After over forty years of success in a wide range of services I have learned that passion is useful but is not enough.. My passion for counseling adolescents led to a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship and Post Graduate training at Harvard University School of Medicine. Passion for providing exceptional service is different from selecting a specific niche that is needed and wanted by persons able to pay.
Over a 40 + years of practice, I have developed the following successful practice niches:
1). Child Psychotherapy
2). Family Therapy
3). Group Therapy
4). Anger Management
5). Batterers Interventions
6). Emotional Intelligence assessments
7). Executive Coaching for disruptive behavior and burnout
My research, publications, and training in these niches were based on research regarding identified audience, and need the ability of participants to pay for these services.
The Anderson & Anderson Anger Management Curriculum for anger management was developed in response to a request from three California Superior Court Judges in Los Angeles County. My publication of A Ray of Hope the curriculum for Batterers Intervention in California Penal Code 1203.097 and.098.
In 2008, The Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations issued a “Sentinel Alert” mandating that physicians behavior at work that risk patient safety must include mandated intervention. The Medical Director of a major national hospital chain contacted me and asked if I would develop and publish a non-psychiatric curriculum including pre and post assessments and individual coaching. To address this issue, “The Practice of Control” was published as a client workbook for physicians or leaders who are accepted for EI Assessment and coaching.
In my experience, the selection of a niche must include the identification of an audience that may access and pay for the needed intervention. Passion is personal and not related to the value or need for a service or product niche.
