Precise. Perceptive. And (always) candid.
About Elana
I’m a group practice owner, business consultant to other practice owners, and a deeply inconvenient person to have in your court if you prefer to eyeball things and hope for the best.
In my twenty-plus year career in psychotherapy, I’ve seen our industry change beyond recognition. For one, therapy is mainstream now — and that’s a good thing. People book sessions the way they book yoga classes, and then debrief their appointments at the dog park (just this morning, in fact).
The demand for therapy has never been higher. And the supply of new therapists flooding the market means there’s a lot more competition. That drives up the price of marketing, and makes procuring new clients for your practice more elusive.
The influx of new therapists has also led to an explosion in group practices across North America. It’s never been easier to start a group practice: a website, a good EHR, a checklist, and you’re off. But it is really (really) hard to build a group practice that has stability, healthy profit, and a great reputation. You know, the kind that therapists actually want to stay at.
I’m pretty proud to say that my practice is one of the good ones, and that is not due to luck. My clinic has thrived because I’ve sought out help every step of the way. I’ve invested heavily into my business and my team. I’ve consulted extensively with other leaders, and I am known for asking a million questions. Five years into my practice, my team has grown to twenty therapists, two locations, and over ten thousand sessions a year. Best of all: I’ve only had two therapists leave my team in that entire time.
I’ve been coaching other group practice owners for several years: first informally, and now in a more structured way. There are few things I love more than watching the clinic owners I work with see their session count increasing and their profit margin growing. I want clients to come to therapy at your clinic and have an experience that knocks their socks off. I want to put an end to mediocre (or just plain bad) therapy. And yes, I want your business – and your therapists – to make good money.
RCC · ACS · M.Ed. Counselling Psychology, (UBC 2005)
I’m a Registered Clinical Counsellor and an Approved Clinical Supervisor, which means I’ve spent a significant portion of my career not just doing therapy, but training other people to do it well.
I opened my clinic, Open Space Counselling, in 2021. I hired a dream team, and my practice grew like a sourdough starter — slowly at first, then faster than I expected (and occasionally requiring intervention).
We’re now a team of twenty therapists across two locations in Vancouver and North Vancouver. I spend my days developing my business, mentoring my team, overseeing our internship program, and supporting other group practice owners through consulting and coaching.
Elana Sures
My quarterly meetings used to be feel-good sessions. Then I ran the numbers.
How this started
As my clinic grew, so did my marketing spend. Then, my business coach suggested that I calculate the ROI on my marketing spend: a calculation that requires knowing your average number of visits per client.
So I spent hours digging through Jane (our EHR), pulling the numbers for each clinician. What I found was…sobering. In our field, it’s widely understood that meaningful, sustainable change in therapy takes a minimum of eight sessions. Some of my therapists were averaging four or five. And these weren’t inexperienced clinicians. They were skilled, talented practitioners who I would have seen for therapy myself.
I started having different conversations in my quarterly meetings. I was genuinely curious: what did the clinicians think was the reason for their clients drifting away prematurely? What I found was a pattern: some therapists were hesitant to book sessions in advance because it felt pushy. Others were skipping treatment planning and flying by the seat of their pants. Others were staying on the surface of what clients brought in, without getting beneath the stories to the deeper pattern underneath.
I spent months coaching my team through these issues and recording videos exploring the themes I kept coming back to. The first videos were raw (messy bun, kitchen table, zero production value). But when other clinic owners heard about them, they asked if they could buy them to use with their own teams. The response was enthusiastic enough that I decided to record them properly, and add in exercises for accountability and implementation.
That became the Client Retention System.
A bit more about me…
I’m the most chill type-A person you’ve ever met.
I’m rigorous about quality. I care about precision, excellence, and getting things right. But don’t be fooled into thinking I’m rigid. I know that therapy – and business – are messy, imperfect, and inclined to curve balls. I’m not aiming for perfection; in fact, I think leaning into the mess and showing up real is one of our best shots at success in this field. Whether you’re a therapist on my team, a colleague, or a consulting client, you can be sure that when we connect, you’ll get a version of me that is focused, productive, and fairly unpolished (let me know in advance if you don’t like swearing).
I’m genuine, funny, and despite being on the introverted side, I’m radically transparent. I love words: speaking them, writing them, and reading them.
Outside of work, I spend loads of time with my husband, teen daughters, and our pup, Milo. On more ambitious days we are beach combing, hiking the trails on the North Shore mountains, and sea kayaking; many other days we’re lounging around the house getting too much screen time. When the weather is bad, I write short fiction, read, and drink an unreasonable amount of Bengal Spice tea.
What my clients say
Read what therapists and practice owners are saying about my consulting work, my program and how it has impacted their approach to client retention.
“Elana has an incredible way of blending solid business strategy with deep clinical integrity. Her insights and guidance are thought provoking, and I always leave feeling grounded, confident, and empowered.”
Robyn Kopriva
Founder, Great Lakes Wellness Co (Sarnia, Ont)
Not sure where to start?
I’m happy to have a conversation about which of my offerings might be the best fit for where you are. No pitch, no pressure, just a straightforward chat.