Despite her mission to help clients "step confidently into a future brimming with hope, freedom, and purpose," this social worker felt overwhelmed juggling multiple software platforms and tasks. She was spending too much time working on running her business and missing out on the joys of providing client care.
Trauma Therapist and Licensed Clinical Social Worker Jemese Lachel Drewery (MSW, LCSW) founded her solo practice, Grace Abides Christian Counseling, to help women overcome and cope with trauma. Her work equips women to rewrite their stories and reclaim the lives they love.
What she didn't love was juggling at least five different software platforms to run her business. It was overwhelming. She wanted to consolidate everything into a single practice platform that could receive payments, handle contracts, and provide secure communication and document storage.
Every solo practitioner struggles to balance working on their business—keeping the lights on and the work progressing—with supporting clients to meet their goals. To free up more time to focus on what she does best, Jemese needed a single place to manage all her clients' needs.
Privacy and security are non-negotiable for any mental health practice. Jemese likes that all client communications, including telehealth, messaging, and secure chat, are fully HIPAA (and PIPEDA, PHIPA, and GDPR) compliant.
"As a mental health professional [providing telehealth sessions], it is mandatory that the platform is legally secure and 100% protected. I have never had a client ask me anything about privacy, which is a testament to the trust they have in Practice Better."
Jemese Drewery
Practice Better's integrated billing features simplify the billing and payment process for mental health professionals. Jemese generates invoices, accepts online payments, and tracks her billing information seamlessly. Claim.MD integration bills insurance and then easily invoices clients for uninsured portions of their treatment.
A therapist's schedule is the lifeblood of their practice, and accuracy matters. Managing multiple calendars exposes busy clinicians to data entry errors and missed appointments. Missed appointments erode trust. An integrated, accurate calendar gives everyone peace of mind. In Practice Better, she found calendar synchronization without the high cost of an enterprise plan.
Jemese feels confident delegating tasks to her virtual assistant using the platform. With the Practice Better Plus Plan, she just clicks a button to assign admin rights to her VA, who handles schedule management.
She needed her platform to prioritize client comfort. Practice Better's secure communications and telehealth, a single login, self-led learning, and supportive community make it that safe and healing place. Her clients feel comfortable and confident working with her through the app and client portal, which allows everyone to focus on what matters most: the healing process.
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Online courses support Jemese's clients in their healing journeys. Jemese notes that offering programs and courses through Practice Better, in addition to telehealth sessions, offers her clients different levels of access to reach out to her, which is a "huge win for mental health professionals."
She loves building courses and programs. Psychoeducation teaches mental health skills and delivers better care without Jemese manually doing the same work for each new client. If clients need help establishing boundaries in a relationship, Jemese directs them to programs where they can work at their own pace to access the support they need.
"Before Practice Better, I was using so many different platforms to organize that kind of material. Now, I can have my clients simply book and set up an account in their portal, giving them access to everything they need without signing up for another account or having multiple logins."
Jemese Drewery
Practice Better also helped Jemese grow her business to serve more clients. With automated intake, scheduling, contracts, and billing, she's saved enough time to expand her client base. She can literally help more women and do a better job of it.
With broadcast messages and other secure communication tools, Jemese can cultivate a community and communicate more effectively with clients. She keeps in touch with everyone she's worked with to stay connected and share updates. Her client community can convene on Zoom calls and learn together.
Courses and programs have worked so well for Grace Abides that Jemese plans to expand her practice with them. She's focused on creating passive income opportunities for her business to grow.
Asked what others considering Practice Better should know, Jemese described how the platform helps her strengthen her network. Working in virtual healthcare can sometimes feel isolating. Jemese feels a strong sense of community within Practice Better, which connects her with other practitioners. She says that connecting with other Practice Better mental health counselors through a group chat helped her work through the sticky parts of practice growth with much-needed support.
Interested in trying group programs, like Jemese did, to help more clients? Sign up for a free trial and build a program that can help build passive income.
[Editor's note: this blog was originally published on March 19, 2024. It has been revised for accuracy and comprehensiveness.]
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