Meet Julia Smith

Having worked in the counselling industry, I knew I would be the happiest being my own boss.
Let's Start

Established in 2016.

Hi,

My name is Julia and I started a part-time private practice in Halifax in 2016. I started a private practice because I wanted to be able to counsel clients with therapy approaches that I was passionate about. I also wanted to set my own hours, to be able to support myself financially, and to have a choice on who I counselled. Self-care is important to me. I wanted to provide quality counselling and not work 40 hours plus per week, seeing a lot of clients and getting burnt out!

It was difficult to start a private practice on my own. There were soooooo many things to consider! I read article after article, joined Facebook groups, and listened to a lot of podcasts! It was time-consuming, energy depriving, and lonely. I became a big ball of stress, not knowing if I was making the right decisions for my unique private practice.

I realized that I needed help and support.

So I ended up hiring a consultant to help me start my private practice. And within a couple months, I was feeling confident and relaxed about my business. Since then my part-time private practice has grown and is doing well!

I now help other Canadian therapists who need support and guidance as they start their own private practice. With my experience, I will lead you through the process, support you through the stress, and give you expert Canadian advice on how to build a private practice.

Starting a private practice is overwhelming but very rewarding 🙂

Julia’s Journey Podcast Episodes

Overcoming Sudden Obstacles in My Private Practice: Year Seven | Ep 97

We all have intentions for the new year when it begins, and ideas of what we’d like to do differently or in a new way. And it’s often the case that things don’t go as planned! However, it can be part of the overall process, and in the end new lessons are learned and new skills are acquired. At the beginning of my seventh year in Canadian private practice, I had a vision for the year and how I wanted it to go. Of course, it wasn’t what I expected, but now I have better systems, a strong team, and new strategies for handling stress and the unexpected. In this podcast episode, I recount my year, what I went through, and how I ended up feeling more confident and ready for what will come my way.

Growing Pains I Experienced in My Canadian Private Practice - Year 6 | Ep 49

What has your year of private practice looked like? Which lessons have you learned, or are currently learning? Starting and running a Canadian private practice is a journey of continual growth and education. As you develop, so does your practice! And what impacts you in your personal life may also influence the unfolding of your business. In this annual episode, I take a little dive into what my year has been like, what I’ve learned, and what my focus will be for the next one!

Building a Canadian Online Group Private Practice - Year Five | EP 06

As I started to get busier in my Canadian private practice, I had to make a decision of how many clients I wanted to see each week. I needed to find my sweet spot. I figured that if I got to see 8 to 9 clients a week, that would be my capacity to do amazing work with those clients. If I started to see more than that, I would start to feel drained and not do my best work. I now knew that I was getting to a point where I needed to grow my solo private practice, to a group private practice.

Transitioning My Canadian Private Practice From In-Person To Online Counselling - Year Four | EP 05

I was getting really busy in my private practice, this was exciting, but I was starting to burn out. I had some tough decisions to make so that I could free up some time and energy. However, nothing could have prepared me for a global pandemic and having to transition my Canadian private practice from in-person to online counselling.

How I Grew My Canadian Private Practice - Year Three | EP 04

By the end of 2018 things were going pretty well. I was working in my private practice 2 days a week and I was teaching at Dalhousie. I was making money and all the hard work I had done in setting up the foundational phase of my Canadian private practice was paying off.

Dealing With Unexpected Changes in My Canadian Private Practice - Year Two | EP 03

I was in my second year of running my Canadian private practice and things were going really well. I wasn’t stressed about finances and I was able to gain some really valuable experience with my job at Dalhousie University whilst being able to pay the bills...

How I Set Up My Canadian Private Practice - Year One | EP 02

I decided to move across the country to start a Canadian private practice in Halifax, NS with only 1 year of professional counselling experience under my belt, but I was pretty determined and really excited!

Why I Started a Canadian Private Practice | EP 01

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.