
Speaker A:And if not, again, signposting them on.
Speaker A:So that's a common task that we do as well.
Speaker B:Yeah, brilliant.
Speaker B:Do you find that many of the therapists sort of find it difficult to admit that they're not very good at admin?
Speaker A:I think by the time that they call me, they're very hands up and just going, admin's not my strong point.
Speaker A:In the same way that me giving therapy to someone would definitely not be a good idea.
Speaker A:If you're that kind of person to be a counsellor or what have you, you're not going to be wanting to be an administrator.
Speaker A:So people are usually quite open about it.
Speaker A:But I do think that from speaking to People, they might be thinking, why can't I manage everything myself?
Speaker A:But without giving themselves credit that if you're the sole person in your practice, you're doing the marketing, the business development, the onboarding, the admin, the finance, making sure you're compliant, worrying about gdpr and, you know, it's massive.
Speaker A:I mean, that's a whole range of business tasks that you've got to do for one person and all of them don't generate you money, you know, you're doing it for free, aren't you?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So it's only when you're actually seeing the client.
Speaker A:So, yeah, I think people are pretty, you know, hands up and realise it's not their.
Speaker A:Not their skill set, which is absolutely fine.
Speaker B:While we're talking about playing to your strengths, I just want to acknowledge that many therapists find attracting clients doesn't always come naturally.
Speaker B:Not because they're not good at what they do, but because talking about your work in a clear, accessible way can feel surprisingly difficult.
Speaker B:And that's where I come in.
Speaker B:Helping therapists identify who they help and communicate why they're the right fit in language that clients actually understand is something that I really do love helping you with and that is my skill set.
Speaker B:It's what we're focusing on inside therapy growth group at the moment.
Speaker B:So if that's the bit that feels hard for you, you can find out more about how to work with me in therapy growth group in the show notes.
Speaker B:Right, let's get back to Anna.
Speaker B:And I think you're right.
Speaker B:I mean, I think, you know, people can be very skilled in therapy, but, you know, like you say, a lot of us, we don't train to be administrators.
Speaker B:I thought it was a really interesting point that you made, that quite a few people come into it without necessarily having thought through all those different scenarios, because if you haven't done it before, you don't really know what to expect.
Speaker B:And I certainly found this when I started.
Speaker B:You know, I gaily set up, advertised, you know, these sort of things.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's what I need to do.
Speaker B:I just need to get some clients in and then the clients come in and then you start being presented with situations that perhaps you haven't thought through.
Speaker B:I sort of quite enjoyed the process and I wasn't so inundated that it was really difficult to cope with.
Speaker B:But until you've done it, you don't really know what to expect, do you?
Speaker B:And that's why it must be so helpful to be able to sit down with someone like yourself who does this all the time for people.
Speaker B:So you know what sort of scenarios are going to be coming up for people as they work.
Speaker B:And I suppose the other thing I sort of just wanted to pick up on and just to remind people of this is that I don't think there is any shame in needing help, is there?
Speaker B:I think it's really good to have someone like yourself on board because that frees you up and you play to your skills.
Speaker B:I always remember reading Denise Duffield Thomas talks about when she first took on a bookkeeper and she had all her receipts in a plastic bag, you know, carrier bag, and she thought, I just, I can't, I can't pass this on.
Speaker B:It's just such a mess.
Speaker B:I've got to sort it out before I give it to the bookkeeper.
Speaker B:And the bookkeeper was like, I love sorting out messes like this, I really do.
Speaker B:And I've certainly had this with my bookkeeper.
Speaker B:I feel so awful when it's looking like this and she's like, just send it over.
Speaker B:I love doing it.
Speaker A:And that's how we feel.
Speaker A:We like to get the messier the better, because then that means that we can make a real impact straight away for you.
Speaker A:I mean, it's like cleaning your house before the cleaner comes around, isn't it?
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:You don't need to do that.
Speaker A:And, yeah, people do sometimes come across like they've got a bit of shame that they're using a paper diary and what have you.
Speaker A:And it's, you know, there's nothing wrong with that, it's just you need to become more digitalized in order to become streamlined.
Speaker A:And if you do want to work with someone remotely, they can't see your paper diary.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:And that can be a real struggle for people because it's changing the way that they work.
