Prodana’s mission is to add to the pool of resources that are dedicated to improving people’s mental health. For many therapists who are booked solid and billing at their desired hourly rate, there may be no need to change what is working.
There are other scenarios, where crowdfunding can make a lot of sense. Here are some examples below:
You utilize a pay-what-you-can model
If you offer some or all of your clients the option to pay you what they can afford for their sessions with you, Prodana can offer an interesting alternative. They can still pay what they can afford, but it will be going towards other people. You are more clearly framing the “discount” they are receiving as a gift, one which they can, in turn pay forward.
To implement this, you’d introduce your clients into the Prodana system, and let them know that they will get an email from the platform at the end of every session. They’ll then have the chance “pay what they can” towards other people’s therapy.
But it gets better. You haven’t framed it as a discounted transaction, this is no longer just a way for them get therapy for themselves on the cheap. Instead, they received a gift from you, funded by those who came before them, and they have the chance to continue that process on an ongoing basis.
They can commit to making smaller monthly transactions automatically, long after your therapy sessions with them have ended. Or they can respond to Prodana’s yearly email to them and make a gift many months after the fact.
Will this work for all clients? Probably not. There are those who actually need to learn the basic mechanisms and responsibilities of social contracts. But for others, who can appreciate the gift and might wan to give back, introducing them to Prodana might make a lot of sense.
You dedicate a portion of your time to probono work
Some therapists choose to allocate a portion of their available hours specifically to help those who cannot afford their full rates. This might be a certain day of the week, or a certain number of hours a month. It may be at a specific clinic they travel to, or for all clients who indicate a need.
Regardless of how you choose to structure it, you can still benefit from adding the clients you work with to your Prodana system. Even if you are working with people completely free, giving them the chance to pay the experience forward can be very empowering for them.
And you never know where people might end up. The beauty of therapy is it can have a profound impact on people’s lives. If we are betting that people can radically improve their life circumstances and well-being, why not include them in a system that maintains a long-term relationship with them?
You have availability in your calendar
If you are still in the process of building your private practice, you may find yourself with slots in your calendar that haven’t been booked by clients yet. This is the nature of new business – people haven’t heard of you yet, and are choosing to visit established practitioners – or not go to therapy at all because they can’t afford it.
Consider assigning your available hours to Prodana. You want to be helping people, that’s why you’re doing this in the first place. Let people know that you have availability that has been paid for by others – this isn’t free, you aren’t cheapening your efforts. But you are lowering the barriers for many people, and offering a unique option that sets you apart and presents a very easy opeining.
Imagine posting an offering like this to your Facebook profile. It doesn’t feel like self promotion, and it’s almost guaranteed to get attention and responses. You can still screen candidates using your usual methods, this approach may definitely also attract individuals who are less serious about personal growth. But you may be surprised at who you reach – serious people who didn’t feel like they had the option before.
One of the best ways to build a private practice is to reach as many people as possible. And that’s just what you’re doing. You’re filling all available slots on the calendar. Better yet, Prodana automatically collects feedback and testimonials from your clients, assisting with your marketing efforts.
Of course, there is the added benefit that many of the people you meet and work with may still become long-term contributors to your cause of doing more good. Experiment with putting good into the world and see what comes back.
It’s a passion of yours
Many people have a passion for personal growth and the healing modalities, but don’t have specific plans of building a private practice. Maybe you took a life coaching course. Maybe you’re an experineced meditator with wisdom to share.
Prodana makes it easy to take something you’re passionate about and share it with the world in a way that allows you to make money – but not focus on the money. Whatever comes your way is appreciated, but you can focus on doing good, giving back, making a contribution.
It can be daunting to bring on your first few paying clients when you’ve just finished a training. It’s a lot less daunting to work with individuals without thinking about the money; you let them decide how valuable their experience was, and whether they would like to pay it forward so that others may benefit as well.
We believe there is a large number of people who have what to give, but are afraid of the officialness that comes from advertising your paid services. Prodana offers a unique alternative – an official profile where you focus on giving instead of asking or taking.
More wellness for all
There are a variety of ways in which Prodana can be used for more good. With the understanding that in our line of work money is typically not the main goal, we can take the leap from transactions to a focus on giving, and watch how the number of people we help, and the good that we do, increases.