Off The Chair

Burnout doesn’t always mean you need more rest. Sometimes it means your nervous system is asking for a different rhythm—or even a different container for your work. In this special three part holiday series of Off the Chair, Dr. Colleen Long dives into the science of nervous system regulation, winter hibernation, and why clinicians feel more depleted than ever during December. You’ll learn how sea...

Burned out, questioning everything, and wondering if you’re allowed to want something different from your work and your life? This episode is for therapists, group practice owners, and mental health leaders who have hit a wall and know they cannot go back to “business as usual.” In this conversation, Sarah Olson opens up about slamming into burnout at full speed, even while her practice and life l...

Burned out, morally injured, and wondering if you’re the problem? Good news and bad news: it's not you, it's the system. This episode is for clinicians, group practice owners, and mental health leaders who feel trapped between their ethics, insurance demands, and the crushing weight of “doing it all.” In this conversation, we unpack the evolving challenges facing clinicians in independent practice...

In this conversation, the hosts discuss the challenges of leadership in group practices, emphasizing the importance of trauma-informed leadership and building a culture of trust. Dr. Colleen Long introduces Poonam and Julianne from Level Up Leaders, who share their journey from clinicians to leadership consultants. The discussion covers the significance of understanding group practice owners, navi...

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO EPISODE HERE! This one is personal. In part one of our deepest dive yet, we begin the autopsy of a seven-figure practice that rose fast, broke even faster, and exposed what happens when the realities of a broken mental health system collide with raw human limits. This is not a business teardown. It is a confession, a reckoning, and a mirror for every therapist pushing through...

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO EPISODE HERE! What happens when you finally pause long enough to ask, “Is this really the life I built my practice for?” In this conversation with Gordon Brewer, LMFT, founder of The Practice of Therapy Podcast , Kingsport Counseling Associates , and PsychCraft Network , we explore what it means to move from burnout to balance through purpose, faith, and intentional growth. Af...

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO EPISODE HERE! In this episode of Off the Chair , host Dr. Colleen Long sits down with Shalene Kite, LPC, DBT LBC, RYT, founder of DBT of South Jersey and Rebel Mente, to talk about how she transformed her DBT practice into a thriving business that challenges clinician burnout and empowers therapists to build freedom through aligned entrepreneurship. From building a team of mor...

If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking, “There’s got to be a smarter way to run this practice,” this episode is for you. Dr. Colleen Long takes you behind the scenes of AI automation examples and tools that are helping the modern therapist finally reclaim time without sacrificing quality, connection, or creativity. From real-world AI for clinicians to easy-to-apply systems that bring freedom back...

Therapists talk about everything except money, and that cost could be leaving you with money anxiety. Too many therapists feel financially drained even while helping others heal. The truth is, avoiding your numbers only fuels money anxiety and keeps you from the financial empowerment you deserve. In this Halloween: Spooky Finances Edition with Lori Atwood, CFP, we face the real-life fears that kee...

What if leaving the char wasn’t the end of your career, but the beginning of your healing? If you’ve ever felt torn between ambition and exhaustion, this conversation is for you. In this raw and unfiltered episode, we sit down with Gabrielle Juliano Vilani, a licensed clinical social worker who built and sold a seven-figure group practice, only to discover that true freedom requires more than a bu...

Too many practice owners fall into the trap of treating their staff like family. It feels caring, but it blurs boundaries and leads to therapist burnout and business chaos. We’ve been there, and we’re sharing how to reset your team relations. As three entrepreneurial therapists, we know the tension between compassion and leadership. In this episode, we explore what happens when empathy goes too fa...

If you’ve ever whispered I don’t have time while drowning in back-to-back sessions, paperwork, and payroll, you’re not alone. The truth is, most clinicians stay stuck in therapist burnout and therapist fatigue, convincing themselves they’ll “figure it out later.” But later never comes. In this conversation, we unpack the Shawshank Conundrum - the hamster wheel every therapist knows too well - and...

Feeling fried, curious about therapist retreats, or secretly dreaming of side hustles for therapists that will actually restore you? We get it - and we made this episode for clinicians who want rest and revenue without the shame spiral. We sit with Amy Johnston, founder of The Exhale Collective, to unpack how a practicing clinician builds therapist retreats into a life-saving creative business. We...

When it comes to running a therapist business, nothing derails growth faster than the wrong hire. In this episode, we get real about the delegation problems, the bad hires, and the lessons that cost us time, money, and plenty of sleep. From missed calls to admin chaos to leaders who looked great on paper but wrecked the culture, we’re unpacking the true cost of bad hires and how to recover when yo...

Freedom after selling your practice isn’t guaranteed - and scaling doesn’t have to break you.  In this episode, we unpack what happens when “I’ll feel free after the exit” meets real life. We explore why peace comes from boundaries, systems, and aligned choices - not the transaction - while showing how a growing practice can actually create space.  Along the way, we share practical ways a therapis...

Being a mom therapist means wearing more hats than most people can imagine - and switching between them in the blink of an eye.  In this raw and real episode, we talk candidly about balancing motherhood and career, and how we manage the mental load without completely burning out. We dig deep into the lived experience of being a mom therapist in today’s “do it all” culture - and we don’t hold back....

When the walls feel tighter than ever, that crossroads of deciding to scale, sell, or stay is real - and confusing.  In this episode, we unpack the deeply personal, strategic, and emotional decision every practice owner faces: whether to scale therapy, sell, or stay - and how aligned practice management can help you make the right call for your life and your business. We share the truth about what...

Therapist burnout doesn’t start with big breakdowns - it starts with tiny betrayals of your time, your energy, and your vision.  In this episode, we get real about the emotional toll when you scale therapy practices, the identity shifts that come with leadership, and how to build a business that actually loves you back. We don’t just talk about how to scale therapy practices - we unpack what it me...

Ever wonder if you're the only one silently struggling while running a practice? You're not. This episode dives deep into the raw reality of therapist burnout - and what comes after. In this episode, we pull back the curtain on our personal journeys through therapist burnout, the emotional toll of leadership, and the hard-earned lessons we’ve learned from building and breaking our therapy business...

If you’ve ever felt trapped by your own success, stuck in the grind of growing your therapy businesses, or secretly questioning your career while leading others - this episode is for you.  We’re talking about the real cost of therapist burnout, what no one tells you about running therapy businesses, and how we finally stepped away from the chair (emotionally, clinically, and sometimes financially)...

When therapist burnout meets business overwhelm, something has to change. Off the Chair is here to spark that change. In this trailer, we introduce our unfiltered mission: to talk about what really happens behind the scenes of building and sustaining a therapist business in today's broken mental health system.  We are Dr. Colleen Long, Dr. Jennifer Politis, and Erika Bugaj, LICSW - three clinician...