Building a Practice That Works for You (and Your Family): A Mentoring Conversation with “Hazel”

In this episode of OT Coaching Confidential, Alyce Svensk shares a real mentoring conversation with Hazel a mature-age early career OT who brings deep lived experience, clarity, and care to her sole trader practice.

Together, they unpack how her journey into OT was shaped by 18 years of parenting and caregiving, how she built strong systems to support her growth when supervision was limited, and why she’s now prioritising sustainability over scale.

Hazel has developed a small, structured service that works for her family and honours the kind of therapist she wants to be. This is a reflective and reassuring episode for any OT wondering if it’s possible to grow your practice slowly, intentionally, and without burning out.

You’ll Hear About

• Returning to OT as a mature-age student with a long-held professional goal

• Navigating early roles with supervision gaps and building your own systems

• Designing a part-time, term-based practice that protects energy

• Reframing supervision and parent coaching to reflect your own style

• Using structure and boundaries as tools for growth not limitation

Key Takeaways

Sustainable practice isn’t second-best it’s often the most intentional form of success. You can grow clinical confidence without rushing and your values can lead the way.

Mentioned in this Episode

✔ The Art of Paediatric Therapy – for paeds clinical confidence and structured planning

✔ The OT Coach Academy – Paediatric Hub – for weekly support and practical resources

✔ Sensational Start to Private Practice – for finances, systems, and service foundations

✔ Caregiver Capacity Scale – to reflect and communicate around family engagement

✔ Paper-based timetables, bounce-back emails, and realistic admin planning strategies

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 to work with Alyce Svensk through mentoring, supervision, or professional development, visit www.theotcoach.au to explore how The OT Coach Australia can support you.

To express interest in being featured on a future episode of OT Coaching Confidential, apply at www.theotcoach.au/podcast-1