CHRISTINA PAGE: PRIVATE PRACTICE LESSONS IN GROWTH | EP 190
In this first installment of my series, “Where Are They Now?”, I’ll be interviewing past Canadian therapists that I’ve had on the show to see how their private practice is doing. Today, I’m checking in with Christina Page! Tune in to gain extra insight into where she was when we first spoke, and see the progress she has made!
We discuss the surprising discoveries she has made along the way, the discomfort she has overcome, and the wonderful lessons that she has learned from both. Join our conversation, and see if you can pick up an informative gem to help you on your path in Canadian private practice!
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MEET CHRISTINA
Christina Page is a Certified Perinatal Therapist and the owner of Whole Family Psychotherapy – a collective of heart-centered perinatal specialists offering virtual counselling services across Ontario to parents and parents-to-be. Christina’s team offers individual therapy, couples therapy, family therapy, group therapy, and parenting support sessions for folks through pre-conception journeys, during pregnancy, postpartum, and beyond into later stages of family life. The team at Whole Family understands that when parents feel whole, family systems thrive.
Learn more about Christina on her practice website, Psychology Today, and LinkedIn profiles.
In This Episode
- A quick recap
- Christina’s group practice update to today
- Stepping fully into the CEO role
- The importance of having an emergency savings fund
- Christina’s goals for the future
A quick recap
Christina re-listened to her first appearance on the Fearless Practice Podcast as well, and she discusses how much it brought back for her.
‘I was six months into my group practice after shifting out of private practice, and it was this time … There was this wicked learning curve, and I was just pulling my head above water at that stage! … I was incredibly proud, but deep in a season of doing too much, and over-functioning in a lot of ways.’ – Christina Page
At the beginning of her group private practice journey, Christina wore most of the hats. She was the clinical director, admin, and saw a full caseload of clients, all while being a mother to young children. While she loved it too, she knew that it wasn’t sustainable.
Therefore, over the year and a half since our first podcast episode, she has smoothed and straightened out her practice to the extent that she can take a step back and enjoy it more, rather than just running from task to task.
‘It feels really good to see where I am now. A year and a half feels like a really long time, but actually it’s just the blink of an eye!’ – Christina Page
Christina’s group practice update to today
Her practice has grown! They are now a team of seven therapists, including an intern. She has full admin support, which Christina explains has been one of the biggest benefits to date.
‘I thought we had systems in place in the early days, but we had very rudimentary systems. As we’ve grown, the systems needed to grow, so our inquiry volume has gone so much higher, that the ways we used to manage that don’t work anymore. So, it’s been a consistent evolution.’ – Christina Page
As Christina explains, the most crucial element for success that she has seen in her private practice over the months is to support its flexibility.
The businesses needed to handle an increased number of clients coming in, admin requests, and paperwork, which meant the business’s foundation needed to be broadened, strengthened, and made as autonomous as possible so that Christina herself didn’t become the bottleneck.
Secondly, Christina’s next biggest lesson was learning how helpful it can be to slow down. Not everything needs to be treated as a crisis, and not everything needs your response right away.
‘I’ve learned the biggest lesson, which I think is to slow down, and not jump into things like it’s a crisis. To take my time more, and so I think I am more thoughtful, more direct … I think the leadership, the operations, and the size of the team have grown.’ – Christina Page
Stepping fully into the CEO role
Another big change that Christina hadn’t ever thought would happen is that she has stopped seeing clients herself! She has since stepped fully into the role of being the practice CEO, the leader of her team, and the business entity.
‘So, it’s been this really dicey year or so where there wasn’t much leftover for me, and I had to be okay with that and adjust my lifestyle accordingly, but it was really worthwhile because … that’s opened up so much space for me to be able to focus on really nurturing my team, and be out in the community, networking … I wouldn’t have the energy and capacity to do all of those things [if I were still seeing clients regularly].’ – Christina Page
Christina took a leap of faith and trusted the process. She was able to work through the initial discomfort of not knowing what might happen and navigating uncertain financial situations, and while things are still not yet where she wants them to be financially, they are improving.
All this was made possible by her recognizing that it would be good for her practice to take a step back from seeing clients and step forward into a more leadership role.
The importance of having an emergency savings fund
Having an emergency fund is crucial, and specifically for two reasons:
1 – To give you leeway to make changes in your practice, such as Christina going from a full caseload of clients to being the full-time boss only, and having some financial cushioning can help you make these transitions easier
2 – To make it through uncertain times in the economy or when client conversion rates dip, which is common in private practice
‘I think that’s the biggest thing that anyone entering into private practice needs to understand: you have to be able to weather some unpredictability. You have to be able to put some money aside.’ – Christina Page
Take good care of yourself and your nervous system, because tolerating the uncertainty of business in private practice, in our world today, requires you to have a sense of groundedness.
Christina’s goals for the future
Now, Christina’s goals for the future are to create stability for the practice to support and nurture what they are currently doing well. She’s going to remain open and flexible in terms of what’s to come!
Connect With Me
Resources Mentioned and Useful Links:
Tina Bells: Balancing Non-Profit and Private Practice | EP 189
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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 Christina on her practice website, Psychology Today, and LinkedIn profiles
Listen to the previous episode with Christina Page here!
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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/.
