Fearless Practice

Jules Smith

Where are you in your private practice journey? How’s it going for you? I’m Jules Smith, and I’m so glad you’re here. The Fearless Practice podcast is your go-to resource for building a thriving private practice in Canada. Whether you're just starting out or looking to grow, this podcast is here to guide you every step of the way. I share practical tips on everything from launching your practice and filling your schedule to expanding into a group practice. But you won’t just hear from me—I also interview Canadian therapists from across the country who share their real-life experiences, challenges, and wins. These honest conversations offer valuable insight, inspiration, and support to help you confidently create a private practice that works for you. Let’s learn, grow, and build fearless practices—together.

  1. Kayleen Edwards: Private Practice Growth and Planning for Maternity Leave | Ep 174

    6D AGO

    Kayleen Edwards: Private Practice Growth and Planning for Maternity Leave | Ep 174

    Are you currently building out your Canadian practice and unsure of how to grow? Or, are you growing your family and having children? How do you manage these two types of growth as a business partner and new parent?  In this episode, my guest Kayleen talks about how she places community above competition. We discuss how her value-driven approach to running her practice brought back most of her interns as associates, how she managed planning for maternity leave as a busy practice owner, and her tidbits of advice for listeners.  MEET KAYLEEN Kayleen is an RP and cofounder of Roots in Wellness, a group therapy practice in Hamilton, Ontario. She is a validated clinical supervisor with the OAMHP and a council member for the CRPO. Kayleen is passionate about perinatal mental health and helping both clients and supervisees through the transition of parenthood. She is a mama of three littles herself, and a lover of all things nature! Learn more about Kayleen on her practice website, LinkedIn, and Instagram profiles  In this episode:  What are the OAMHP and CRPO?  Managing a private practice while being a committee member Growing a private practice  Planning a maternity leave?  Mistakes made and lessons learned  Advice for listeners  What are the OAMHP and CRPO? The OAMHP stands for the Ontario Association of Mental Health Professionals, and the CRPO stands for the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario!  Kayleen has been a council member of the CRPO since 2024, but has been working for them since 2019.  Managing a private practice while being a committee member  Between her commitments to her roles within the CRPO and the OAMHP and running her own Canadian private practice, Kayleen definitely has a lot on her plate!  Before the beginning of her private practice journey, Kayleen graduated in 2014 and started working at an agency for a number of years. It was demanding work with a lot of travel and tough cases, and even though Kayleen learned a lot from that experience, she knew at the time that it wasn’t something she would do forever.  Growing a private practice Kayleen jokes that the growth snuck up on them over time. Initially, in 2019, Kayleen started supervising and took on her first student.  This opened up a whole new world for her, as she loved being a supervisor and enjoyed the practice, because many of the interns ended up coming back to work at the practice full-time.  Kayleen still sees clients, although she spends more time networking and opening up her practice to the community in new ways - like with a book club!  Planning a maternity leave?  One of the many tips that Kayleen would give you when it comes to preparing for maternity leave is to give yourself a hefty dose of grace!  She also recommends being flexible. Understand that there are many ways of going about maternity leave, so you don’t have to do it the same way that other people in different jobs do.  Mistakes made and lessons learned  Along the way, some of the most prominent lessons that Kayleen learned include: The importance of having boundaries around your notifications and not always being accessible or available.  Get admin help sooner than you think you need it!  To stop putting so much pressure on yourself to make it as big or successful as soon as possible. Put boundaries down with yourself, and allow yourself to rest as well.  Put some money away into an emergency savings fund.  Advice for listeners  Value your community over competing with them!  Connect with me: Instagram Website  Resources mentioned and useful links: Compensation | EP 173 Learn more about the tools and deals that I love and use for my Canadian private practice Sign up for my free e-course on How to Start an Online Canadian Private Practice Jane App (use code FEARLESS for one month free) Get some help and freebies on your website with WordPress!  Learn more about Kayleen on her practice website, LinkedIn, and Instagram profiles  Rate, review, and subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, and TuneIn

