Conversations With a Wounded Healer

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

• Therapists doing their own healing work and examining one's relationship to power as essential parts of becoming an effective clinician,

• Spirituality, the wounded healer, and the future of psychotherapy including faith and hope amid social and systemic collapse, and a possible return to the therapist as a more relational "village healer" rooted in community rather than positioned above it.

"We have been trained to kinda check our humanity at the door a little bit," Josie says. But what happens when clients are increasingly hungry for what's real?

Join The Therapist Network and receive 20% off your subscription tier when you enter the code SARAHROCKS.

Join the waitlist for the next Authentic Leaders Group!

This is a journey of self-discovery and leadership mastery, where you'll not only enhance your leadership skills but also forge meaningful connections with fellow therapists who are committed to their own growth and the betterment of the therapy field. Apply now!

Thank you to The Therapist Network for sponsoring the show!

The Therapist Network is a global community built by and for therapists. You'll find live consult groups, an ever-growing library of workshops and courses, plus a community that really sees you. Sarah's group, Tending to the Wounded Healer, meets every other Monday from 1–2pm CT, and it's a space to explore the intersection of your lived experience and your clinical work.

So if you want to feel more supported and less alone, visit TheTherapist.Network—or join Sarah's group directly at tinyurl.com/HealerConsultTTN.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Check the calendar for opportunities to connect with Sarah and earn CEs.

SUPPORT THE SHOW

Sarah's Downloadables

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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 collective care.

In this keynote, Sarah explores:

• Why therapists must do their own work

• The hidden cost of pathological empathy

• Why self-care alone isn't enough

• Organizational trauma and unhealthy workplace cultures

• Vertical development and therapist maturity

• The "meta-crisis" shaping mental health today

• Power, leadership, and the future of psychotherapy

• Why healing must happen at the individual, organizational, and systemic levels

Whether you're a therapist, supervisor, practice owner, social worker, or graduate student, this keynote is an invitation to imagine what our profession could become—and the role each of us plays in creating it.

Join the 2027 Revolutionary Practice Summit. Get $50 off with code: SpeakUp50

Join The Therapist Network and receive 20% off your subscription tier when you enter the code SARAHROCKS.

Join the waitlist for the next Authentic Leaders Group!

This is a journey of self-discovery and leadership mastery, where you'll not only enhance your leadership skills but also forge meaningful connections with fellow therapists who are committed to their own growth and the betterment of the therapy field. Apply now!

Thank you to The Therapist Network for sponsoring the show!

The Therapist Network is a global community built by and for therapists. You'll find live consult groups, an ever-growing library of workshops and courses, plus a community that really sees you. Sarah's group, Tending to the Wounded Healer, meets every other Monday from 1–2pm CT, and it's a space to explore the intersection of your lived experience and your clinical work.

So if you want to feel more supported and less alone, visit TheTherapist.Network—or join Sarah's group directly at tinyurl.com/HealerConsultTTN.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Check the calendar for opportunities to connect with Sarah and earn CEs.

SUPPORT THE SHOW

Sarah's Downloadables

Join our Patreon for gifts & perks

Shop our Bookshop.org store and support local booksellers

Share a rating & review on Apple Podcasts

***

Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places…

Website

Facebook @headheartbiztherapy

Instagram @headheartbiztherapy

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 and partnerships at Project Equity. This national non-profit helps business owners explore EO and build more equitable, resilient workplaces and communities.

"There have been a lot of success stories," Donna says. "The first step is to think about what's important to you and then educate yourself."

Group Practice (R)evolution is a podcast series offering insights from owners, employees, and experts, and resources to support this wildly ambitious vision for the future. Become a part of the (R)evolution in our Authentic Leaders Group.

Join the waitlist for the next Authentic Leaders Group cohort.

This is a journey of self-discovery and leadership mastery, where you'll not only enhance your leadership skills but also forge meaningful connections with fellow therapists who are committed to their own growth and the betterment of the therapy field. Apply now!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Check the calendar for opportunities to connect with Sarah and earn CEs.

