Today’s post is written by Calvin Page. Calvin is a journalist and blogger who specializes in articles concerned with all things business, from finance to management, to keeping a green office, and even the real estate aspects. For more information contact Calvin here: [email protected].

If you are interested in starting and running your own business or working on a self-employed basis, but also want to pursue a career in the healthcare industry, there are many reasons to consider going into counseling. Becoming a counselor or therapist is one of the best ways to start your own business in the healthcare profession. Although counselors may often start off by working in a hospital, doctor’s office, school, or even in the workplace, many will go on to work out of their own homes or a private office on a self-employed basis. We’ve put together a guide to help you start your own business offering therapy and counseling.

How to Become a Self-Employed Counselor

 

Get Qualified

Before you can begin to practice as a counselor or therapist, you will need to undertake a relevant degree course, such as masters in counseling online from Bradley University, in order to begin your career. Although many therapists take courses such as an online counseling degree, you can also enter the counseling career path with a range of other degree courses, for example, psychology or mental health nursing. However, bear in mind that if you do not take a counseling degree, you may be required to undertake extra academic study in order to be able to practice.

Getting Experience

Many counselors will get experience from employment before they begin practicing counseling and therapy on a self-employed basis. Once you have completed your academic study and qualified as a registered counselor or therapist, there are many different places where you could gain some valuable work experience. Hospitals, schools, and mental wellbeing centers all employ counselors to work as part of the team and you will be able to get plenty of experience working with adults, children, and teens, those with specific mental health issues, and more. Often, it can be a good idea to get a lot of experience working as a counselor before you go down the self-employed route, as the more experience you have, the more likely new patients are to trust you and request your services.

Starting Your Business

When starting your business as a self-employed counselor, you will need to consider the structure. When starting a company where you offer counseling and therapy services to patients, there are many different ways to go about it, whether you decide to work on your own from your home or even set up a business where you will employ and pay counselors and therapists to work alongside you or on your behalf. Before starting your counseling and therapy business, it’s important to determine where you’re going to work, whether the counseling services are offered by just yourself or by others, how you will charge your patients and how they will pay, how you will market your services, and ensure that all required licenses and registrations are complete.

If you’d like to one day run your own business but are also hoping to pursue a healthcare career, counseling could be the perfect option for you. Counselors work with others either in employment or on a self-employed basis.