OT Coaching Confidential

In this final episode of OT Coaching Confidential Season 5, I’m joined by Rochelle, an experienced paediatric occupational therapist who has recently taken a significant next step in her business journey. After years of building a strong trauma-informed paediatric caseload as a sole trader, Rochelle has just transitioned into company structure and brought on her first employee. What sounds excitin...

In this episode of OT Coaching Confidential, I’m joined by Marie, an experienced occupational therapist who has recently transitioned from hospital and community mental health into private practice. With over 15 years of experience, Marie reflects on the shift from structured public health roles into the autonomy of private work. While the transition has brought flexibility and creative freedom, i...

In this episode of OT Coaching Confidential, Alyce is joined by Sophia, an experienced occupational therapist who is navigating early private practice while holding the weight of past system reform, identity shifts, and changing personal priorities. With over a decade of experience across government disability services, hospitals, schools, and child development teams, Sophia reflects on how p...

In this episode of OT Coaching Confidential, Alyce sits down with Jane, an experienced occupational therapist working in a Grade 3 leadership role within the public health system while also running her own private practice. After more than twenty years working across clinical roles, Jane recently stepped into a leadership position supervising a growing occupational therapy team. While continuing h...

In this episode of OT Coaching Confidential, Alyce sits down with Mary, an occupational therapist running her own private practice across several rural towns. After stabilising her caseload and building systems that support sustainable rural service delivery, Mary finds herself asking a new question. Not how to build a practice, but how she can best serve her community beyond individual therapy se...

In this episode of OT Coaching Confidential, Alyce sits down with Paige, an occupational therapist working in adult mental health and psychosocial disability within the NDIS. Paige reflects on her pathway into OT, including beginning her career in NDIS LAC and community roles before moving into clinical mental health practice and establishing herself as a sole trader. With several years in practic...

In this episode of OT Coaching Confidential, Alyce is joined by Ruby, an experienced occupational therapist working across a broad regional caseload while building her sole trader business alongside part-time hospital work. Ten years into her OT career and around 18 months into self-employment, Ruby reflects on what it has been like to grow quickly without a clear structure to hold the work. With...

In this episode of OT Coaching Confidential, I’m joined by B, an experienced paediatric occupational therapist navigating a demanding and uncertain season of practice. After eight years as an OT and nearly five years running her own business, B reflects on the emotional load of long-term paediatric NDIS work, the pull toward creative and entrepreneurial projects, and the challenge of holding multi...

In this episode of OT Coaching Confidential, Alyce sits down with Elsa, an experienced occupational therapist with over 15 years across hospital, community, leadership, and NDIS practice. Elsa shares her journey from working within structured hospital systems overseas, into community-based roles in Australia, followed by leadership and management positions, and more recently stepping into solo pri...

In this episode of OT Coaching Confidential, Alyce sits down with Ezra an occupational therapist and small practice owner who’s committed to doing leadership differently. Ezra’s service supports clients across mental health and disability, and she’s actively mentoring both a new grad and early-career OT. With strong values and a reflective approach, she’s created a workplace where learning is inte...

In this episode of OT Coaching Confidential, Alyce Svensk shares a real mentoring conversation with Kane - a thoughtful OT who has transitioned from paediatric clinical work into supervision and management. Together, they unpack what it looks like to support early-career therapists, hold professional boundaries, and navigate the realities of leadership in private practice. Kane reflects on finding...

In this episode of OT Coaching Confidential, Alyce Svensk shares a real mentoring conversation with Al - a mature-age graduate whose path to occupational therapy began with degrees in writing and marketing, and evolved through a pivot into the health field during COVID. Together, they unpack Al’s discovery of OT after exploring nursing, how a youth mental health placement cemented his clinical fit...

