In the beginning like many therapists/psychiatrists, you put up you’re open for business and realize the phone/emails are not happening at the pace you would like them to be. It can easily become a point of self-loathing. One has to realize there are so many choices especially in a big city like New York where I practice. One must learn to think about and study why someone would choose you over the next person. I began to shape my practice and my marketing, my website to personalizing who I was so that clients would feel I could be their best choice. As an actor, producer of film, and marathon runner, I like to believe and it has appeared this way that folks who are artists as well as lover of sports get a sense that I am a good fit for them, that I understand them because of my experience, and that has really panned out well over the last four years.

Do we have a few hours?! There is a lot. Be wise where you choose your location. Do your homework and find a location that can be a good niche for you. Every city has different neighborhoods and they each have their own identity so if you practice in that neighborhood, try to assure it’s a place that you as a person have a sense of self connected to. It goes back to question 1; my locations are in two neighborhoods in Brooklyn with such a myriad of artists and folks looking to explore themselves. I would also start small and work for a clinic or practice that you are salaried so that you can take the time to improve your skills. I worked at a large hospital system for four years while I slowly built my practice and I think the hospital work helped hone my skills and become a better clinician for my private patients. Depending the person’s level of training as well I would try to assure I have ample mentoring and supervision in the early years to assure you continue to grow and become a better clinician. At the hospital I had lunch with my peers and we discussed cases for over your years again and that ability to discuss cases and grow again allowed me to feel more comfortable branching out to full time practice. Lastly, I am sure this comes up with everyone’s answers: networking and learning to run a small business. Find networking groups to join and find a mentor to assist you starting to run a business.

I am a psychiatrist who provides combination therapy/medication management in my practices located in the Williamsburg and Park Slope areas of Brooklyn, NY. I am board certified in Adult, Child, and Adolescent Psychiatry. I recently just resigned but was the team psychiatrist for the Brooklyn Nets since their move to Brooklyn. I have a book due in May entitled, “Reinvent Yourself: Essential Tools From a Brooklyn Psychiatrist Who Has Seen It All” which is a personalized self-help/memoir (http://www.tailwindspress.com/books.html#Lops). I can be reached at my website www.drjohnnylops.com.

As a psychiatrist, my identity is not a psychopharmacologist. I see myself as a therapist who can also prescribe medication. I dearly enjoy discussing alternate means for folks to work on themselves including modalities like yoga, meditation, reiki, massage. I seek patients who want to grow and who want me to be part of their lives and journey. I am an advocate for work/life balance and try to practice what I preach by maintaining my work in the arts through acting and producing as well as staying in good shape and living a healthy lifestyle.