Conversations With a Wounded Healer

Releasing the pressure to have all the answers, confronting broken mental health systems, and reclaiming the art of being present.

Get The Wounded Healer's Toolkit here.

Invite Sarah to speak about Psychotherapy for a Changing World: A Practice of Unlearning for Uncertain Times here.

Beyond Sivie Suckerman's formidable credentials as a practice owner, podcaster, and creator of the Therapists Unchained community, her compassion for mental health providers shines through. She built Therapists Unchained as a resource hub to empower professionals amid a tidal wave of changes to our field. Sivie and I offer guidance on...

On self-promotion, authentic marketing, and finding your own way to be visible as a therapist.

Anxiety is as old as humankind. Maybe that's why every person has a different definition of the uneasy state that derails our thoughts or actions. 

Time to connect with an expert. Noelle McWard Aquino, LCSW, is a Chicago-based therapist and soon-to-be major TED Talk alum. She has three decades of experience supporting clients with anxiety and is the bestselling author of Anxiety Unpacked: Discover Your Type and Recover Your Peace. 

Now, Noelle is navigating the excitement and vulnerability of...

Why therapists need compassionate curiosity, not fear, when talking about suicide.

Suicidal thoughts or suicidal ideation (SI), like the emotions that swirl around it, is a source of information. That perspective-altering declaration comes from my guest, Sally Spencer-Thomas, Ph.D. She's a brilliant, internationally recognized suicide prevention leader who lost her beloved brother to suicide. Sally urges cautious mental health professionals (and worried friends/family members tbh) to build their capacity for curiosity around suicide and SI.

Together, Sarah and Sally explore how clinicians can move beyond fear, liability, checklists, and the illusion of control toward compassionate...

An autism specialist and a skeptical therapist debate diagnosis, accommodations, masking, burnout, and who gets to define a "normal" brain.

I love a debate; they make for great podcast episodes. While their official goal is to generate effective critical thinking, that skill is often missing from the "debates" favored by social media algorithms, especially when the topic strikes a chord of cultural conflict like educational curricula, gender identity, and neurodivergence.

It's neurodivergence that gets the legit debate treatment in my conversation with new friend and fellow documentary film fiend Kory Andreas, LCSW-C. But rather than...

Career paths, mentorship, workplace power, and finding your voice as a therapist.

When we met a few years back, Lee Thompson, LCSW, was an early career therapist, a "COVID baby" of sorts. She inherited a professional space acclimating (or not) to rapid changes in the field, like the use of conferencing tools and the growing popularity of VC-backed virtual "wellness" platforms. 

Lee is part of a broader, younger cohort that has opted to enter private practice upon graduation rather than pursue experiences in community mental health. There are many reasons for this generational shift, not l...

AI Can Reduce Symptoms. But Is That Therapy? Ted Faneuff on artificial intelligence, human connection, therapist burnout, and what technology can—and can't—replace.

I'm gonna potentially anger some folks, but here I go: I understand that AI has become a moral issue (on top of being an environmental one). That said, while I agree with some of the concerns, the tech does offer major benefits.

Don't @ me. You can find plenty of recent episodes where I wrestle with the pros and cons of using artificial intelligence in therapeutic spaces. Add this conversation with Ted Fane...

AI, venture capital, tech platforms, and the fight to preserve quality and human connection in mental health care with Steve Duke, creator of The Hemingway Report.

We're at a tipping point in the evolution of our field, especially when it comes to the rapid ascendancy of venture capital, consolidation, and technology—those AI chatbots lurking and learning in the digital shadows. 

I sound the alarm not to incite panic but to encourage resistance. We don't have to bow down to the homogeneity of late-stage capitalism. We do have to recalibrate outdated modes of operation and rev...

Sarah shares an episode from a podcast (and therapist) she'd like to introduce you to: Therapists Unchained with Sivie Suckerman 

In this episode of Therapists Unchained, Sivie interviews Sharon Harper, a licensed clinical social worker and founder of the Therapist Resource Institute (TRI). The conversation explores the necessity of reclaiming professional autonomy and building sustainable careers through authentic human connection and systemic advocacy, while also delving into the Therapist Resource Institute as a national platform designed to unify mental health professionals across all licenses and career stages.

