Have you ever had the feeling that all of the diverse elements of training and experience you have had in your life have led to a project that uses every bit of it and helps you to grow as you move forward?
That is how I have felt over the last couple of months by collaborating with EAPrefer, an organization that is a benefit of membership in The National Association of Social Workers. It feels as though all of my training and experience is being elicited and challenged in this wonderful venture.
Recently, through EAPrefer, I ran two webinars, which attracted over 350 attendees. One webinar is called, “Three-Step Prep for Private Practice Success”. In this webinar I give an overview of some of the essential elements of growing a private practice that is uniquely geared toward the clinical community.
The other webinar is called, “Dress for Clinical Success”. In this webinar I describe some of the image-oriented elements that will help clinicians maximize their marketing efforts and clinical sessions in order to reach their professional potential, particularly in the corporate sector, where large numbers of social workers do not traditionally have experience. EAPrefer members can view both webinars on their web site, www.EAPrefer.org,
As you may know, for almost 20 of the 30 years I spent as a professional social worker, I ran an outpatient mental health program. When the funding for that program was cut, I decided to enter the business world and fulfill my dream of being an Image Consultant by launching my own business. Now, I have the privilege of combining these diverse skill sets and helping my fellow social workers in the process.
EAPrefer’s mission is to help client corporations, their employees and EAPrefer members. They do this by connecting a network of qualified social workers to corporations whose employees are experiencing issues that affect their job performance and may be jeopardizing their employment.
Whether it’s dealing with substance abuse, a child, parent or spouse crisis or some other life issue, the EAP Counselor can offer evaluation, support and a plan that hopes to offer relief. It could even save the job of the person referred to them. The social workers assess the situation and provide referrals and/or treatment based on their professional assessments
I have connected with EAPrefer to use the unique range and depth of skills that I developed through training and experience, to help clinicians develop their marketing skills.
EAPrefer is helping their members supplement their practices with these referrals. My contribution is to help the social workers maximize referrals to their practices by learning to showcase their specialized skills. The bonus here is that they can then apply these skills in their dealings outside of EAPrefer, to grow their private practices with their other target markets.
The most exciting element of this experience has been my interaction with the members, hearing and answering their real-time questions and concerns and building relationships with them.
I look forward to planning and carrying out the next phase of this project, which is currently in the planning stage. The next stage will involve more in-depth training in techniques that will help private practitioners develop the skills that will help them reach their target markets so that they can fulfill their mission to help more people improve the quality of their lives with their specialized areas of expertise.
I am doing all this while I continue to offer traditional image consulting and cosmetics services to EEIC’s client base.
In addition, I will be launching EEIC’s brand new newsletter in the next couple of weeks. Please feel free to drop me a line if you wish to be added to EEIC’s contact list. I would also love to hear your feedback and about how image has impacted your personal and professional life along with any questions or concerns you may have about your professional image.
