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 reveal how to chip away at the walls keeping you trapped in a model that doesn’t serve your life.

This isn’t another pep talk about hustling harder. It’s about naming the reality: trading every hour for dollars will never create the freedom, joy, or sustainability you crave. Whether you’ve Googled jobs for burned out counselors at midnight or secretly wondered about alternative careers for therapists, this episode offers both solidarity and strategy.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• Why the phrase “I don’t have time” is the biggest lie fueling therapist burnout
• The hidden cost of staying on the hamster wheel of therapist fatigue (and why most clinicians never escape it)
• How carving out non-negotiable CEO time each week is the first step toward alternative careers for therapists
• The power of accountability, masterminds, and community when exploring jobs for burned out counselors

This episode will challenge your assumptions about what it means to be a “successful” clinician. You’ll walk away with permission to stop hustling, tools to reclaim your time, and inspiration to explore jobs for burned out counselors and alternative careers for therapists that align with your values.

Ready to stop living in therapist burnout and start carving your way to freedom? Press play now.

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO EPISODE HERE!

Connect with us!

Website: www.offthechair.com

Instagram: @offthechairpodcast

YouTube: @offthechairpodcast

Colleen Long, Psy.D.

Website: www.claritypsychologicaltesting.com

LinkedIn: Dr. Colleen Long

Jennifer Politis, PhD, LPC

Website: www.wellnesscounselingBC.com

Instagram: @wellnesscounselingnj

TikTok: @wellnesscounseling

LinkedIn: Jennifer Politis

Erika Bugaj, MA, MSW, LICSW

Website: www.dandelioncounselingcare.com

Instagram: @dandelioncounselingcare

LinkedIn: Erika Bugaj

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 get candid about therapist burnout, the logistics of running international retreats, and how to launch side hustles for therapists alongside your clinical work.

This episode balances the hard numbers (deposits, payment plans, marketing) with the softer, lifesaving stuff - how a well-designed wellness trips for women rekindles joy, reduces overwhelm, and gives clinicians permission to exhale.

Here’s what you’ll hear:

• How Amy turned weekend cabin experiments into full-scale therapist retreats - and the exact planning step that stopped her from losing money on a trip (yes, there was an “oh-shit” moment)…
• The real anatomy of therapist burnout for mid-career clinicians - why time off alone isn’t enough and what ritualized presence looks like in practice…
• Practical ways to fund side hustles for therapists without quitting your day job
• How to design therapist retreats experiences that heal versus just “vacation”

Ready to hear the messy, honest roadmap - the wins, the disasters, and the exact next steps Amy used to get from idea to an alternate stream of income? Press play and listen to the full episode now.

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO EPISODE HERE!

Connect with us!

Podcast Website: www.offthechair.com

Colleen Long, Psy.D.

Website: www.claritypsychologicaltesting.com

LinkedIn: Dr. Colleen Long

Jennifer Politis, PhD, LPC

Website: www.wellnesscounselingBC.com

Instagram: @wellnesscounselingnj

TikTok: @wellnesscounseling

LinkedIn: Jennifer Politis

Erika Bugaj, MA, MSW, LICSW

Website: www.dandelioncounselingcare.com

Instagram: @dandelioncounselingcare

LinkedIn: Erika Bugaj

Amy Johnston

Website: www.the-exhale-collective.com

Instagram: @the-exhale-collective

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 your group private practice takes a hit.

We’ve lived these mistakes, and we want you to skip the heartbreak by learning from our scars.

Here’s what we cover in this episode:

• The red flags we ignored when bringing on new team members - and how those bad hires nearly broke our practices.
• Why therapists confuse delegation with abdication, and how those delegation problems set us up for failure.
• The hidden cost of bad hires that goes beyond payroll and eats away at culture, client care, and reputation.
• How running a therapist business forces you to balance empathy with accountability, and why that tension is so hard to navigate.
• Practical systems that help protect a group private practice from repeating these hiring heartbreaks.
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If you’ve ever felt that pit in your stomach about a staff member, this episode will make you nod in painful agreement - and give you tools to act with more confidence. Tune in and let’s make the hard parts of leading a therapist business a little easier together.

Listen to the full episode now and learn how to stop repeating the same hiring mistakes in your group private practice.

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO EPISODE HERE!

Connect with us!

Podcast Website: www.offthechair.com

Colleen Long, Psy.D.

Website: www.claritypsychologicaltesting.com

LinkedIn: Dr. Colleen Long

Jennifer Politis, PhD, LPC

Website: www.wellnesscounselingBC.com

Instagram: @wellnesscounselingnj

TikTok: @wellnesscounseling

LinkedIn: Jennifer Politis

Erika Bugaj, MA, MSW, LICSW

Website: www.dandelioncounselingcare.com

Instagram: @dandelioncounselingcare

LinkedIn: Erika Bugaj