Are you prepared for the shift happening in mental health across the country?
The last two years have been some of the most difficult mental health-wise for people across the country. During the height of the pandemic, there was incredible social isolation. Elderly people especially faced seclusion that would have been unthinkable a few years ago. Even people who had significant others, roommates, or family still suffered from loneliness and a lack of social contact with their friends. On top of all that, there was economic uncertainty, anxiety about personal health, and worries that things could get worse.
Though these factors have been reduced thanks to effective public health measures, that doesn’t mean they have disappeared. The result is that even people who would never have thought about contacting mental health professionals in 2019 are now reaching out for help. And that, despite everything, is a good thing!
How Things Are Changing for the Better
The growing awareness and de-stigmatization of mental health issues are some of the only positives to come out of this pandemic.
Both federal and provincial governments have prioritized promoting mental health services and funding going into 2022. In fact, funding mental health services was a key promise of the government in the 2021 election. This means more money could come to assist people with mental health issues.
People are also prioritizing their own mental health, even if they aren’t necessarily contacting mental health professionals for help. That’s also a good thing! When someone has even a general awareness of their well-being, they can develop healthy habits that could improve their mental health across the board.
Services Mental Health Practices Need to Offer
With this growing awareness of mental health issues in the population, it is expected that mental health professionals will be facing many challenges moving into 2022 and beyond.
At the moment, the demand for mental health assistance far outweighs the supply. This is because many people are desperate for help but can’t get it. One of the ways that you can help is to modernize the way you manage your practice, streamline processes, and offer new services that will meet the needs of new clients.
One of the most important changes you can make is to offer Video Therapy. This feature was a necessity at the height of the pandemic when many practices were closed, but its demand is still very high.
By offering Video Therapy to your clients, you’ll be providing increased levels of accessibility, allowing your clients to meet you even if they are far away or unable to travel. And with Owl Practice Video Therapy, you can be sure that you’ll be on a secure connection that is PHIPA and college-compliant.
There are other ways to make things much easier for potential clients too. For example, you could modernize the way you handle appointments. Rather than having your clients call in and have you use valuable time figuring out a good time for their appointments, why not let your clients book their appointments directly?
By logging into your Owl Practice client portal, your clients can see what times you are available and pick the best one for them. Even better, automatic reminders will be sent out to your clients about their upcoming appointments, significantly reducing the possibility of no-shows or late-comers!
Don’t Forget to Prioritize Your Own Mental Health
It’s sometimes easy for mental health practitioners to forget about their own mental health when treating others.
One of the ways you can avoid this is by freeing up some extra time to reinvest into yourself. The key is to re-establish the lines between your personal and private lives that might have become blurred since the beginning of the pandemic.
By using Owl Practice, you can free up to 12 hours every single month! Our management features, automatic customer invoicing, cloud-based interface, and many more features allow you to save time you’d otherwise lose. And suddenly, you have extra time every single month! So why not take up a new hobby? Take a day trip? Or simply spend some extra time with your family? The choice is yours!
The bottom line is that many mental health professionals expect that it will take years to help treat those the pandemic has impacted, but positive signs still remain. By future-proofing your practice and expanding or updating your mental health features and services, you can position yourself for success moving forward as well!
If you’re curious about how we can help prepare your practice for the future, feel free to sign up for a 14-day free trial with Owl Practice! And if you have any other questions about our intake form features or comments about our services, please get in touch with us at support@owlpractice.ca.
As Always,
Practice Wisely