Harper explains that she created the organization to c...

Sarah shares an episode from a podcast (and therapist) she'd like to introduce you to: A Simple Therapy Podcast with Sindee Gozansky. 

Sindee Gozansky welcomes Gino Titus-Luciano, LMHC—CEO of Kokua Mental Health and Wellness Group, president of the Hawaii Counselors Association, and a therapist who believes you can't show up as a textbook and expect real healing to happen. Gino brings insight into what culturally grounded care actually looks like and why bringing your authentic self into the room doesn't mean losing your professional boundaries.

Together, Sindee and Gino explore how to balance being rea...

What if the future of therapy asks clinicians to stop checking their humanity at the door?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: There's a gap between the world we were trained for as therapists and the world we find ourselves in now.

And here to explore that gap with compassion, curiosity, and a dose of reality is relational therapist, writer, mentor, and founder of Venus + Legacy, Josie Rosario.

Keep listening if you are curious about:

The evolving role of the therapist to meet the needs of today's clients<...

What if the biggest challenge facing therapists isn't burnout… but evolution?

In this special bonus episode, Sarah shares her keynote from the inaugural Revolutionary Practice Summit, exploring why therapists must evolve—not just professionally, but personally—to meet the realities of practicing in today's world.

Drawing from trauma theory, developmental psychology, leadership research, systems thinking, and her own experience as a therapist and group practice owner, Sarah offers a compelling vision for the future of psychotherapy.

Rather than asking therapists to simply become more resilient, she invites us to expand our capacity for complexity, uncertainty, and co...

Donna Sky on Employee Ownership, Legacy, and the Future of Private Practice.

Lemme ask the group practice owners a question: What's your business plan for the end of capitalism?

OK, so we're not quite there yet, but "something" is pushing private practices closer to the cliff's edge of capitalism, the inevitable collapse of unbridled growth for no other reason than greed. Group practice owners who want to land safely should prepare for what comes next.

Employee ownership (EO) could be what's next.

Donna Sky is senior manager of business and engagement...

Can therapists ethically work with clients whose values oppose their own? Sarah Buino and Jordan Conrad explore professionalism, self-disclosure, political identity, and the future of psychotherapy in an increasingly polarized world.

Is therapy political? That's a good question and one that provokes an array of answers (just peruse any therapists' Facebook group). I've talked with a decent number of therapists who possess vastly different political views than their clients. Every one of these compassionate providers mentions how difficult it is to hold space for healing amid political discord.

Enter Jordan Conrad, PhD, LCSW, a psychotherapist...

What therapists often misunderstand about DID, childhood trauma, shame, attachment, and the therapeutic relationship—with psychotherapist and author Sally Maslansky.

**If you find conversations about childhood sexual abuse activating, please take care with this episode. Although our discussion doesn't contain explicit details, abuse is a central theme.**

Because hindsight is 20/20, allow me to add a bit of self-evaluation to this conversation with Sally Maslansky, LMFT, my emotionally wise and accomplished guest. Sally is a licensed psychotherapist, speaker, consultant, and author of A Brilliant Adaptation: How Dissociative Identity and the Therapeutic Bond Saved Me. Her work centers on th...

Why therapists must do their own work: leadership, integrity, and the future of therapy with Sarah Buino and Lane Essex.

We made it! To the middle of 2026. I realize that's a bit of a good-news/bad-news scenario given the current political climate. Still, the fact that we're all here is something worthy of celebration. Or, at the very least, reflection.

Where do we, as therapists, want to grow next? How do we get there? 

I literally cannot fathom any other solution for how we evolve the profession, get better at running businesses, o...

Sarah reflects on selling her therapy practice, surviving burnout, and discovering that healing sometimes means walking away.

This week we're sharing a conversation that originally aired on Lonely at the Top, hosted by Rachel Alexandria. 