Speaker A:So I think you do need to be open to, you know, suggestions of how it can help you.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And there's so many different platforms, so many different systems, again from practice management software, you know, accounting packages, all these things that you hear people using and you think, I don't know what that is.
Speaker A:And you can research into these things, but they've all got so many features, everything's changing all the time and you have to.
Speaker A:It's another thing you've got to learn and sit down and then you think, what am I doing it right?
Speaker A:Yeah, surely this must be easier.
Speaker A:So again, just having that bit of guidance about what is what other people are using in the industry and more importantly, what's in terms of, like, data security, what's actually compliant and safe and just having that peace of mind.
Speaker B:I think that's a really big thing that comes up as well, is people get really worried about sort of, you know, the data protection side of things and their confidentiality.
Speaker B:And I know that this is one of the things that you really have quite a lot of knowledge of, because you're working with it all the time, isn't it, Is that you do work quite a lot with sort of practice management systems, don't you?
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:So, yeah, we only work.
Speaker A:We know which ones are compliant and we've got.
Speaker A:Within our business, we have really robust contracts with our clients and with the people on the team making sure that everyone's got the insurance, ico, DBS checks, that they're up to date with their GDPR training and we've got data processing agreements and so we're covered within our relationship.
Speaker A:But yeah, lots of people, and rightly so, you know, can feel really uneasy about gdp, gdpr.
Speaker A:And it's.
Speaker A:Some people really overthink it.
Speaker A:I mean, you know, if you take it back to its simplest form, you know that you're holding data, holding the data that you need to, you're holding it securely.
Speaker A:And that's why we don't keep any of.
Speaker A:Any of our clients information on our systems.
Speaker A:We log into everyone else's and then there's audit trails there.
Speaker A:You can see who's logged in, who's done what and the client still has full control, you know, over everything.
Speaker A:So it's.
Speaker A:Yeah, we do as much as we can to make sure that we're covered at all bases.
Speaker A:And, yeah, it's at the.
Speaker A:Obviously the centre of what we do.
Speaker A:It's the most important.
Speaker B:So it really makes it sort of easier for everybody concerned to be able to manage what they're doing using something like a practice management system.
Speaker B:And they would grant you a login.
Speaker B:And that means that.
Speaker B:That's right, yeah.
Speaker B:So that sort of brings me on to the next thing, which I think a lot of us are quite scared about practice management systems.
Speaker B:I had someone.
Speaker B:It's so sort of useful to have you coming onto the show because we got in contact just before Christmas and someone had said, oh, who is it that I get to help me with my practice?
Speaker B:And that's when we got in contact.
Speaker B:I thought, oh, brilliant, you know, and then this, this last week, someone's asked in the groove about write up and, oh, what do I need to do to be able to set it up and what advice can people give me?
Speaker B:Because, like you say, it feels like such a.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's another tool.
Speaker B:But getting your head around using a tool like it, there's a.
Speaker B:There's a lot to it, isn't there?
Speaker B:And I believe that's something that you will help people with to get it set up.
Speaker B:Is that right?
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:So Write up is a brilliant platform.
Speaker A:It's a really great price point point and it does everything that you need it to do.
Speaker A:It's one that I've worked with and for years and I work very closely with Write up.
Speaker A:And yeah, I mean, it's got a brilliant support and all of the answers to any of your queries are in there.
Speaker A:So you can sit yourself and work through how to set it all up, but if you've got the time to do it, that's great.
Speaker A:But if you don't, what happens is you would meet with myself and we spend an hour talking through your clinic processes.
Speaker A:We go from inquiry, how your inquiries come in, what you do with them, then how you onboard your clients, how your, your clinic runs, and we really break it down into steps and then we can pinpoint areas that we can automate and streamline, perhaps by using online booking, you know, setting up automatic reminders to go out to clients.
Speaker A:The invoicing could be done, a few clicks of a button and yeah, we work through every stage and at the same time we highlight what parts of the client journey that a VA can do for you as well.
Speaker A:And then at the end of that, then I just ask them to fill out a few short forms, you know, saying your prices, how long your appointments are for, all the information I need to put into the back end.
Speaker A:Then I will upload all your documents, your forms.
Speaker A:So then at the end of it, you've got a clear process showing you how to, how to work it all.
Speaker A:And I will show you how to use the system.
Speaker A:And we have review meetings and I'm there.
