How to network as a mental health professionalLinks for this episode: Instagram: @rosiegilderthorp@ThePregnancyPsychologistFull show notes for this episode are available at The Business of PsychologyFree Client ChecklistAre you just starting out in private practice? Feeling overwhelmed by all the stuff there is to do by any chance? Paralysed by perfectionism or procrastination? Never fear! Psychology Business School has got your back. And the good news is, there's actually not that much you need to do to run your practice safely and effectively. Download a free checklist today to find out exactly what really matters. Tick off every box and you can see your first clients with confidence that you've done everything important. Get your free copy at psychologybusinessschool.com/client-checklistHello and welcome to The Business of Psychology. I can't believe it, but this is actually the final episode of season three, which has completely taken me by surprise! But don't worry, you don't have very long to wait until season four; season four is launching at the end of December just in time for the new year. It's not a big long gap this time, just long enough for me to get some juicy interviews recorded for you. Today we're talking about networking, and how to network effectively as a mental health professional, because I know that this is something that causes a huge amount of anxiety for a lot of you. It's something I used to really hate and I now really love, and I think the difference for me is that when I go to networking now, I'm not going like the first day of school, trying to impress people, trying to make new friends (I often do make friends), but actually I always go to networking with a strategy. There are always some key things that I'm looking to get done while I'm there and that helps me in two ways; it helps me deal with my anxiety, because it reminds me of my values and how going to this networking session, which might initially seem quite scary, is taking committed action towards my values, so that really helps. But also, it helps me because it helps me to make the time to prioritise it, because we all have massively long to do lists and if you're listening to this when it goes live in November and you're anything like me, you are probably finding that your calendar is getting fuller and fuller and fuller as Christmas approaches. Which is terrifying, isn't it? But it's the reality; we're all really busy people and so making the time for networking is difficult to do if you might end up just going, drinking a lukewarm cup of tea and having some biscuits. That's not really worth your time. But if you do it strategically, then networking can be one of the most valuable ways of bringing new work into your business, collaborating on bigger projects, and basically reaching more people. I think it's a great way to get referrals but it's also just a brilliant way to accelerate any other projects that you're trying to work on at the moment. If I'd never been networking, for example, I wouldn't be collaborating with Pregnancy Sickness Support, which I'm really proud to be doing at the moment. I also never would have established my practice in the way that it was in Plymouth. When I got down there, it was the first networking event that I went to where I met my friend Nicky, who is an antenatal teacher, and we put on a huge event for all of the pregnant...