Rachel works with CEOs, founders, executives, and high performers navigating the emotional weight of leadership, so it makes sense that this conversation was about one of the most transformative—and painful—chapters of my professional life.

In this episode:

Why leadership can become profoundly lonely—even when you're surrounded by people

The hidden relationship between...

Sarah and Rebecca discuss trauma culture, healing, political consciousness, and building the capacity to stay present with life's messiness.

This week, we're sharing a conversation originally recorded in 2024 for The Unburdened Leader with my friend and colleague, Rebecca Ching.

Truthfully, this felt less like an interview and more like one of those conversations you have with someone who speaks the same language you do.

We talk about what I call ordinary trauma—the relational wounds that often go unnoticed because they're so common—and why reclaiming our agency is essential to healing. We also dive into...

Chronic shame, developmental trauma, healing in community, and why the future of therapy depends on therapists embracing their own growth.

This week, we're sharing a conversation originally recorded for The Innovative Therapist with Shawn Hondorp.

What started as a typical podcast interview quickly became a conversation that helped me better understand my own work (thank you very much!) We talk about how chronic shame disconnects us from our agency, why therapists need to be honest about power dynamics, and what happens when we stop trying to "arrive" at healing and instead embrace the lifelong journey of becoming.<...

AI researcher and former Google employee Earl Wagner helps unpack AI therapy bots, emotional attachment to technology, and what makes healing deeply human.

You know how I'm always encouraging therapists to sit with the unknown? Well, fair warning: this episode may test your limits in the same way that a good fitness coach might test your stamina.

It's time for the AI conversation.

AI's growing role in therapy, healing, and emotional support

Why loneliness and disconnection make AI companions appealing

What human therapists can offer that AI can't replicate<...

Why therapists feel anxious at work, why practice owners feel overwhelmed, and how both sides can rebuild trust and psychological safety.

You know how we are always talking about dismantling harmful systems on this podcast? Well…what happens when those systems show up inside group practices?

This conversation with Andie Baumgartner and Nadia Parfenova from Rowan Tree Counseling goes deep into the complicated, emotionally loaded relationship between practice owners and employees. And, in fact, it was THE conversation that helped me realize we needed to work with employees as well as business owners in the Gr...

Why trauma-informed therapists are questioning the medical model, rethinking therapist education, and redefining what healing can look like in a disconnected world.

In my ongoing effort to "future-proof" the field of therapy, I'm encouraging practitioners to dream beyond the conventional session model. How do we move our profession and the world closer to a truly person-centered ethos? How do therapists expand our professional capacity to welcome (or, at least tolerate) interpersonal nuance, spiritual inquiry, somatic experiences, and/or political difference?

My guest, Dr. Danica Harris, suggests that therapists begin by loosening their death grip on the one-on-one...

What if power isn't something to avoid—but something to learn? Francine Proulx-Kenzle and Sarah Buino explore sociocracy, personal power, burnout, and how early childhood experiences shape the way we show up in systems.

I'm going to say something that might make a few therapists squirm: power is not the enemy. And yet… so many of us act like it is. 

In this conversation with Francine Proulx-Kenzle, I kept coming back to a core truth that I think we—especially in the therapy world—need to hear again and again: power simply exists. What matters is how we...

Sarah explores sociocracy with Ted Rau, discussing models of shared leadership, and what it really takes to bridge the gap between overwhelmed owners and under-resourced clinicians.

Our third cohort of the Authentic Leaders Group starts this spring and it's got me thinking about systems that need to change. While change may be inevitable, it's far from easy. That's especially true in the therapy field. 

Our clients and culture are undergoing sweeping evolution and so too must group practice. How do we bridge the gap between employees and owners when both feel overworked and underpaid? 

What happens when therapists stop performing growth and actually practice it together? Kathryn Esquer shares how The Therapist Network emerged from a real need for authentic connection—and why community, vulnerability, and accountability are essential for sustainable clinical work.

You know how I'm always going on about a) doing your work, and b) doing that work alongside others? It occurred to me that many therapists don't know where to begin, especially with "everything" happening to our profession and the communities we serve.

