Transferring patients from residency into practice

Recently graduated residents and their supervisors were questioned about the clinical wisdom of continuing to treat patients seen in training by transferring them to the residents' newly established private practices. Given the increasingly competitive market for psychotherapy patients, there will likely be a growing tendency for graduating residents to want to carry over patients from their training caseloads to their private practices. Questions arise concerning which patients should be offered such an option, how much to charge, whether such a practice should be encouraged, and whether transfer provides greater continuity of care. Residents were asked about their attitudes and about their clinical and supervisory experiences with such transfers. Supervisors were questioned about the indications and complexities of transfers and the specific issues that should be raised in teaching about this phenomenon. Results tended to support transferring patients from residents' training caseload to their private practices.