The Freedom Therapist

Have you ever had that thought — can I really charge for this? Like, why would someone pay money for this from me? Is it really something people will want?

If you have, you are absolutely not alone. And the reason that thought feels so sticky isn't random - it's deeply embedded in the systems and training that shaped us as therapists. In this episode, we're naming it, getting curious about it, and doing the real work of figuring out where it came from. Because that's the work before the work AND it matters more than any strategy I could give you.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Why so many therapists feel genuinely icky about charging for their expertise — and why that feeling makes complete sense given how we were trained
• How the systems we've worked in have wired us to separate the helping from the money — and what that looks like in our everyday situations.
• Why imposter syndrome hits so differently in the therapy profession, and how our evidence-based training can actually keep us stuck in a loop of tweaking and never launching
• The reframe that has shifted everything for me and why it's not about becoming greedy, it's about sustainability
• Why burnt out, underpaid therapists don't help more people…and what financial stability actually makes possible
• The practical exercise you NEED to do this week on your money beliefs— and why the this matters the most if you want to grow

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Charging for your expertise is not at odds with your values — it's what keeps you in the profession long enough to actually change lives.
• The work before the work is the mindset work — you can have the best digital product in the world sitting in a folder, but if your nervous system is still wired to give it away for free, it stays there.
• Really good therapists making really good money do really good things with it — financial stability means capacity for complex clients, supervision, growth, and staying in love with this work.

RESOURCES + LINKS:

• Listen to last week's episode (Ep. 68 68. Exactly Where to Start With Passive Income as a Therapist (And Why You're Already Closer Than You Think) - we chatted about it in this one!
• Find Mia: @miapoko
• Email: [email protected]

CALL TO ACTION:

If this one stirred something up for you — good. That means it landed. I'd love to know what belief came up for you when you did the exercise, so slide into my DMs over on Instagram at @miapoko or shoot me an email at [email protected]. And if you're loving this series, please screenshot this episode and share it on your stories, or leave us a review — it genuinely helps this podcast reach more therapists who need to hear exactly this. See ya next week. xx

Connect with Mia:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/miapoko and https://www.instagram.com/ot_inspire_therapy/

Get the Complete Personal Brand Kit for Therapists for just $47! https://thefreedomtherapist.com.au/kit

Join the Waitlist for The Freedom Therapist Club: https://www.thefreedomtherapist.com.au/club

There is a visual schedule sitting in your downloads folder right now. A social story from three months ago. A parent handout you typed from scratch because nothing that existed felt like the right fit. A home program template you've made seventeen versions of. And I want you to know — that is a business. That is already a business. You just haven't looked at it that way yet. Because income beyond the one-to-one doesn't have to be this massive overwhelming mountain you build from scratch. It's already here. And today we're going to find it together.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Why so many therapists are already sitting on sellable resources and don't even realise it
• The three income streams available to every therapist business — direct work, expertise, and journey — and why knowing where you're starting from changes everything
• Why financial diversification isn't just a nice business strategy — it's how we stop scrambling when clients cancel, when we're sick, when the landscape shifts
• The resource audit to do this week — how to open your folders, sort what you find, and start seeing your existing work completely differently
• Why curiosity (not judgment) is the whole point of this exercise — and how to stay out of shame while you do it
• What I want you to spend the week ideating on before next episode

Connect with Mia:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/miapoko and https://www.instagram.com/ot_inspire_therapy/

Get the Complete Personal Brand Kit for Therapists for just $47! https://thefreedomtherapist.com.au/kit

Join the Waitlist for The Freedom Therapist Club: https://www.thefreedomtherapist.com.au/club

We're told that growth means doing more. More content, more strategies, more visibility, more of ALL the things.

But some of the biggest shifts in my business — in income, in capacity, in how I actually feel day to day — came from stopping things. Not adding more. Subtracting.

In this episode, I'm sharing the five things I stopped doing urgently that changed how my business runs and how my nervous system feels inside it.

You'll learn:

• Why checking your email every day might be costing you more than you realise
• How working reactively keeps you stuck — and what working ahead actually looks like in practice
• Why one protected week per month with no clients or calls can grow your business faster than filling every slot
• How to stop starting from scratch every time you create content
• What it actually means to switch off — and why half-availability doesn't count

If you've been feeling like your business is running you instead of the other way around, this episode will give you five practical places to start taking it back.

Connect with Mia:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/miapoko and https://www.instagram.com/ot_inspire_therapy/

Get the Complete Personal Brand Kit for Therapists for just $47! https://thefreedomtherapist.com.au/kit

Join the Waitlist for The Freedom Therapist Club: https://www.thefreedomtherapist.com.au/club

If you’re posting consistently… putting real thought into your content… and it still feels a bit quiet — this is probably why.

There’s one part of social media that most therapists are skipping. And it has nothing to do with your content.

In this episode, I’m breaking down the 15-minute habit I recommend to every client — the one that actually builds connection, increases engagement, and gets more eyes on your work.

It’s simple. It takes no extra planning. And you’re probably already spending the time… just not using it this way.

