In this episode, I’m sharing three lessons I’m carrying forward after a big, full year — both in business and in life.

This is an honest reflection on what happens when demand stays high, capacity changes, and the way you’ve always worked quietly stops being supportive. As therapists, we’re skilled at clinical reflection — but when you’re running a practice or leading a business, self-reflection becomes just as important.

I talk through what shifted for me when I stopped trying to push through and instead got really honest about my capacity — even when that honesty was uncomfortable.

In this episode, I cover:

• Why doing more didn’t lead to more progress, and how over-functioning showed up for me
• How task switching and constant communication drained energy without moving things forward
• The link between nervous system load and self-trust — and why decisions slowed when I was stretched
• Why knowing your capacity isn’t enough, and how I had to start designing my work around reality
• How this applies when you can’t reduce demand, but still need sustainability

This episode is for you if you’re coming into the year feeling tired, stretched, or quietly heavy — and want your work to feel steadier, more intentional, and more supportive.

If this resonates, I’d love to hear what you’re carrying into the year ahead. You can find me on Instagram at @miapoko

And if you’re enjoying the podcast, leaving a review is one of the biggest ways you can support the show. I read every single one.

Big love — I’ll see you next week.

2026 is here - and this year, I’m entering differently.

In this first episode of The Freedom Therapist Podcast for 2026, I’m sharing what I’m consciously calling in as an occupational therapist, business owner, and human who wants to be more present - in my work, my life, and the way I lead.

2025 was a challenging year for me in many ways, and while there was also deep pride, meaningful work, and beautiful community, it taught me a lot about capacity, energy and what happens when your nervous system is carrying a little too much.

This episode isn’t about goals or productivity hacks. It’s about how I want to feel in my body as I move through 2026 - and what that means for the way I work.

In this episode, I talk about:

• Why nervous system regulation is foundational to how I run my business
• What “protecting my energy” actually looks like in real life
• Creating space between meetings and emotional exchanges
• Why clarity of vision matters — especially after a hard year
• Filtering noise in an increasingly loud online space
• Trusting intuition without confusing it with pressure or “shoulds”
• The systems I’m using to be more present with my time and attention
• My word for 2026 — and what is leading everything this year

This episode is an invitation to pause, reflect, and consider how you want to enter this year — not just strategically, but somatically.

If you’re a therapist, practice owner, or service-based business owner who feels the pull to slow the pace, protect your energy, and lead more intentionally in 2026, this conversation is for you.

Resources mentioned:

• The Opal app https://www.opal.so/ (for intentional screen time and boundaries)

• Nathalie - @aimbynathalie — psychic medium session referenced in the episode

If this episode resonates, I’d love to hear your word for the year. You can send me a DM on Instagram @miapoko or the inbox is always open too! [email protected]

And if you’re enjoying the podcast, leaving a review or sharing the episode helps this space grow more than you know.

If you’ve opened Instagram this week, stared at a blank caption box and thought:

“I actually don’t have it in me…”

This is the episode you need.

December asks therapists to hold so much- final sessions, reports, cancellations, end-of-year fatigue, squeezing just one more thing in AND on top of that, you're meant to “keep your marketing going.”

I know you’re tired. And you don’t want marketing taking the last scraps of your energy.

This episode is just what to do in that exact moment.

To make it easier.

Mia shares the simple shifts to help your December content plan turn into something that actually feels regulated. And she walks through why most therapists quietly overcomplicate their content especially when capacity is low.

This isn’t about doing more.

It’s about dropping the version of content that exhausts you.

You’ll hear:

• why therapists spend way too long editing one post
• how perfection sneaks into content disguised as “high quality”
• how to embrace the messy
• how to show personality without oversharing
• and how to reuse and recycle for low level energy.

Listen when you want content to take five minutes, not fifty.

In this episode, I sit down with occupational therapist and director of Thrive Together Therapy, Aileen Mathyssen - a remote OT, private practice owner and leader in rural & remote allied health in Western Australia.

Aileen’s story starts in Ireland, moves through Bondi and lands in Paraburdoo - a tiny mining town in WA where she became a true generalist OT and one of the only allied health professionals families could access. We speak honestly about how hard rural and remote practice can be — and why so many of us stay, build businesses here, and wouldn’t change it for the world.

Aileen shares her path in creating Thrive Together Therapy — a neuroaffirming, community-led OT practice serving kids and adults across remote WA — while raising two boys, navigating Pilbara life and learning to back herself as a business owner building something sustainable.

