ALEXINA PICARD: STARTING A PRIVATE PRACTICE AFTER GRADUATION | EP 178
Third time’s the charm sometimes, and it was the case for Alexina! She had to be persistent and resilient, and was able to find a way through financial troubles to finish her Master’s degree and start her own solo Canadian private practice.
In this podcast episode, we discuss why she chose to go solo rather than join an already-existing group practice and how she got to where she is today.
If you’d like some tips, advice, or just a good story of resilience from a fellow therapist, give this episode a listen!
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MEET ALEXINA
Alexina is a Registered Clinical Counsellor practicing in North Vancouver, BC. She opened her solo private practice 4 months ago, immediately upon registration with the BCACC, something she had never imagined she would do. Alexina has over 10 years of healthcare and mental health experience, from pharmacy assistant to the past Executive Director of the BC Psychological Association. When she’s not working, she’s either watching TV or running the trails on the North Shore.
Learn more about Alexina on her practice website, LinkedIn, and Psychology Today profiles.
In This Episode
- Becoming a therapist
- Why go back to school after working?
- Going into solo private practice
- How the practice is going
- Alexina’s advice to private practitioners
Becoming a therapist
Alexina’s route to working as a therapist was roundabout.
‘I never actually imagined myself being a therapist. It was not a career that I was working towards. I did my Bachelor’s in Biology and I minored in Psychology, and I had originally applied to do neuroscience at UBC, and my application from 2016 is still pending! … I never heard back from UBC, and I had nowhere to go after my Bachelor’s degree, and a friend told me about Yorkville.’ – Alexina Picard
Alexina applied to Yorkville and got in, but couldn’t afford the tuition because she was accepted on such short notice, and didn’t have enough time to sort out student loans and payment plans. She was then suggested to try out Adler University, and that route worked!
‘Funnily enough, after a year at Adler, I couldn’t figure out how to pay at Adler either! So that was back in 2018, when I left for a financial leave of absence, which turned into a 4-year career journey, and that’s when I joined the BC Psychological Association!’ – Alexina Picard
Alexina was the Executive Director of BC Psychological Association for two of the four years that she worked there, and it provided her with the financial means to go back and complete her Master’s degree.
Why go back to school after working?
‘I was surrounded by Registered Psychologists, so it was kind of hard not to be drawn back into the therapy world when you are surrounded by psychologists who are doing that kind of work every single day.’ – Alexina Picard
While Alexina enjoyed working as the Executive Director of the BC Psychological Association, she kept her eye on the prize of completing her Master’s degree, and this was partially due to being motivated by the people around her.
Working allowed her the financial freedom to continue with her studies, and the motivation from her colleagues pushed her to return to school and complete her qualification.
‘I think a lot of that motivation was really helpful as well. It felt like they saw that in me, which felt really good.’ – Alexina Picard
Going into solo private practice
From Alexina’s work, she knew about the different options that were available to her. She applied to organization jobs, but didn’t hear back and decided to try reaching out to group practices. However, she ultimately decided not to go with a position in an already-established group practice.
‘I found group practice to be limiting in different ways. They’ve all got restrictions or expectations on people in terms of what fee you might charge or whether you could practice somewhere else in the city, or how many clients they expect you to see in a day. I just wasn’t finding the group practice that felt like it could fit like a glove.’ – Alexina Picard
Therefore, Alexina turned towards starting her own Canadian private practice, because she began to think more deeply about the benefits of solo practice.
‘I started to think, “Rather than [thinking that] solo practice is bad, don’t do that right away”, I started to think, “Well, how can I do solo practice in a way that is going to answer all those concerns for me.”’ – Alexina Picard
How the practice is going
Right now, Alexina’s practice is getting off the ground slowly.
‘It’s really difficult when you’re a new practitioner of any kind in the community for people to find out that you exist, unless you’re working with an existing practice or clinic somewhere.’ – Alexina Picard
Alexina’s been working hard to get her practice’s name out there, but she has learned that these things simply take time, no matter how hard you work, and she’s gotten okay with that.
Alexina’s advice to private practitioners
Learn as much as you can yourself. If you need to, consider putting your money to use by hiring a few professionals to set things up instead of spending money trying to do it yourself.
Connect With Me
Resources Mentioned and Useful Links:
Alison Chisholm: Building More Than a Private Practice | EP 177
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Sign up for my free e-course on How to Start an Online Canadian Private Practice
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Learn more about Alexina on her practice website, LinkedIn, and Psychology Today profiles
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About Jules Smith
Jules Smith, MEd, RCT, CCC is a registered Counselling Therapist who owns a group private practice in Halifax, Nova Scotia. They are also the owner of Fearless Practice Consulting and hosts the Fearless Practice podcast. Through the Fearless Practice podcast, they provide invaluable insights and practical advice on starting and growing a successful Canadian private practice.
Jules also has written articles for the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy association. You can learn more at www.ccpa-accp.ca/blog/.