Kathryn Esquer felt that same deep desire for peer-based connection and support. So, she built it...

Group practices are changing fast—and the legal stakes are rising. This episode unpacks the employment risks, structural tensions, and workplace dynamics shaping the future of therapist employment.

This realignment impacts you whether you're a group practice owner OR a therapist staffer. 

If you take only one lesson away from my conversation with Lori Goldstein, award-winning employment lawyer, let it be this: If you're not sure, then ask a lawyer.

Common group practice legal issues include:

Misclassification: 1099 vs W-2 Therapists

Non-Competes & Non-Solicits in Work Agreements

Workplace Compliance & HR...

If therapists can't feel, they can't help. Christian Snuffer dives into psychedelics, spirituality, and the future of therapy—and why curiosity and compassion matter more than any modality.

We met on Instagram and immediately bonded over, well, everything! While every tangent in this episode is just so compelling, three topics really reinforced my belief in the future of psychology and the clinicians who are dedicating themselves to its evolution:  

self-compassion - for the twisty journeys that bring many of us into this field and home to our own healing

coachability - old dogs (and...

What if the biggest problem in therapy is therapists who haven't done their own work? Jamie Marich explores recovery, spirituality beyond religion, and why no modality, guru, or system can replace embodied healing.

I love show-and-tell as a teaching method, especially because it emphasizes the importance of therapists doing their own work. Dr. Jamie Marich is the perfect participant. They have a substantial catalog of "personal artifacts" to share:

growing up inside evangelical Christian nationalism

recovery from addiction and participation in AA

processing their queerness in an unsafe environment

...

Frank Gruba-McCallister on why therapy is political, compassion is nonnegotiable, and healing must include social change.

If I had to choose one episode to light my way through the collapse of capitalism, it would be this conversation with Frank Gruba-McCallister. Truth is, there's no escaping the darkness of our current timeline. That said, there are dozens of reasons to remain hopeful, and thousands of people (like Frank) fanning the flames of optimism.

There's also hella work to do individually and collectively. 

The end of capitalism will come whether we act or not. Frank o...

How Kristen Wynns built an award-winning practice without insurance dependence and with a good dose of humor.

Group practice owners have a decision to make right now: continue treading water or get more creative in how they operate. The field of therapy is lucky to have many examples of group practice owners who embody innovative leadership. One of those is my "conference bestie", Dr. Kristen Wynns, author, speaker, and founder of Wynns Family Psychology. 

Three things practice owners take away from this conversation:

You're the owner, not the micromanager. How you delegate tasks, b...

Are therapists ready for the next era of healing? Dr. Caroline Fernandes on complex trauma, mediumship, and what the therapy field has to learn from the spirit world.

I'm spinning all the hits on this episode: grief, ghosts, and the energetic shifts that happen when we incorporate the spiritual into processing personal, cultural, or systemic wounds. That's little "s" spirituality, not the patriarchal-sponsored kind.

The addition of spirituality is important in light of my conversation with Dr. Caroline Fernandes. She's a holistic psychotherapist specializing in complex trauma, relational wounds, and spiritually transformative experiences. Caroline is...

In this special 9th birthday episode of Conversations With a Wounded Healer, Sarah Buino and Lane Essex explore healing at every level—from individual mental health to group practice dynamics and systemic transformations in the therapy field. 

What does it mean to sustain a therapy career in these challenging times, while embracing authentic and clinical leadership approaches that foster collective healing and healthy organizations? This episode offers insight for therapists interested in evolving their practice and creating meaningful change within mental healthcare systems. Learn how therapists can stay alive and responsive to whatever comes up in the fie...

A funeral director turned therapist on meaning-making, unfinished business, and why grief needs more truth and less cheerleading.

Ready for a life-affirming episode about death? I'm excited to introduce you to my longtime friend Rachel Hauck. She's a funeral director and embalmer. After 20 years in business, she's decided to go back to school to become a therapist. I love chatting with people who are in midlife career shifts. Why did she make the switch? How will her previous career shape her identity as a therapist? 

What sets this conversation apart from the hushed, almost embarrassed w...

