Rebel Clinicians Podcast

S2E15: “Delegate, Automate, Eliminate: A Rebel Clinician's Guide to Diversifying Your Income” Hosts: Alex Runolfson & John Cottrell  In this episode of The Rebel Clinicians Podcast, Alex and John start with a hilariously un-soothing chat about ASMR--whispers, nail tapping, "gutter water," and all. What begins as playful banter about oddly specific sensory triggers becomes the do...

S2E14: “The North: Eldership, Integration, and the Wisdom of Winter” Hosts: Alex Runolfson & John Cottrell  Alex and John complete the Sacred Directions series with the North--the direction of eldership, integration, stillness, and mature wisdom. The North isn't simply "getting older." It's becoming an elder: someone who embodies what they've learned, holds steady in t...

S2E13: “West Medicine: Letting Go, Grief, and the Courage to Transform” Hosts: Alex Runolfson & John Cottrell  The Sacred Directions series continues on this week's episode of The Rebel Clinicians Podcast, as Alex and John turn toward the West--the direction of the setting sun, the long exhale, and the powerful medicine of letting go. In many traditions, the West is associated with autumn...

S2E12: “South Medicine: Fire, Adolescence, and the Art of Authentic Action” Hosts: Alex Runolfson & John Cottrell  In this week's episode of The Rebel Clinicians Podcast, airing December 8th, Alex and John continue their Sacred Directions series by journeying into the South--the realm of fire, adolescence, creativity, and bold, messy, human aliveness. Building on last episode's explo...

S2E11: “The East -- New Beginnings, Breath, and Clinical Rituals” 🎧 Listen on [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/2CgnaxzPtvDCdQIbhxi9OM?si=hRzhkKSuTfCURWqyHjhkHg) Hosts: Alex Runolfson & John Cottrell  Directions Series: The East launches our multi-episode exploration of the Directions--East, South, West, North, plus Above, Below, and Center--and asks a simple question with profound clin...

S2E10: “Baking as Healing -- Intention, Magic, and the Art of Clinical Practice” Hosts: Alex Runolfson & John Cottrell  Baking as Healing -- Intention, Magic, and the Art of Clinical Practice What does baking cookies have to do with the healing arts? Everything. In this special episode of The Rebel Clinicians Podcast, your hosts John Cottrell and Alex Runolfson take you into John's kitche...

S2E9: “Energy, Reiki & Community Healing with Amy Conn” Hosts: Alex Runolfson & John Cottrell  In this week's Rebel Clinicians, Alex Runolfson and John Cottrell sit down with healer, author, and longtime yoga teacher Amy Conn to explore how energy, belief, and community shape real-world healing. Amy shares her path from 34 years as a public-school reading specialist to her work today...

Epi 36: “The Story You Tell Yourself” Hosts: Alex Runolfson & John Cottrell  What story are you telling yourself--and is it one worth living? In this expressive, heartfelt, and often hilarious episode, Alex and John explore the power of storytelling--not just as an art form, but as a tool for healing, embodiment, and transformation. From childhood memories of The Chronicles of Narnia and Juras...

Epi 35: “Redefining Healer: Magic, Medicine & the Clinician's Path” In this bold and soulful episode of The Rebel Clinicians Podcast, Alex and John explore what it truly means to be a healer--and why it's time for clinicians to reclaim that identity. Drawing from their own journeys in therapy, yoga, grief, and growth, they unravel the cultural conditioning that teaches helpers to shr...

S2E6: “Mythic Allies for Healing & Therapy -- Series Finale” Available on Spotify | Air Date: October 27th Listen on [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/2CgnaxzPtvDCdQIbhxi9OM?si=hRzhkKSuTfCU RWqyHjhkHg) Hosts: Alex Runolfson & John Cottrell In the closing chapter of our Spirit Animals series, Alex and John venture into the realm of mythological guides--Dragon, Unicorn, Griffin...

S2E5: “Creepy Crawlies: Finding Medicine in the Overlooked and Feared” Hosts: Alex Runolfson & John Cottrell What can bees, spiders, snakes, mosquitoes, and frogs teach us about healing, transformation, and resilience? In this episode of The Rebel Clinicians Podcast, Alex and John continue their Spirit Animals series by exploring the world of "creepy crawlies";--creatures that ma...

S2E4: “Flow, Depth, & Play: Spirit Animals of the Water” 🎧 Listen on [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/2CgnaxzPtvDCdQIbhxi9OM?si=hRzhkKSuTfCURWqyHjhkHg) Hosts: Alex Runolfson & John Cottrell  This week, Alex and John wade into the world of water beings—fish, salmon, octopus, dolphin, and otter—to explore how “the swimmers” carry medicine for emotional depth, intuition, transformatio...

