Feb 26 2025 30 mins
Amy worked as a social worker for 20 years in crisis management in tandem with police and emergency services. She saw how intense and difficult the work could be, and wanted to create a place where her clients could receive their therapy that was softer, more welcoming, and curated to their requirements.
Now, Amy runs a large private practice in Canada with therapists and staff working together all under the same shared values and goals.
In this episode, we discuss building a practice from the ground up, how much therapy changes lives, and how we can create a practice that is tied in with our personal dreams while serving our client’s needs.
MEET AMY
Amy is a genuine, empathetic, and caring therapist capable of cultivating meaningful connections with people in an open, honest, and non-judgmental manner. She is a qualified and respected social worker with 20+ years of frontline community, hospital and clinical experience. Among the population that Amy has served include, youth, adults and seniors who struggle with mental health and addiction issues, relational, stress or crisis, trauma, physical health, diagnosis, and palliation.
Learn more about Amy on her practice website, Psychology Today, Instagram, and LinkedIn profiles.
In this episode:
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Being a social worker for 20 years
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Transitioning from full-time work into private practice
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Hiring staff and building the practice based on values
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Growing her practice
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Amy’s advice to listeners
Being a social worker for 20 years
In March 2021, Amy decided to open up her own private practice after having been in the field for 20 years working for other mental health organisations in Port Hope, Ontario.
Before she opened her private practice, Amy was working full-time for a community hospital in crisis where she worked directly with a police service and attended the 911 mental health calls.
Transitioning from full-time work into private practice
Amy opened her private practice in 2021 but only committed to working in it fully in 2023 once she had built up her client caseload.
Amy knew that she had reached every goal she had wanted to as a crisis worker, and felt like she wanted to open up her professional career and reach by committing more fully to her private practice.
Hiring staff and building the practice based on values
Amy hired people that she had previously worked with into her new practice when she wanted to develop it further. She made sure to hire practitioners who shared the same or similar values that she had founded the practice.
Amy wanted a practice that felt like a well-loved home.
Growing her practice
Since her passion for her work has grown and she has started hiring more staff, Amy was able to level up her practice from solo to group. She credits part of this success with making the foundation of her practice rest upon the values and principles that she shares with her staff.
Now it’s been four years since Amy started her private practice as a solo therapist, and how she is currently hiring for therapist number 18!
She feels grateful for the success that started with her and that has now grown and been encouraged by her team. The practice has grown larger than her and is now supported and furthered by her staff, therapists, and the community around their practice.
Amy’s advice to listeners
Start your private practice with a solid business plan, consult with an accountant and lawyer, and go slow! Practice self-gratitude and celebrate your small wins.
Connect with me:
Resources mentioned and useful links:
Ep 154: Pacific Pines: Working as a Team to Fulfil a Private Practice Dream | EP 154
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)
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Learn more about Amy on her practice website, Psychology Today, Instagram, and LinkedIn profiles
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