Submitted my License (Associate) Application

This week's progress:

• Associate Licensing Application submitted (need that to practice under a supervisor and move towards full licensure)
• Met with one potential supervisor. Grade: 7/10; meeting with another one in a few days
• Beefed up the content of my website and worked out some kinks
• Maybe found an office to rent!

Getting Licensed
I spent a lot of time yesterday and today completing my application for my associate licence (in case you haven't been reading, in Washington, you are an "associate" until you've gotten all the hours of experience and supervision needed to get a full licence.) It shouldn't have been a surprise, but it turned out to be more work than I expected. And it cost a bit more, too.

There were two main reasons for this:

1. I didn't realize that I needed to request my M.S.W. school transcript. I had to request that... then it turned out that I never completed "Financial Aid training" prior to leaving, so a hold was placed on my account. So, even though I paid all my loans of a few years ago (Thanks, wife's savings!), I had take a bunch of on line quizzes about why defaulting isn't a very good idea. Well, I passed the training and I am now prepared to be a responsible lendee. I submitted evidence of that, and hopefully that will get the transcript processed.
   Cost: $9
2. I didn't realize I needed to get official certification from other states where I've had licenses. I have a LMSW license in New York State. It doesn't help me at all in Washington, but just to be safe I'm having the New York State Dept. of Education certify that I have that license. I had to send the form in by mail, so who knows when it will get processed... (You can just look it all up online, anyway, so I'm not sure why the official certification is necessary).
   Cost: $20

After dealing with all that, I submitted the main application (Cost: $50). The only thing I am missing is the form that verifies that I am receiving supervision, and is signed off by an LMHC. I still don't have a supervisor, but I hope to have one by Monday (I'm still shopping around a bit). Once I decide I'll get the form signed and drop it in the mail. Then I will pray that all the pieces of the application come together into the same folder and get processed swiftly. (The WA DOH says they are processing applications who's checks cleared on 2/2/12, so it looks like there is a 2 week timelag for start of processing. That means I can probably only expect a license number by March 15 if I'll lucky.

Supervisor

I'll have more to write about this topic once I've chosen one for sure.

Website

For now I am using a Wordpress theme that I've converted to look like a website. I can't afford to hire a web designer and I want to be able to change content and design easily. I am pretty happy about the look of my page. Still working on the content - how to describe your practice in the way you want? AND in a way that will attract clients? And what about the all-important photo portrait? Here's a post by Tamara Suttle on using professional photos for our websites, blogs, avatars, etc. I agree with her about the worst offenders of style or business common-sense, but It's still hard to figure out that sweet spot between formal and relaxed/natural.

 

Office

I may have found a weekend office space that I like. The location is quite good; I like the style of the building a lot. Seems quiet. I'm not thrilled by the office furniture - I like chairs that are chairs, not mini sofas - but I can live with it. The one question I have is how to find a child-friendly space that doesn't look like a daycare - that is, where adults would feel good about going to - not full of toys, doll houses, etc.. I'm even thinking of just doing adults and adolescents in this office and, on another day, renting space in the evening for a couples of kids+family sessions. We'll see... And I'll let you know if I put down the money for the office: That will be a big step! I have to rent it for March, so hopefully my licensure application won't eat up that time. I will keep you updated!

Summary: I'm feeling pretty good about this plan. I get waves of, "who the hell do I think I am, a therapist?" and "What the hell will I do once I have clients?" and, "Will I have clients?" But overall, I'm excited.