The Couples Institute, a Case Study in Specialization

I frequently encourage specialization to help you establish a presence in your community. Here is why. People trust the expert. People refer their friends to experts. You spend less time and money marketing when you focus on marketing a specialty. Your practice will fill more consistently over time if you specialize. After all, if your loved one has a problem, would you rather send her to a generalist or a specialist?

The Couples Institute is a great example of a therapy practice that has built a strong reputation by specializing. Directors Ellyn Bader and Peter Pearson have committed themselves to finding effective ways to work with couples. Over the years they have developed a variety of services, products, and resources for professionals and for the public They write books, present training workshops, sell professional CD programs, and more--all focused on couples.

Their website shows an example of a mature business that's grown from over 20 years of intense specialization. One side of their website features information and services for couples, while the other is devoted to therapists who want to improve their effectiveness with couples.

Visit www.couplesinstitute.com to see what can develop when you have a clear vision about your own business.

And if you're interested in couples therapy professionally, sign up for their monthly newsletter, "Practice Development Dispatch." The newsletter is full of information about how to work with different types of couples and different diagnostic categories and ideas about effective homework assignments and good books to read.

If you'd like to improve your own relationship, subscribe to their free monthly newsletter for the public, "Love that Lasts."

While all their training programs are great, "In Quest of the Mythical Mate" is a comprehensive practice building kit in a box for therapists who want to build a successful practice with couples! Starting with 10 audio CDs and a 96-page workbook, this program teaches diagnosis, first sessions, managing tough couples and other specific techniques. It has lots of actual transcripts and clinical vignettes, and real examples of sessions sprinkled throughout the CDs to demonstrate what you are learning. It serves as a foundation for therapists of all theoretical orientations.

If you love working with couples, please check out the Couples Institute. Look at all the programs and resources they have to make your work more rewarding and your practice very successful!