Leadership capability for founders
One-to-one sessions that help you work on the thoughts, emotions and behaviours that shape how you lead.
One-to-one · 60-minute sessions · Online
Founder Therapy is a confidential, client-led reflective practice for founders and CEOs who want to increase their self-leadership capability, and lead with more clarity when it counts.
We only work together if it’s a good fit.
Who this is for
Founder Therapy is for founders and CEOs who want to work on their self-leadership, especially if more of your time is spent leading the business than operating inside it.
It’s a fit if you’re struggling to delegate, feel frustrated with your team, feel exhausted by putting in so many hours and worrying everything will crumble if you stepped away, struggle with difficult conversations or decisions, feel like an imposter, or wake up in the middle of the night stressed or anxious about your company, your team, or your customers.
Who this isn’t for
Not clinical treatment. If you’re looking for licensed treatment for clinical depression, severe anxiety, or other conditions that need specialist mental health care, Founder Therapy isn’t the right place.
Not coaching or consulting. Coaches and consultants often give you a personalised action plan and expert advice. That is valuable, but it’s not what this is. Founder Therapy is client-led. It’s closer to a therapeutic process: we explore the patterns shaping how you lead, so you can see them clearly and choose differently. I don’t hand you a playbook for your business.
How it works
Step 1 — 30-minute intro call
A short conversation to see whether we’re a good fit to work together, personally and practically, and whether what you’re bringing belongs in Founder Therapy. If it is a fit and you want to continue, we can book your first session from there.
Step 2 — Start sessions
If we both say yes, we begin one-to-one sessions (60 minutes, online). Most people start weekly or fortnightly. I generally recommend starting weekly, then reassessing as we go.
I have a first session guarantee. If you did not get value from the first session, and don't want to continue, the first session is free. All you risked was an hour of your time.
Step 3 — Sustained work
This work compounds. One-off sessions rarely change much. A sustained stretch, often around a quarter of regular sessions, gives enough time for patterns to become visible and workable. That’s a recommendation, not a fixed package: we decide cadence and duration together based on what you need.
What we work on
Sessions are client-led. You bring what’s top of mind for you. Common topics we could cover can include but is not limited to:
• Struggling to delegate
• Feeling frustrated with your team
• Exhaustion from long hours, and the sense that everything would crumble if you stepped away
• Difficult conversations and decisions
• Feeling like an imposter in leadership
• Waking stressed or anxious about the company, the team, or customers
• Reactivity, control, and avoidance
• The quiet sense that everything still depends on you
Noticing those patterns, and unpacking why they show up and how to change them, is the work.
Founder EQ is the lens we use to make those patterns visible and workable. It is inspired by CBT, an evidence-based therapeutic model. In practice, that means we look carefully at how thoughts and emotions shape behaviour in leadership, and build the awareness that lets you respond with more choice, rather than on autopilot. Founder Therapy is essentially CBT applied to the founder seat. The quality of the relationship has a big impact on reaching outcomes, which is why I also work with a humanistic, person-centred approach. It creates the safety and honesty necessary for achieving desired outcomes. My role is to bring that structure and presence, so the process stays rigorous, practical, and grounded in facilitating positive change in your leadership.
How sessions feel
The working relationship matters. Outcomes in this kind of work are shaped by how safe, honest, and useful the relationship feels, which is why we start with a fit call.
Sessions are confidential, reflective, and person-centred. You’re the expert in your own experience. My role is to help you notice what’s driving your leadership in the moment, expand your range of responses, and tie that awareness back to clearer decisions and healthier working relationships.
This is leadership-focused applied psychology.
Investment
$250 per 60-minute session + GST
Sessions are online by video.
FAQ
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Founder Therapy is one-to-one support for founders and CEOs that focuses on the psychological side of leadership. It helps you understand how emotions like stress, fear, anger, and self-doubt influence your decisions and relationships, and how to lead without those emotions distorting business outcomes.
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Most executive coaching focuses on strategy, performance, or communication skills. Founder Therapy focuses on the emotional drivers underneath leadership behaviour. It’s applied psychology for business leadership, closer to a therapeutic process than a coaching playbook.
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It sits between both. Founder Therapy is not clinical therapy. It is leadership-focused applied psychology. We focus on improving leadership behaviour, strengthening working relationships, increasing clarity and decisiveness, and reducing control and avoidance patterns, tied to business outcomes.
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No. Coaches and consultants typically provide advice, frameworks, and action plans. Founder Therapy is client-led. We don’t build you a personalised business plan. We work on the patterns that shape how you lead so you can make clearer decisions yourself.
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It’s for founders and CEOs who want to increase their self-leadership capability. It’s not a substitute for licensed clinical treatment. If you’re in acute clinical distress or need specialist mental health care, we’ll say so on the intro call and point you toward more appropriate support.
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Founders don’t need “more emotion.” They need awareness of how emotion is already influencing their leadership. Better awareness tends to improve decision quality, communication, and trust, and reduces emotional leakage into business decisions.
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Yes. Imposter feelings often show up as overworking, micromanaging, avoidance, indecision, or second-guessing. We work on recognising those patterns early and leading from clarity rather than insecurity.
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Many difficult conversations aren’t only a skills problem. They’re often an emotional regulation problem. We work on noticing what’s activated, reducing distorted thinking, and choosing behaviour that holds accountability without wrecking trust.
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Yes. When stress rises, thinking narrows. We work on identifying emotional influence, reducing control or avoidance, and recovering clarity so decisions stay aligned with what you actually care about.
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No. Many high-performing founders use this kind of work to prevent emotional blind spots from limiting growth. It’s about leadership capability.
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Most people start weekly or fortnightly (weekly is often best at the beginning). Many notice increased awareness within the first few sessions; behavioural change tends to follow as triggers become clearer. The work compounds over a sustained stretch of regular sessions.
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Yes. Founder Therapy is a confidential space to think clearly about leadership challenges without risking team dynamics or board politics.
Ready to see if we’re a fit?
Book a 30-minute intro call. We’ll talk about what’s getting in the way, whether Founder Therapy is appropriate, and whether we’d work well together.
Email: dylan@foundertherapy.com.au