Niche To Be…Ethical? A Provocative Argument

I have to be honest and say that I approach attending ethics workshops with the same degree of enthusiasm as I do gum surgery. However, due to renew my license next year, I set off to collect my required ethics ceu’s at a workshop through Premier Education Solutions taught by Edward Zuckerman, Ph.D., “The Nuts and Bolts of Legal and Ethical Practice.”

Fully prepared to be miserable all day, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the material Dr. Zuckerman presented was palatable and very useful.  I considered surrendering my license and applying for employment at the local Hallmark store only briefly. To give him his due, Dr. Zuckerman dealt with a difficult topic with honesty, personal transparency and vulnerability, grace, humor, and a ton of relevant, applicable, and implementable information.

His topic was not marketing. It is ethics and legalities.

But he made this stand-out point, and I quote…

Bear in mind the limits of your competence.
You are NOT competent to treat everyone whom:
•    You see in your office
•    You are licensed to treat
•    You are trained to treat
•    You want to help

Whoa. Did he really say that? Yep. Wrote it in the manual too.

And it is totally true.

There are therapists who insist on remaining “a general practitioner” primarily because they are afraid they will lose revenue if they narrow the scope of who and/or what they attempt to treat. OK, some of it is about liking diversity, and the reality that there are no mental health issues that are simply one dimensional. So knowing a lot about depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance, relationship issues, substance abuse, pain, etc., etc., etc. is important. Really important. So is continuing education on as many relevant topics as possible.

But I am afraid that if I specialize…

I often talk with clinicians who work with me about specializing or finding a specific population to focus on in order to:

•    see more clients,
•    gain more visibility,
•    get more professional credibility, and
•    create a stronger financial base

The typical is often some version of , “But I am afraid if I do that, I will lose clients or some people will rule me out. I need all the clients I can get.”

The reality is that no one can keep up with the literature on every topic.  And no one is good at treating everyone. And when we attempt to help everyone with everything, we risk weakening healing possibilities. According to Dr. Zuckerman, we may put ourselves at greater risk legally. There is an argument that we put ourselves at risk ethically.

As die-hard generalists, we are certainly at risk of not being able to survive, much less thrive, in the business of private practice.

“Niche,” “Specialty,” and “Target Audience” (I know, that doesn’t sound good) acknowledges the reality of our humanness. Our honest, realistic limitations. Our healthy boundaries.

If you are considering focusing on a specific and narrow issue or population, then know that your basis for doing so is grounded not only in best business practices, but also in good ethics.

“No matter what or whom we’re talking about, from movies to chiropractors to books to financial planners, the consumer hankers after specialization.”
~Susan Friedman, Riches In Niches

The same applies to psychotherapists, too.

What do you think?

If you are interested in learning more about how you can safely, ethically, and profitably introduce specializing in your business, contact Sharyn.

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