Speaker A:I mean, I still have clients from years ago going, I don't know, how do I do this again?
Speaker A:And, you know, I'm very happy just to hop on and do them a quick video and to.
Speaker A:Or, you know, things change right up of.
Speaker A:They're investing a lot into the system at the moment, so there's new features coming out all the time.
Speaker A:So that's really exciting for me because I'm a bit of a geek.
Speaker A:And then I can help my clients set it up or explain that to them.
Speaker A:I think I've done about, I've done well over 500 setups now.
Speaker B:Oh wow.
Speaker B:So it doesn't scare you?
Speaker A:I do know the system inside out but I do work with the other ones like Clinico Xander and some other ones so.
Speaker A:And I always advise which is the best one for your clinic but it's always important that don't try and fit your clinic processes around the system.
Speaker A:It has to be done the other way.
Speaker A:How do you want it to work?
Speaker A:And it's a really.
Speaker A:Even if you would just go through the flow your processes it's really thought provoking and thinking oh you've got to think how do you want to run your clinic?
Speaker A:It doesn't matter about how anyone else is doing it.
Speaker A:You know, we've all got different aspirations and want to work.
Speaker A:Some people want to have Monday afternoons off or what have you or just making it fit around how you want to.
Speaker A:To run your business and yeah then, then I set it up for you so I can definitely take away all that pain and demystify it and, and making sure all the features are being used.
Speaker A:I get quite a lot of people who are using a system and they've gone on done the bare minimum and it's doing, it's.
Speaker A:It's helping them but they're aware that there's all these other stuff that it can do, you know, link it to mailchimp or integrate health code or integrate zero and all these things which again it's like oh I'll get around.
Speaker A:Oh maybe Sunday afternoon I'll research that, you know and then Sunday afternoon comes and you think I don't want to be doing that.
Speaker B:Better ways to spend this at the afternoon.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah so it's.
Speaker A:Yeah just making sure you're utilizing all of it and making it streamlined as possible for you and using all the automations that are available because with AI which I know a lot of people are fearful of as well there's lots of things now that can make your life a lot more easier when it comes to you know, note taking and to.
Speaker A:Yeah lots of aspects of bringing in automatic invoicing soon which I still don't know completely what that looks like but that's going to be interesting.
Speaker A:So all these things just taking away the mundane tasks which then leaves you obviously time to focus on your business and if you are working with the VA then it allows them to help you with other stuff as well.
Speaker A:You know, other nice.
Speaker A:Nice to haves rather than the.
Speaker B:Could you tell me a bit more because I don't know about this.
Speaker B:It's Interesting.
Speaker B:How's AI helping people with their note writing?
Speaker A:So there's systems out there which are compliant with the health industry, which will record your sessions if you're having online sessions and it'll summarize them and then integrate with your practice management software.
Speaker A:So then it sits there so you're not taking notes.
Speaker A:Again, with AI, you've still got to have a check over things and not just rely on it completely.
Speaker A:That's one of the most common things I'm seeing.
Speaker A:And again, people are using it for just help within the clinics as well.
Speaker A:Just to think outside the box.
Speaker A:If you've got a problem thinking, you know, how can I do this?
Speaker A:Or what systems can I use?
Speaker A:And it's really forthcoming with, you know, just makes you think about things that you haven't thought about before.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:But I have to say that just sounds like such a useful, useful service to be able to talk to you.
Speaker B:Would you be in the position where you'd be able to sort of maybe have a chat with someone before they've decided on what system to use?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So we have discovery calls.
Speaker A:I say the 15 minutes there early are, you know, I'm happy to chat for as long as needed and, you know, and I'm happy at the end of that conversation, it's just giving you some things to think about and go away and research yourself and not even use our services.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:I'm always happy to talk to people and get an insight to, you know, what, what they're up to and how they're running the clinics and.
Speaker A:Yeah, so there's a few different ways.
Speaker A:So some people, like, will book an hour consultation after the discovery call where we'll just look at the processes.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And then some people will say, can you help me with the setup?
Speaker A:And then that naturally leads on to, you know, then people who are the ones thinking, oh, I still need some help.
Speaker A:And sometimes they don't.
Speaker A:Sometimes once we've set everything up, they go, this is amazing.
Speaker A:Why haven't I done this earlier?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And I can.
Speaker A:My admin's manageable now because it's.
