Watch the video ...

Listen to the recording ...

Or read the interview transcript ...   

Megan Walker: Hello, I am Megan Walker and welcome to Healthcare Online. Our very special guest is Dr. Lisa Burke, the founder and principal of Endeavour Psychology. Hi Lisa, how are you?

Dr. Lisa Burke: Hello Megan, so lovely to be with you today.

Megan Walker: Thank you so much for joining me. I’d like to kick off by letting our fabulous audience know a bit about you — who you help, who you serve — and then we’ll talk about how you’ve been delivering those services and how you plan to deliver them moving forward. Over to you.

Dr. Lisa Burke: Absolutely. I’m a clinical psychologist and also a thanatologist, which is the scientific study of dying, grief, and loss. My focus over the last 30 years has been grief. That’s my area, and it’s also the area of many people in my clinic. But I’m branching out into supporting professionals who are feeling challenged when it comes to confidence — so that’s where I’m moving into online courses.

Megan Walker: Amazing. And what kinds of courses do you think you’ll be creating?

Dr. Lisa Burke: I’ve started with a mini course. Some of my lead magnets have come together to form a little course. I haven’t created a signature course yet — still getting to know the course creation space, even though it’s been a couple of years. What a journey! I’ve been exploring what frontline professionals who support people with grief really struggle with.

What I’ve narrowed it down to is a few C-words — not rude ones, I promise! Professionals struggle with Confidence. Even if they’ve had training, when they’re sitting in front of someone who’s highly emotional or sharing really difficult grief experiences, their knowledge tends to zoom out of their head. They start to self-question: “Am I making this worse? Am I doing it right?” It’s very uncomfortable.

The second C is competence — or, more specifically, the perception of competence. That sense of “I don’t know what I’m doing” even when they actually do.

The third C is congruence — how to be a professional while also being a human. How do you hold the professional frame, but also meet the grieving person human-to-human? That material really strikes a chord with people.

Megan Walker: This is such a big area for health professionals. I’m curious — is the gap because grief training isn’t included at university? Why are so many people unsure how to handle grief conversations?

Dr. Lisa Burke: Exactly. I have five university degrees — three in psychology — and I didn’t study grief at all. Yet here I am, and this is my specialty. There’s a huge gap in training. The statistics we hold at Grief Action are that 90% of professionals say grief is important and shows up in their work… but only 13% feel confident to deal with it.

So you’ve got 90% acknowledging its importance, and only 13% feeling confident. That gap is enormous. There’s a training gap, a knowledge gap, an application gap — and then a confidence gap on top of all that.

Megan Walker: And the risk for the client — let’s say it’s a physio, podiatrist, or anyone in healthcare — what happens if they don’t handle the grief effectively?

Dr. Lisa Burke: The biggest risk is that the grieving person walks away feeling unseen or unsupported. They may think, “My grief is so awful that even a professional can’t help me.” That’s a terrible human experience. And typically it’s a well-meaning professional who gave it their best shot. You end up with two people feeling pretty average about the exchange — which is not ideal.

Megan Walker: I absolutely love your topic. It has such huge scope, and so many lives can be improved by the work you’re doing. What have you learned so far from taking your knowledge from the clinic and putting it into the online space?

Dr. Lisa Burke: It’s been fascinating. I’m not only a clinical psychologist — I was also an academic until last year. I have a teaching degree, I’ve taught healthcare professionals for years, so I thought, “Oh, I’ll just create online courses. Easy!” Famous last words.

I forgot that in academia I had entire teams: educational designers, tech support, marketing. All I had to do was teach. So I had to completely restructure my approach. I had to accept that either I needed to become all of those roles, or I needed people around me who could do them.

So one of the biggest lessons is: get good people around you, or be willing to invest the time and energy to upskill in things like educational design, marketing, finance, web design — all the hats you have to wear as a course creator.

Megan Walker: And what do you say to people who assume that once they create the course, it’ll just sell, and they’ll make money while they sleep?

