Season 5 Episode 9: Growing a Practice Without Losing Yourself

In this final episode of OT Coaching Confidential Season 5, I’m joined by Rochelle, an experienced paediatric occupational therapist who has recently taken a significant next step in her business journey.

After years of building a strong trauma-informed paediatric caseload as a sole trader, Rochelle has just transitioned into company structure and brought on her first employee.

What sounds exciting on paper also brings a very real shift in identity, workload, and responsibility.

Alongside holding her own long-term caseload of children and families with complex trauma backgrounds, Rochelle is now navigating onboarding, supervision, service agreements, business systems, payroll, and the invisible emotional load of becoming the person responsible for both clients and another therapist.

This conversation explores what happens in those first few weeks after your first hire, when your clinical work remains full but the business suddenly demands a whole new layer of leadership and structure.

We explore:

Transitioning from Sole Trader to Company Structure

Onboarding and Supervising a First Therapist

Building a Caseload Intentionally Rather Than Reactively

The Emotional Load of Trauma-Informed Paediatric Practic

Boundaries Around Phone Calls, Emails, and Crisis Communicatio

Balancing Client Care with Business Sustainabilit