Conversations With a Wounded Healer

All good things must end, including this special series. But not before my chat with the delightfully analog David Clinton, a dear friend and former practice owner.  After exiting his group practice just as the pandemic hit, David found his happy ending (or beginning) as a solo therapist with a limited online presence. His 20+ year career reminds us that we can contribute good things to this field...

As therapists, we're famous for not doing our own work, so, of course, we shy away from acknowledging that we hold any power at all. Worse, we conflate power and cruelty, an assumption that keeps us mired in fear and inaction. But now that we've identified the issue, we can transform it.  Dr. Amanda Aguilera is one of my favorite facilitators for this kind of work. She's the executive director of...

Hey, white practice owners! The secret to building a business that embodies the principles of equity, inclusivity, and anti-racism is… Actually, I'll let my guests do the honors. Gabi Granoff, PsyD., is the co-owner of Solway Psychology, a racially diverse practice in Chicago. Evelyn Williams, LSW, is a clinician and intake manager at the practice. They personify what's possible when everyone take...

Confession time: I harbor biases against folks who call themselves coaches. The profession is completely unregulated, and many (most?) coaches lack the education necessary to help clients navigate change. Anne's conversation with longtime friend and, ahem, executive and team coach Whitney Capps challenged my prejudices as much as it corroborated my rationale for remaining skeptical. GUEST BIO Whit...

I live for the day when mental health providers can accept houseplants as payment for services rendered. Until then, money remains both the glue and the wedge of any practice owner/employee relationship.  Thankfully, Casey Gromer, founder of C-Suite Boutique, can help us all navigate the sticky financial realities of small business life and feel more empowered regarding "the money stuff."  GUEST B...

Finally! A catch-up with Rayell Grayson, LCPC CADC, owner and president of Head/Heart Therapy, the practice I built, owned for a decade, and sold last year. Tea is spilled, fears are expressed, and love is freely shared.  Our convo demonstrates the myriad ways owners can show up––for ourselves, our employees, and the leaders who will one day succeed us, especially if that future owner holds multip...

Part II of my conversation with Trace Bell shall forever more be referred to as "The One Where We Dig Into Spiral Dynamics". If you're new to SD, it helps to think of it as a modern language that expands our understanding of the stages of evolutionary development in individuals, organizations, or whole societies.  Still confused? Don't be. SD is simply another tool that therapists can reference, e...

The context of this rare two-part conversation is Spiral Dynamics (SD), a model that gauges the evolutionary development of individuals, societies, cultures, and organizations. Shepherding us through the details of this model is Trace Bell, an integration guide and transformational coach. Part I of our chat delves into Trace's background and the childhood forces that shaped his adult perspective....

Liberation is a two-way street, dear practice owner. Making an innovative, enlightened leap forward means going up against old ways of doing things.  Unsustainable management practices! Limiting mindsets! Antiquated business models! To say nothing of capitalism, racism, or the patriarchy. Jessica Eubanks Chavira, LCSW-S, wanted to liberate herself and her community. Once she articulated that desir...

I know from burnout, that combination of bone-deep mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion that manifests in feelings of overwhelm, joylessness, and desperation. Sadly, you probably do, too. Anne's unexpectedly musical convo with author and choir director Amelia Nagoski, DMA, is the burnout primer we all need: the science behind it, the antidote for it, and why women experience it differently t...

Welcome to the reckoning––mine, not yours. I made dozens (hundreds?) of mistakes as a practice owner, and while I can't take any of them back, this series is a way of paying my accountability forward.  Jenna Alfaro, LCSW, CADC, is here to hold me to that promise. She's a former employee of mine and, while our professional association didn't end Bravo-Reunion-Special bad, its demise does confirm my...

TLDR: Elder wisdom is essential to our revolution. That's it, that's the episode. But my guest deserves the elaboration and accolades of a full summary––as do many of the folks who came before us in work and life. Harry J. Aponte, Ph. D., is a legend for many reasons. However, this OG coalition-builder and advocate for culturally informed care is probably best known in professional psychology circ...

I am the mother of many things: plant babies, doggos, and multiple podcasts. I've also birthed several businesses and quite a few artistic endeavors. But I'm not mama to any little humans. So, when Rachael Sytsma-Ramos, Psy. D, suggested an episode focusing on the dynamics of practice ownership and parenting, I was instantly intrigued.  Rachael is mama to two children under five (!!), the founder...

