Shulamit Ber Levtov: Building a Sustainable Practice Without Losing Yourself | Ep 198
Release Date: 09/02/2026
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...
info_outline
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 ...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
Nicole Lobo: From Group Practice Back to Solo | Ep 199
Fearless Practice
What happens when the practice you worked so hard to build no longer fits the season of life you’re in? How do you know when it’s time to grow, and when it’s time to simplify? In another installment from my mini-series, “Where are they now?” I’m chatting with ! In this episode, Nicole returns to the podcast to reflect on how her practice has evolved over the last three years, why she transitioned from group practice back to solo work, and how motherhood reshaped her understanding of success, sustainability, and balance. From marketing struggles and wearing too many hats, to...
info_outline
Shulamit Ber Levtov: Building a Sustainable Practice Without Losing Yourself | Ep 198
Fearless Practice
Building a business while caring for others can be deeply meaningful work, but it can also come at a cost if your own well-being is left behind. It can be easy to get absorbed in caring for others and accidentally lose focus on your own personal needs in the process. Shulamit experienced this firsthand. In this episode, Shulamit Ber Levtov shares her unconventional path into therapy, from activism, graduating with a Master’s degree at 48, and building a thriving group practice in a rural community. She opens up about the realities of entrepreneurship, the mental health...
info_outline
Paula Gonzalez: From Purpose to Practice and Scaling With Intention | Ep 197
Fearless Practice
Building a meaningful practice often starts with a personal story, and grows through courage, creativity, and a commitment to helping others. In this episode, I talk with Paula Gonzalez. We discuss her journey into mental health, which was shaped by both her background and lived experience, and how it led her from community work to launching and scaling her own private practice. From navigating the early days of going solo during COVID to building a supportive group practice, Paula offers an honest look at growth, purpose, and the systems that make it all sustainable. Join us for a...
info_outline
Amber Sperling: Three Years of Private Practice Growth | Ep 196
Fearless Practice
Growth rarely happens by accident because it’s built through intention, care, and a willingness to evolve. In this episode of my mini-series “Where Are They Now?”, Amber Sperling reflects on the journey of expanding her practice from a single basement setup to a thriving, multi-location space rooted in accessibility and community care. Amber and I first spoke on the podcast in 2023! To get the full experience of the there-and-now conversation, you can click here to listen to . In our conversation in this episode, she shares how prioritizing clients over waitlists, investing...
info_outline
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_outlineBuilding a business while caring for others can be deeply meaningful work, but it can also come at a cost if your own well-being is left behind. It can be easy to get absorbed in caring for others and accidentally lose focus on your own personal needs in the process.
Shulamit experienced this firsthand. In this episode, Shulamit Ber Levtov shares her unconventional path into therapy, from activism, graduating with a Master’s degree at 48, and building a thriving group practice in a rural community.
She opens up about the realities of entrepreneurship, the mental health challenges that led her to step away from group practice ownership, and why sustainable success starts with taking care of yourself first. Join us for an insightful discussion!
MEET SHULAMIT
Shulamit is known as The Entrepreneurs' Therapist. She's the mental health professional you hire when you're a woman business owner, and you want to build the internal steadiness--for your emotions and your money psychology-- to lead effectively through the uncertainty, weight, and complexity of running a business. Shulamit has been an entrepreneur for over 27 years and has more than 22 years of professional experience supporting women's mental health and personal growth. As a trauma survivor and Master's-level trauma therapist, with certifications in Dare To Lead™, Trauma of Money®, and Financial Social Work as well as somatic parts therapy, Shula brings a unique perspective and approach to supporting women in business.
Learn more about Shulamit on her website, LinkedIn, and Instagram profiles.
In this episode:
-
Graduating with a Master’s at 48!
-
Evergreen marketing strategies
-
Going from group private practice to solo
-
Shula’s plans for the future
-
Final takeaways for listeners
Graduating with a Master’s at 48!
Shulamit’s story is an adventurous and inspiring one.
Shula explains how her mother was an activist, and that this type of work was prominent in her family lineage throughout her life. That, she explains, impacted how she wanted to contribute to the community around her, leading her to study Social Work.
However, after arguing with a professor about socialism and fighting on behalf of people who need to be paid a living wage, she was dropped from the programme because her grades (from this professor’s class) pulled her average too low.
While Shula had attempted to complete her Master’s degree twice before, this was the moment in her life, decades after that Social Work course, that she decided to bring everything together and really go for it.
Evergreen marketing strategies
Back in 2012, after Shula graduated with her Master’s and began her path to private practice, she decided on a location that (at the time) had relatively few therapists and counsellors.
Therefore, pre-COVID, Shula was marketing her brick-and-mortar group private practice in a small town that had a strong need for therapy services. What worked for her and her business then did not always continue to work post-COVID and into the online world.
So, Shulamit’s main advice for consistently successful marketing is to be present and create deep connections with the community, whether that’s in-person, online in videos on social media, or both.
Going from group private practice to solo
Shulamit explains that this is the reason why she’s the entrepreneur’s therapist: she went on a personal journey from group private practice to a solo business owner for her own well-being.
Shula came to realize that either she leaves her business or continues to suffer with poor mental health, and she chose her mental health.
Shula recognized that her associates were depending on her to bring in clients for the business to prosper, and for them to have an income as well.
But, when she understood the depth of her struggle, she had to remove herself from the practice and allow someone else to take her place to stop her entire team from suffering as well.
Shula’s plans for the future
In two words, here are Shulamit’s goals for the future of her practice: sustainability and growth. Sustainability for her solo practice, to continue to see her clients and sustain herself in the process, growth for the profession, and expansion in the research of caring for entrepreneurs.
As she continues to experiment and as the digital work continues to change, she’s committed to finding strategies that will be evergreen.
Final takeaways for listeners
Shulamit wants you to take care of yourself. Don’t let your mental, physical, and emotional well-being be an afterthought. So, take a regular temperature check on yourself once a week, or every now and then at least, to figure out what you are feeling, why, and how to help yourself move forward with less stress.
Secondly, don’t let the nature of the work make you feel like you are failing. The work is hard because it is inherently hard, and not because you can’t do it. You can.
Connect with me:
Resources mentioned and useful links:
Paula Gonzalez: From Purpose to Practice and Scaling with Intention | EP 197
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 Shulamit on her website, LinkedIn, and Instagram profiles
Rate, review, and subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, and TuneIn