Beehind the Scenes with Cassandra Gavel

Cassandra Gavel always knew she wanted to become a therapist.

She began university studying psychology and criminology, but an elective in social work changed her direction. She was drawn to the idea of supporting people within the wider context of their families and communities.

After working across Australia and the United Kingdom, Cassandra moved into private practice. She wanted to focus more on therapeutic work while gaining greater control over her schedule after becoming a mother.

“Ultimately, it was about being able to show up for the clientele I was working with, but equally not take away from my family and show up for the big moments for them as well.”

Today, Cassandra leads an all-social-work practice with locations in Sydney and Adelaide, alongside telehealth services across Australia.

Her team provides individual, couples, and family therapy, parenting programs, school workshops, professional training, and group services.

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Celebrating social work’s clinical value

Cassandra’s practice supports clients with complex mental health needs.

She and another clinician hold specialized eating disorder credentials recognized across Australia and New Zealand. The team also works with trauma, neurodivergence, emotional difficulties, and family challenges.

Cassandra is trained in EMDR and supports clients experiencing trauma, long-standing phobias, and performance-related barriers.

For her, the most meaningful moments are when she sees a visible change during a session.

“I can see the trauma or the blocks start to lift. I see them sit up straighter or start to breathe more easily. There is nothing you can compare to that.”

Growing the practice has also helped Cassandra highlight the therapeutic expertise clinical social workers provide.

“We are able to do meaningful work where clients walk away thinking, ‘Clinical social workers can actually do really great work as well.’ It allows us to celebrate our profession and our vast skills.”

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Managing complexity without losing flexibility

Cassandra manages the business, supports contractors, provides supervision, maintains a caseload, coordinates multiple locations, and delivers workshops and training.

Her clinicians may work across different locations and time zones while balancing roles in hospitals and other organizations.

She needs to oversee calendars, locations, client records, invoices, forms, and communication while handling much of the administration herself.

“I do not think I would have been able to do it if I did not have the right software.”

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Why Cassandra chose Zanda

When Cassandra entered private practice, she had limited experience running a business. A successful colleague recommended Zanda, and she found it straightforward from the beginning.

Later, consulting work exposed her to several other practice management platforms. Each experience reinforced her original choice.

“Every single time, I came back to knowing that Zanda was the software for me. It had everything I needed, it was straightforward to use, and it was always evolving.”

Reliability was especially important.

With other platforms, Cassandra encountered problems such as invoices failing to send without a clear explanation. In Zanda, she can quickly confirm whether an invoice or communication was issued and track its status.

“It is very easy for me to track. I can see that something has been emailed out. It is just very user-friendly.”

She has now used Zanda throughout her four and a half years in private practice.

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Managing multiple locations in one place

Zanda gives Cassandra one central view of the practice.

From the same profile, she can move between locations, review practitioner calendars, manage availability, and access client information.

Appointment reminders reflect each client’s local time zone, reducing confusion across states.

“I love being able to have one profile where I can click through the different locations, look at the different practitioners, and manage availability all in one place.”

That visibility also makes it easier to support clinicians. Cassandra can answer questions without searching through separate systems or email chains, while team members can use Zanda’s in-app help resources independently.

“I can give them their initial training, but if they get stuck, they can use the help function. They are able to learn on the fly because it is so informative.”

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Reducing repetitive administration

Storing forms, notes, referrals, letters, and client information in one secure platform has removed much of Cassandra’s administrative burden.

It is especially helpful when responding to formal information requests or subpoenas.

“It has taken the stress out of having to locate everything. All the forms, all the notes, everything is in one secure location.”

Templates and pre-populated information also speed up communication with general practitioners and other referrers.

Instead of rebuilding the same letters or emails, Cassandra can use templates and draw relevant details from the client record. Forms, invoices, and payments are also managed through connected workflows.

“It is saving me hours and hours of time. All of my focus can be on either my clients or building my practice.”

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Saving up to 20 hours every week

Cassandra estimates that Zanda saves her up to 20 hours of administration each week.

Without it, managing records, invoicing, scheduling, communication, forms, and multiple clinicians could require between 20 and 38 hours of administrative support.

Instead, many of those responsibilities are built into her workflows, helping her avoid the cost of hiring a full-time administrator.

“It has really saved me from needing to hire a full-time admin person, which is a significant cost for a growing practice.”

The time saved gives Cassandra more room to supervise clinicians, see clients, develop services, and be present for her family.

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Making online groups feel simple

Cassandra’s practice also delivers group programs, workshops, and training.

Through Zanda’s Zoom integration, participants receive their joining details and enter the correct session without the team manually coordinating each attendee.

One clinician described it simply:

“It’s like magic. We click start, and everyone is brought into the same room.”

For a multi-location practice, that simplicity makes it easier to expand.

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Cassandra’s advice for practice owners

Cassandra believes choosing practice management software is one of the most important decisions a new owner will make.

Payment providers and bank accounts can be changed. Moving years of client records, notes, forms, templates, and financial information is far more difficult.

Her advice is to think beyond what the practice needs today.

“Do your homework on your software in the same way you would do your homework on a life partner. It is holding so much information, and you have to be able to trust it.”

The right platform should continue working as the practice adds clinicians, locations, services, and more complex workflows.

“While you are a sole practitioner, it is easier to shift. When you move into a bigger group practice, it becomes much harder.”

Zanda pulls existing client records and history over during migration, runs scheduling and billing from a single login across every site, and lets you onboard new practitioners within the same system, so you can add people and locations without training on different software.

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Building a practice that supports work and family

Cassandra entered private practice to provide meaningful care without missing important moments with her family.

As the business grew, the challenge became maintaining that flexibility while managing more clinicians, locations, and responsibilities.

Zanda now helps her keep the practice connected, reduce repetitive admin, and maintain a clear view of the business.