Technophobia: Therapists, Technology, and Websites
August 10, 2009 :: Steve Fisher
This is a guest post by Chandrama Anderson, MFT, technical editor of “Webmastering for Dummies . . . ,” co-author of the Stanford Professional Education Workbook, “Building an eCommerce Website,” located in Palo Alto, specializing in Grief and Loss, Couples Therapy, and creator of Personality Mapping.
“Technophobia is the fear or dislike of advanced technology or complex devices, especially computers.[1] The term is generally used in the sense of an irrational fear, but others contend fears are justified.” (www.wikipedia.com). I was surprised to find that technophobia is as old as the Industrial Revolution!
Many therapists are technology averse, or don’t know where to begin, or don’t know what they don’t know . . . as opposed to being actually technophobic. Don’t let that stop you from harnessing technology to your advantage. We can joke all we want about using a desensitization process, or EMDR, but the bottom line is that technology can help you in your practice.
First, ask yourself what the technology is for? What results are you seeking? Do you want a website and/or do you want technology for business use (such as billing, tracking financials, writing reports, etc.) We’ll look at websites in this article and discuss business uses separately.
Things to Consider for Your Website
Let’s break it down into small steps.
1. So you want a website. What features do you want and why. You can have an information only website, or one that is interactive such that a client can schedule appointments, pay online, etc. Many “bells and whistles” exist so it’s important to keep focused on the results you’re seeking.
2. What’s your budget? $500 or $5000?
3. Can/should you do it yourself or outsource it?
4. Finding a website provider
Consider what features you want and why you want them (this will save money). Just like writing a paper in school; answer who, what, where, when and why. I want clients and potential clients to know what I do – my areas of specialty, where I am and how to get there, how I work, my general philosophy about therapy, and to provide resources for them. I have sections specific to grief, to couples, and to Personality Mapping, including a registration form that can be printed, completed and faxed. Other options may include email contact (consider legal and ethical issues of timeliness), online payment or appointment scheduling, databases, and so on. Use technology to support your business the way you want to conduct your business.
Your Budget
What are you willing and able to spend on your website? This will help determine the features you select, whether you build it yourself or have someone else build it. Keep it simple, especially at first. Beware of “feature creep” – this can happen in any project. You begin by wanting to update your kitchen; just new knobs and paint. The next thing you know you’re tearing out cabinets and putting in granite countertops! This happens with technology all the time, too. Decide what is essential and what would be nice to have.
Can/Should You Do it Yourself or Outsource it?
There are really two parts to this question: are you comfortable enough and do you have the time to build your own website? Outsourcing is a fancy way of saying that you’re hiring someone else to use their expertise for your benefit. Trust your intuition in this decision.
Finding a Website Provider
Here are a few important tips for finding a website provider:
- Look at sites you like; who did them?
- Remember that when you search the internet for providers, the first providers are usually the ones that pay to be first.
- Ask your network of colleagues for referrals to three website vendors. Check their references and be sure to ask how problems were resolved, if the site was done in a timely manner, etc.
- How long has the provider been in business?
- Check the Better Business Bureau
- Check your local chamber of commerce.
There are three parts to having a website: 1) the domain name (the URL or www.yourwebsite.com), 2) hosting the website itself (a server that has your website on it), and 3) developing the website (the features and content structure – you will provide the actual content). Providers offer one, two or all three services. For example, I use Network Solutions. I was able to search for and have them register my domain names (www.chandramaanderson.com and www.personalitymap.com); my website is on their servers, and I used their simple drag and drop system to create my site with the features I wanted. One can also pay them to develop your website.
What Options Are There For Therapists?
Canned Solutions
Just like in cooking, you can buy broth for your base, or you can buy a chicken and make broth. Any feature you want for your website already exists: email, electronic commerce, appointment systems, and so on. If you feel comfortable, you can put together a website yourself by finding a provider that has drag and drop canned solutions. You select the overall look of your site, easily add content, additional pages, and so on. You should plan on spending several hours if you do it yourself. Doing the basic set up is pretty quick; it can be done in a couple of hours. If you want it to look just so, it takes time to tweak it.
Vendor Using Canned Solutions
A middle of the road solution is to hire a web developer that will take care of the three parts to having a website using existing modules. This is probably the best bang for your buck.
Vendor Personalizes a Website for Your Business
Another middle of the road option is to find a local provider that will meet with you to determine your needs. You provide the images or logos and your content, and they will build a two to three page site for you. This may cost in the $500-800 range, plus hosting, which is about $15-20/month. Anything more than two to three pages of content can start to climb over the $1200 mark, depending on design, functionality, etc.
These two types of vendor solutions are probably the choice most therapists will want to make, since it is the most cost effective (other than DIY — doing it yourself) and will provide the results you want.
Proprietary Website Development
Proprietary development means hiring a web developer that will write software code to provide the features you want. You need to know very specifically what you want, what you want those features to do, etc. A large company may have strategic reasons for wanting proprietary code; as therapists, most of us just want to provide information to make it easy for clients to find us online and at our office.
Next Steps
Hopefully by now you have the terminology to ask yourself what you want and need, what your budget is, and have decided whether to be a DIYer or to hire a vendor, and what to ask when you interview providers for your website. So, pick up your phone and call your trusted colleagues to ask who they used for their website. Knowledge is power; you don’t have to be technophobic no more!
Comments are moderated and will appear shortly. See terms.