    30 min
  2. Compensation Models for Contract Therapists in Canada | Ep 173

    SEP 17

    Compensation Models for Contract Therapists in Canada | Ep 173

    Every private practice is a little different in how it goes about business, especially when it comes to having contract therapists. Usually, the practice owner and contractor figure out the best system that works for them, which means there is generally more than one way around a problem!  Regarding compensation for my contract therapist, we have tried and tested a few options before settling on what works best for us: a percentage-based compensation system with an invoice-accrued model.  If you’d like some tips on how I manage this process each month (or you want to know what this even means!), welcome to this podcast episode.  In this episode:  My experience with growth  Why finding the right compensation model matters How to pay a contract therapist  How to use the invoice-accrued model  My experience with growth  If you’ve been following my private practice journey over the past few years, you’ll know that I've grown my solo practice into a small group private practice by hiring my first contract therapist.  Why finding the right compensation model matters Each practice may do things differently. It is important to find the right compensation model for the therapist contractors in your practice, because how you pay them will directly affect their financial stability, as well as their job satisfaction.  I decided to hire a contractor instead of an employee because I run a smaller business. Having a contract therapist means less paperwork, more financial stability, and tax headaches for me, and it also gives the contractor more freedom, flexibility, and potential to earn more each month. How to pay the contract worker  First, we decided it would be a monthly payout, rather than a bi-weekly payout. Then, we had to decide on the payout model: invoice-accrual-based pay or cash-based pay.  If you want a quick recap on the definitions:  1 - Invoiced (Accrual-Based) Pay: Payment is based on services rendered within a calendar month, regardless of whether the clinic or practice has been paid by the client or insurer. Example: If a therapist delivers 20 sessions in August, they get paid for 20 sessions at the end of August or early September — even if the client hasn’t paid yet. 2 - Collected (Cash-Based) Pay: Payment is based on what the clinic has actually collected from clients or insurers. Example: If only 12 of the 20 August sessions have been paid by clients, the therapist is paid for only those 12 — the rest is delayed until collected. We then tried the cash-collected method for a couple of months, when I switched to direct billing last year. I decided to do this switch because sometimes insurance companies do not pay out quickly! It could sometimes take more than a month.  However, this led to more unpredictability for my contract therapist regarding how much she was going to be paid each month as well as more time spent on discussions about billing. So I decided to switch back to the invoice-accrued method.  How to use the invoice-accrued model You may be wondering how I figure out how much to pay my contractor with the percentage-based pay. Honestly, Jane App does it all! Some of my tips include:  Go into settings  Then billing settings  Select the “accounting method”, either cash or accrual  Then go to “Reports”, select “Payroll” and then “Compensation”, the staff member and the date range, and it will show you their commission in the payment model you have selected!  Connect with me: Instagram Website  Resources mentioned and useful links: Ep 172: Michael Sorsdahl: CCPA’s New Ethics Case Book and Why You Must Read It | EP 172 Learn more about the tools and deals that I love and use for my Canadian private practice Sign up for my free e-course on How to Start an Online Canadian Private Practice Jane App (use code FEARLESS for one month free) Get some help and freebies on your website with WordPress!  Rate, review, and subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, and TuneIn

    12 min
  3. LIV Noël Dakkak: Niching With Your Passion in Private Practice | Ep 171