When the world is burning, old business paradigms collapse—here's what replaces them.

Self-assessment time. For group practice owners: Do your internal systems align with the company's client-facing messaging? For group practice employees: Is fear (of failure, of retaliation) holding you back from calling out harmful behaviors or leaving altogether? 

Alicia Murray, LMHCD, is the creator of Therapist HQ, a digital platform for therapists ready to transition into entrepreneurship. I invited Alicia to discuss how group practice employees can protect themselves against extractive policies and how group practice owners can revamp their misaligned structures.  

GU...

Trauma-informed leadership, psychological safety, and accountability in group practice culture.

The TL;DR takeaway from today's episode is: to change the systems and institutions harming us, we must commit to the work. All of it, the intra- and interpersonal. 

Poonam Natha can help us with this assignment. She views "the work" as a lifelong process of balancing individualism and collectivism rather than choosing one over the other. Poonam's nuanced opinion is rooted in her lived experience as the eldest daughter of immigrant parents and a self-described cycle-breaker.

GUEST BIO

Poonam Natha, L...

Shawn Hondorp on creativity, IFS protector parts, and building a practice that actually feels alive.

This episode is your practical guide to feeling alive in messy times. But "feeling" is only part of the equation. "Doing" is what drives change. It transforms our private creative practices into a collective, disruptive force. 

Shawn Hondorp, PhD., is a maven of creativity and as the creator of The Innovative Therapist podcast and community, she supports therapists and helpers in creating the work that feels fully alive and authentic, blending psychology, creativity, and courageous self-trust. Shawn's deeply personal healing j...

From Boomer Hierarchies to Gen Z Autonomy, revolutionary communication insights for owners, managers, and clinicians in group practice.

If you're navigating leadership across multiple generations and feeling the strain, this episode is for you.

And yes, before you ask, we're talking about generational dynamics without turning this into a "kids these days" rant. Let's get to the heart of what's brewing in group practices right now: intergenerational tension.

My guest, Calle Foster, professionals go from quiet contributors to confident, influential, credible leaders. Calle has graciously agreed to be our Millennial and GenZ cipher...

What 2026 astrology reveals about responsibility and power.

This episode of Conversations With a Wounded Healer is for you if: 

you feel paralyzed by current events, yet hopeful 

you throw major side-eye at the phrase "unprecedented times"

you think astrology can help us forge a better future for all

Or, as my guest Steve Judd puts it, "Astrology has outlasted every religion, empire, and political system. It's been around since humanity got off its knuckles on the East African plains, looked up at the sky and went, Wow! I can se...

The end-of-year mental health-related assessments are in and, y'all. You. All! These reports offer some bad news and worse news. Sorry, I ran out of sugar-coating; it's been a long year. 

Psychotherapy Action Network's latest survey uncovered a substantial disconnect between what PMCs, for-profit private management companies like Alma, Headway, and Rula, promise therapists and what they deliver. Shocker, I know. 

While demand for mental health is exploding, power and influence are shifting to insurers and investors at the expense of patients and providers. But we possess the answers. We're a community of people dedicated to...

Gen Z is at the mic, and they have some thoughts. I can feel my fellow "olds" getting their hackles up. But, hold on! I'm asking all of us to stay curious, regardless of generational or career-stage identity. Isn't that what we instruct our clients to do when faced with new information or complicated emotions? Time to take our own advice!

Maddie Tonjes, LCSW, is an early-career therapist at Centered Therapy Chicago with keen insights into what her generational cohort needs to thrive. And, honestly? I'm here for two suggestions in particular: creating space for client population...

Before pursuing a career as a psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, and founder of Fermata Psychotherapy, a psychoanalytic group practice in Chicago, Santiago Delboy, MBA, LCSW, spent over a decade climbing the corporate ladder in the US and his home country of Peru. The shift forced him to grapple with the "disagreeable" parts of himself.

In a nod to the educational children's shows of old, this episode is brought to you by the word "becoming." Part two of my conversation with Santiago explores the art of becoming, a process he defines as connecting with our authentic self.

...