Maria Tsoukalas: From Forensic Assessments to Nomadic Therapy | Ep 204
Release Date: 10/14/2026
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
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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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_outlineIs 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 to life. In this podcast episode, Maria and I discuss her journey - and encourage you to build the work/ life balance you desire!
MEET MARIA
Maria Tsoukalas is a Calgary-based psychologist with over 15 years in practice and is the owner of Aware Psychology - a private practice that sees clients virtually across Alberta and the Northwest Territories. She specializes in working with adults dealing with anxiety, sleep problems & insomnia, relationship issues, and grief & loss. Since 2023, she has visited 20+ countries while continuing to see clients and teaches clinicians how to build the same freedom into their careers. She believes travel can be a catalyst for self-reflection and personal growth and explores these insights on her Substack – Nomadic Minds.
Learn more about Maria on her practice website, Psychology Today, LinkedIn profiles, and Substack account.
In this episode:
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Why Maria became a therapist
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Starting a private practice and travelling
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Marketing the private practice
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Building the practice while travelling
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Advice for listeners
Why Maria became a therapist
Maria completed her Master’s in Forensic Psychology because her passion at the time lay more in understanding criminal minds than in working as a therapist for the general population.
She did that for a few years: Maria worked at a jail, at a security prison, but she found after a while that completing forensic assessments became a little boring.
This discovery led Maria to pivot her career and work more therapeutically with her clients, building long-term relationships based on trust rather than doing forensic assessments.
Starting a private practice and travelling
Maria did open up her Canadian private practice, but before that she worked in other group practices and in the prison system.
However, after some time, she decided that she felt more drawn to opening her own and working for herself. So, Maria left the agency where she was working part-time and started her own practice - while pursuing her dreams of travelling.
Marketing the private practice
When it comes to marketing her solo practice, Maria is doing what works best for her.
For example, she’s getting involved with Google Ads but choosing not to spend much time or money on SEO, since it fits her approach to her private practice in its current size better.
However, Maria enjoys podcasts and researches ways to meet people and get her practice’s name out there into the therapy community directly.
Building the practice while travelling
Once Maria got started, and after a few months in, she realized she could find a way to make it work and suit her schedule as well as her clients. She wasn’t active in marketing or trying to build a caseload; Maria took it as it came.
Maria would bunch her sessions together on a day that she knew she was going to be settled somewhere, having three or four sessions a day. Her workday would be over by noon, and she’d use the rest of the day to explore wherever she was.
Advice for listeners
Maria’s advice for new therapists coming into the work: you don’t have to practice the same way everyone else does. As long as you are following the ethics, regulations, and protecting your clients, you can bring in your creativity and find ways to do things differently!
Secondly, bring your values front and center, and be brave to curate the life that you want. Allow your business to support your life, rather than building your life exclusively around your business
Connect with me:
Resources mentioned and useful links:
6 Mistakes To Avoid When Starting A Canadian Private Practice | EP 203
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 Maria on her practice website, Psychology Today, LinkedIn profiles, and Substack account
Rate, review, and subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, and TuneIn