Vagaro's Mental Health Article Library
Published October 18, 2023
From automated scheduling, billing and marketing to patient documentation and telehealth capability, modern practices should be able to rely on one mental health software to run and grow their practice. There are many options out there, which can be both a blessing and a curse. The list below includes articles detailing what therapists need to know when starting a practice and how to use Vagaro for all their most important needs.
If you're a mental health professional on Vagaro, are thinking of adopting the software for your practice, or just need some clarity on certain subjects, think of this as your ever-growing content library.
Starting Your Own Mental Health Practice
Starting a mental health practice is a huge step. It brings with it a bevy of challenges, but in return supplies the freedom & satisfaction of being your own boss and treating patients according to your own principles.
This article provides practical steps conceptualizing and opening your practice:
Building Your Practice with Vagaro
You’ve started your practice and chosen Vagaro as your mental health software. We applaud you! This article overs the basics of getting started with Vagaro and how you can build your practice, as well as which features are beneficial to use as a mental health practitioner:
Marketing Your Mental Health Practice
Spreading awareness of your practice and acquiring new patients isn’t easy, and your mental health software should, ideally, help you with that. Refer to this article as a guide to marketing your therapy practice, and how to incorporate Vagaro’s features, like email & text marketing, in your strategy:
Telehealth/Teletherapy Support
Telehealth, or teletherapy, enables you to extend your reach, cater to patients from various locations, adapt to changing circumstances with ease and increase your income. Vagaro integrates a robust, HIPAA-compliant telehealth platform that provides secure and seamless video sessions for you and your clients.
For clarity on what to include in your Teletherapy Consent Form (more on forms below), as well as other factors such as equipment, internet connectivity and space requirements, refer to this article:
Mental Health Forms & Patient Documentation
Proper patient documentation proves your clinical competency, illustrates how your patient’s needs have been addressed and maintains treatment histories, diagnoses, and other essential information. Vagaro’s flexible, HIPAA-compliant form creator enables you to record patient notes, collect electronic signatures and save all documentation securely into your patients’ profiles.
Beyond the simple intake & patient consent forms, there are many variations of patient progress notes, each with its own unique acronym. Read all about what they are and how to make them—with examples—in these articles:
- Therapy Note Examples & Why They Are important
- Your Patient Treatment Plan Template for Mental Health
- SOAP Note Examples for Mental Health (Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan)
- DAP/DARP Note Examples For Mental Health (Data Assessment Plan/or: Data Assessment Response Plan)
- ABA Session Note Examples for Mental Health (Applied Behavioral Analysis)
Other Mental Health Software Features to Consider
The links above do not represent an exhaustive list of what therapists and other mental health professionals must think about when starting their practice, nor all the Vagaro features they’d use.
As we continue to provide more helpful, informational content, consider the following capabilities when choosing a mental health software:
Appointment Scheduling
One of the core features of any booking & business management software is efficient appointment scheduling. It is just as important—maybe even more important—for therapists in the mental health field than for other businesses. The right booking & scheduling feature should:
- Enable you to manage their appointments seamlessly.
- Include options for setting recurring appointments, managing appointment types & rescheduling.
- Offer waitlist management, which is particularly beneficial where your patients' unpredictable schedules are concerned.
- Send automatic appointment reminders to your patients, reducing no-shows.
- Make booking possible via a corresponding app.
Vagaro’s mental health software ticks all these boxes—and more. Built in integrations also enable you to place direct booking buttons into your social media profiles, providing more opportunities for patients to book appointments.
Billing & Invoicing
Efficient financial management is key for mental health practices. The right software should enable practitioners to easily generate invoices, accept payments securely, and manage insurance claims. It should also offer transparency in financial transactions, helping practices keep track of payments and revenues.
Integrated billing systems are not necessarily standard in the world of mental health software. In fact, most require practices to find their own payment solution. Vagaro, on the other hand, offers a billing system that integrates seamlessly with their mental health software.
Mental Health Regulation Compliance
This last word on mental health software is also the first. Mental health practices handle sensitive patient data, and regulatory compliance is non-negotiable. So, booking and business management software must ensure compliance with data protection regulations, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in the United States.
This compliance supports patient trust and your practice's reputation. Reputable scheduling platforms, like Vagaro's, prioritize HIPAA compliance. It ensures that all patient data, including Electronic Health Records (EHR), is handled securely and confidentially.
The ability to maintain Electronic Health Records (EHR) is invaluable for mental health practices. Encryption protects patient data from unauthorized access, while access controls allow your practice to restrict who can view or change your patients’ records.
There are many mental health software options out there, some of them very reputable. With Vagaro, you don’t have to rely on multiple programs or software platforms for the features you need. All-in-one means everything outlined above—and more—is available in one app with Vagaro. In addition to being comprehensive, it’s also streamlined and easy to use.
Taking better care—of your patients, and your practice—starts with Vagaro. Sign up for your FREE 30-day trial and experience the last software you’ll need for growing, marketing, and managing your practice.