This month I have the honor of introducing you to Dr. Shanta Kanukollu (Dr. K), Dr. Katarina Zoltan (Dr. Z) and their service Connect2Therapists.
Connect2Therapists is a service that helps both therapists + clients who are seeking a therapist. I thought that you might be interested in reading about how this service can support us as therapists, but also how Dr K and Dr. Z are managing thriving therapy practices + the addition of a new business.
The below content was written and shared by Dr. Katarina Zoltan:
Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, we (the therapist collective) have seen a big spike in the need for services. Perhaps you have thought about beginning therapy and taken the big important step in deciding to find a therapist for yourself. Have you found the process frustrating, overwhelming, daunting? Maybe all of the above? This is where the service Connect2Therapists comes in – to help connect people to a good therapist match and make the process the least frustrating, overwhelming, or daunting as possible.
What is Connect2Therapist and how did you come up with it?
In the summer of 2020 and the subsequent two years after that, we had more and more people reaching out to us to connect for the various therapy needs. It always feels so difficult to turn people away simply because I no longer have the openings or capacity to accommodate people’s needs. I had conversations with my colleague Shanta, who expressed similar sentiment.
We both had to start referring people elsewhere, but our general referrals were also filling up. We never want to provide referrals to people that ultimately are not going to work out for them. We took the time to search for therapists who had openings, who took the type of insurance that people needed, and who were able to address the concerns that people were seeking services to address.
Finding a therapist can be a bit of a process. It is even more challenging when you’re unsure what it is that you’re looking for or even where to begin looking for it.
This is where my colleague Shanta and I felt we could provide a service that could meet these important gaps/needs. In the summer of 2022, during a summer outing to a new restaurant to catch up, the idea for Connect2Therapists was born.
What exactly is Connect2Therapists?
Connect2Therapists, or C2T, is a service that helps people make the process of finding a therapist simple, smooth, and effective so that they can focus on therapy and not on the process of finding a therapist.
How does C2T work?
Our website provides an overview of the service as well as scheduling times. By simply scheduling a 15-minute call with either of us (Dr. K or Dr. Z), clients will have an opportunity to share with us what they are looking for. Additionally, we will ask clients questions based on our professional knowledge of therapy and after the 15-minute phone call is complete, we will begin the process of searching for a therapist that will be the best match possible.
How can sending potential clients to Connect2Therapist help an overwhelmed therapist?
As therapists, we want to provide help to those who reach out to us for services. When we cannot accommodate that, because our caseloads are full or we do not specialize in the areas the client needs help in, we provide referrals. This can take some time, as you may have to make sure that the referral would be a good fit, or the provider specializes in what the client needs, or they accept the client’s insurance, etc. As therapists, this may be time that you may not have. This is where C2T can also help therapists who may be overwhelmed and do not have the time to make specific referrals to people who call/request services. Therapists can provide C2T information and we can certainly do the work for them.
How do you ensure that these referrals are a good match?
As providers, we connect with different providers and both Shanta and I have been practicing for well over a decade. That’s a lot of connections, in different states as well. We also know where to look, what questions to ask to ensure that clients match with someone that fit their needs and we are continuously adding providers to our database.
In what states does C2T help people find a therapist?
We are available to conduct therapist searches/matches in all 50 states.
How do you respond to questions about why there a fee for this service?
There is a fee for this service because it takes time to not only gather information about what you’re looking for, but it takes time to search through various provider websites and our database to ensure that we find you referrals that match your needs.
How did you free up time to work on a separate business while having thriving practices?
Shanta and I certainly recognize that having a thriving practice, personal lives, can all be time-consuming. But we also feel very strongly about wanting to help people connect to a therapist that will be helpful to whatever struggles they’re experiencing. So, we schedule out our time slots for intake calls, incorporate those into our schedules and ensure that we make the time but not sacrifice our other work or our personal time. We schedule brief calls/meetings to ensure that we are on the same page about the business, divide up tasks based on our skill-sets as well as time, and we support each other when needed. We are also firm believers that there is more than just clinical work when it comes to therapy services. I think it can feel helpful to be involved in multiple projects so that we do not burn out on just clinical work (as long as everything can remain balanced, of course).
Thanks to Dr. Shanta Kanukollu (Dr. K), Dr. Katarina Zoltan (Dr. Z) for contributing to this month’s Vibrant Therapist Spotlight and introducing us to Connect2Therapists. You can find Connect2Therapists on Facebook and Instagram.