SUPPORT THE SHOW

Sarah's Downloadables

Join our Patreon for gifts & perks

Shop our Bookshop.org store and support local booksellers

Share a rating & review on Apple Podcasts

***

Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places…

Website

Facebook @headheartbiztherapy

Instagram @headheartbiztherapy

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, researcher, and the founder and clinical director of Lexington Park Psychotherapy in NYC. Jordan is an accomplished clinician and author, and his work explores difficult topics in the philosophy of medicine, neurodiversity, and psychotherapy. He's also an excellent sparring partner on the subject of ethics in therapeutic spaces.

Let's get ready to (verbally) rumble!

Join The Therapist Network and receive 20% off your subscription tier when you enter the code SARAHROCKS.

Join the waitlist for the next Authentic Leaders Group!

This is a journey of self-discovery and leadership mastery, where you'll not only enhance your leadership skills but also forge meaningful connections with fellow therapists who are committed to their own growth and the betterment of the therapy field. Apply now!

Thank you to The Therapist Network for sponsoring the show!

The Therapist Network is a global community built by and for therapists. You'll find live consult groups, an ever-growing library of workshops and courses, plus a community that really sees you. Sarah's group, Tending to the Wounded Healer, meets every other Monday from 1–2pm CT, and it's a space to explore the intersection of your lived experience and your clinical work.

So if you want to feel more supported and less alone, visit TheTherapist.Network—or join Sarah's group directly at tinyurl.com/HealerConsultTTN.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Check the calendar for opportunities to connect with Sarah and earn CEs.

SUPPORT THE SHOW

Conversations With a Wounded Healer Merch

Join our Patreon for gifts & perks

Shop our Bookshop.org store and support local booksellers

Share a rating & review on Apple Podcasts

***

Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places…

Website

Facebook @headheartbiztherapy

Instagram @headheartbiztherapy

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 the power of relationship, the complexity of the mind, and the possibility of healing even in the aftermath of profound childhood trauma.

Sally's life and career can serve as proof that people with dissociative identity disorder (DID) can heal. Here are three points to take away from this discussion:

• DID truly is a superior survival adaptation. It generally develops in response to attachment wounds sustained in childhood.

• Shame––not the feeling that we've done something bad but that we are bad––is a bummer! The more we can build capacity to identify the implicit or explicit shame-based lessons of our childhood, the closer we get to connecting with ourselves and each other.

• Therapists can (and should) "meet" their patients' dissociated states. With proper training and supervision, these interactions can become part of a compassionate reintegration process.

"Therapy," concludes Sally, "is a collaborative venture." I agree. It's not about needing to fix; it's about accountability and liberating ourselves from trauma.

Join The Therapist Network and receive 20% off your subscription tier when you enter the code SARAHROCKS.

Join the waitlist for the next Authentic Leaders Group!

This is a journey of self-discovery and leadership mastery, where you'll not only enhance your leadership skills but also forge meaningful connections with fellow therapists who are committed to their own growth and the betterment of the therapy field. Apply now!

Thank you to The Therapist Network for sponsoring the show!

The Therapist Network is a global community built by and for therapists. You'll find live consult groups, an ever-growing library of workshops and courses, plus a community that really sees you. Sarah's group, Tending to the Wounded Healer, meets every other Monday from 1–2pm CT, and it's a space to explore the intersection of your lived experience and your clinical work.

So if you want to feel more supported and less alone, visit TheTherapist.Network—or join Sarah's group directly at tinyurl.com/HealerConsultTTN.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Check the calendar for opportunities to connect with Sarah and earn CEs.

SUPPORT THE SHOW

Conversations With a Wounded Healer Merch

Join our Patreon for gifts & perks

Shop our Bookshop.org store and support local booksellers

Share a rating & review on Apple Podcasts

***

Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places…

Website

Facebook @headheartbiztherapy

Instagram @headheartbiztherapy

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, or treat each other and our clients than by working on ourselves.

So let's talk about:

• The future of therapy and therapist leadership

• Why self-work is foundational to ethical practice

• Group practice ownership and accountability

• The challenges of building a consulting business

• Integrity as a professional competency

• Community, belonging, and the role of thought leadership in uncertain times

Cheers to more growth in the second half.