    JUL 23

    LIV Noël Dakkak: Niching With Your Passion in Private Practice | Ep 171

    Do what you love, and you won’t work a day in your life? Close, but not quite! Niching down and working within your passion and ideal client group will still take effort and work, but it can be easier than staying a generalist, especially if you are dreaming about working more intentionally with the groups of people you care the most about helping.  In today’s episode, I speak with Liv (they/them) about niching down, starting a private practice, and running workshops, all of which they started in an effort to reshape their life around their needs, dreams, and desires.  So, it’s maybe not about not working at all, but about doing the work that feels right for you!  MEET LIV Liv (they/them) is a registered social worker who works primarily with queer, neurodivergent and disabled folks who have experienced trauma. They are guided by anti-oppressive, strength-based, trauma-informed care and use methods such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) to get to the root of what you are struggling with. They offer services to individuals and partners, youths and adults, virtually across Ontario and in-person in Cornwall. Learn more about Liv on their Psychology Today profile and bookings page.  In this episode:  Why Liv became a social worker Starting a private practice  Partnering with aligned organizations  Niching down to boost success  Advice for listeners  Why Liv became a social worker From Liv’s personal experience, as well as seeing people struggle with mental health, they felt drawn to becoming a Registered Social Worker to help people go through life a little more easily.  Additionally, Liv works primarily with queer, neurodivergent, and disabled folks because they have these life experiences too.  Starting a private practice  After Liv’s extensive experience working in the public sector, they started to consider opening up a Canadian private practice. This was partially due to burnout, a need to structure work around their health more, and simply a desire for something new in their career.  Starting a private practice allowed Liv to create the life that they wanted to live. One that was professionally structured around their personal needs, and that supported a happier, healthier, freer lifestyle with less stress and more flexibility.  After working in the public sector, Liv worked in another group practice, but after a few months, they started their own private practice, which is what Liv is doing now.  Partnering with aligned organizations Liv’s private practice is going well! Now that they’re able to work more freely, Liv can build the practice from the ground up in close alignment with their values.  Also, Liv has started to partner with organizations where they see drop-in clients. Liv explains that they know things take time, so they are making professional moves to increase clients, market the practice, and collaborate with like-minded organizations while slowly growing the solo practice each month.  Niching down to boost success To stand out and connect with their ideal clients, Liv has made a big effort to niche down.  Niching down in private practice is not only a great business strategy for success, but also a method for you to really integrate your work with your passion.  Liv has also begun participating in workshops to expand their client base and strengthen their professional network.  Advice for listeners  Things take time! Be patient, especially in the first few months of private practice. Don’t let impostor syndrome get you down, since sometimes you will need to put in lots of effort before you see a return on it. So, be patient, keep going, and work with your passion!  Connect with me: Instagram Website  Resources mentioned and useful links: Catharine Martin: Inside Jane App’s AI Scribe | EP 170 Learn more about the tools and deals that I love and use for my Canadian private practice Sign up for my free e-course on How to Start an Online Canadian Private Practice Jane App (use code FEARLESS for one month free) Get some help and freebies on your website with WordPress!  Learn more about Liv on their Psychology Today profile and bookings page  Rate, review, and subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, and TuneIn

    22 min
  4. Catharine Martin: Inside Jane App’s AI Scribe | Ep 170

    JUL 16

    Catharine Martin: Inside Jane App’s AI Scribe | Ep 170

    You have heard about AI everywhere, and now it is being used within EMR services. If you feel unsure about this topic or you want to learn more, then definitely play this episode and join us for the conversation! In this podcast episode, Catharine from Jane App and I discuss how Jane App incorporates AI into their EMR, including some general best practice guidelines about how you can use to use Jane’s AI Script services ethically and safely in your practice.  MEET CATHARINE Catharine Martin is the Privacy and Compliance Manager at Jane App, where she plays a key leadership role in shaping and overseeing the company’s privacy and regulatory strategies. With a strong background in data protection and compliance, she works closely with healthcare practitioners to ensure their practices meet evolving privacy requirements while also finding practical ways to reduce administrative burden. Beyond her work at Jane, Catharine is also a dedicated Pilates instructor, bringing the same focus and discipline to her teaching as she does to her professional work. Learn more about Catharine on her LinkedIn profile.  In this episode:  Working with Jane App  AI Scribe AI in client diagnostics  It is all up to you  Jane’s appearance in The Globe and Mail  Working with Jane App Catharine, 20 years ago, after giving birth, had a radical and unexpected medical event that left her in a brief coma, experiencing multiple organ failure.  However, due to her incredible doctors, her strength, and a lot of luck, she survived and kept all her organs, without needing any transplants, and went on to make a full recovery.  How did this bring her to work for Jane App? After what Catharine went through, she felt so drawn to Jane App’s vision to “Help the helpers”, that she started working for the company to further their mission.  AI Scribe Jane App offers an AI scribe feature. It essentially charts notes from your sessions with clients in your own voice.  Jane secured a third-party vendor who is known for their robust privacy practices, which are all compliant with the required ethical laws and privacy legislation, to help them integrate the AI tool.  AI in client diagnostics ‘As part of using Jane’s AI Scribe, therapy notes are included, but not diagnostic suggestions. As in, diagnostic suggestions are not coming from any AI-powered tool. Diagnostic suggestions are coming from a human, providing care to another human.’ - Catharine Martin  Even though Jane App makes use of AI in some of their service offerings, they are critical of making sure that it is being used ethically and appropriately, and only for admin-related tasks.  The care suggestions and client diagnostics will still only come from you, the client’s therapist, based on your sessions together. It is all up to you With your Jane App subscription, when it comes to AI, it is all up to you. You don’t have to make sure of it, even though it is being offered to you.  You can easily opt in or out of using it within your Jane App subscription, hassle-free.  Also, consider the risk of any tool that you use when you are weighing up whether to use it or not.  Jane’s appearance in The Globe and Mail Jane App made great headlines in one of The Globe and Mail’s articles for reaching a $1.8-billion valuation.  Jane App is looking to adopt AI on a grand scale by continuing to explore its benefits ethically to help more helpers.  Connect with me: Instagram Website  Resources mentioned and useful links: Ep 169: Rachel Brennan: Keeping Connection in an Online Group Practice | EP 169  Learn more about the tools and deals that I love and use for my Canadian private practice Sign up for my free e-course on How to Start an Online Canadian Private Practice Jane App (use code FEARLESS for one month free) Get some help and freebies on your website with WordPress!  Learn more about Catharine on her LinkedIn profile Rate, review, and subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, and TuneIn

