Trisha Torrey

Stop the Insanity! Instead Try These Baby Steps: Learning to Ask for Money

6 minutes of reading / 2 Comments / By Trisha Torrey / September 4, 2017

Long-time readers of this blog know my frustration over newly-minted private, independent advocates volunteering their time as a way to prepare to be professional advocates. Newbie advocates cite two major reasons for doing their advocacy work for free: They are afraid / reluctant / don’t have enough confidence to talk about money and ask for payment. They feel sorry for the prospective client, and figure it won’t take too much time to help them. … both of the above. The problem is, doing volunteer advocacy as a way to start an independent practice is the very best way to put […]

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Have You Crossed the Line?

5 minutes of reading / Leave a Comment / By Trisha Torrey / August 28, 2017

Yes – it’s entirely possible you’ve crossed the line and had no idea you did so. In fact, you may be crossing it every day and be totally unaware. Further, except that I’m going to illustrate some line crossing, you might never realize it until you are sued, or arrested, or a client loses out on something important, or you lose your license for crossing the line, regardless of the fact that you had no idea that’s what you were doing. What line? you might ask… Actually, there are several – and you may be crossing more than one.

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Saying No and Refusing to Serve: How to Draw That Line

6 minutes of reading / 4 Comments / By Trisha Torrey / August 22, 2017

If we have learned anything about ourselves in the past 10 days, it’s that there are some people in this world we will never be able to understand or condone. Between the skirmishes in Charlottesville, VA, and the killings in Barcelona and elsewhere; I am reminded that I will NEVER understand hate. I will NEVER condone racism, or neo-nazi-ism, or jihad, or white supremacy – or killing. Period. As I watched it all unfold through the news, I asked myself, What would I do if one of those people whose attitudes and opinions I find so repugnant asked me to

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Do You Pass the Trust Muster? Says Who? Announcing Background Checks for Health Advocates

5 minutes of reading / Leave a Comment / By Trisha Torrey / August 14, 2017

We were all there at one time; that point in early adulthood when we realized we needed someone to guide us as we saved money for our futures and retirement. We didn’t understand much (if anything at all) about investing, or 401Ks or IRAs or REITs or annuities. We were confused. We thought we would miss something important. We needed an expert – an investment advisor! Someone who truly understood all this investing and saving stuff, terminology, possibilities, to help make it happen…. Someone who could hold our hands over time as needed…. Someone we could trust with our money.

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How to Avoid P*ssing Off the Doctor in One Easy Step

5 minutes of reading / 1 Comment / By Trisha Torrey / August 7, 2017

OK – granted – I used that title to get your attention, but there’s a lesson here for all of us whether we use it for our clients, or for ourselves, or for a loved one — and that is — how to share information you have learned about symptoms, diagnosis, or treatment, without putting your provider on the defensive, or upsetting him / her. Too often I hear people I know, or (worse) a health or patient advocate, say “I TOLD that doctor … (fill in the blank)”. Argh. It makes me cringe. Because such an approach will most

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What Gator Head Windchimes Can Teach Us About a Healthy Advocacy Practice

5 minutes of reading / 3 Comments / By Trisha Torrey / July 24, 2017

My husband and I moved 14 months ago to Florida. Since then, each time I’ve been on the highway, I’ve seen billboards which have fascinated me. They advertise the Florida Citrus Centers which are roadside tourist stops where you can buy (yes, you guessed it) – oranges, grapefruit, limes and other fruit, plus other Florida-related souvenirs. But until last week, I had never stopped at one of the Citrus Centers, despite a 14 month curiosity… The curiosity is right there on that billboard photo above: Gator Head Wind Chimes. What on earth would an alligator head wind chime look like?

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You Can’t Do Life, or Business, Without Plan B

5 minutes of reading / Leave a Comment / By Trisha Torrey / July 17, 2017

You know Plan B. Plan B is your go-to option when what you thought would work, didn’t. It’s the answer to the question, “What will you do when life gets in the way?” I was reminded of Plan B last week when, after days of internet problems due to some new construction in the area, the internet was finally stable, and I had taken a very relieved deep breath and settled into a nice big project online…. …When BAM! Down went the internet again! Only this time the outage was caused by some workers next door digging up the edge

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