Mental Health Entrepreneurship

Mental Health Entrepreneurship

An interview with Lawrence E. Shapiro, Ph.D. about lessons learned through serial entrepreneurship. Curt and Katie talk with Dr. Shapiro about how to identify whether your idea for a product or service is good, the importance of solving a problem, and what business models are strongest for therapists. He also talks with us about why we shouldn’t fall in love with our products, why we shouldn't expect to make money writing books, and why building apps don’t make sense. 

It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age.

Interview with Lawrence E. Shapiro, PhD

Lawrence E. Shapiro is an internationally known psychologist, recognized for his innovative and practical approach to helping people with mental health problems. Dr Shapiro has written more than 75 books and developed more than 100 therapeutic board and card games. His work has been published in 28 languages.

Dr. Shapiro has developed a broad understanding of mental health problems in various professional positions as a teacher of emotionally disturbed teens, a school psychologist, a Director at the National Children’s Center in Washington D.C., and in private practice in Washington DC and Philadelphia.

Dr. Shapiro is also considered a pioneer in using technology to address mental health problems. He has developed a number of apps for mobile devices, including an award-winning app to help prevent suicide among military personnel. He is the Founder and President of Between Sessions Resources, a company that develops clinical software for therapists and counselors and publishes therapeutic homework that professionals give to their clients to accelerate their growth.

Dr. Shapiro’s books include:

For Parents: How to Raise a Child with a High EQ: A Parents’ Guide to Emotional Intelligence; The Secret Language of Children; The Baby Emergency Handbook

For Kids and Teens: The ADHD Workbook for Kids; I’m Not Bad, I’m Just Mad, Stopping the Pain: A Workbook for Teens Who Cut and Self-Injure

For Adults: Overcoming Depression, The Panic Disorder Workbook, Taking Care of Your Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Dr. Shapiro is a frequent media guest, and has appeared on CNN, NPR, The Today Show, and many other national and local outlets.

In this episode we talk about:

• Shapiro’s forays into entrepreneurship and alternate revenue streams
• The importance of getting used to making mistakes
• The lack of follow through that leave ideas as ideas (and not businesses or products)
• The need to actually be solving a problem, not pursuing an interest
• Finding something that has value to other people
• Writing books and self-publishing
• The goal for self-publishing a book (it’s not the profit)
• A book as a business card
• Strongest business models
• The need for on-going work and learning as an entrepreneur
• Protecting your work (copywriting, registered copywriting, trademarking)
• Ideas are just ideas and may not actually need protecting
• The perspective of improving on what others have done, rather than coming up with a unique idea or doing what has “never been done before”
• An iterative process to find your product, incremental innovation
• Leveraging the success of others
• How to learn what to do, following the recipe of what is worked
• Selling a business and moving onto the next idea
• Different places that people can shine – ideas, implementation, marketing
• The benefit of having partners to have different skill sets
• Marketing as building your platform and audience
• Why Dr. Shapiro advocates for email marketing
• The concept of a sales funnel and adding value along the way