CHRISTINA PAGE: TRANSITIONING FROM AGENCY TO PRIVATE PRACTICE | EP 128

How Christina became a social worker 

Initially in school, Christina really wanted to be an actor!

‘In high school that was my thing, I loved doing theater and at the end of high school I went straight to theater college … in Toronto, I was set! Everyone told me I was going to be, and I followed that path. I got there, and I realized pretty quickly that I think for me … That the decision-making for my career path came out of a desire to please other people, and to be what I was “supposed” to be – so I kind of went rogue!’ – Christina Page 

Upon coming to this life changing realization, Christina dropped out of acting school and spent a couple of years getting to know herself while working different jobs here and there. She went to therapy herself, and discovered that it was something that she felt a natural calling to do too. 

‘I registered at the University of Waterloo for their Social Development Studies Program, and I loved it! I loved it in a way that I didn’t love school for the last few years.’ – Christina Page 

She graduated in 2013 and launched into her career as a social worker.

Opening up a private practice

Christina spent a while working in the hospital system as a social worker, however she knew that there was something else that she wanted to try. While Christina was still on maternity leave, she decided that she wanted to move out of working in the hospital system and to open up her own practice. 

‘I was juggling carving out this practice while I still had my son at home. I had some support, my parents helped … It was a bit chaotic, but I felt fulfilled. I felt excited!’ – Christina Page

Christina wanted to gain more expertise, and found some Canadian perinatal mental health trainings in Toronto that she loved, and where she completed a bunch of certificates with course work and supervision which helped her to feel competent and ready to market herself in her new practice. 

‘I think it was about eight months, a little bit longer for all the supervisory hours, but it was really amazing.’ – Christina Page 

Developing the solo practice into a group practice

In 2022, once Christina’s children were in school and daycare, she really committed to networking in her area and meeting every midwife and doctor that she felt fit with her niche and approach. 

Once 2023 came around, Christina felt the need to expand her solo practice into a group practice. 

‘Four months into going hard in creating those connections, I was full on my waitlist … It was amazing! I was seeing clients that I loved, I was seeing clients that I wanted to see me, and I was watching them improve and make progress. It was so beautiful, having been through my own perinatal distress, being there to witness [other’s progress] … But the waitlist just sat there! It hung over my head … and there were waitlists everywhere.’ – Christina Page

Even though Christina didn’t initially want to be a boss, she just wanted to be a therapist, she found herself warming up to the idea. Now, it’s been a year since Christina has been running her group practice. 

‘It’s been really incredible … I started with three therapists, and I had a big waitlist … For me, those first six months were a bit of a blur because I was still building the foundation and I was working with a lot of different experts … and I was learning how to lead for the first time, and I was making mistakes and recovering from them!’ – Christina Page 

Christina was motivated to lay a strong foundation for her practice that wasn’t only solid on operation, skill sets, expertise, and student services for affordable therapy, but also on ethics. She hired an attorney to make sure that everything was done by the book so that she can rest easy knowing that her business is rock-solid, therapeutically and legally.

‘If you know that you want to go into group practice, start saving some money so that you can feel like you can invest in those really foundational pieces and have an expert team advising you.’ – Christina Page

A client login for Jane App 

‘It’s just a great idea to have that on your website; “Oh, here! Just go to this part of the website and you can login to your Jane profile and you can look there, get everything you need for your insurance”, love that!’ – Julia Smith 

Having a client login option for your practice website so that your existing clients can have access to their receipts or other documentation is a great way to keep the client journey piece in mind within your business operations. 

It shows your clients that you are considering their needs too, and that you are incorporating their experience into how you structure your services to serve their needs.