Celissa Vipond & Melissa Lindstrom: From Friendship to Successful Practice | Ep 126

Fearless Practice

Celissa and Melissa noticed the clear need for mental health services in Ontario over the pandemic, and decided to team up to put their expertise and skills to use to serve the community.

As a team, Celissa and Melissa were able to balance starting a practice between the two of them while continuing their social work positions that they love. Their Canadian private practice has now grown into a successful group private practice where they have the benefits of running their own practice while still working jobs that they cherish.

In this podcast episode, I chat with the two of them about their progress, their ups and downs, and what they recommend to you for your Canadian private practice career!

MEET CELISSSA AND MELISSA

Celissa and Melissa are the owners of Virtual CBT, a private psychotherapy practice specializing in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for clients in Ontario that are struggling with symptoms of depression, anxiety, phobias, OCD, and trauma.

Learn more about Celissa and Melissa on their practice website and Instagram profile.

In this episode:

• How Celissa and Melissa found their niche

• Working as a team

• Using Jane App

• The future of Virtual CBT

• Melissa and Celissa’s advice to listeners

How Celissa and Melissa found their niche

Both Celissa and Melissa are social workers. Between the two of them, they had dabbled in different sectors trying to find what suited them both best before specializing further.

Melissa thoroughly enjoyed working within CBT and she found it effective and helpful for both her services as a therapist and for her client’s needs.

For Celissa, the path was a little different in that she only knew that she wanted to become a social worker after she graduated.

Celissa’s expertise has become more narrow as the years have passed, from CBT and DBT to specialized CBT and others.

Working as a team

Over the pandemic, both Celissa and Melissa were working for a not-for-profit organization when the public mental health system was being flooded with referrals.

Also, over the pandemic they went from working completely in person to completely virtual almost overnight.

One day, a doctor connected with Celissa asking if she had a private practice, and she ended up texting Melissa to see what she thought about it. They decided to work together to launch their own private practice since they could see that the need was there.

Using Jane App

Melissa recommends to all practice owners that Jane App is a great investment to commit to early on in your private practice journey since it streamlines so many processes in a way that they complement one another, helping you to stay organized and helping your clients to easily book appointments.

Jane’s intuitive and automatic systems that you can customize to your needs allows it to help you with what you want help with.

The future of Virtual CBT

Since September 2023 their practice has grown so much, which is why they have decided to take a step back and rest a bit before continuing to expand their practice together.

Diversifying your practice is also a good idea to consider because it can take away some of the stress and allows for the owners and staff to engage with clients and modalities in new and innovative ways.

Melissa and Celissa’s advice to listeners

Be willing to invest in your business, whether it is finances or time and effort, if you want to have a strong foundation and a successful practice. Be patient with the process as well!

Connect with me:

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Resources mentioned and useful links:

Ep 125: Kelly Hoskin: Trusting the Process for Success in Canadian Private Practice | EP 125

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)

Learn more about Celissa and Melissa on their practice website and Instagram profile

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