Adding a Virtual Assistant to your Therapy Office Can Reduce your Worry and Stress

Burn out. We’ve heard the term. We’ve carefully sidestepped it, ignored the symptoms, or continued to do a balancing act while pretending everything is fine, but what does it look like? 

According to Melinda Smith, M.A., Jeanne Segal, Ph.D., and Lawrence Robinson in an article from helpguide.org, “Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands. As the stress continues, you begin to lose the interest and motivation that led you to take on a certain role in the first place.”

Avoid this condition using our tips on hiring and training a Virtual Assistant.

Some Offices wait too long

What would you delegate to a virtual assistant for your private practice?

By the time many of the practice owners come to MFVA inquiring about a virtual assistant, they’re already drowning and overwhelmed by stress.

Alison Pidgeon, group practice owner explained how she has had a virtual assistant almost from the time she started practicing. 

She explained that so many therapists are used to wearing so many hats and doing it all themselves, but as a therapist, not only is it okay to delegate your tasks, it’s necessary to allow yourself to continue putting the majority of your attention on what you have trained for—helping others.

The role of a virtual assistant is to help you so you can help others. Some of the ways the virtual assistant provides that help is by being the gatekeeper.

The virtual assistant will perform tasks that will protect your time and emotional energy. The gatekeeper function also helps to keep the lines less blurry when it comes to therapy. If the virtual assistant can collect payments, make calls for appointment reminders, and provide assistance in navigating technology troubles in this new world of telehealth appointments, that protects the emotional reserves of the therapist, which is vitally important, and makes it clear that the therapist’s role is therapy, the virtual assistant handles the administrative details of the office.

Why did you become a therapist?

How far behind are you?

As a mental health provider, you didn’t get into your profession so that you could return phone calls, fight with insurances, and do administrative work. 

Many therapists who have discussed their interest in a virtual assistant are ready to get off the treadmill and survival mode and return their focus to what got them started in the business in the first place.

Important qualities to look for in a virtual assistant are attention to detail, responsiveness, and having a background or some experience in the healthcare field will be an asset to your practice. Whether you choose a virtual assistant from a company or your own local networking, at some point it becomes very clear that the decision to hire a virtual assistant is the right choice. In fact, most likely, you’ll wonder why you waited so long. 

Allow Move Forward Virtual Assistants to assist you as a mental health practice owner. We are here to help!