Speaker A:All the templates are there.
Speaker A:Every, you know, it's, it's.
Speaker A:And that's great.
Speaker A:And I love that because it's given someone the ability to be able to free up the time.
Speaker A:But then equally, if they do want to work with someone, we've got people here ready to jump in and help with whatever you need.
Speaker B:I was going to ask as well, because you very briefly mentioned zero then, and something that people are getting Sort of beginning to sort of worry about is making Tax Digital because a lot of us have just relied on, you know, using a spreadsheet to record all our payments and everything.
Speaker B:And obviously making Tax Digital is coming in now, isn't it?
Speaker B:So are you able to help people with that side of things?
Speaker B:You know, getting, getting them set up with maybe something like Xero or you know, some of the other apps that we can use for our invoicing and money management?
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:We've got VAs on the team that are actual bookkeepers for tax made Digital.
Speaker A:It just means that you need to have your accounts up to date at all times and have everything electronically.
Speaker A:So you could submit it quarterly.
Speaker A:So yeah, setting up, you can have invoice templates on there if you're going to use it with a practice management software.
Speaker A:Lots of them integrate to Xero.
Speaker A:So Xero is the one I recommend though a lot of people use free agent because they get it free for the banks, me included.
Speaker A:And there's QuickBooks out there and yeah, there's lots of different ones.
Speaker A:So as long as it's compliant with making Tax Digital.
Speaker A:But the easiest way is if you're using practice management software to use them that integrates because you'll raise the invoice in write up and then it automatically goes into Xero and then when the money comes in the bank or from the insurance company, it's very intuitive to match it.
Speaker A:And then we can also help with expenses.
Speaker A:So if you, you know, you're away somewhere and you bought a coffee, you can send over your receipt.
Speaker A:People just send them over by email or you can upload them yourself with the app and just have everything stored in there.
Speaker A:So again you're not easier.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And keeping on top of it.
Speaker A:I do think it's one of those tasks to, you know, at the end of every month or every couple of months, you know, just have that up to date.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:I mean I do have clients that, who currently at year end and they're like, oh, we've got a year's worth of receipts to reconcile and it becomes a bit of a last minute panic.
Speaker B:It always does.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, it's one of those things.
Speaker A:But if working with a va, that's something we could do and have everything up to date all the time.
Speaker A:Which again is just to know that when it comes to tax return time, it's just a few clicks of a button and it's all done rather than the panic.
Speaker A:We've all been there
Speaker B:recording this on the 30th of January.
Speaker B:You just reminded me that I need to pay mine.
Speaker A:Oh, really?
Speaker B:I'll be putting it off, it's all gone.
Speaker B:But I owe them some money and you've reminded me, me that that's the case.
Speaker A:I'll remind you at the end.
Speaker B:This is more of a delicate question because, you know, it's sort of, sort of questioning.
Speaker B:People are going to be thinking to themselves, how much does it cost?
Speaker B:It's often a concern, I think, for therapists especially, you know, when, when we're starting out.
Speaker B:So how do you help people to think about whether support like this is worth it?
Speaker A:I think you need to view it as an investment rather than a cost and just think about the implications of not having support because, you know, if you're doing admin in the evenings or weekends, that can affect obviously your home life, not spend being present for your children.
Speaker A:And I'm talking from experience here, you know, they're wanting to, to play a game and mummies say, oh, no, I have to do all of this to stop you burning out, you know, to giving yourself that actual headspace to be able to, to rest, have a nap, to do things you enjoy and also, you know, to provide a better level of patient care.
Speaker A:Because if you're not stressed and, you know, tired and, you know, thinking about another million things while you're, you know, having a session with someone, it allows you to be more present.
Speaker A:And I do see that clinic owners become more confident because they're.
Speaker A:I know my GDPR's, everything's compliant, you know, I know that things are happening without them actually having to do it themselves.
Speaker A:So it does, I mean, it can be life changing without sounding a bit too dramatic, but, you know, the feedback I get from clients, like, how did we, you know, I don't know how I did it before I had some help.
Speaker A:And yeah, I think once people do get support, they never go back.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And you've got to think that even though, yes, it is a cost, an investment, but you could see another one or two clients a week or a month, depending on what level of support that you need to actually offset that.
Speaker A:But you're just doing the part of the job that you want to do rather than the parts that you don't want to do.
