4 Apps & Tools To Effectively Manage Your Neurodivergent Therapy Practice
Featured image by TienDat Nguyen, Unsplash
Running a therapy practice is serious business, requiring seamless coordination, tracking, record-keeping, and communications. With instances of neurodiversity becoming more common and even accepted in society, therapists of all creeds are increasingly in demand, but dealing with the sheer demand of this profession often requires more than knowledge, certifications, and experience.
A therapy practice is at its core, a business, and just like any business, it involves a number of different moving parts that are difficult to keep track of manually. Moreover, as a mental health professional, your time and efforts are far too valuable to be spent chasing payables, insurance claims, and bills, when it can be better spent treating and dealing with patients.
Fortunately, there is a wide range of mental health management software that helps deal with this administrative bloat by streamlining various systems and processes. In this article, we cover a few of the most popular and essential solutions, some of which are particularly targeted towards therapists and mental health practices, aimed at unlocking efficiencies and adding substantial value in the process.
SimplePractice 
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A dedicated solution aimed at mental health and wellness professionals, SimplePractice offers a wide range of features that perfectly meet the requirements of small practices. From appointment setting and scheduling, to billing, insurance claims, and documentation for in-takes and progress tracking, this simple and intuitive solution does it all.
While the basic plan starts off at just £24 per month, more advanced features such as telehealth, a dedicated mobile app, and personalized client portals can be availed at higher plans and pricing. The tool further allows for group practices, accommodating 10 or more clinicians, along with a practice manager module for seamless operations.
TheraNest
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Another practice management solution for therapists, psychiatrists, counselors, and social workers, TheraNest is a HIPAA-compliant electronic health record (EHR) solution that offers an extensive set of critical features particularly aimed at small and medium-sized mental health practices, for a seamless back-office, front-office, and therapy session management experience.
TheraNest further provides an integration with Wiley Practice Planners, giving practitioners access to over 1,000 pre-crafted treatment objectives, goals, and progress notes, further streamlining the entire experience. It even allows for reviewing and co-signing features at multi-user practices, fitting into the broader systems and processes instituted by practitioners.
Calendly
Since it first arrived on the scene 10 years ago, Calendly has become largely indispensable for all types of medical practices. This simple scheduling and appointment management solution brought an end to the tedious back and forth emails and communications between patients and practitioners, with patients now able to see availability, and select the date and time that best suits them.
While there is nothing particularly special about an appointment scheduling app in and of itself, Calendly’s value lies in its flexibility, ease of use, and integrations. The solution can seamlessly integrate across a wide range of ERPs, EHRs, and CRM solutions, while providing practitioners and practice managers with essential insights pertaining to their patients and the schedule.
Zoom
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Even though videoconferencing and telecommunication solutions have been around for over a decade, they remained largely ignored in the mental health space, as professionals and their patients believed in the importance of a personal touch. This, however, changed overnight during the course of COVID, with stay-at-home orders compelling therapists and their patients to explore possible alternatives.
Today, even after the pandemic has subsided, the mental health community has become accustomed to the convenience and effectiveness of conducting sessions on tools such as Zoom, and there is seemingly no going back.
While telehealth and medicine still remains at nascent stages, COVID was definitely a catalyst that spurred a broad based transformation, and it is interesting to see how this segment adapts to such trends in the years ahead.
Final Words
As a therapist or mental health professional, the success of your practice ultimately depends on how well you cater to patients and add value to their lives. This, however, is only possible, if other tedious tasks are either automated, or brought down to the minimum with the use of these apps and solutions.
Guest post by Daryna Yatsenko