    22 min
  5. Rachel Brennan: Keeping Connection in an Online Group Practice | Ep 169

    JUL 9

    Rachel Brennan: Keeping Connection in an Online Group Practice | Ep 169

    Do you run a Canadian group private practice? Are you mostly (or all) online? It can be tricky to maintain the community feeling of an online group practice, especially with a few therapists and employees, and especially if community is one of your business values.  However, it doesn’t mean it’s impossible! My guest today, Rachel, and I discuss how to incorporate different systems in private practice to maintain a sense of community and connection, as well as how to be authentic in your marketing and in the work your practice puts out into the community.  MEET RACHEL Rachel Brennan is an Ontario-based Registered Psychotherapist and the founder of Eras Therapy & Wellness, a Canadian virtual group private practice. She has a clinical focus on childhood and relational trauma, as well as anxiety, self-esteem, and body image issues. Based in Toronto, Rachel is passionate about offering high-quality, authentic, and human-centered therapy that prioritizes genuine connection and emotional safety. Outside the therapy room, she can often be found adventuring with her two rescue dogs or planning her next trip across the globe. Learn more about Rachel on her practice website, Psychology Today, and Instagram profiles.  In this episode:  Why Rachel became a therapist  Starting her private practice  Turning the practice into a group  Maintaining the connection in an online group practice  Advice to listeners  Why Rachel became a therapist  Rachel first completed two years of medical school, because it was her first plan. However, due to developing a brain injury and chronic illnesses, she decided to pivot her life.  Starting her private practice  Rachel was dedicated to opening up her Canadian private practice even while she was still completing her Master's degree.  After graduating, Rachel jumped into private practice and has not looked back since! Her private practice is currently totally virtual, and even though it works very well for her and her team now, she may open up a physical office space in the future.  Turning the practice into a group  Rachel hired her first associate, who still works within her practice, and registered her practice as a practicum site so that she can take in students as well.  She collaborates with supervisors who work with her and the students. Rachel is taking it slow and checking in with herself and her team to make sure the practice is growing sustainably.  Maintaining the connection in an online group practice There are a few things that Rachel and her team do to make sure that the sense of community within the group practice is nourished and maintained, especially since they all work online. There are: Monthly team meetings Continuous peer consultation groups  Group chats for daily and weekly connections  Two in-person events every year for the staff  Rachel’s group practice also uses Jane App for their bookings, and it’s a lifesaver.  ‘I feel like I could not do this without Jane, honestly! It makes everything so easy … They’re always making improvements too, I’ve had no issues with video call quality or anything like that.’ - Rachel Brennan Advice to listeners  Do what feels authentic and organic for you when it comes to marketing to put your best foot forward. Also, immerse yourself in what you want! For example, surround yourself with people who have private practices when you want to build one yourself.  Connect with me: Instagram Website  Resources mentioned and useful links: Ep 168: Dakota Grass: Life as a New Canadian Private Practice Owner | EP 168 Learn more about the tools and deals that I love and use for my Canadian private practice Sign up for my free e-course on How to Start an Online Canadian Private Practice Jane App (use code FEARLESS for one month free) Get some help and freebies on your website with WordPress!  Learn more about Rachel on her practice website, Psychology Today, and Instagram profiles Rate, review, and subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, and TuneIn

