Think of marketing as a responsibility

Practitioners need to tell the public how psychology can improve their lives.

By Lisa Rabasca
Monitor staff

Practitioners can learn a lesson by putting a new twist on the old saying, 'If you build a better mousetrap and market it successfully, the world will beat a pathway to your door,' according to Sandra Haber, PhD, president of Div. 42 (Independent Practice).

By providing the public with more information about the benefits of psychological services and pointing out the differences between treatment options provided by a managed-care company and under a fee-for-service contract, Haber says, independent practitioners can thrive.

Alice Rubenstein, EdD, president of Div. 29 (Psychotherapy), agrees and encourages practitioners to think of marketing as their public service responsibility. 'People do not associate emotional pain with seeking psychotherapy like they associate physical pain with seeing a medical doctor,' Rubenstein said. 'We need to tell them how we can help their hurts.'

Rubenstein and Haber offered advice to practitioners on marketing their services at the APA Annual Convention session, 'Opening doors to new markets?what, where and how?' They also invited a panel of others to share their insights on psychologists? marketing efforts, including Russ Newman, PhD, JD, APA?s executive director for practice; Arthur Kovacs, PhD, a practitioner in Santa Monica, Calif.; and Patrick DeLeon, PhD, JD, Office of U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye (D?Hawaii).

Breaking the secret

In the 1970s psychologists did not advertise their services because it was taboo, Rubenstein said, and psychology had a certain air of secrecy. As a result, the public often didn?t know how to access services. 'Secrecy has no place in the marketplace,' said Rubenstein, a partner with the Monroe Psychotherapy and Consultation Center in Rochester, N.Y.

Practitioners still are not comfortable with advertising their services. One major obstacle psychology faces, Newman said, is that people often don?t realize they have a mental health problem they need help with, and when they do recognize they need assistance, they often don?t know where to get it. 'We need to talk to the public in a less complicated, arrogant way than we traditionally have,' he said. Practitioners need to demonstrate their services have value and tap into consumer demand.

'Your market is a public that doesn?t want their life story on a computer, that doesn?t want to take medication, that wants to have input into their treatment and is willing to pay for better care.'

Sandra Haber

Div. 42 (Independent Practice)

To help practitioners market their services, APA divisions 29 and 42 recently teamed up in a joint venture called 'The Brochure Project.' This project has developed a set of eight 'Talk to Someone Who Can Help' brochures that APA members can use to explain to the public how psychology can help them and how to access services. Brochure topics include attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, managing difficult behavior in children, psychotherapy with children and adolescents, separation and divorce, heart disease, breast cancer, aging and dealing with a serious illness. The pamphlets, which include a space for a practitioner to include a name, address and telephone number, can be distributed to physicians, schools and community agencies, Rubenstein said.

Psychology improves lives

In addition to reaching out to people who are unfamiliar with psychology, practitioners also need to market their services to those who are willing to pay extra for better care. Practitioners need to set aside the conventional idea that no one wants to pay for therapy, said Haber, a practitioner in New York City. Instead, she said, watch what people do with their discretionary income. They spend money on things they believe will make their lives better, from big-ticket items like vacations, houses and plastic surgery to smaller perks such as movies, restaurants and premium ice cream. 'When people understand that psychology will make their lives better, they will pay for it,' she said.

Practitioners also need to explain the difference between psychotherapy provided by a managed-care company and services provided under a fee-for-service contract, Haber said.

Kovacs agrees. 'People will pay out-of-pocket if they have an IRS problem, if their child needs braces, if their car breaks down,' he said. 'We can position ourselves without being dependent on the insurance industry.' Kovacs said that in 1983, 68 percent of his income was from insurance companies compared with only 4 percent today.

Psychology needs to overcome two negative market forces, Kovacs said. First, practitioners need to reduce the stigma of mental illness by talking about counseling, not psychotherapy, he said.

The second obstacle, Kovacs said, is that the insurance industry has led people to expect they don?t have to pay for health care. Practitioners need to educate the public about the dangers of not paying for treatment themselves. For example, he said, patients who use managed care do not have control over their treatment, the number of visits they are allowed and occasionally they can be required to take medication.

'Your market,' Haber said, 'is a public that doesn?t want their life story on a computer, that doesn?t want to take medication, that wants to have input into their treatment and is willing to pay for better care.'

Div. 42 recently created a national advertising campaign that explains the reasons people who seek psychology services might want to consider a fee-for-service contract. The advertisement began appearing in Harper?s magazine this August and will continue to run each month through next July. Div. 42 also produced a brochure called 'Straight Talk: Choosing a Psychologist,' which explains the advantages of paying directly for psychological services and addresses the disadvantages of services provided through managed-care companies.

For more information, contact the brochure project office (602) 854-8950.