Planning for the Unexpected:
Why Every Therapist Needs a Professional Will

NOTE TO CLIENTS AND MEDIA: If you have lost your therapist and are looking for help, please read the page called notes to client and media. This section is not designed to address the needs of clients.

It's never too early to plan for the unexpected. We all get sick occasionally, have family emergencies, and eventually will no longer be able to or wish to continue being in practice. The ethics and clinical importance of planning for and techniques for skillfully handling our expected and unexpected absences has been a neglected area in the field. For example, most clinicians aren't aware that their Ethics Codes require that they have a plan for the disposition of their practice in the event of their absence.

What is the Therapist's Professional Will?

The actual Therapist's Professional Will is a document detailing your wishes for the continued care of your clients in your absence, whether planned or unplanned.  It is designed to reduce the trauma and impact on your clients, colleagues and yourself for when you are unavailable. For example:

• What would happen to your practice if you had to take a sudden or unexpected leave of absence, became seriously ill or died?
• Who has access to your office keys, client contact information and other details need in an emergency, such as your voice mail access code and appointment schedule.
• Who would cancel your clients in your absence?
• How do you want your clients and their records handled in your absence?

While the concept of a creating a Professional Will resonates with most helping professionals, the prospect of putting one in place can seem daunting for nearly all of us. By making the commitment to create your own Will, you will have done every thing possible to assure the continuity of care for your clients, and given yourself peace of mind.

Being Proactive about Unexpected Absences

The process of creating your own Therapist's Professional Will™ builds community and eases the stress and burden on our family members, colleagues and others during a difficult time of crisis and perhaps loss and grief. Putting together your own Professional Will removes the guess work, confusion and headaches that often accompanies an unexpected event in our lives that would make us unavailable to our clients.

The first step is to put together your own "Emergency Response Team," a group of trusted colleagues who will follow your wishes and help you and your clients cope with your absence if you have to be out of the office unexpectedly. Most of us have someone who covers for us when we go on vacation, so you may already have a group of colleagues who can form the core, be on each other's "Emergency Response Team" and agree to meet regularly to cheer each other on in the process.

How 'bout starting now? Take 10 minutes to list 3 colleagues you would be comfortable discussing these ideas with and commit to meeting to discuss how you can get started.  This will move you one big step closer to creating one of the best gifts you can give your clients, loved ones and yourself.  Completing your own Professional Will can be a challenging yet do-able, rewarding  and important process.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Ann Steiner, Ph.D., M.F.T., Certified Group Psychotherapist, has been leading psychotherapy groups for 26 years, lectures at professional meetings nationally and locally, writes for consumers and therapists and provides consultation to therapists. Dr. Steiner is an Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of California Medical School, S.F., on the faculty of The Psychotherapy Institute's Group Therapy Training Program, is a Fellow of the American Group Psychotherapy Association, was a founding member of the National Registry of Group Psychotherapists, and was president of Northern California Group Psychotherapy Society.

She has published over 20 articles on the topic of preparing for illness, death, relocation and retirement. Her work has been cited in the Wall Street Journal and her latest article was published in The New Therapist, a South African journal distributed in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. She just returned from doing a workshop in Costa Rica for The International Human Learning Resources Network and is a frequent presenter at the American Group Psychotherapy Association's Annual Meetings. She recently completed a downloadable version of "The Therapist's Professional Will: The Complete Guide," that demystifies and simplifies this all-too often delayed practice necessity. For further information

Disclaimer: The information in this article is intended for educational purposes for licensed mental health providers, and is not a substitute for professional medical or psychological care. If you require urgent medical or psychological services please consult a qualified professional in your area, or call 911.

Your Privacy is Important: An increasing number of therapists discourage sending confidential information over the Internet since the Patriot Act allows the reading of private emails.  Additionally there may be other issues with maintaining confidentiality via the Internet. To discuss Dr. Steiner's local psychotherapy services for adults, and consultation service, please send an email  with  your phone number, and a variety of times when it would be convenient for her to return your call.

This article is based on sections of her forthcoming self-help book.
Please do not use this material without the author's written consent.