Doc Secret: Building the Best Practice

Lights, Trauma, Action: A Performer’s Path to Mental Health and Meaning (feat. Adam Hill)


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In this episode of Doc Secret, our guest is Adam Hill, Licensed Social Worker and Clinical Psychotherapist at CFC Therapy Group in Chicago. Adam traces his path from national musical-theater tours—including The Sound of Music—to the therapy room, where the craft of storytelling, vulnerability, and presence now shape his clinical work. He opens up about burnout after life on the road, the intentional pause that reset his direction, and the mentors and conversations that helped him pivot into behavioral health. In practice, Adam uses an integrative, trauma-informed approach—drawing on CBT, ACT, DBT, EMDR, IFS, and more—while innovating with formats like Dungeons & Dragons group therapy to build skills and community. He shares early warning signs of burnout, how creative practice fosters resilience, and a measured view on where AI helps (and where it can’t replace human connection). Listeners will hear themes of growth, transitions, trauma-informed care, creativity, and the thoughtful use of technology.


Doc Secret is sponsored by Quantics Marketing, LLC. https://www.quanticsmarketing.com/


00:00 – Meet Adam Hill: From Stage to Psychotherapy
03:03 – Childhood in the Arts: A Therapeutic Refuge
05:05 – National Tour Life: Highs, Hustle, and Being a Swing
09:19 – The Turning Point: Choosing Psychotherapy
12:09 – Post-Tour Burnout and the Power of Pause
14:12 – Theater Skills in the Therapy Room
18:35 – Trauma Lens: Lived Experience to Integrated Care
22:16 – Early Signs of Burnout to Watch
31:17 – Dungeons & Dragons Therapy and Feedback Loops
52:09 – Lightning Round and Close


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Doc Secret: Building the Best PracticeBy Doc Secret Podcast