The relationship between a therapist and their client is just like any other relationship: It takes time and understanding to build trust, reach a point at which both parties feel comfortable with each other, and can engage in the most productive sessions. This means that proper time management is critical and can be improved with the use of tools, such as appointment scheduling and reminders.
Keeping calendar appointments allows you to easily access your availability at a glance, making scheduling a simpler, time-saving process that makes you more productive. Appointment attendance rates are improved with the ability to send out reminders, which also allow you to hold the client accountable for their commitment, thereby justifying charging them for a missed appointment, if you choose to do so. It goes without saying that organization, consistency, and effectiveness of face-to-face meetings are essential factors in developing a healthy professional relationship with your clients. In our busy lives, finding open times that suit both parties is difficult. A clear display of availability in a scheduling software, such as Therasoft Online, is helpful in allowing the therapist to coordinate with their client and allocate the amount of time needed for the session. The calendar can be utilized to provide multiple date and time options, to show flexibility and desire to commit to a session and begin focusing on the issue at hand. Additionally, the online self-scheduling system allows a therapist to display available times and allow the client to compare their availability with yours, to schedule a time that works for both of you, thus saving you time.
A therapy session scheduled in advance, also gives you time to prepare. You can review prior notes and reflect upon the topics that you need to focus on in your upcoming appointment. Similarly, our scheduling and reminder features, force your patient to be reminded of your upcoming discussion and engages them in the preparation of the topics of conversation that are most critical to them, at that time.
Once an appointment has been scheduled, you also need to make sure that it is confirmed. Productivity and time management depend on, not only your organization, but also your client's commitment and dedication. To assist them in keeping their appointment, you can choose from multiple avenues such as, emails, mobile text messages and phone calls. Customizable appointment reminders can be setup to include a therapist's cancellation, no-show policy, in order to inform the client of the repercussions of a missed appointment and your office policies. Even though some circumstance may stand in the way of them being able to attend, they are more likely to communicate with you and make an attempt to be present during their scheduled time.
Ultimately, making sure that therapy sessions are scheduled and confirmed is a great way of making sure that both you and your client's time is respected, you are both accountable for your obligations and to ensure that attendance is maximized.