Once you hear this, you’ll start seeing exactly what’s been missing.

And you can literally start doing it right away to increase your engagement, your community and your reach.

Get The Complete Brand Kit for Therapists & Allied Health Practitioners for just $47 here: https://thefreedomtherapist.com.au/brand

Connect with Mia:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/miapoko and https://www.instagram.com/ot_inspire_therapy/

Get the Complete Personal Brand Kit for Therapists for just $47! https://thefreedomtherapist.com.au/kit

Join the Waitlist for The Freedom Therapist Club: https://www.thefreedomtherapist.com.au/club

This is one I get asked about constantly.

How the business actually runs when I’m not in the clinic or on a completely different time zone.

Because from the outside, “working remotely” can feel daunting but it was the best and most sustainable shift I ever made for my business.

In this episode, I walk through the exact systems, tools and processes that hold my business day-to-day.

And we go even deeper on that - on what had to change in the way I work too.

Because this wasn’t just about adding a few apps or tightening things up. It required a complete shift out of doing everything myself and into building a business that can actually run without me being across every step.

Inside this episode, I talk about:

• the systems that stopped me being the bottleneck in my own business
• how we manage communication across different time zones (without being “always on”)
• the tools we actually use daily — and why I keep it simple 
• what changed when I stopped working in a reactive way 
• and how I prepared the business before ever stepping away

If you’ve been thinking about taking time off, going on mat leave, working from somewhere else or just creating more space in your week…

this will show you what that actually looks like behind the scenes.

Connect with Mia:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/miapoko and https://www.instagram.com/ot_inspire_therapy/

Get the Complete Personal Brand Kit for Therapists for just $47! https://thefreedomtherapist.com.au/kit

Join the Waitlist for The Freedom Therapist Club: https://www.thefreedomtherapist.com.au/club

Hiring your first team member can feel exciting - and terrifying - at the same time.

Most therapists I speak to are asking the same questions:

Am I ready? Can I afford this? What if I get it wrong? What if this makes things harder, not easier?

In this episode, Mia walks you through the three checks she always comes back to before hiring whether it’s your first role or your next one.

These are the foundations that stop hiring becoming rushed, stressful, or reactive.

Inside this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why knowing your real numbers matters before you hire
• What to look at beyond just billable hours
• How to think clearly about the role you actually need
• Why position descriptions matter more than most people realise
• How to tell if a role will pay for itself
• What happens when systems aren’t in place
• How good onboarding protects both you and your team

If you’ve been thinking about bringing someone into your practice but feeling unsure, overwhelmed, or hesitant this episode will help you slow it down and make a clear, informed decision.

Connect with Mia:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/miapoko and https://www.instagram.com/ot_inspire_therapy/

Get the Complete Personal Brand Kit for Therapists for just $47! https://thefreedomtherapist.com.au/kit

Join the Waitlist for The Freedom Therapist Club: https://www.thefreedomtherapist.com.au/club

This conversation goes deep into how we're actually working as therapists — what we're carrying mentally every single day, and what changes when we start paying attention to it.

I'm joined by Imogen Nolan, occupational therapist, mentor, and founder of Occupationally Neuro — and someone I've had the absolute privilege of watching build something incredibly thoughtful in this space.

Imogen runs a community-based OT service supporting people with neurological and complex physical disabilities across regional Victoria, and she has taken what she sees every day in her practice around functional cognition and turned it into a body of work, a personal brand, and a mentorship offer that therapists were signing up to before she'd even officially launched.

We talk about functional cognition, cognitive load, and why so many therapists are operating in a constant state of mental traffic without even realising it. Imogen breaks it all down in the most digestible way — including her traffic jam analogy that honestly needs to be on a t-shirt.

Then we dive into the behind-the-scenes of how Imogen went from hesitant post-and-ghoster on Instagram to building a community so warm and trusting that her group mentorship sold out before she had even launched it.

We talk personal brand, showing up consistently, letting go of perfectionism, and why the confidence really does come after you do the thing.

What we cover:

• Why cognition is the missing piece in so many therapy models — and how it shapes everything we do
• A simple way to understand cognitive load (and why so many therapists feel mentally full before their day even starts)
• The “traffic jam” analogy that explains overwhelm in a way that actually makes sense
• Small, practical shifts that reduce cognitive load immediately
• The difference between reactive vs proactive ways of working — and how that shows up in your day
• Why your systems matter more than you think (and how they quietly shape your capacity)
• What it actually looked like for Imogen to start showing up online — including the fear, the “post and ghost” phase, and what changed over time
• The tension therapists feel between professionalism and being human online
• How her personal brand led to real opportunities — referrals, collaborations and a sold-out first time mentorship
• The reality behind building something before you feel ready — and why that matters
• How cognitive load shows up in your business, your content, and your everyday life

Connect with Imogen:

Instagram: @Imogen_occupationaltherapist

Instagram: @Occupationally_Neuro

She is also the host of the Cognitive Capacity Chat podcast.