Dr. Lisa Burke: That goal can come to fruition — but only if you put the right building blocks in place. And it’s not happening in six months. Some course mentors say, “Make passive income in 6 months.” I just don’t think that’s feasible. You need to invest in the foundations, which is why working with someone experienced — like you — matters. Otherwise there will be lots of U-turns before any income arrives.

Megan Walker: Totally. It’s like renovating a house — you think it’ll be easy, then you uncover all the layers and realise how much goes into it. It’s all doable, but it takes time.

Dr. Lisa Burke: Yes! I often think of chefs. They create a dish, put it on the menu, and see if people order it. If they don’t, the chef doesn’t quit — they just try again. At some point you have to stop thinking and start executing. Put something out to market. Then you refine, adjust, improve.

One mindset I emphasise is the “good enough model.” Your product won’t be perfect — but it will be good enough. Don’t sweat over every tiny decision. If you spend a month on something you planned to spend a day on, you’re a month behind.

Megan Walker: So true. And half the things we obsess over — logos, makeup, backgrounds — don’t matter. People want you, not a newsreader. And the fastest path to success is feedback from the market.

Dr. Lisa Burke: Exactly. And the market evolves! What people wanted from me 18 months ago isn’t quite the same now. So don’t think your course has to be perfect and timeless. It may only be relevant for a season — and that’s okay. Everything in this space is dynamic.

Megan Walker: So what are you excited about next?

Dr. Lisa Burke: It’s been a big month! I launched a podcast — very exciting. I also ran a webinar with hundreds of attendees. Now I’m warming up my leads for a new product coming soon.

I’m rebuilding my understanding of the market — because things have shifted since my early research. Now that I’ve left my academic job after 30 years and become an independent educator, I’m stepping fully into that identity. Right now I’m focused on further course development based on recent feedback, and continuing to build my profile.

Megan Walker: Exactly. And once you’ve got your courses and that feedback loop going, everything becomes more cyclical — that’s when the “earning while you sleep” part becomes closer. Not at the start.

Dr. Lisa Burke: Yes. And honestly, my biggest driver isn’t earning while I sleep — it’s knowing someone learned one thing from me and used it to support a grieving person. That’s everything.

Megan Walker: What a beautiful vision. We’ll put all your links below so people can follow you. For those watching or listening who want to package up their own expertise into a course, what is your encouragement?

Dr. Lisa Burke: Find the right people who match your vision. I couldn’t do this alone. For a while I tried to juggle my academic job and clinical work and course creation, but I stalled for months.

Once I found my person — you — it all came together. Your documents, videos, tools, checklists — even your insurance contact — all helped me enormously. You have the breadth of knowledge to support people through the entire stack: business setup, insurance, systems, marketing, everything.

So my advice is: don’t do it alone. Find your people. It makes all the difference.

Megan Walker: Absolutely. I had multiple coaches before finding the one I’ve been with for three years. If you go alone, you second-guess everything, you go in circles, and you deprioritise it — especially because it’s not guaranteed at first. But you’ve already had big wins and momentum, and that will only continue.

Dr. Lisa Burke: Thank you. It’s such a privilege to work in grief and loss — and to support others who do this work. It’s a great day when I get to come here.

Megan Walker: We had a little internet blip there, but Lisa, thank you so much for your time. I know you’ve got to dash. We’re so grateful for the work you’re doing. Please everyone, check out Lisa’s website and socials below and follow her wonderful work. Thanks so much, Lisa — we’ll let you go, and we love working with you.

Dr. Lisa Burke: Thank you everybody. Have a wonderful day.

Links and Further Information

🌐 Website: https://endeavourpsychology.com.au/ 

📖 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EndeavourPsychology/ 

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/endeavourpsychology/ 

🔗LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/endeavourpsychology/ 

🖥️ Free 30-day Kajabi trial: https://app.kajabi.com/r/8qkVLZCy/t/dh4tz2bb