    27 min
  6. Dakota Grass: Life as a New Canadian Private Practice Owner | Ep 168

    JUL 2

    Dakota Grass: Life as a New Canadian Private Practice Owner | Ep 168

    Have you felt a pull to starting and running your group private practice? Are you ready to trade the security of being an employee for someone else’s business for the freedom of being your own boss?  In today’s episode, I speak with Dakota about why (and how) she stopped working for other people and started working for herself. She enjoyed being in a group private practice so much that she wanted to start her own!  Join us today to hear more about how she made the transition, how it’s going now, and about an easy trick you can use to boost your Psychology Today profile ranking online!  MEET DAKOTA Dakota (she/her) is a registered social worker with a Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology who owns Down to Earth Counselling and Consultation in London, Ontario. As a neurodivergent, queer, cisgender woman and White settler based in London, Ontario, she offers relational, client-centered psychotherapy to children, youth, young adults, and couples. Dakota values authenticity and connection, showing up as a human first and a therapist second. Her work focuses on fostering meaningful therapeutic relationships and supporting clients in deepening their connections with themselves and others. Learn more about Dakota on her practice website, LinkedIn, Psychology Today, and Instagram profiles.  In this episode:  Becoming a therapist  Opening her own private practice  Peer consulting with other therapists  How to boost your Psychology Today profile  Dakota’s advice for listeners  Becoming a therapist  Once Dakota realized that she wanted to spend more time working in a clinical setting, she went back to school to become a therapist.  Opening her own private practice  Now, Dakota has launched her private practice and intends to expand it into a group practice. Dakota has surprised herself with enjoying the business side of running a private practice more than she thought she would.  This aspect of being a private practice owner, the fact that you can do multiple things throughout the week, makes it more interesting, nuanced, and diverse.  ‘It’s nice to do therapy for a bit, run the business for a bit, the podcast for a bit, mix it up!’ - Jules Smith  Peer consulting with other therapists  One of Dakota’s values, upon which she founded her Canadian private practice, is connection, and that includes the connection she has with her clients and also with her fellow clinicians and practice owners.  Dakota uses Instagram mostly to connect with other therapists, and also for her marketing efforts.  How to boost your Psychology Today profile About once a week, Dakota will edit something small on her Psychology Today profile, which boosts it on webpage searches.  It’s not the only thing you need to do to get your marketing schedule working well! However, when you often edit and update your socials, it shows Google and other platforms that your website or listing is active, and Google favours that.  When client conversions are slow, Dakota will take the time that she would have spent seeing clients into marketing her practice, broadening its reach, and increasing her efforts to find new clients in the upcoming days or weeks.  Dakota’s advice for listeners  The growth that comes with starting a private practice often requires embracing uncertainty and learning curves! Reflect on these hurdles in the road, and know that they are part of the journey. So, keep going!  Connect with me: Instagram Website  Resources mentioned and useful links: Ep 167: Ali Joy Richardson and Neil Silcox: Running a Successful Practice as a Couple | EP 167 Learn more about the tools and deals that I love and use for my Canadian private practice Sign up for my free e-course on How to Start an Online Canadian Private Practice Jane App (use code FEARLESS for one month free) Get some help and freebies on your website with WordPress!  Learn more about Dakota on her practice website, LinkedIn, Psychology Today, and Instagram profiles  Rate, review, and subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, and TuneIn

    25 min
  7. Ali Joy Richardson and Neil Silcox: Running a Successful Practice as a Couple | Ep 167

    JUN 25

    Ali Joy Richardson and Neil Silcox: Running a Successful Practice as a Couple | Ep 167

