Maureen Codispodi: Building an Accessible Virtual Private Practice With Reduced Fees | Ep 136

Fearless Practice

Are you interested in offering affordable and accessible therapy in your private practice? We all know that one of the main barriers to care is cost, and it is an issue that many Canadians face.

However, there are ways to incorporate low cost fees in your private practice! In this podcast episode, I talk with Maureen, who owns Help Clinic Canada. She noticed a strong need across her community, and brought her passion from her decades of working in mental health along with her to serve this need as best she could.

Now with a powerful vision, Maureen and her team are trying to make a difference in therapy accessibility.

MEET MAUREEN

Maureen Codispodi, founder and director of Help Clinic Canada, is a force of change in the landscape of mental health support in Canada. As a seasoned mental health and education professional, she is committed to breaking down barriers to mental health services and, with the support of her team, is making an impact in the lives of Canadians.

Learn more about Maureen on her website, business website, Psychology Today, and LinkedIn profiles.

In this episode:

• How Maureen got into therapy

• Starting a private practice

• Growing a private practice

• What’s working and what’s not working

How Maureen got into therapy

After Maureen completed her undergraduate degrees, she worked with brain injuries and other brain-related issues for about five years as a front line worker. However, in these roles she experienced a lot of burnout.

She then transitioned into case management, but it was. At this point, she trained again and decided to become a teacher, and got her Masters in teaching and worked as an international school teacher.

After teaching for almost 20 years, Maureen transitioned into special education where she was leading teams and managing cases again.

‘Whenever I’ve had breaks in work … I’ve always gone back to mental health work as opposed to education because back then there weren't a lot of teaching jobs … Only very recently I retrained to become a therapist, but I felt like I had walked the path for a long time and I was ready to take on more clinical-based work.’ - Maureen Codispodi

Starting a private practice

Apart from Maureen’s inner knowing and passion to open a private practice, she also knew that she had a lot of life experience that she could bring into her practice and in working with her clients. So, she felt confident and inspired to go into this space.

Even while she was working on her private practice, her early ideas for Help Clinic Canada were already on her mind.

Growing a private practice

Primarily, Maureen wanted to break down barriers to therapy and counselling for Canadians. So in her private practice, they decided to offer therapy at the low price of $25!

Maureen and her team are excited to support people in their communities across Canada, and to give people access to therapy virtually, no matter where they are.

What’s working and what’s not working

Help Clinic Canada is growing and gaining recognition as fellow practices, therapists, counsellors, and clients begin to network with them; however, progress is slow, and Maureen needs to find the right people to outsource tasks and secure funding for marketing, though she has started to find great people for the team.

While there have been bumps in the road, Maureen says that they have been lucky so far and they are excited about the road ahead!

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Resources mentioned and useful links:

Ep 135: Raising and Lowering Rates | EP 135

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 Maureen on her website, business website, Psychology Today, and LinkedIn profiles

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