Conversations With a Wounded Healer

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...

Whiteness is the problem. Many white folks know it; many more don't. Or won't. None of us are at the same point in the journey, yet all of us play a role in dismantling this inherited concept of racial identity. So, how can we nurture discovery, recovery, and anti-racist action without replicating the same judgments, shame, or gaslighting that whiteness thrives on?  Shelly Tochluk doesn't have all...

Being a practice owner isn't *all* bad. The folks who do it well just know how to set industrial-strength boundaries. Not me, but some folks…like Alicia Taverner, LMFT, owner of Rancho Counseling in California. Private practice ownership is Alicia's jam. How is that possible, you ask? There's keeping the practice small and cash-only. While this may astonish some, Alicia shrugs off their incredulit...

Having a uterus and ovaries isn't for the faint of heart. Just when we've figured out how to successfully navigate (or at least tolerate) periods and possibly pregnancy, the body decides to school us once more. Giulietta Durante, the nutritionist and women's health expert behind Hormones In Harmony and one-half of the Femme Powered Podcast team, wants folks to get curious about how their menstrual...

There's a thin line between burden and bliss when you own a group practice. Rebel Therapist™ creator Annie Schuessler didn't realize she'd crossed it until she weighed her past motivations against her ownership experience. Annie joins me to discuss assuming the risks of practice ownership, the importance of having a supportive bestie, and predictions for the future of the group practice model. GUE...

Capitalism sucks. But living beyond this suffocating system is difficult if you struggle to comprehend how you'll make a living in a liberated society. This episode is an invitation to jump despite that confusion. Bear Hébert helps folks get a little bit more free via their work as an artist, anti-capitalist business consultant, and social justice educator. They help tiny business owners build thr...

Hey, practice owner, how would you define your role in that business you worked so hard to create? Are you a visionary focused on pursuits related to company culture or community initiatives? Or are you a dedicated integrator, dutifully keeping up with basics like billing, payroll, and website upgrades? Maureen Werrbach, LCPC, is a visionary for sure. She owns Urban Wellness, a multi-location grou...

Even if you aren't a fan of Hollywood films from the 1980s through the early 2000s, chances are you can name the ethnicity of the "baddie" in 99.9% of them. Sure, my math might be a bit fuzzy––H'wood has a legacy of demonizing all brown-skinned folks––but an overwhelming number of screen villains during this period were either vaguely or expressly rendered as Muslim.  Decades of prejudicial portra...

The decision to sell a practice is fraught with more questions than answers (a lot like owning a practice!). Selling is a lonely headspace to navigate because folks who've gone through the process often keep those helpful emotional and transactional details to themselves. Why?! Gabrielle Juliano-Villani and I are breaking that curse! Gabrielle is an LCSW, consultant, coach, entrepreneur, and educa...

Heyyy, burnt-out practice owner! Yeah, you, the one who's overburdened, under-resourced, and lonely. The practice owner who thinks that no one understands their particular pain. I feel you. I know you. I WAS you. Welcome to the inaugural episode of The Burnt Out Practice Owner (BOPO). I'm Sarah Buino, a heart-centered, liberation-minded consultant helping individuals, groups, and organizations in...

It's a difficult time to identify as a fiercely open-hearted, optimistic human. That's especially true for folks embodying marginalized identities. And yet, somehow, Michael J. Morris finds ways to lead with love. They're a powerhouse multi-hyphenated talent committed to personal and collective healing and liberation through their work as an astrologer, tarot reader, artist, writer, teacher, facil...

One of the things I love about Anne's episodes is I get to experience them as a fangirl first. Anne's conversation with Nadia Gilani, a London-based yoga teacher and author of The Yoga Manifesto, is no exception (there's a reason Anne calls Nadia "a warrior pose of a woman").  Sure, the tl;dr header is appropriation vs appreciation within the retail-oriented, whitewashed atmosphere of modern yoga....