Growing Your Private Practice (13 credits)

Your referrals are growing. Your schedule is filling. You can only see so many clients yourself.

Is it time to hire?

Growing from a solo music therapy practice into a practice with a team can be exciting, but it also introduces decisions many music therapists were never taught how to make. Should you hire an employee or independent contractor? Part-time or full-time? Hourly or salaried? How do you find the right person, communicate expectations, and maintain the quality of care your practice was built on?

This practical course walks you through the questions and systems involved in taking your private practice to the next level. You’ll begin by examining one of the most important decisions: when does hiring actually make sense for your business? From there, you’ll explore the hiring process, including finding strong candidates, interviewing appropriately, and understanding important distinctions between employees and independent contractors.

But hiring someone is only the beginning.

As your team grows, you’ll need systems that allow you to stay informed about client care, missed sessions, staff performance, and what is happening throughout the practice without needing to personally oversee every detail. You’ll explore communication practices, client tracking, employee reviews, expectations, disciplinary procedures, and other strategies for creating a healthier and more cohesive team.

The goal is not simply to make your practice bigger. It’s to help you build a practice that can grow sustainably while maintaining the quality, communication, and professional standards that made it successful in the first place.

In this workshop, you will learn:

How to recognize when your music therapy practice may be ready to hire.
Important questions to consider before expanding from a solo practice to a team.
Key differences between employees and independent contractors and the business implications of each.
How to approach recruiting, interviewing, and selecting candidates who are a good fit for your practice.
What you should and should not ask during the interview and hiring process.
How to establish clear expectations and communicate professionally with staff.
Systems for staying informed about client care, attendance, scheduling issues, and other aspects of your practice as you delegate services.
Strategies for employee reviews, performance concerns, disciplinary actions, and benefits.
Ways to strengthen communication and cohesion as your team grows.loyee reviews, disciplinary actions, benefits, and client tracking will be discussed.

Learning Objectives:

Identify the difference between a sub-contractor and an employee according to IRS standards.
Identify types of employee benefits they can offer as an employer.
Identify the steps needed to hire an employee/ contract a independent contractor including writing a job posting, setting up an interview, and writing an offer letter/ contract
Identify at least three procedures/policies they may need to amend or add in order to accommodate a growing team.

If you are interested in taking your business to the next level, this is the course for you!

Schedule:

This course is delivered in three 2 hour sections. Videos for each section are split into 30 minute segments. You will have unlimited access to the recordings for your review. Each segment of the class has an assignment for you to complete which will take between 1 1/2-2 hours.

The following topics will be covered:

Pros and cons of expanding your team
Deciding when you need to expand your team
Differences between employees and independent contractors and considerations for each
Types of employees: part-time, full-time, hourly, salaried, paid per visit
How to write a job description and post a position
How to conduct an interview: what can you say? What can you not say?
Writing an offer letter/ independent contractor agreement
Designing training and orientation for new employees
Tax forms needed
General payroll information
Types of employee benefits
Keeping lines of communication open: quality assurance practices, employee reviews, disciplinary action
Terminating an employee
Transitioning clients effectively
Code of Ethics and employment/contracting implications

As part of this course you will receive feedback on several homework assignments including feedback on your job posting, interview questions, offer letter, and job description.

Instructor:

Jona Jeffcoat is a board-certified music therapist and the Director of Services/ Owner of Infinity Music Therapy Services in Connecticut. Jona founded Infinity as a part time practice in 2010. In August 2012, she quit her full-time job to take on her practice full time. Jona currently has a team of seven music therapists, one music therapy intern, and several support staff. She has also had several independent contractors at various stages of her business growth. Jona is a recognized leader in healthcare in her community and speaks at local and national levels about the therapeutic use of music.

CBMT Domain Area:

5B-10 Operational responsibilities (e.g., budgeting, scheduling, reimbursements, resource maintenance); Task Statement 68

Growing Your Private Practice– is approved by the Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT) for 13 CMTEs-Continuing Music Therapy Education credits. The Spiegel Academy, CBMT Approved Provider #P-106, maintains responsibility for program quality and adherence to CBMT policies and criteria.

Class Description