The Importance of the Professional Will for Mental Health Therapists
It is uncomfortable, but a Professional Will is important
I’ll just jump right in— you need to have a professional will. It is uncomfortable to think about, but extremely important. A client recently shared with me that she received a phone call from her pediatricians office informing her that her son’s pediatrician sadly passed away from Covid-19. This news was devastating for her and her son who cared about this woman very much. Thankfully, they were contacted and informed in a considerate and caring way — giving them the chance to ingest and process this shocking news.
For my part, this story got me thinking about other ways the situation could have played out. What would have happened if they didn’t receive that phone call from the office of the pediatrician? They would have found out about their doctor’s passing eventually, but not in a respectable or meaningful way. What this circumstance punctuated for me is the need to have and keep up my professional will.
What is a Professional Will and why do I need one?
Just like a traditional will, a professional will makes sure that anything left standing in your practice will be dealt with if something happens to you. It is a formally organized set of protocols that will allow someone else to step in and make sure all the loose ends are collected and dealt with.
Making arrangements for an unlikely event is about respecting your clients and the therapeutic relationship you have built. Professional wills are not only about sudden death; they are relevant in a number of unplanned for situations. Maybe you have been detained in Azerbaijan and you missed your flight? Maybe you were wrongfully (or rightfully) accused of robbing a bank? There are a number of reasons you may be unable to call all 50 of the clients in your care (especially if you only have one phone call). Unlike the pediatrician, you may not be working with an office staff to notify your clients of the event that is keeping you from practicing.
I want to again stress that this professional will is not only for an unexpected death. Many, many things can happen that might keep you from being able to contact your clients. It is also important to have clear directions on who should care for your clients if you will be away for an extended period of time.
What should my Professional Will include?
Established executor and back-up executor.
Clear instructions on how to reach your clients.
A clear outline of how to manage your finances and bank account.
How to update your advertising and social media accounts.
How to pay important dues such as rent for your office and other overhead expenses.
I need to stress: I am not a lawyer, and I cannot advise on every aspect that you should include. I am here however to stress the importance of this aspect of your private practice, and remind you that it needs to be done if it has already been a part of your plan. This is something that was on my mind for a while; but with the other stresses that factored into starting my own business, it was pushed aside.
Who should be the executor of my Professional Will?
The story about my client’s pediatrician is very sad and unexpected. But this doctor worked for a practice and had staff that could handle contacting his caseload. This is a benefit of working for a group practice or clinic. You on the other hand, likely do not have a receptionist with access to your full caseload. The executor of your professional will is the person who will be in charge of contacting your clients. This is a big job and should not be taken lightly. Choose someone that will be in a professional state if something unforeseen does happen; they should not be a significant other or family member. I personally chose my office partner and my old supervisor.
How will my executor access my protected client information?
I am just going to assume your clients’ information is protected and not easily available to access. The professional will that you share with your executors will include login information, passwords, extra key locations, and any other helpful information that will make this easy for them to work with. This means if you change your username and passwords to your Simple Practice account, your will needs to be updated and resent. This will also include bank information, social media accounts, and management of any other marketing or business arrangements you have set up for your practice. This is not a small job!
Where should I start?
My best advice is to point you in the direction of Simple Practice Learning and their CEU course on Professional Wills. This inexpensive, one hour long course will not only cover you with a CEU credit, it provides a free Professional Will template at the end (two birds, one stone). Another option is to use Google and find a template that meets all of your needs.
Please add this to your list of necessary steps in establishing your practice! Hopefully it will never be used; but in the event that it does, your clients will be thankful that you were prepared.
TL;DR
A professional will is a document that gives detailed instructions to an executor in the event that you are unable to see you clients due to death or unforeseen circumstances that are keeping you indisposed.
Choose and executor and a back of executor to give copies of the professional will to— they should be people that can professionally handle the task.
You will need to distribute these copies to the executors, and maybe someone else that you trust to have the information. It is important that it is accessible when it is needed. You will also need to replace what you have distributed whenever your secure information is updated.
I advise you take a course on how to create your professional will with Simple Practice Learning. It walks you through step by step and offers a CEU credit.
