Highly Therapized

The Clinical Supervisor's Seat: Power, Ethics, and Burnout in Modern Therapy

What makes a clinical supervisor effective and what happens when the relationship fails to support growth? In this episode of Highly Therapized, host Jenny Petersen is joined by Dr. Ezra Lockhart, a seasoned supervisor, educator, and therapist, to unpack the ethical, personal, and systemic complexities of supervision in modern therapy spaces.

Together, they explore:

What ethical and legal responsibilities supervisors holdThe impact of personal challenges on clinical workBurnout, moral injury, and the realities of corporate therapy settingsSupervision in the digital age (e.g...

In this episode of Highly Therapized, I speak with Amberly Potter, LMFT, about her personal and professional journey through addiction, undiagnosed bipolar II disorder, and the path to renewal. Amberly vulnerably shares what it was like to navigate early trauma, substance use, motherhood, and mental illness—all while building a career as a therapist.

We discuss:

The hidden struggles Amberly faced during grad school and early clinical workLiving with untreated bipolar II disorder and the impact on identity, work, and relationshipsThe normalization of burnout and perfectionism in the mental health fieldAmberly’s experience with hospitalizations and hitt...

In this powerful and deeply honest episode of Highly Therapized, host Jennifer Petersen, LPCC sits down with Dr. Heather Gonzales—a behavior analyst, mental health advocate, and mother—to explore what it’s like to navigate motherhood while living with a mental illness. Heather shares her lived experience with bipolar disorder, including the harrowing reality of postpartum psychosis after the birth of her daughter.

This conversation moves beyond diagnosis to examine the nuanced challenges of parenting with a mental health condition—making decisions about medication during pregnancy, unpacking the myth of the “good mom,” and navigating occasional stigma from...

In this eye-opening episode of Highly Therapized, I talk with Dr. Lockhart, LMFT-S, to unpack the growing corporatization of mental health services and its impact on therapists, clients, and the profession as a whole. We explore the systemic barriers mental health professionals face—such as licensure mobility challenges across states, the rise of unregulated coaching, and the exploitation of clinicians within corporate settings. Dr. Lockhart and I discuss real-world alternatives to coaching models, like Adult Rehabilitative Mental Health Services (ARMHS) and skills workers, and examine how mental health professionals have little support or protection from organization. We offer some so...