PAIGE ABBOTT: TAKING PRIVATE PRACTICE AT YOUR OWN PACE | EP 131

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MEET PAIGE

Paige Abbott is a Registered Psychologist and founder of Sana Psychological in Alberta. Paige has been a Psychologist since 2009 and running her private practice since 2019. Paige expanded from solo to group practice in 2023.

Learn more about Paige on her practice website, Psychology Today, and LinkedIn profiles. 

In This Episode

• Paige’s interest in and pursuit for psychology 
• Heading towards private practice 
• Overcoming impostor syndrome 
• Marketing authentically and successfully 
• Paige’s goals for the future 
• Advice for listeners

Paige’s interest in and pursuit for psychology 

For Paige, becoming a psychologist was a collection of different circumstances that stretched over a few years. Initially, she wanted to be a writer, and was passionate about the written word and she knew that it was something she wanted to take forward into a future career. 

In high school, she began wondering what this could be like as a career, but became concerned that it might not have been a viable option. 

‘I was taking a psychology class in high school, [and] really enjoyed it. I thought it was super fascinating and I just started talking with people, “What are you doing? What do you think would be some paths that would be suitable for me?” … [People said], “You’re such a good listener”, and, “You’re easy to talk to! … Have you thought about psychology and counselling?” and I hadn’t, but I started to, and I thought it would be an interesting direction.’ – Paige Abbott 

In her undergrad, Paige took psychology and really enjoyed it, and it came to feel like “a match made in Heaven”. Afterward, Paige got her Masters in Psychology and began her career as a psychologist in Alberta.

‘I hit the ground running. I worked in universities, then a college here in town doing my practicum, then I moved into an employee and family assistance program where I worked for a couple of years … It was a great place to start to see what’s out there and the different types of people and issues that come your way.’ – Paige Abbott 

After the assistance program, Paige worked as an outpatient psychologist for almost a decade and after that she began to dip her toes into private practice in 2020, where she is now, with her own fully established private practice!

Heading towards private practice 

‘I grew up in a very entrepreneurial family … One of the messages that really did stick with me is, “Work for yourself if you can”, and I remember hearing that and I think I absorbed that … and that’s just always something that had been on my mind, especially starting my psychology career is thinking, “Yeah, at some point it would be really nice to be an entrepreneur.”’ – Paige Abbott 

Even though Paige always wanted to work for herself, she got caught up working in agencies for many years before finally listening to the inner call to open up her own practice. 

Once she committed to being her own boss and working on her private practice, she found that she enjoyed the daily tasks and inner workings of managing and taking care of a business, like the invoicing and billing, it provided her with a sense of autonomy and creativity, and even a break from working with clients. 

Paige also uses Jane App, and it allows her to streamline her practice with more efficiency as well as allowing her that sense of creativity and ownership to set things up as she likes!

Overcoming impostor syndrome

Paige initially held back from expanding her solo practice into a group practice because she felt unsure. 

‘I didn’t know if professionally, also personally … could my introverted personality handle that? And doing that supervision of a practicum student, it taught me a lot and it really built up my confidence to remind me that I have been doing leadership throughout most of my career.’ – Paige Abbott 

Often with impostor syndrome, it helps to remind yourself of all the times you have succeeded in the past when you are trying something new, because there’s a likely chance that you have already done something similar to what you are nervous about trying now. 

Marketing authentically and successfully 

Paige prioritizes digital marketing since for her it’s the thing that works. It’s more than having the profile on Psychology Today, it’s about showcasing your business truly in an effort to find the best-fit clients. 

‘I think if you do want to have a sustainable practice, whether that’s for yourself or for a group, that there has to be that investment in digital marketing. So, learning a little bit about SEO, having a good interface of a good, solid website that feels engaging for people, and also looking at some paid advertising strategies … And do not do it yourself!’ – Paige Abbott 

Don’t try to do a professional’s job on your own and expect it to have the same results! Invest in a great handful of the essentials, like good digital marketing and a website, and some paid ads if you can, and do the work in-between, but don’t shy away from hiring someone who is worth their rate. 

‘[Digital marketing] truly is a game-changer. It’s such an important backbone, almost like the spine of your business … We’re doing the body of the work but you need that expertise in the background to support it and actually bring in the clients that you want to do that work with.’ – Paige Abbott 

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