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When it comes to setting-up and operating your own private therapy practice, staying ignorant can come with a very hefty price tag. And not just a financial price but also an emotional and mental one. Running your own business often involves wearing multiple hats at the same time and being an accountant, a marketer of your business, and wearing the hat of a lawyer so you can protect your intellectual property, your personal assets, and can keep your practice and website, if you have one, legal. 

In this blog post I will talk about various legal templates that I find extremely useful and will also save you a lot of time and effort. 

With so many legal forms, templates and resources out there it can be hard to keep track of what you need for your practice. I will dive into places where I find the best fit in terms or affordable prices as well as how they are great at protecting your business, your professional license, your website and keeping you out of the court room (or at least getting paid for it if you are subpoenaed.)

There are 3 places that I use for legal templates and below I will explain each one in detail. 

1) Legal Store

Did you know it's illegal to copy someone else’s legal forms? I didn't until a lawyer and blogger Amira told me so. It seems common practice is focused on getting all your practicing documents in order, but doing so also means having an actual website or blog with policies set out clear- concisely written -to protect against potential lawsuits!

I purchased her website legal bundle which includes the privacy policy, terms and conditions and disclaimer template.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with what terms and conditions are, it basically acts as a contract between you or between your business and your users or customers (literally anyone going to your website). It ensures that parties understand their contractual rights and obligations. 

Amira has some other templates that can be helpful for therapists, too:

• LLC Operating Agreement -  to limit your legal liability and separate your business from your personal assets. 

• Confidentiality Agreement - to protect your business secrets and information from being stolen.

• Independent Contractor Status - This is a critical legal provision that must be included in your freelance contract to clearly state your status as an independent contractor rather than an employee. It's also important for tax purposes.

2) Simple Practice 

SimplePractice is an electronic health record service. With it comes a ton of resources for you to be successful in private practice including varying templates. Here is a list of highly useful templates that you can pick from:

• Notice of Privacy Practices

• Informed Consent for Psychotherapy

• Practice Policies

• Consent for Telehealth Consultation

• Walk-And-Talk Services

All can be edited to fit your specific policies and such. But they are nice because you don't have to start from scratch. 

3)  Court Policy

It's a document over at Therapist Court Prep that outlines the parameters for providing mental health services in a courtroom setting. I got this one after being subpoenaed to testify in court and unfortunately at the time, didn't get paid for several days of work. Learn from me and grab this now so you can get compensated for your time if something similar happens to you. 

It includes information like who is authorized to provide services, which types of services are offered, and how fees are assessed. Having this document in place can help reduce any legal risk associated with providing services in a courtroom setting.

To Conclude

In order to stay out of the courthouse and protect your finances, your hard work, and your peace of mind, it's crucial to stay informed and to utilize the right resources that can be used and tailored to your specific company. From taking advantage of

• Amira’s Legal Store, where you can find various templates for your website and blog including a privacy policy, disclaimers, and terms of conditions.

• To utilizing Simple Practice, which allows you to choose from any of their electronic health records templates.

• And lastly, taking advantage of Therapist Court Prep, which has documents that are necessary to help reduce any legal risk in relation to providing services in a courtroom setting. 

More Private Practice Resources

I put together a list of all the best tools, websites and products I’ve used to build my mental health private practice. And I update it regularly! You can see the full list here.