Join The Therapist Network and receive 20% off your subscription tier when you enter the code SARAHROCKS.

Join the waitlist for the next Authentic Leaders Group!

This is a journey of self-discovery and leadership mastery, where you'll not only enhance your leadership skills but also forge meaningful connections with fellow therapists who are committed to their own growth and the betterment of the therapy field. Apply now!

Thank you to The Therapist Network for sponsoring the show!

The Therapist Network is a global community built by and for therapists. You'll find live consult groups, an ever-growing library of workshops and courses, plus a community that really sees you. Sarah's group, Tending to the Wounded Healer, meets every other Monday from 1–2pm CT, and it's a space to explore the intersection of your lived experience and your clinical work.

So if you want to feel more supported and less alone, visit TheTherapist.Network—or join Sarah's group directly at tinyurl.com/HealerConsultTTN.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Check the calendar for opportunities to connect with Sarah and earn CEs.

SUPPORT THE SHOW

Conversations With a Wounded Healer Merch

Join our Patreon for gifts & perks

Shop our Bookshop.org store and support local booksellers

Share a rating & review on Apple Podcasts

***

Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places…

Website

Facebook @headheartbiztherapy

Instagram @headheartbiztherapy

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 trauma, workaholism, and burnout

• Navigating residential treatment and recovery during COVID

• What suicidal ideation can reveal about feeling trapped and overwhelmed

• Why asking for help may be one of the most important leadership skills we develop

If you've ever felt trapped by success, isolated by leadership, or overwhelmed by the pressure of holding everything together, I hope this conversation reminds you that you're not alone and that healing doesn't require perfection.

Originally aired on Lonely at the Top in 2025. Special thanks to Rachel Alexandria for hosting valuable conversations about leadership, vulnerability, and what it really costs to carry responsibility.

Join The Therapist Network and receive 20% off your subscription tier when you enter the code SARAHROCKS.

Join the waitlist for the next Authentic Leaders Group!

This is a journey of self-discovery and leadership mastery, where you'll not only enhance your leadership skills but also forge meaningful connections with fellow therapists who are committed to their own growth and the betterment of the therapy field. Apply now!

Thank you to The Therapist Network for sponsoring the show!

The Therapist Network is a global community built by and for therapists. You'll find live consult groups, an ever-growing library of workshops and courses, plus a community that really sees you. Sarah's group, Tending to the Wounded Healer, meets every other Monday from 1–2pm CT, and it's a space to explore the intersection of your lived experience and your clinical work.

So if you want to feel more supported and less alone, visit TheTherapist.Network—or join Sarah's group directly at tinyurl.com/HealerConsultTTN.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Check the calendar for opportunities to connect with Sarah and earn CEs.

SUPPORT THE SHOW

Conversations With a Wounded Healer Merch

Join our Patreon for gifts & perks

Shop our Bookshop.org store and support local booksellers

Share a rating & review on Apple Podcasts

***

Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places…

Website

Facebook @headheartbiztherapy

Instagram @headheartbiztherapy

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 the dangers of quick-fix solutions, the importance of mindfulness, and what it means to lead from values rather than fear.

In this episode:

• What "ordinary trauma" is and why it often goes unrecognized

• The relationship between agency, personal power, and healing

• Why the pursuit of being "okay" may be the wrong goal

• The dangers of trauma oversimplification and quick-fix culture

• How leadership, politics, values, and healing are deeply interconnected

Have you ever wondered whether healing is supposed to feel easier by now? Then this conversation is for you.

Originally aired on The Unburdened Leader podcast in 2024. Special thanks to Rebecca Ching for creating a space for nuance, curiosity, and honest conversation.

Join The Therapist Network and receive 20% off your subscription tier when you enter the code SARAHROCKS.

Join the waitlist for the next Authentic Leaders Group!

This is a journey of self-discovery and leadership mastery, where you'll not only enhance your leadership skills but also forge meaningful connections with fellow therapists who are committed to their own growth and the betterment of the therapy field. Apply now!

Thank you to The Therapist Network for sponsoring the show!