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-cognitive-capacity-chat/id1887698062

Connect with Mia:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/miapoko and https://www.instagram.com/ot_inspire_therapy/

Get the Complete Personal Brand Kit for Therapists for just $47! https://thefreedomtherapist.com.au/kit

Join the Waitlist for The Freedom Therapist Club: https://www.thefreedomtherapist.com.au/club

There's also something BRAND NEW coming next week that I know you're going to love — and it ties directly into everything we just talked about. My email community gets first access.

Get on the list here → https://www.thefreedomtherapist.com.au/letters

You sit down to post.

Open a blank page.

Two hours later… you’ve got something you don’t even like.

And quietly, you start wondering if this is even worth it.

This episode is for that moment.

Because the exhaustion you’re feeling around social media?

There’s actually something else happening underneath it — something most therapists don’t realise they’re doing.

In this episode, I walk you through:

• why content feels so heavy (even when you care deeply about your work)
• the pattern that’s keeping you starting from scratch every time
• what actually makes content feel easier, faster… and more like you

And I’ll give you two simple reflections you can take straight into your next post — the kind that don’t require more time, just a different starting point.

If social media has been feeling like the thing that takes the most… and gives the least back — start here.

There's also something BRAND NEW coming next week that I know you're going to love — and it ties directly into everything we just talked about. My email community gets first access.

Get on the list here → https://www.thefreedomtherapist.com.au/letters

Get The Complete Brand Kit for Therapists & Allied Health Practitioners for just $47 here: https://thefreedomtherapist.com.au/brand

Connect with Mia:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/miapoko and https://www.instagram.com/ot_inspire_therapy/

Get the Complete Personal Brand Kit for Therapists for just $47! https://thefreedomtherapist.com.au/kit

Join the Waitlist for The Freedom Therapist Club: https://www.thefreedomtherapist.com.au/club

Natalie is a paediatric OT in Queensland and the founder of Discover OT. She’s also an auntie to seven little people, and you can feel how much she genuinely loves kids and families in the way she speaks about her work.

But what I love most about Nat is this: she didn’t just leave a clinic job and start a business. She rebuilt the whole way she works so it actually fits her life.

In this conversation, Nat talks honestly about what her work looked like before Discover OT: full-time clinic life, long days, back-to-back sessions, and that pressure to hit billable targets/

She names what so many therapists feel but don’t always say out loud: When quantity is prioritised, quality suffers. And your nervous system pays for it.

Then we get into what changed when she chose to pave her own way.

Nat shares the turning point quote that stuck with her: it’s your choice whether you follow someone else’s dream or pave your own.

Nat walks us through the practical pieces that made launching her private practice feel steady and what she prioritised to make it the successful business it is today.

And the result?

Launching her business “skyrocketed beyond what I could have ever imagined.”

We talk about:

• The moment Nat realised she didn’t want to spend her career following someone else’s dream
• The early foundations that made launching her business feel exciting and profitable over frantic
• How Discover OT filled the books almost INSTANTLY because the systems were set up before she opened the doors
• What it’s actually like being a mobile therapist and why it increased her connection instead of isolating her
• Building real community with schools, kindies, daycares and educators (and why it changed everything)
• What shifted in Nat’s energy when she started working school-based hours and designing her own schedule
• Why her income AND energy expanded when she went out on her own in private practice
• What it’s like to say yes to life during the week (appointments, family events, travel) without the guilt
• What she’d say to the therapist who feels scared but is thinking about stepping into the private practice world

If you’re a therapist who knows your current model isn’t sustainable, but you’re also scared to change it, this episode will meet you right where you are.

Nat’s business is such a clear example of what becomes possible when you do the inner work, the planning, and the foundations together. She’s built a practice that’s connected, respected in the community, and sustainable to run.

Find Nat / Discover OT on Instagram: @discover_ot

Referral link is in Nat’s bio (streamlined and easy for families)

Connect with Mia:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/miapoko and https://www.instagram.com/ot_inspire_therapy/

Get the Complete Personal Brand Kit for Therapists for just $47! https://thefreedomtherapist.com.au/kit

Join the Waitlist for The Freedom Therapist Club: https://www.thefreedomtherapist.com.au/club

If you’re spending hours on your content and your community still isn’t growing… this episode is for you.

If you’re rewriting captions. Tweaking hooks. Trying to make every post “valuable enough.”

And it’s still slow.

There’s one type of content you’re probably not creating — and it’s the one that actually brings new people into your world.

It takes five minutes. It doesn’t require a deep educational breakdown. And it works.

In this episode, I’m sharing the exact shift I want you to make this week if you want growth without adding more work.

Before you plan your next carousel — listen to this.

Get The Complete Brand Kit for Therapists & Allied Health Practitioners for just $47 here: https://thefreedomtherapist.com.au/brand

Connect with Mia:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/miapoko and https://www.instagram.com/ot_inspire_therapy/

Get the Complete Personal Brand Kit for Therapists for just $47! https://thefreedomtherapist.com.au/kit

Join the Waitlist for The Freedom Therapist Club: https://www.thefreedomtherapist.com.au/club