Speaker A:So, yeah, it's, it's looking at it.
Speaker B:And that, that time that people are spending, they could actually see another client in that time, couldn't they?
Speaker B:So, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker B:I think it pays for itself really, doesn't it, that you, you can just focus on Your clients, you're happier.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:You've got more, like you say, more time for your family.
Speaker B:Because as you said that, I sort of thought back to when I started and I still had reasonably younger kids at home and I was doing an awful lot and then trying to manage a practice on top of all those other things, you know, other life tasks that you've got.
Speaker B:It really did wear me down after a while.
Speaker B:And actually what happened to me is that I got burned out and had to reduce the amount of clients I saw because I couldn't handle it.
Speaker B:And I think if I'd had help like yours at that stage, I think it would have made a difference, really.
Speaker B:So, yeah, it's a big help, I think.
Speaker B:I think you've really covered sort of like the confidentiality side of things, haven't you?
Speaker B:Because I think that's probably one of the questions that people would be thinking about is how.
Speaker B:What about confidentiality?
Speaker B:And presumably people would contract with their clients that they've got someone who supports them and it's all held in confidentiality with you.
Speaker B:Would that be the case?
Speaker B:How do people handle confidentiality?
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:So we always say to update your privacy policy, to say that you're working with us, but we've got very robust contracts in place through everyone and all the team.
Speaker A:We work in private health care all day, every day and we really understand our clients, clients and know how important it is to keep that, you know, data safe.
Speaker A:So, yeah, and some.
Speaker A:Sometimes you just have to take the plunge and put trust in us that, you know, everything's covered.
Speaker A:But we're very happy to share, you know, documents if people.
Speaker A:Sometimes people want to see, you know, the DBS check and what have you, especially if they're working with other third parties that require them to have it.
Speaker A:So we're very.
Speaker A:We'll tick whatever box that we need to with that.
Speaker A:And, you know, some people have asked for NDAs and, you know, we're happy to do whatever gives you the confidence that we're doing all this properly and safely.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And it's interesting actually, because I was having a conversation with a friend yesterday and we were talking about therapists perhaps, who work with sort of people who are sort of what we call high net individuals and charge a lot of money for a service.
Speaker B:And we were saying the thing is, when you charge that much, you've got to show that you're professional.
Speaker B:And I think there's something around having an assistant working with you that actually says something about your practice, doesn't it?
Speaker B:It does give that impression that you're not some sort of fly by night person, that you have got a structure, you've got people who support you.
Speaker B:And I think it adds to that, almost like a reassurance for clients.
Speaker B:You know, if you've got someone who's your, effectively your pa, although we call them VA because you're virtual.
Speaker B:But if you've got someone like that working for you, I think that that actually helps to reassure people as well.
Speaker B:Possibly.
Speaker A:Definitely.
Speaker A:I think, yes, it definitely gives you more credibility and just having that other person within the business.
Speaker A:And also, we are also actors, like sounding boards for our clients.
Speaker A:We become friends with them as well and it's more than just doing the tasks for them.
Speaker A:And we do have everyone's clinics, best interest at heart.
Speaker A:We treat it as kind of our business as well.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So it's very much a team effort.
Speaker A:And I always say, you know, no one works for the other person.
Speaker A:It's a joint thing.
Speaker A:You know, we work together with clients.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And we do help them, you know, achieve their goals early on, what it is that they're trying to achieve.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And on that point, people who are looking to grow the team and the business.
Speaker A:If you don't have the support, you get stuck in your business because you've got all these brilliant ideas.
Speaker A:You know, maybe you're wanting to set up an online course or, you know, grow your team or, you know, offer new services, but without having the time and the headspace, you can't move your business forward.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And it is very chicken and egg.
Speaker A:And I had, I had this conversation with a client the other day because they're like, you know, oh, well, the funds aren't there at the minute, but I want to do all these things, but I need the help before that.
Speaker A:So it is tricky.
Speaker A:So we do, like I say, we tailor our services.
Speaker A:So if you're trying to achieve something, we can just start off by doing, you know, with a lower level of hours, doing the, you know, immediate things you're going to get a quick hit from.
Speaker A:And then, you know, they naturally tend to increase as the trust builds and the relationship grows and then the business grows.
Speaker A:We grow with you.
