WHY I STARTED A CANADIAN PRIVATE PRACTICE | EP 1
Welcome to Fearless Practice Podcast! This podcast has been a year in the making and I am so excited to finally talk to you about how to start and grow a Canadian Private Practice, and sometime in the future, how to make it into a group private practice.
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In This Episode
- Meet your host
- Starting my counselling career
- Figuring out my next move
- How I started my private practice
Starting my counselling career
After spending a year living at home with my parents while I was writing my thesis, I was ready to start my counselling career. I got a job working for the VC Government as a Child and Youth Mental Health Clinician.
This job was perfect, it was a 1-year contract and it allowed me to explore and learn so much about counselling as a profession. I was also the only therapist in the community who helped anybody under the age of 19, so it was quite a bit of responsibility, and I loved it!
Figuring out my next move
I was trying to figure out my next move, then, a colleague of mine suggested that I start my own private practice.
“I had never even fathomed starting a private practice just with 1-year of professional counselling under my belt” – Julia Smith
This was an absolutely wild idea; but as I started to think about it more, it became more of a possibility that I could actually start my own private practice. I just had a couple more months left in VC and there were parts of me that knew I was not ready to commit my life to 30 years in a government job, so I knew what I had to do next.
How I started my private practice
I found a consultant in the States that helps counsellors start their own private practices, and watching his videos made me realize that I could actually do this if I just followed all the steps. I had money saved up and I knew that after my 1-year contract was over, I’d be able to support myself even if I didn’t have any clients.
“I decided to take a huge risk and start my own private practice. There were definitely people in my life that thought that it was wild, and there were lots of people who were very supportive.” – Julia Smith
In October 2016 I moved across the country from VC to Halifax. In the months leading up to this I had to find an apartment, I registered my business and I also had to find an affordable place to counsel people.
Luckily there was a clinic at that time that was offering office space by the hour and you only paid if you booked.
“It was like everything aligned to move to Halifax. I could afford to live there, cheaply, I could afford to start my private practice cheaply, I didn’t have to pay my monthly rent, I could just book the times when clients booked with me and then have an office space.” – Julia Smith
This is why I started a private practice! I can’t wait for you to join me on the next episode where I share with you how I started my private practice.
Connect With Me
Resources Mentioned and Useful Links:
Sign up for my free e-course on How to Start an Online Canadian Private Practice
Learn about Julia’s Canadian private practice
Rate, review, and subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Amazon, and TuneIn.
About Julia
Julia Smith, MEd, RCT, CCC is a registered Counselling Therapist who owns a group private practice in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She is also the owner of Fearless Practice Consulting and hosts the Fearless Practice podcast. Through the Fearless Practice podcast, she provides invaluable insights and practical advice on starting and growing a successful Canadian private practice. Julia’s wealth of knowledge also extends beyond the podcast, as she provides personalized one-on-one consulting to therapists who are feeling burnt out and overwhelmed with their solo or group private practices. With Julia’s expertise, therapists can confidently navigate the complexities of owning a private practice and find work life – balance.
Julia also has written articles for the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy association. You can learn more at www.ccpa-accp.ca/blog/.
