Courtney Vezina: Incorporating Community Values Into Private Practice | Ep 117

Fearless Practice

There are many different ways in which you can instill and live out the values that you have founded your Canadian private practice on.

For Courtney, the value of community is a driving factor that positively impacts the work that she and her colleagues do. So much so, that her private practice offers a scholarship for students doing their bachelors in social work or psychology!

In this podcast episode, Courtney and I discuss her entry into private practice, why she decided to do her doctorate, and how she has found ways to bring the sense of community into her private practice.

MEET COURTNEY

Courtney is a Registered Psychotherapist who owns a group clinic; Courtney James Counselling and Psychotherapy, with locations in Kemptville and Brockville, Ontario. Courtney is currently completing her Doctorate of Counselling and Psychotherapy and is excited to engage in the further development of this amazing field of work. In her clinical work, Courtney uses a humanistic, trauma-informed lens and specializes in relational difficulties and developmental trauma. Courtney’s clinical work and Doctoral studies are focused on her work within the foster care and adoption community.

Learn more about Courtney on the practice website, Psychology Today, and Instagram profiles.

In this episode:

• Why Courtney decided to become a psychotherapist

• Starting a doctorate

• Courtney’s private practice

• Growing the private practice

• Offering group sessions

• The mental health scholarship!

Why Courtney decided to become a psychotherapist

Right after high school, Courtney started her psychology studies and then went into the field to gain frontline experience after graduating.

Afterward, she shifted into the mental health field with a position in a school board. It was during one of her maternity leaves that she started her masters program in Counselling Psychology in 2017.

Starting a doctorate

Most counsellors can open a Canadian private practice with only a masters degree, but Courtney went further and is working towards completing her doctorate.

For Courtney, the doctoral program that she’s in is not specifically research-based, and it encourages a different style of approaching this field that’s specific to psychotherapy.

Courtney’s private practice

While Courtney was completing her masters program, it was her intention to start a private practice.

Even though Courtney began as a solo practitioner, she quickly hired colleagues into her private practice.

Growing the private practice

Courtney was mindful of where the needs were in her community, and so she therefore decided to open a second and third location in areas of her city where she knew that the population didn’t have as much access to mental health care.

The point is to take calculated risks for your business. You don’t have to know if something is going to work before you try it - sometimes you have to try first to gain insight, and to then take informed action moving forward.

Offering group sessions

Courtney’s practice is creating emotional regulation groups that she brainstormed with a few of her colleagues.

Even though there is an interest in offering group therapy, Courntey and her team are working on the fine print and structural components of it before they fully provide this additional service to their clients.

The mental health scholarship

For students that are accepted into undergraduate programs in psychology or social work, Courntey’s practice is offering a scholarship!

This will be the fourth year that the scholarship is being offered, and her intention behind offering it comes from the same community piece that is vital to her and is one of the foundational pillars of the practice.

Connect with me:

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Resources mentioned and useful links:

Ep 116: Samantha Sarty: Setting Business Boundaries to Grow Private Practice | EP 116

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Learn more about Courtney on the practice website, Psychology Today, and Instagram profiles

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