The Therapist Network is a global community built by and for therapists. You'll find live consult groups, an ever-growing library of workshops and courses, plus a community that really sees you. Sarah's group, Tending to the Wounded Healer, meets every other Monday from 1–2pm CT, and it's a space to explore the intersection of your lived experience and your clinical work.

So if you want to feel more supported and less alone, visit TheTherapist.Network—or join Sarah's group directly at tinyurl.com/HealerConsultTTN.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Check the calendar for opportunities to connect with Sarah and earn CEs.

SUPPORT THE SHOW

Conversations With a Wounded Healer Merch

Join our Patreon for gifts & perks

Shop our Bookshop.org store and support local booksellers

Share a rating & review on Apple Podcasts

***

Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places…

Website

Facebook @headheartbiztherapy

Instagram @headheartbiztherapy

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.

In this episode:

• Why personal power and agency are essential to healing from developmental trauma

• How therapists unintentionally recreate harmful power dynamics in therapy and workplace settings

• The connection between chronic shame and self-abandonment

• Why therapists must prioritize their own healing work

• How creativity, play, spirituality, and community can become powerful pathways to transformation

If you've ever felt frustrated by the limitations of traditional therapy, exhausted by workplace dynamics, or curious about what authentic healing really looks like, I think you'll find something meaningful here.

Originally aired on The Innovative Therapist podcast in 2026. Many thanks to Shawn Hondorp for the invitation and conversation. If you haven't already, check out her show and add it to your listening playlist.

The Innovative Therapist Retreat October 2026 with Shawn Hondorp

Join The Therapist Network and receive 20% off your subscription tier when you enter the code SARAHROCKS.

Join the waitlist for the next Authentic Leaders Group!

This is a journey of self-discovery and leadership mastery, where you'll not only enhance your leadership skills but also forge meaningful connections with fellow therapists who are committed to their own growth and the betterment of the therapy field. Apply now!

Thank you to The Therapist Network for sponsoring the show!

The Therapist Network is a global community built by and for therapists. You'll find live consult groups, an ever-growing library of workshops and courses, plus a community that really sees you. Sarah's group, Tending to the Wounded Healer, meets every other Monday from 1–2pm CT, and it's a space to explore the intersection of your lived experience and your clinical work.

So if you want to feel more supported and less alone, visit TheTherapist.Network—or join Sarah's group directly at tinyurl.com/HealerConsultTTN.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Check the calendar for opportunities to connect with Sarah and earn CEs.

SUPPORT THE SHOW

Conversations With a Wounded Healer Merch

Join our Patreon for gifts & perks

Shop our Bookshop.org store and support local booksellers

Share a rating & review on Apple Podcasts

***

Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places…

Website

Facebook @headheartbiztherapy

Instagram @headheartbiztherapy

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

• How therapists may need to evolve in an AI-driven future

• The importance of community, embodiment, and real connection

Maybe therapists can't counter all of our dystopian daydreams, but we can expand our capacity to connect.

Join The Therapist Network and receive 20% off your subscription tier when you enter the code SARAHROCKS.

Join the waitlist for the next Authentic Leaders Group!

This is a journey of self-discovery and leadership mastery, where you'll not only enhance your leadership skills but also forge meaningful connections with fellow therapists who are committed to their own growth and the betterment of the therapy field. Apply now!

Thank you to The Therapist Network for sponsoring the show!

The Therapist Network is a global community built by and for therapists. You'll find live consult groups, an ever-growing library of workshops and courses, plus a community that really sees you. Sarah's group, Tending to the Wounded Healer, meets every other Monday from 1–2pm CT, and it's a space to explore the intersection of your lived experience and your clinical work.

So if you want to feel more supported and less alone, visit TheTherapist.Network—or join Sarah's group directly at tinyurl.com/HealerConsultTTN.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Check the calendar for opportunities to connect with Sarah and earn CEs.

SUPPORT THE SHOW

Conversations With a Wounded Healer Merch

Join our Patreon for gifts & perks

Shop our Bookshop.org store and support local booksellers

Share a rating & review on Apple Podcasts

***

Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places…

Website

Facebook @headheartbiztherapy

Instagram @headheartbiztherapy