Inside this episode, we cover:

• What surprised her most about moving from city OT life to remote WA
• The realities of starting and growing an OT practice in a town hours from the nearest major city
• How Thrive Together Therapy grew from one OT with a vision into a values-led allied health team reshaping what remote care can look like
• We speak about the model Aileen created where her support doesn’t stop at the therapy room - it ripples into classrooms, families and the whole community.
• How mentoring, support and group supervision helped her leave her government role and go all in
• What freedom in business looks like for her now: school carnivals, family travel, and a rural OT business she genuinely loves to lead

AND if Aileen’s story has you imagining a business that finally feels like you — with community around you, systems that make sense, and space for your life outside client work - The Freedom Therapist Club is open for enrollment for the 2026 cohort.

Early Bird ends tonight.

This is the last day to join with the reduced pricing and the full stack of bonuses for 2026. We won’t offer this pricing or these bonuses again for this round - and we’ve already had returning and new members quietly slide their names onto the list.

If you want support to grow a sustainable, profitable, values-led practice next year - and you don’t want to do it alone — you can learn more and join us here: https://www.thefreedomtherapist.com.au/club

Connect with Aileen:

Instagram: @busybrains_kids
Instagram: @thrivetherapypilbara
Thrive Together Therapy: https://thrivetogethertherapy.au/

What does it really look like to start a private practice before you feel “ready”?

In this episode, I sit down with Chante Niemand, occupational therapist and founder of Little Lighthouse Therapy in North Brisbane — a paediatric practice she opened just six months ago that has already grown to include her first team member.

This isn’t a story about scaling fast or chasing big numbers. It’s about the quiet courage it takes to step out of your comfort zone, trust a future vision, and begin before all the pieces are perfect.

Chante shares openly about:

1. The moment of encouragement that sparked Little Lighthouse Therapy into being
2. Why she chose to start her business now — and how she considered her long-term vision and sustainability
3. Building a clinic space that feels warm, playful, and child-led (including scooter board soccer!)
4. What has surprised her most in her first six months — from referrals to capacity growth
5. The vulnerability of networking and “showing your face” in the community, and how she built strong referral relationships
6. The identity shift from OT to business owner — and what it means to carry a brand that feels true to who you are
7. How she navigates imposter feelings, systems, and the messy trial-and-error of running a new practice

This is such a generous and grounded conversation for anyone who’s dreaming of opening their own practice, or in those early months wondering if it’s all too soon.

Chante’s story is a reminder that you don’t have to have it all figured out to begin — you just need to back yourself, start with what you have, and keep showing up in a way that feels honest.

LINKS:
Connect on Instagram: @littlelighthousetherapy

Little Lighthouse Therapy

For a long time, I avoided Instagram in my practice.

I’d overthink every caption, second-guess every post, and tell myself I’d “come back when I had time.”

(Which we both know never really happens.)

But the moment I stopped forcing it and built a structure that actually worked in a therapist’s real week everything changed.

Clients started finding me through my words.

Opportunities landed that I couldn’t have planned for.

And my content started to feel like part of the work, not a distraction from it.

In this episode, I’m sharing how that shift happened. The honest story behind going from avoidant to visible and what it really takes to make marketing feel like you again.

You’ll hear:

• the real reason therapists feel resistance to showing up online
• what helped me stay consistent without performing
• how to find content inside your everyday work (instead of inventing it)
• and why the therapy space needs more ethical, human voices online right now

If you’ve ever thought, “I know how to explain this better, I just don’t know how to say it online” this one’s for you.

And if you’re ready to make content feel not only simple, straightforward but ennoyable? Join me for The Freedom Therapist Content Method™

https://www.thefreedomtherapist.com.au/masterclass

A free live masterclass happening Thursday, November 13 at 5:30 PM AEDT.

It’s the framework that changed everything for me, and it might just change how you feel about marketing too.

You’ve written the caption in your head a hundred times.

You talk about these topics all day in sessions — emotional regulation, connection, care, identity, growth — it flows so easily when you’re in the room.

But the moment you sit down to share it online, your stomach drops.

You start rewriting, second-guessing, shrinking.

And suddenly the thing that should feel like connection feels like exposure.

In this episode, I’m unpacking why it feels so hard to show up online as a therapist or allied health practitioner, even when you know exactly what to say (and when we don’t too!)

We’ll talk about:

– How the therapy / private practice space can make visibility feel terrifying

– Why the moment you finally get busy or successful can trigger the biggest wobble

– The link between self-doubt and professionalism (and how it quietly keeps you small)

– Why confidence doesn’t come before visibility… and what to do instead

– How to collect new “evidence” that you can hold this season of your business

Because you don’t need to feel ready to be seen.