S: 02 Epi 03: “The Winged Ones: Spirit Animals, Healing, and Therapy” Hosts: Alex Runolfson & John Cottrell  In this week's episode of The Rebel Clinicians Podcast, Alex and John continue their Spirit Animals series by turning their focus to the winged ones--ravens, sparrows, seagulls, hummingbirds, and eagles. These powerful messengers of the sky carry wisdom across cultures and traditio...

S: 02 Epi 02: “The Four-Leggeds: Grounded Medicine for Clinicians” Hosts: Alex Runolfson & John Cottrell  In this week’s Rebel Clinicians Podcast, Alex and John continue their series on spirit animals with a focus on the Four-Leggeds—dog, bear, cat, squirrel, and elephant. These grounded, earth-connected allies hold timeless wisdom that can reshape the way clinicians and healers approach their...

S: 02 Epi 01: “The Language of Spirit Animals: Wisdom, Respect, and Therapy” Hosts: Alex Runolfson & John Cottrell  The Rebel Clinicians Podcast returns with its Season Two premiere, and Alex and John open the season with a compelling new series on spirit animals, power animals, and totem animals. This episode sets the stage by exploring how animals serve as allies, guides, and teachers in bot...

Epi 34: “Shedding Old Skins: Embracing Change in Midlife” Available on Spotify |  🎧 Listen on [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/2CgnaxzPtvDCdQIbhxi9OM?si=hRzhkKSuTfCURWqyHjhkHg) This week on The Rebel Clinicians, Alex and John are pulling back the curtain on one of the rawest and most relatable challenges clinicians, healers, and humans face: the messy reality of midlife crisis and existent...

Epi 5: “Exploring Ancestral Work in Therapy” In this RERUN episode, Alex and John discuss the transformative potential of Ancestral Work as a therapeutic modality. They define what Ancestral Work entails, offering context for its use in addressing personal challenges and enhancing therapy practices. Drawing from their own experiences in sacred ceremonies, Alex and John share how engaging with ance...

Epi 3: “Burnout: The Barrier to Your Inner Rebel” In Rerun episode, this thought-provoking episode of The Rebel Clinicians , Alex and John dive deep into one of the most significant obstacles mental health professionals face: burnout. To truly embrace the mindset of a Rebel Clinician, you must first confront the challenges that hold you back from reaching your full potential. Burnout is a silent r...

In this rerun your hosts, Alex and John, discuss how they became Rebel Clinicians. John shares how his training in clinical psychology eventually led him to yoga and becoming a Certified Yoga Therapist. Alex links his stories of being an adventurous and curious child with his work as a therapist. The two further define what it means to be a rebel. They see it as the discipline to stay on the path...

Epi 34: “Shedding Old Skins: Embracing Change in Midlife” This week on The Rebel Clinicians, Alex and John are pulling back the curtain on one of the rawest and most relatable challenges clinicians, healers, and humans face: the messy reality of midlife crisis and existential dread. Turning 40 has set Alex on a whirlwind of questions about mortality, purpose, legacy, and what it truly means to be...

Epi 33: “Entrepreneurship as a Healing Art” The Rebel Clinicians Podcast returns with an episode that every healer stepping into private practice needs to hear. Entrepreneurship isn't a backup plan--it's a calling. In this engaging, thought-provoking, and often hilarious episode, Alex and John unpack the rarely discussed realities of becoming both a healer and a business owner. As they p...

Epi 31: “Altar Spaces -- Sacred Tools for Healing and Transformation” In this week's episode of The Rebel Clinicians, Alex and John invite you into a meaningful conversation about altar spaces--the sacred, symbolic, and wildly personal tools that can transform both clinical practice and personal healing. Whether it's a shelf in your therapy office, a bundle you carry for ritual work, or...

Epi 29: “From Drugs to Medicine: Psychedelics and the Return of Spirit” This week on The Rebel Clinicians, Alex and John take you into the transformative world of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy--a realm where ancient plant wisdom meets modern therapeutic insight. In this unscripted, richly personal conversation, your hosts explore the shifting perception of psychedelics from "dangerous dr...

Epi 28: “Spirit: The Fifth Element That Connects Us All | Part 4 of the Elements Series” In the final episode of The Rebel Clinicians Elemental Series, hosts Alex and John explore Spirit--the elusive, mystical, and powerful fifth element. While Earth, Air, Fire, and Water connect us to the physical world, Spirit invites us to embrace the unseen and unknowable: the invisible thread that binds all t...

Epi 27: “The Power of Water: Cleansing, Creativity & Connection | Part 4 of the Elements Series” In this week's episode of The Rebel Clinicians, Alex and John continue their Elemental Series by exploring the powerful and transformative nature of water. They discuss how water symbolizes fluidity, emotional healing, creativity, and connection, and share how these qualities can support both...