Speaker A:So it can be.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Help you kind of every step of the way.
Speaker A:Because we all start somewhere and we're all in that position, aren't we, at the beginning of our businesses?
Speaker A:You know, we want to achieve certain things, whether that's growing the business or you want to achieve a better work life balance.
Speaker A:So, yeah, it can be a bit of a leap of faith.
Speaker B:But I think it's definitely worth it though.
Speaker B:Yeah, I mean, I know I've got someone who helps me out with my business, Samantha.
Speaker B:And you know, when I first took her on and she sort of charged a retainer and you know, I was sort of thinking about, about this and, and I just thought, yeah, you've just got to go for it.
Speaker B:And honestly, she is worth her weight in gold, she really is.
Speaker B:And all those things that, I mean, not only is it sort of things that I was struggling to do, she also was able to put things in that I would never have had the time to do that are sort of like extra to follow ups and things like that.
Speaker B:And it's having the confidence, I think, to sort of say to yourself, I'm going to rephrase that actually because I think often you don't feel confident before you do something.
Speaker B:I think the way you said it is nicer actually.
Speaker B:It's having that leap of faith that, you know, if I do this, it is going to pay me back.
Speaker B:And I really do think it.
Speaker B:I mean, certainly, as I say, I mean, Samantha's worth her weight in gold.
Speaker B:She really is.
Speaker B:And I really identify with what you're saying about the sounding board aspect of that as well because she knows my business so well because she's working with people all the time in it and she gives me sort of feedback, things that people have told her that they wouldn't necessarily maybe say to me or, you know, I don't know if that happens with you, but I think, yeah, because you're in contact with clients, you know, that that acts as really sort of useful extra information, doesn't it?
Speaker B:What do you most enjoy about supporting therapists in this way?
Speaker A:I'm a people pleaser so I like to make people happy and I like to, yeah, solve their problems for them.
Speaker A:And I get real joy out of, you know, hearing about when we set up a system or, you know, getting the feedback from them when they're working with someone and how it's, you know, changed their working life.
Speaker A:I had one client the other month who was say, who came on board and she was saying every time she goes on holiday she takes a laptop with her and she's checking in all the time and she had a holiday coming up and I says, right, well for your next holiday you're not taking your laptop with you, don't need to check your emails every day, you know, we're going to do that for you.
Speaker A:And she went away and had a holiday and she said, that's the first holiday I've had since I've worked in private practice where she was able to switch off and just know that, you know, nothing bad was going to happen.
Speaker A:You know, the business was still gonna.
Speaker A:Inquiries are going to be answered and, you know, the team were going to be looked after and, yeah, just.
Speaker A:And that is just worth it.
Speaker A:That's priceless, isn't it?
Speaker B:Because it is.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:And we've always.
Speaker A:At the beginning of my business journey, you know, it's like, oh, no, it's my business.
Speaker A:I've got to be, you know, on call all the time.
Speaker A:And then, you know, and it's like, no, you don't.
Speaker A:That's not a healthy way to, you know, approach it.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, it's, it's.
Speaker B:We need that time off, don't we?
Speaker B:And to be able to just relax, knowing that someone else is looking after it, it's just such a gift.
Speaker B:I think it really is.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And I think being boundaried in the way that, you know, not checking your own emails on a nighttime and just putting those boundaries in.
Speaker A:These are my working hours and that's when I'm going to be in my business.
Speaker A:And the rest of the time, that's your time because you will burn out.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And it's just not, not worth it.
Speaker A:And most people learn the hard way by doing it.
Speaker A:Because we're all human, aren't we?
Speaker A:We're like, no, I can do it, I can do it.
Speaker A:And then it gets to a tipping point sometimes and you're just like, right, I can't do all of that.
Speaker A:No, I can't.
Speaker B:If you could say one reassuring thing to therapists who feel stretched but hesitant to ask for help, what would it be?
Speaker A:That there is help out there.
Speaker A:And I think people think, oh, I'm going to have to train them, I'm going to have to show them all of this.
Speaker A:I'm going to have to do this.
Speaker A:You know, there is specialist VA companies like myself out there who we can hit the ground more or less running.
Speaker A:I mean, we do need to learn a bit about your clinic, but in terms of the tasks and, you know, the systems that were used, it's easier than you think to outsource.
Speaker A:And I think finding someone who is.