    Ali and Neil have worked together for years in theatre before opening up a private practice together. Ali started first, and Neil joined her once they completed their qualifications.  If you want to learn more about how they built their Canadian private practice, including tips on how to work well with your partner, listen in on the conversation today!  MEET ALI and NEIL  Ali Joy Richardson (she/her) is a Registered Counselling Therapist and private practice owner of Richardson Therapy in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She provides narrative therapy in support of teens, adults, and couples with a focus on helping people create healthy relationships and heal from abuse. Ali is a published playwright and theatre artist who has directed and written plays across Canada. Neil Silcox (he/they) is a Registered Counselling Therapist (Candidate), a teacher, and a theatre artist. His therapeutic work is focused on masculinity, ADHD, and navigating artistic and academic careers. He has taught theatre in colleges and universities across Ontario and the Atlantic Provinces, and creates theatre and performance art that explores identity, gender, and wellbeing. Neil collaborates artistically and in private practice with his wife, Ali Joy Richardson (and their dog, Mackey). Learn more about Ali and Neil on their practice website, Ali’s Psychology Today, and Neil’s Psychology Today profiles.  In this episode:  Why Ali and Neil decided to become therapists  Working together as a couple  The private practice now  Marketing the practice: highs and lows  Why authenticity is important Advice to listeners   Why Ali and Neil decided to become therapists  As Ali explains, the relationship between the director and the actors is intimate and collaborative. Actors and directors alike draw from their personal experiences when they are creating productions and plays together.  A few years later, Ali worked on a series of shows about mental health for pre-teen audiences called “One Deep Breath”, which was toured and presented to over 80,000 students in Ontario. This sparked a deeper interest in her to pursue becoming a therapist herself.  For Neil, it came from his teaching experience. Students would come to him and discuss their lifepaths beyond education, and Neil found himself talking with them for a long time.  Working together as a couple Ali and Neil have been working as a team for years. They have collaborated professionally and creatively for such a long time that it felt obvious and familiar for them to decide to go into private practice together as well.  They have worked at perfecting how to manage working together as a couple, such as when to talk to each other and discuss new things to do if any resentment builds, how to show and give appreciation, and providing safe and loving spaces outside of work that they can share.  The private practice now The practice has been going well for them. Since it is still small, they appreciate connecting with clients, because these clients choose the two of them specifically, rather than a big organization.  Marketing the practice: highs and lows  Both Neil and Ali have leaned into their strengths when it comes to marketing the practice. Neil brings people together, hosts in-person meetings and therapy, and connects with other therapists, creating a strong network of professionals and client referrals.  Ali does more one-on-one work and brings in new people into the practice in this way.  Why authenticity is important  However, they decided to pull back on paid ads and social media. They experimented with it for some time, but it just didn’t work how they had anticipated.  Advice to listeners  Put things in writing! It helps protect you from resentment (with your partner, family, best friends, or other people whom you care for). Write down clear roles and responsibilities, because it creates a sense of freedom, rather than stress.  Connect with me: Instagram Website  Resources mentioned and useful links: Ep 166: Integrating Land Tax and Reparations in Your Practice | EP 166 Learn more about the tools and deals that I love and use for my Canadian private practice Sign up for my free e-course on How to Start an Online Canadian Private Practice Jane App (use code FEARLESS for one month free) Get some help and freebies on your website with WordPress!  Learn more about Ali and Neil on their practice website, Ali’s Psychology Today, and Neil’s Psychology Today profiles.  Rate, review, and subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, and TuneIn

    31 min
5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Where are you in your private practice journey? How’s it going for you? I’m Jules Smith, and I’m so glad you’re here. The Fearless Practice podcast is your go-to resource for building a thriving private practice in Canada. Whether you're just starting out or looking to grow, this podcast is here to guide you every step of the way. I share practical tips on everything from launching your practice and filling your schedule to expanding into a group practice. But you won’t just hear from me—I also interview Canadian therapists from across the country who share their real-life experiences, challenges, and wins. These honest conversations offer valuable insight, inspiration, and support to help you confidently create a private practice that works for you. Let’s learn, grow, and build fearless practices—together.

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