You just need a process that doesn’t fall apart every time you doubt yourself.

If you’ve been avoiding marketing, rewriting the same caption ten times, or resenting how performative online spaces can feel —this episode is for you.

It’s not about “being more confident.” It’s about finding a process that is YOURS.

And if you’re ready to build a structure that holds you steady through the wobbles, on all the weeks - join me for The Freedom Therapist Content Method™, my free masterclass on Thursday 13 November.

I’ll walk you through the exact 5 hour content rhythm I use to keep my practice visible without overworking or losing my integrity.

It’s 100% Free. It’s live. And we will be capping numbers - so jump on in if your keen!

And THANK YOU to the over 100 of you who are already registered!!

Register here → www.thefreedomtherapistclub.com/masterclass

If you’ve ever tried to keep up with marketing your private practice while juggling clients, reports, and the chaos of real life — this episode is for you.

We talk about what it really looks like to find rhythm in your business when everything feels unpredictable: why showing up online feels so heavy for allied health practitioners and therapists, and how to create visibility that feels ethical, sustainable, and human.

Because visibility doesn’t have to mean more noise or self-promotion.

It can be the way your care becomes findable.

Inside this episode:

• The truth about therapist burnout and online visibility
• Why traditional content strategies don’t work for private practice
• How to rebuild rhythm when you’ve lost momentum online
• What sustainable marketing really looks like for therapists

Mentioned:

🗓️ Free Masterclass — The Freedom Therapist Content Method™

How to Create Content That’s Visible, Ethical & Gets You Fully Booked in Less Than 5 Hours a Month.

Live Thursday 13 November, 5:30 p.m. AWST.

Join us here.

We poured some wine, hit record, and spoke about what it really feels like to start a brand new practice from scratch.

In today’s episode, I sit down in person in Mparntwe/Alice Springs with my gorgeous friend and client, Hannah Muir, the founder of Deep End Counselling. We poured some wine, settled the nerves, and talked about what it really feels like to build a business from the very beginning.

Hannah shares so honestly about:

1. Why vulnerability is at the centre of her practice, and why creating a “lounge room, not an office” matters so deeply.
2. Her passion for perinatal mental health, and the huge gaps in support she sees for women and families.
3. The privilege and power of being invited into someone’s birth space — and the feminism, capitalism, and absurdity of what women still have to fight for in maternal care.
4. The messy parts of starting a practice — imposter syndrome, showing up on social media, working around family, and trying not to burn out.
5. What it actually looks like to create a business that supports her family, instead of the other way around.

This is not a polished “here’s how I did it” story. It’s a raw, real conversation about starting from scratch, juggling a hundred balls in the air, and learning what sustainable practice really means when your wellbeing — and your family’s wellbeing — is on the line.

If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s possible to start your own practice with little kids, while still staying true to your values and your life, Hannah’s story is proof that you don’t have to choose between them.

Connect with Hannah

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deep.end.counselling/

Deep End Counselling: https://www.deependcounselling.com/

Download your FREE GUIDE: The 3 Content Types You Need to Stand Out Online as a Therapist -  https://www.thefreedomtherapist.com.au/content

What happens when you realize you don’t have to run your practice the way everyone else is telling you to?

Today on the Freedom Therapist podcast I’m joined by Emily Mackaway — occupational therapist, mum of two, and founder of My Family OT.

Emily’s story is one of reimagining what’s possible: from burning out in systems that didn’t work for her brain or her family, to slowly crafting a business that fits around school pick-ups, big emotions after the school day, and her own neurodivergent needs.

In this episode we dive into:

1. Emily’s winding path into OT (and why she swore she’d never follow in her mum’s footsteps).
2. What it was like juggling paediatrics, adults, palliative care, and neuro rehab — and the burnout that followed.
3. Why she refuses to see kids unless parents are also on board, and how that shifted the heart of her practice.
4. The pressure so many therapists feel to “do it all,” and how Emily found the courage to scale back into the work that actually lights her up.
5. Building a business that bends around family life, rather than the other way around.
6. The role of time, trial and error, and even a little jealousy in finally claiming her lane.

If you’ve ever felt like you should be able to see everyone, do everything, or grow your practice in a certain way — Emily’s story will feel like a deep exhale.

Connect with Emily

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/my.family.ot/

My Family OT: https://www.myfamilyot.com.au/

We also spoke about THIS device to help with iPhone distractions! https://getbrick.app/