It's easy to forget that siblings have stories uniquely their own. They may share similar childhood memories as you, but their narratives will differ wildly. Blended families, like Anne's, hold an added layer of complexity.  How lucky for us that she and her step-sibling Al Cho, MSW, agreed to record this fascinating chat for family posterity. Their conversation highlights the very best of familia...

Experience matters. Whether you're a member of a group practice or on your own, a background in different levels of mental health care ultimately supports your future professional development.  Aaron Karmin, LCPC, is a 360º type of practitioner who's worked in research departments, as an intake specialist, a telephone counselor, an experiential counselor (think: whitewater rafting for teens), a gr...

It's ANNE-versary time! A celebration of Anne Remy's first year as co-host. OK, by any other name, it's a clips show. But! We're not subjecting our Wounded Healer audience to rote commentary on an endless scroll of episodes. Instead, we've cherry-picked the very best a-ha! moments from our favorite conversations. As a whole, they represent Anne's personal and professional growth over the past year...

Virtual meet-cutes are my jam. Vilmarie Fraguada Narloch, PsyD, and I bonded on IG over our shared love for collaborative music-making and the radical regeneration of the group practice blueprint. She's the amazing co-founder of Sana Healing Collective in Chicago, a non-profit committed to individualized, client-led approaches to psychedelic-assisted therapy for everyone, especially those most aff...

It's not every day that I get to chat with a pioneer in the trauma field, so gimme a moment to geek out over Janina Fisher, Ph. D. the esteemed psychotherapist, consultant, trainer, and author. She's an international expert on the treatment of trauma, best known for her work on integrating mindfulness-based and somatic interventions into trauma treatment and an absolute legend. Janina dispenses so...

Happy clinicians are vital to a thriving practice, especially since not every therapist is interested in being a sole proprietor. So, how do owners navigate the tricky mechanics of operating a business while providing meaningful group guidance without losing their sh*t? Good question. Enter Cassandra Greenwald, LCSW, CADC, of Rowan Tree Counseling, with heartfelt answers for employees and owners....

Red pill-ers! Trad gender roles! Manly men, rawr! With an introduction like that, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Anne and I had joined the manosphere. No worries there. Instead, Anne has found a male ally who is making modest but meaningful inroads with cishet dudes, specifically the ones prone to tumbling down rabbit holes of toxic masculinity and misogyny. And his tool of choice is peer-rev...

I totally started this podcast on a whim––but not without a keen understanding of the pain points that group practice owners routinely encounter complain about. I've since realized that vital voices are missing from the conversation: group practice employees.  I extended an invitation via the BOPO Chicago Facebook group. Lucky for us, Andie Baumgartner, MA, LCPC, and Nadia Parfenova, MA, LCPC, own...

For the sake of mutual safety, this episode is preceded by a content advisory regarding sexual trauma and minor-attracted persons. Please take care of yourself as you need, even if that means skipping this conversation. Your body belongs to YOU. I open with this power-stance of a statement because I didn't get that message as a child, adolescent, or young adult. In fact, I've only just begun to re...

Who would have thought that practice ownership involved so much feces?! Now that I have your attention, lemme explain. Actually, I'll let my guest, Bianka Hardin, PsyD, explain since it's her story.  Bianka owns Centered Therapy Chicago (CTC), a 10-year-old group practice with 20 clinicians on staff. Her hilarious (and gross) tale perfectly illustrates the literal and metaphorical sh*t that practi...

If you're a white therapist, you could quickly tumble down a rabbit hole trying to reconcile all the work that's ours to do regarding power dynamics within our field. There's a detour that we, as white folks, are rarely required to explore: our relationship to whiteness.  I'll save you some time by recommending Anne's conversation with Eugene Ellis, the UK-based psychotherapist, speaker, director...

Who's ready for a very special call-in episode about practice ownership? Cast your mind back to the heyday of Loveline. I apologize if you're not of that vintage, as that's my only call-in show reference.  Are you, Dear Practice Owner, ready to stop chasing unrealistic goals, embody an anti-racist liberation mindset? Are you all set to own your weaknesses and strengths? OK, let's get into this vir...