Female Founders: Amanda Hitchin and Colchester Children’s Counselling
Name: Amanda Hitchin
Company: Colchester Children’s Counselling
Date started: 2022
Industry: Health
My story
I trained to be a psychotherapist after a career working in education supporting traumatised young people. There seemed to be a real gap in professional understanding and support in this area, and then pandemic struck and I was made redundant, I used this opportunity to return to my studies and commenced my MA.
I grew up in poverty and experienced lots of adverse childhood experiences. I struggled academically and had to return to education as an adult. I was not the child that was expected to achieve much. I think that others doubt fuelled my motivation to succeed and when I was in a safe environment I started to succeed. I am motivated by inspiring an supporting other young people who may be overlooked, and underestimated.
Why I started my business
I opened my private practice with the view of creating a safe space for my clients to explore their internal world, past and current difficulties. My practice grew very organically (with a lot of work and input) and I was able to invest everything back into expanding further. I found myself being a business owner and was privileged to not only help young people that I could support but to also facilitate other incredible women to develop their own opportunities to support others and to see their self-confidence soar, as a consequence this has widened the scope of young people that could be impacted by my own efforts.
Challenges you have faced & how you have overcome those challenges
On paper everything has seemingly gone so well and I just wanted to give an honest reflection that it has not all been smooth sailing. Opening a business without intending to do so means that my organisation has had to be adaptable and grow in response, this means that we haven’t always got it right.
As an independent start-up I had to save costs and do everything myself as I had no investment to pay for website design or admin support, so as the therapeutic work went well and was the focus, some of the business management then suffered. It took a year and a half before I could sustainably get support in place such as cleaners for the rooms, admin etc. I invested firstly in an accountant and accounting software.
I am a determined and independent person and I have had a growth mindset for many years so believed that I could just figure out and learn what I didn’t know, which I could but this also spread myself too far. This year I have learnt when the right time has been to outsource and free myself up to focus on the part of the practice that I love most, the client support.
I have partaken in many business training programs through ‘Small Business Britain’ on the use of AI, Accounting, advertising, trouble shooting and many more aspects. This upskilling has helped give me more understanding and stability with the practice and how I see it moving forward.
Whilst I don’t disclose much about my personal life (to maintain my therapeutic autonomy), I do have a family and home and personal life to maintain and with all those things life can get messy, unpredictable and complicated and I have had to bend and flex in response to these things also, as most of you reading will also be well aware of from your own experiences.
Your greatest achievement whilst having your own business
In January 2025 I was named as a top 100 female entrepreneur for 2025 by f:entrepreneur and Small Business Britain – I was invited to a celebration event at the House of Lords. At the time of writing this, I am a finalist in three different awards;
- The national ‘Small Business Awards’ for the ‘Service Small Business’ and ‘Innovation Award’.
- The ‘UK Start Up Awards- East of England’ for the categories : ‘Consumer Services StartUp of the Year & ‘Health & Wellbeing StartUp of the Year’.
- And the ‘Great British Entrepreneur Awards’ for the ‘Innovation Entrepreneur of the Year Award’
These awards are all incredible (and somewhat embarrassingly exposing) opportunities that I am so grateful for but they do not impact how I show up in the counselling room, they are not discussed with my clients and whilst they are a real honour and I am grateful for the opportunities they bring to champion youth mental health services, they are not nearly as rewarding as the very important breakthrough moments that I see occurring in my clients and their families.
This has and always will be my greatest achievement and it is not something that can be shared outside of the therapeutic room, but my clients and I get to share and know their own very personal accomplishments that change their understanding, relationships and outlooks on their life, future and confidence.
Anything else you think would empower women to start their own business
If I can leave one piece of advice to anyone who may want it, it would be to get in touch with your own motives, drives and self-awareness and find what brings you real joy. If you can make a business, life or career out of moments like that, you will live a very fulfilled life.
I think that many people out there (and in particular, women) have an idea, they have a goal or a dream and they often let others doubt or their own guilt at investing in their ideas put these ideas to the back of their minds. I would say that sometimes you have to take the risk and try. I never would have imagined that I would be a business owner or that in doing so I would find something that has helped me to grow and succeed. You are capable of so much more than you realise.
Website and Social Media Links
Website: colchesterchildrenscounselling.co.uk
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/amanda-hitchin-6b9277130
Facebook: facebook.com/ah.counselling.5
Instagram: @the_new_therapist_in_town
Podcast: creators.spotify.com/pod/show/thenewtherapistintown