OT Coaching Confidential
OT Coaching Confidential
Podcast Description
OT Coaching Confidential offers a unique and intimate look into the world of occupational therapy through one-on-one mentoring sessions. Each episode, we focus on a different occupational therapist, providing them with a safe, anonymous space to explore their professional challenges and growth opportunities. This anonymity allows our guests to be completely open and honest, fostering conversations that are as real as they are insightful.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast explores a variety of themes relevant to occupational therapists, including career transitions, leadership development, and work-life balance. Specific episode examples include a discussion on transitioning from student to practitioner with Claire, navigating maternity leave with Chelsea, and managing diverse caseloads in regional settings with Jennifer, ensuring a comprehensive look at both personal and professional growth.
OT Coaching Confidential – Real conversations. Real growth. Real therapists. Real world.
OT Coaching Confidential is a mentoring podcast for occupational therapists and allied health professionals who want honest insight, genuine reflection, and the reassurance that they are not navigating this work alone. Each episode is a real, unscripted one-on-one mentoring session between host Alyce Svensk and an anonymous guest. An honest conversation about where they are right now, what they are working through, and what it looks and feels like to grow as a therapist and professional.
Topics span the full breadth of practice life: clinical complexity, building confidence, managing a caseload, stepping into leadership, navigating private practice, career transitions, and everything in between.
You will find:
Real mentoring conversations grounded in everyday practice
Thoughtful questions and gentle reframes that shift perspective
Practical strategies you can take straight back into your week
Space to pause, reflect, and reconnect with why you do this work
Whether you are just starting out, deep in the complexity of clinical work, or building something of your own – there is something here for you.
Hosted by Alyce Svensk, paediatric occupational therapist, coach, and founder of The OT Coach Australia.
Want to be a guest?
Being a guest on OT Coaching Confidential is a real mentoring session with Alyce and your story could be exactly what another OT needs to hear. Guests remain completely anonymous, so you can speak openly and honestly about where you are in your journey.
Apply here: https://www.theotcoach.au/podcast-1
In this episode of OT Coaching Confidential, I’m joined by Katie, an occupational therapist with a background in acute, rehabilitation and hospital practice who is building a completely new area of occupational therapy in maternal health.
After experiencing the transition into motherhood herself, Katie recognised a gap in the support available to women recovering from Caesarean birth. Drawing on both her clinical expertise and lived experience, she’s now developing a private practice that combines occupational therapy, education and digital resources to support mothers physically, emotionally and practically through one of life’s biggest transitions.
Together, we explore what it really takes to build a business around an idea that doesn’t yet have a roadmap and the difference between having a great clinical concept and creating a service people can access, understand and value.
We explore:
- Identifying an emerging area of occupational therapy practice through lived experience
- Moving from hospital practice into private practice and business ownership
- Building referral networks before asking for referrals
- Defining an ideal client and positioning a service outside traditional OT pathways
- Designing a client journey that balances education, therapeutic support and sustainable service delivery
- Using AI as a strategic thinking partner for business planning, marketing and content creation
- Creating scalable digital resources alongside one-to-one clinical services
- The practical foundations of private practice, including pricing, Medicare, business systems and client onboarding
Key takeaways:
- Some of the best business ideas begin by solving a problem you’ve experienced yourself.
- Creating a new area of practice requires just as much clarity around service design as it does clinical expertise.
- Building genuine professional relationships comes before building referral pathways.
- Confidence often follows action not the other way around.
- AI can become a valuable thinking partner when used for planning, strategy and idea development, not just content writing.
- A well-designed client journey helps transform knowledge into a sustainable and valuable service.
- Building a niche business is about testing, refining and learning not waiting until everything feels perfect.
Mentioned in this episode:
- Sensational Start to Setting Up in Private Practice (Verve OT) – A workshop covering pricing, business foundations, funding pathways and setting up a sustainable private practice.
- Digital Picnic – Practical training and education for building an intentional social media strategy.
- Claude AI & ChatGPT – Using AI tools as strategic thinking partners for business planning, marketing and content creation.
- Ready to Boss Legal – Legal templates and resources for Australian online businesses and private practice owners.
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 support through supervision, business mentoring or reflective practice, visit www.theotcoach.au to explore how The OT Coach Australia can support you.
The OT Coach Australia. Where therapists come to grow.
Disclaimer
This podcast’s information is provided for general reference and was obtained from publicly accessible sources. The Podcast Collaborative neither produces nor verifies the content, accuracy, or suitability of this podcast. Views and opinions belong solely to the podcast creators and guests.
For a complete disclaimer, please see our Full Disclaimer on the archive page. The Podcast Collaborative bears no responsibility for the podcast’s themes, language, or overall content. Listener discretion is advised. Read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy for more details.