Speaker A:Works in the sector is very important because lots of people can do admin.
Speaker A:But the team that I've grown, everyone has the empathy, the understanding, they know that they're dealing with people who are coming and asking for help, who are vulnerable and knowing how to communicate with them and are aware of therapeutic relationships and boundaries.
Speaker A:I think that's very important to find someone.
Speaker A:But we are all out here and we can help.
Speaker A:And, you know, why don't you just try it for a bit?
Speaker A:Just say to yourself, okay, then I'm going to do it for six months.
Speaker A:I would say for six months.
Speaker A:Because it can take, depending on the size of your clinic to embed people in and what have you.
Speaker A:But, you know, what have you got to lose if you get the right person working with you as the right fit?
Speaker A:Which, again, is very important.
Speaker A:We do a series of kind of questionnaires and what have you in advance of working with people to make sure that it's the right personality fit as well, the working styles are aligned because every VA is different and every client's different and people have different expectations.
Speaker A:So just making sure you take your time to find someone who you feel is going to be the right fit for your business.
Speaker A:Another useful thing to do if people are kind of thinking, oh, I don't know whether I've got enough work or what have you is to over a week or so.
Speaker A:Just keep a bit of a.
Speaker A:A list, like a time audit, you know, if you're going to be doing stuff and write it all down because you'd be surprised how much it adds up to.
Speaker B:That's where your time goes.
Speaker B:You don't realize, do you?
Speaker A:Exactly.
Speaker B:I'll just quickly answer my emails and then you sort of turn you've got something else planned you were going to do and it just taken up with answering the emails.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And if you're thinking, well, what can people help with?
Speaker A:I always say, well, we can do everything apart from see your clients.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So every other part can be outsourced, but you need to do the therapy bit.
Speaker A:We can't do that bit for you.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:But I mean, I think that's actually really helpful because often that's what we want to do.
Speaker B:We want to see clients.
Speaker A:Exactly.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:That was the aim, wasn't it?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So, Anna, how can people find you?
Speaker B:What's your web address?
Speaker A:So it's www.polit, va.co.uk Yep.
Speaker A:Or you can find me on LinkedIn and a bunch.
Speaker A:Bit of an unusual name, so it's easy to find me.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And we're on Instagram.
Speaker B:We'll put them in the show notes.
Speaker B:Yeah, I think people can find them.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Oh, Anna, it's been really sort of interesting and I think very reassuring to talk to you because I know this is Something that people certainly in my community don't know a lot about.
Speaker B:And it just sounds like such a brilliant service to help people.
Speaker B:Particularly, I think what you said about just helping people look at their processes and see what they're doing and how they can be streamlined and just making it really easy for people to use those practice management systems as well.
Speaker B:Really useful.
Speaker B:And making text digital if we need to be as well.
Speaker A:Yeah, of course.
Speaker B:All those things we hate.
Speaker A:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker B:So keep us up at night, you know, oh, my God, what do I do about that?
Speaker B:So it just sounds like anybody who's having those sorts of worries, please get in touch with someone like Anna.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Even just, just for a chat, you know, you're not obliged to continue with any of the services.
Speaker A:It's just, you know, I'm happy to just point you in the right direction.
Speaker A:If it's something we can't help with or, you know, tell you how we can help you on the website.
Speaker A:You can just book a discovery call with me.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:It'd be lovely to speak to some of you and find out what's going on in.
Speaker A:In your clinics and how we can help.
Speaker B:Brilliant.
Speaker B:And I'm sure I would get feedback from people saying, I did get in touch with Anna.
Speaker A:Oh, I hope so.
Speaker B:Yeah, I think so.
Speaker B:Thank you for introducing me to Anna.
Speaker B:So, Anna, thank you so much for coming on, you know, taking the time to explain all about how VAs can support us in our private practices.
Speaker B:Thank you very much.
Speaker B:Thanks for listening.
Speaker B:Do come and join my Facebook community.
Speaker B:Good enough.
Speaker B:Counsellors.
Speaker B:And for more information about how I can help you develop your private practice, please Visit my website, JosephineHughes.com if you found this episode helpful, I'd love it if you could share it with a fellow therapist or leave a review on your podcast app.
Speaker B:And in closing, I'd love to remind you that every single step you make gets you closer to your dream.
Speaker B:I really believe you can do it.
