Less admin, more therapy: how adding e-signable forms helped this therapist simplify their practice

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

As a busy therapist running his own practice (Transitions Counseling), Sean Slevin, LMFT, LPC, had a long to-do list. And every task he added to it caused a little more stress.

Like emailing client forms requiring signatures. This was one task he wished he could strike off his list for good.

“In a typical week in my private practice, where I’m juggling counseling clients, business details, working on my website, and recording videos for my Ask Sean YouTube channel, I need all the efficiencies I can get!” said Sean.

This therapist’s search for self-serve, e-signable forms

As an experienced therapist, business owner, and Hushmail customer of 14 years, Sean was an early adopter of Hushmail’s secure online forms.

But he couldn’t use forms that needed e-signatures on his website.

That’s because of legal requirements that demand the signer’s identity be verified. If e-signable forms were posted to Sean’s website, there would be no way to prove who signed them. So, Sean was stuck emailing them out to clients himself.

“I have so many things to think about and do, and so even though it is a small thing to email clients myself, the value to me of empowering new clients to handle that process without me was high,” he said.

He decided to contact Hushmail.

“I wrote to Hushmail with an idea for how client forms might be signed (without my having to email the client each time), and to my delight, the Hushmail developers were not just excited about this, but already had it on their roadmap!” said Sean.

Hushmail’s Head of Product, Toby Vander Steen, remembers connecting with Sean. “His suggestion definitely stuck with me after I first saw it and helped to validate building a new version of the forms,” he said.

Hushmail’s solution: E-signable forms you can embed on a website

Toby and the rest of Hushmail’s team worked on the problem and came up with a solution that allowed the forms to be self-serve while still meeting legal requirements.

Users could enter their own email addresses.

The product team began beta testing the new feature and invited Sean to participate.

"In today’s age of huge companies where you’re never sure if you’re chatting with a person or a robot, Hushmail has consistently been great to work with. I always know I’m interacting with a human, and they’re consistently receptive to customer suggestions."

Sean Slevin, LMFT, LPC
Transitions Counseling

Fast forward a few weeks, and Hushmail customers can now safely embed e-signable forms on their websites.

Here’s how it works. When a client goes to a website with an embedded link to an e-signable form, they are prompted to enter their email address. Next, they are emailed a link to the form that needs to be signed. This process verifies identity, but makes the e-signable forms fully self-serve.

Saving mental energy for the things that matter

Sean had the e-signable forms up and running in no time at all. “It was incredibly easy to add the form embed to my website,” he said.

He could finally take “emailing client forms” off his list.

Now, all of Sean’s client paperwork is online. New therapy clients can simply visit his website, find their intake paperwork, and complete the process independently.

"All of this happens without my involvement, saving me precious minutes. But more importantly, freeing up my mind so I can focus my attention on other things,” Sean told Hushmail. “There’s a mental cost to switching tasks. Now I don’t have to.”

With the time and mental energy he saves, Sean can focus more fully on working with clients, building his business, and creating content for his YouTube channel.

“Overall, I have been quite pleased,” said Sean. But his relationship with Hushmail is not over. “I have already been corresponding with Hushmail support on several tweaks/improvements, which, per usual, they are already working on!”

Clients love accessing Sean’s mental health forms online

Sean’s clients no longer have to wait for him to email them paperwork. They have the freedom to access it in their own time.

And since the forms are all in one place, they’re also easier to find.

Sean has received positive feedback. “My clients are finding these Hushmail e-signable forms very easy, and they appreciate being able to take more initiative.”

Want to embed e-signable forms on your website?

Good news! If your Hushmail plan includes e-signatures, you can embed e-signable forms, too. Even if you’re not tech-savvy, posting a form is simple.

Step One: If you don’t already have a Hushmail account that includes e-signatures, either sign up or add an e-signature field to a form to upgrade your plan.

Step Two: Head over to the Form Builder. Or find the tab located on the top right-hand corner when signed in to our webmail:

Step Three: If you haven’t already, create a form by selecting “Create form” on the top left-hand side of the screen:

Step Four: Once your form is ready to go, select “Embed form” from the “Send form” drop-down menu:

Step Five: A new screen will pop up with an embed code that you can copy and paste into your website. Wondering how to do that? Read our step-by-step guide.

Still not sure how to embed a form on your website? Just add a link to the form instead:

• Go to the Form Builder, but instead of clicking “Embed form,” choose “Copy link”
• Next, head to your website and paste it onto the desired page as a hyperlink

Want to save time like Sean? Start using e-signable forms on your own website today.