In this episode of OT Coaching Confidential, Alyce Svensk shares a real mentoring conversation with Hazel a mature-age early career OT who brings deep lived experience, clarity, and care to her sole trader practice. Together, they unpack how her journey into OT was shaped by 18 years of parenting and caregiving, how she built strong systems to support her growth when supervision was limited, and w...

In this episode of OT Coaching Confidential, Alyce Svensk shares a real mentoring conversation with Ella, a paediatric and young adult OT who brings deep intentionality to her solo practice. Together, they unpack how chronic illness shaped her career journey, why she’s redefining supervision and professional development as business essentials, and how she’s navigating the tension between flexibili...

In this episode, we chat with Nikki an early career OT who’s navigating her first year in practice with confidence, reflection and a clear sense of direction. After entering the profession with previous experience in the disability sector, Nikki began working as a contractor before moving into sole trader work offering a well-defined service. Now, she’s intentionally seeking an employed role...

In this episode of OT Coaching Confidential, we meet Tanya an experienced OT who made the shift from public health to private work in search of better balance and flexibility. What started as a handful of clients quickly snowballed into a full-blown service, a small team of contractors, and the realities of running a business. Tanya shares honestly about the challenges of scaling without a clear p...

In this episode, we meet Michelle, a regional paediatric OT who transitioned from burnout in a large organisation to building her own therapy service. We explore the early years of business setup without clear mentorship, and the challenges of managing a long-term stagnant caseload while juggling a full-time mobile therapy load and motherhood. Together, we unpack strategies for sustainable practic...

In this episode of OT Coaching Confidential, I sit down with Jane, an experienced occupational therapist and trained play therapist who has just launched her own private practice. Seven weeks in and already full, Jane shares the early realities of running a solo service - from navigating boundaries and managing emotional load, to thinking ahead about admin support and long-term sustainability. We...

In this episode of OT Coaching Confidential, I chat with Claudia, an Occupational Therapist whose journey into OT began later in life and has taken some fascinating turns. From setting out to be a brilliant clinician, Claudia found herself unexpectedly drawn into the business support space - building a service designed to help solo OTs streamline their non-clinical tasks and free up their time to...

In this episode of OT Coaching Confidential, I chat with Anna, an Occupational Therapist working in the adult space with a growing private practice focused on chronic fatigue, Long COVID and invisible illness. We explore: Transitioning from public health into private practice (and the culture shock that can come with it) The discomfort around charging for therapy and how Anna is starting to claim...

In this episode, we chat with Jamie - a regional paediatric OT who’s blending community therapy with the launch of a sensory-friendly café. Jamie shares her unique career journey. From early roles in aged care and burns to leading services across rural and remote settings. Now running her own business, she reflects on the challenges of working solo in a large region, the realities of clinical burn...

In this episode, we chat with Lisa, an experienced OT working in the neuro, palliative care, and driving assessment space, who took the leap into private practice after recognising the traditional model wasn't sustainable for her life or values. Lisa reflects on how she built a business that works for her family, her energy, and her clients. She shares honestly about letting go of the internalised...

Summary For the final episode of Season 2 , I’m joined by Isabelle and Paige. Co-founders of a paediatric OT service built on shared values, strong team culture, and thoughtful, reflective leadership. We explore the realities of growing a team, supporting clinicians across sites, and navigating change. Including how they’re preparing for one founder to relocate while maintaining connection and coh...

Summary: In this episode of OT Coaching Confidential, I sit down with J, an early-career paediatric occupational therapist who is working hard to bridge the gap between clinical training and real-world therapy. J shares what it’s like to feel well-trained but still unsure — navigating multiple models, complex family dynamics, and unclear expectations in NDIS-funded therapy. Together, we explore: T...

Summary In this episode of OT Coaching Confidential, I sit down with Taylor, an Occupational Therapist who has moved through hospital rotations, mental health, and now community-based NDIS work. She’s built strong clinical confidence - but is now planning how to run her own business! Taylor shares her reflections on navigating time pressures, unclear expectations around billables, and the ear...