Beehind the Scenes with Belinda Scott

Belinda Scott has spent decades working closely with people, first as a registered nurse and now as a counselor and professional supervisor.

Her background spans treating chronic health conditions and dementia, supporting carers, and working across case management, behavior support and aged care. She began studying counseling in 2005 and completed further training in family therapy and mental health.

Today, Belinda runs a solo practice in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, supporting individuals, couples, carers, Employee Assistance Program clients and some clients with disability-related needs.

“I love people. I love seeing people live their best lives. That’s my motivation.”

---

Building a solo private practice

Belinda’s move into private practice happened gradually.

She continued nursing as her counseling caseload grew, describing the early practice as an “expensive hobby” that eventually became cost-neutral.

As the practice grew, it became harder to balance both roles.

“My work wanted me to do more hours, and my practice was just getting out of control. So I thought, let’s make the jump.”

Five years ago, she left nursing for private practice full time.

She now works from a dedicated counseling space at her home in Wagga Wagga. She initially kept her previous consulting room as a backup while she worked out how clients would respond to a home-based practice.

One of her first clients quickly put those concerns at ease.

“I really love that I’m at your home. It feels so personal, and it feels so connected.”

---

When everything came back to one person

As Belinda’s caseload grew, so did the administration around it.

She handwrote her clinical notes, sent every appointment reminder herself, tracked the responses and collected payments through Square after each session.

There was no admin team to pick up the extra work.

“I needed something that was going to hold me together.”

Belinda began using Zanda, and gradually moved more of the day-to-day running of the practice into one place.

“For me, it really brought everything together in a way that made life so much easier.”

---

Cutting weekly admin from 10–15 hours to 3–4

For Belinda, the clearest impact has been time.

She estimates she would spend 10–15 hours each week on administration without Zanda. Today, that figure is closer to 3–4 hours.

“Obviously there’s never no admin. That would be a dream come true, but it makes the admin very manageable for me as a sole worker.”

Having her schedule and client information together also makes it easier to manage the practice when she is away from her desk. She can check the schedule from her phone and know when she needs to be back for her next appointment.

“I think it just organizes me in a really lovely way and keeps me accountable.”

---

Giving clients more control

Belinda usually sees around five to six clients on a full clinical day. She is deliberate about leaving room in her schedule for life outside work.

“I prioritize my own life.”

Existing clients can use the client portal to choose their own appointments, removing much of the back-and-forth that used to come with scheduling.

“Clients love the portal. They love to be able to go in there and book their own [appointment].”

Before that, missed calls often created another task for Belinda later in the day.

“People will ring. If you’re in with clients, of course you can’t answer, then you’ve got to ring back. Whereas now they just have the portal, and away they go.”

She still speaks directly with new inquiries so she can understand what they are looking for and make sure the relationship is likely to be a good fit.

Automated reminders have also helped reduce disruption to her schedule. Belinda originally sent reminders 24 hours before appointments, then changed them to 48 hours so clients had more notice within her cancellation policy.

“I get very few cancellations.”

---

Extending care beyond Wagga Wagga

Telehealth has helped Belinda work with people who live further away.

Some clients travel from neighboring towns up to 100 kilometers from Wagga Wagga. They may attend their first appointment in person and continue future sessions online.

For Belinda, having Zoom integrated with the practice system keeps that process running smoothly.

“Getting Zoom has been fantastic. It’s so easy. It streamlines everything.”

---

Less admin around each appointment

Belinda has also reduced some of the smaller tasks that used to take up time before and after sessions. She creates her own forms and sends them electronically so clients can review and sign agreements in advance.

“Being able to create my own forms and send them out for electronic signature is terrific.”

It means appointments can begin without spending the first few minutes working through paperwork.

“There’s no fiddling around at the beginning of a session getting people to sign agreements and consents and things like that.”

During appointments, Belinda uses BizzyAI Scribe, a transcription tool in Zanda, to document session information and format her notes. In cases where the client is cautious about having a full counseling session recorded, she takes brief notes and uses transcription with her own templates afterward to document the information she needs.

---

A practice that fits her life

Belinda has built a practice she can manage on her own without giving up the flexibility that matters to her.

She can protect time in her schedule, support clients in person and online, and keep the administrative side of the practice under control without a separate team.

“I find it quite intuitive. It’s easy for me to find things.”

After years of recommending Zanda to other counselors in her professional circles, Belinda’s reason remains simple: it helps her spend less time managing the practice and more time working in the way she wants to.