What is the Therapist's Professional Will™?

NOTE TO CLIENTS AND MEDIA: This section is not designed to address the needs of clients.If you are a client and have lost your therapist and are looking for help, please go to Notes to Clients and Media. If you are a member of the media and not a mental health provider, yet are interested in interviewing Dr. Steiner, please read Notes and Clients and Media.

The Therapist's Professional Will™
A Therapist's Professional Will spells out your wishes for the continuing care of your clients in your absence. The concept resonates with helping professionals, but the prospect of putting one in place is daunting. By completing such a will you will have done everything possible to assure the continuity of care for your clients, and have given yourself peace of mind.

What would happen if your practice were to be disrupted?
This system minimizes treatment disruption for clients and helps you and your colleagues cope when you are unavailable due to vacation, unexpected absence or terminating your practice.

The Therapist's Professional Will: The Complete Guide™ provides checklists, templates and forms. The latest version is available on a CD which includes the Therapist's Professional Will itself, and supportive information, to help you make, and document, thoughtful decisions about what's important to you and your clients. Developing a professional will is a lasting gift you can give to your clients. For your own peace of mind, do it now.

Did you know?
That the ethics codes of most mental health organizations require therapists to provide for the disposition of their practice? Following are several organizations' relevant requirements:

• The APA Ethics Code:"Psychologists make plans in advance to facilitate the appropriate transfer and to protect the confidentiality of records and data in the event of psychologists' withdrawal from positions or practice."
• The National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics:"Social workers should make reasonable efforts to ensure continuity of services in the event that services are interrupted by factors such as unavailability, relocation, illness, disability, or death."
• The AAMFT Code of Ethics: "Marriage and family therapists do not abandon or neglect clients in treatment without making reasonable arrangements for the continuation of such treatment."
• The CAMFT Code of Ethics: "Marriage and family therapists assist patients when terminating relationships by making reasonable arrangements for continuation of necessary treatment and assist persons in obtaining other therapeutic services if a therapist is unable or unwilling to provide professional help."

• Your trusted, hand-picked team of professionals to spring into action, contacting your clients, and following your wishes for handling your practice.
• Your clients to get immediate care, with minimal disruption in their treatment plan.
• Trusted colleagues to confidentially handle your office matters and records in the way you have specified.
• You to have freedom to focus on your recovery if you are ill or injured, rather than on a disrupted practice.
• Your vacations to be truly a time of rest — no more worrying about clients should there be an emergency/crisis