ON Chiropractic
What to Look For in a CBT Colleague
Experience Providing One-toOne & Group Therapy
Experience with Patient
Population
Your
Patients'
Needs
Warmth &
Ability to Form Rapport
Appropriate Credentials
Experience Providing One-to-One
and Group Therapy
For patients with chronic pain or
cognitive barriers to recovery, Dr.
Cheng recommends developing referral
relationships with practitioners with
extensive experience in providing therapy.
Like becoming a highly proficient
chiropractor, becoming highly proficient
in mental health care through therapy
takes time and practice. Working with
practitioners who specialize in working
with patients, as opposed to focusing
solely on research or teaching, may be
beneficial.
Warmth & Ability to Form Rapport
The ability to form rapport with patients
quickly and effectively is a soughtafter characteristic of professionals who
provide mental health services. In some
cases, a strong ability to connect with
patients can speed recovery. In practice,
while one candidate for patient referrals
and consultations may bring a higher
credential, you may choose to refer a
specific patient to a psychotherapist with
deeper and more relevant professional
experience.
No matter who you choose to work
with, the parameters of the collaboration
are very important, as are the specific needs
of the patient. This is why developing a
healthy mixture of referral and consultation
relationships is the best bet. Then when
you identify a patient to refer for mental
health care, you can select a practitioner
that you believe is most likely to aid the
patient in question.
Bringing CBT Capacity In-House
T
here are two ways to provide CBT
within the four walls of your
practice. The first is to expand
the group of practitioners working within
your clinic to include a mental health care
provider, such as a clinical psychologist or
a psychotherapist. When doing this, go
back to the matrix outlined above and try
to select the partner that is most likely to
be able to support the type of patients you
most frequently treat. That professional
will likely bring with them a network of
additional practitioners to whom he or
she can refer more complex cases, or cases
which fall outside of their own expertise.
Once you’ve identified the right
candidate, the process of incorporating
them into your practice would be very
similar to that of bringing in an RMT
or an additional chiropractor. Negotiate
equitable terms to cover issues like use of
space, staff time and revenue sharing and
try your best to set reasonable expectations.
The other approach to bringing CBT
capacity in-house is to seek out advanced
training yourself or for your existing team
of practitioners. As described above, a
reference source like Mind Over Mood is
a great place to start. If you develop an
interest in additional training, there are
many avenues to pursue:
1 Additional Reference Materials:
While Mind Over Mood is a good starting
point, there are several relevant canons
of academic and popular literature that
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