Dr. Anusha Kassan: Purchasing a Group Private Practice in Canada | Ep 191
Release Date: 02/25/2026
Maria Tsoukalas: From Forensic Assessments to Nomadic Therapy | Ep 204
Fearless Practice
Is there something you have been wanting to try in your Canadian private practice, but you’re unsure of how to approach it? Could you be waiting for permission to be creative? Well, here you have it! Maria pivoted her career from working as a forensic psychologist in prison systems and other group practices when she sat down with herself and was honest about chasing her goals: she wanted to travel the world while seeing her clients virtually. She figured it out, kept her clients at the center of her itinerary (including her interests), and found a way to bring her goal and dream...
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6 Mistakes to Avoid When Starting a Canadian Private Practice | Ep 203
Fearless Practice
Starting a Canadian private practice can be such an exciting time in your life, but also very overwhelming! This means that sometimes things can get missed, or too much time can be spent on one task, running the risk of other important steps falling through the cracks. In private practice, anything missing could have serious consequences! It is important to be thorough. So, I thought it would be helpful to share a couple of common mistakes and how to avoid them! In this episode: Waiting for perfect clarity before launching Using US advice without adapting to Canada ...
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Katie McLean: Combining Two Master’s Degrees Into One Practice | Ep 202
Fearless Practice
Some doors close so that others can open: when Katie didn’t get accepted into the original Master’s Education in Counselling program she wanted, it was disappointing. However, she ended up following another piece of her passion, and got her Master’s in Teaching and Education. Then, once she had graduated, she pursued her second Master’s in Counselling Psychology, achieving the degree she was initially looking for! Today, Katie runs her fully booked private practice where she combines her passion for education and psychology into one. Join us today as we discuss how...
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Sandra Karlin: From Tech to Therapist in Private Practice | Ep 201
Fearless Practice
Our paths can change in ways that we may not easily foresee. While Sandra was someone who always knew that she liked and wanted to help people, she only became a therapist later on in life: her first career was in tech! It was only after she completed her Master’s degree - studying part-time while working in the Canadian tech hub - that she pivoted her career, starting both from scratch and in a new industry in counselling. Over the last three years, Sandra has graduated, started, and grown her private practice from solo to group, and become a new mom. In this episode, we cover...
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My Biggest Takeaways From 200 Podcast Episodes! | Ep 200
Fearless Practice
This is an amazing milestone: I had no idea back in 2022 that the Fearless Practice Podcast would grow so big, and that I would still be here recording in 2026! Of course, I could not have done this by myself. Thank you to Jane App, my podcast department team, and you, the audience. You are as much a part of this team as we are, and your listenership helps us develop and continue publishing new episodes. In celebration of this milestone we’ve all achieved together, I’m sharing eight of my biggest takeaways from this journey with you. In this episode: The path is...
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Nicole Lobo: From Group Practice Back to Solo | Ep 199
Fearless Practice
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Shulamit Ber Levtov: Building a Sustainable Practice Without Losing Yourself | Ep 198
Fearless Practice
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Paula Gonzalez: From Purpose to Practice and Scaling With Intention | Ep 197
Fearless Practice
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Amber Sperling: Three Years of Private Practice Growth | Ep 196
Fearless Practice
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How I Developed a Marketing Strategy for My Private Practice — Networking | EP 195
Fearless Practice
We’re revisiting episode 7: How I Developed a Marketing Strategy for My Private Practice — Networking. In this encore episode, I share the networking strategies I used when I started my practice in Halifax almost 10 years ago, including my first outreach system, why a personal touch like a thank-you card matters, and the biggest lesson I learned. You can find the show notes to the original episode . Connect with me: Resources Mentioned and Useful Links: Sign up for my free e-course on Learn more about the that I love and use for my Canadian private practice Sign up for my free...
info_outlineAfter 10 years of working as a Registered Psychologist and dabbling initially in private practice, Dr. Anusha Kassan and her cofounder, Alyssa Hasham, purchased and freshened up an already existing Canadian private practice. With creativity, passion, and drive, they have developed the space into a community that they share with other clinicians to thrive in.
In this podcast episode, Anusha and I discuss her journey into therapy, private practice, and the experiences she’s had in recent years both as a psychologist and a practice owner.
MEET ANUSHA
Anusha Kassan, PhD, RPsych (she/her), resides and works on the traditional territories of the people of Treaty 7 in Southern Alberta and Métis Nation of Alberta (Districts 5 and 6). She also works on the territories of the Musqueam People; she is an Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia. She is also the co-owner of The Psychology Group, a private practice in Calgary. Anusha’s scholarship is influenced by her own bicultural identity and is informed by an overarching social justice lens. She is a Fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association, and she recently received the organization's Award for Public, Community Service, and Human Rights and Social Justice in Psychology.
Learn more about Anusha on her website, Instagram, university post, and practice websites.
In this episode:
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Why Anusha became a psychologist
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When Anusha started private practice
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Purchasing a private practice
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Marketing the private practice
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What Dr. Kassan is looking forward to
Why Anusha became a psychologist
Anusha explains that her path to becoming a psychologist was paved by both purposeful and spontaneous events.
When she had to choose an undergraduate major, Anusha applied to programs in the helping professions, such as psychology and education. Later on, when she had to choose one, she chose psychology because it offered a wider scope.
Dr. Kassan explains that within her family, there was a near-death experience, and she met incredible mentors. These events encouraged her to keep going and pursue additional training and schooling, which led her to complete her PhD at McGill University, and later to join the faculty at British Columbia University.
When Anusha started private practice
It took about 10 years! Dr. Kassan completed a lot of clinical work through her grad school, and dabbled in private practice part-time.
However, for a few years after, Anusha’s priorities shifted, and she focused more on building her career and caring for her young children, and so private practice was placed on the back burner for the time being.
Her private practice started as a small one, and mostly as a way for her to keep her skills fresh and engage with people, since being in private practice helped her to be a better teacher, and teaching helped her succeed in her private practice.
However, it has now turned into something larger. She took over from the previous owners and purchased the psychology group where she was working. Together with her cofounder, Alyssa Hasham, Anusha now runs her growing Canadian group collective.
Adopting a private practice
Alyssa, Dr. Kassan’s co-founder, had many conversations about starting this collective practice. They shared an office and had conversations about expanding slowly and bringing on clinicians. Things were already laid out; they just freshened up the group private practice.
However, Anusha has had to learn a few skills quickly when she became one of the founders, and that process will continue as she and the practice grow and develop over the years.
Marketing the private practice
Right now, Anusha and Alyssa are still figuring out what works best for their practice in terms of marketing the collective to potential clients.
Anusha and her team have invested some money into Google Ads and SEO to help boost their marketing efforts, and she has implemented some helpful tips from the Fearless Practice Podcast, too!
What Dr. Kassan is looking forward to
In the upcoming months and years, Anusha is looking forward to more stability and security, since their group private practice has undergone a few changes and shifts. Additionally, Anusha wants to expand her creativity in business and implement it more into their collective.
Connect with me:
Resources mentioned and useful links:
Christina Page: Private Practice Lessons in Growth | EP 190
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 FEARLESS2MO for two months free)
Get started with Hushmail here and get one month for free!
Learn more about Anusha on her website, Instagram, university post, and practice websites
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