Season 5 Episode 1: Starting Private Practice with Clinical Experience and Good Intentions

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 private practice. With a strong background in adult services, equipment prescription, and home modifications, she reflects on how her clinical experience has shaped the way she approaches private work with clarity, boundaries, and realistic expectations. This conversation explores what it looks like to start private practice later in your career, not from urgency or pressure, but with intention and self-awareness. Elsa speaks openly about cognitive load, scope clarity, admin overwhelm, and the importance of building systems that support both the clients and the therapist behind the service.  We explore • Long-term career evolution and changing professional priorities • Starting private practice after years of clinical and leadership experience • Choosing clinical work that aligns with strengths and energy • Managing cognitive load, admin, and decision fatigue • Using a master timetable to support capacity and decision making • Planning time, PD, and rest as part of sustainable practice  Key takeaways • Starting private practice later allows for clearer scope and stronger boundaries • Clinical experience supports more confident and ethical decision making • Cognitive load increases quickly in solo practice without intentional structure • A master timetable can significantly reduce mental load • Good intentions need systems to be sustainable   Resources mentioned in this episode Master timetable Sensational Start to Private Practice Getting the Admin Support You Actually Need Brought to you by Alyce Svensk at The OT Coach Australia. Supporting occupational therapists and allied health professionals to build confidence, clarity, and connection through mentoring, supervision, workshops, and The OT Coach Academy. If this conversation resonated with you and you’d like support through supervision, business mentoring, or reflective practice, visit www.theotcoach.au to explore how The OT Coach Australia can support you.