Selling the Couch

The perfect recipe for burnout is to work in a caring profession, be a slave to perfectionism, and neglect your needs. As clinicians, we realize that we work in a flawed healthcare system in the US, but how do we exist in this environment to do good work and sustain ourselves from a holistic perspective that goes way beyond basic self-care? We are diving into this topic with today’s guest. Join us!

Our Featured Guest

Dr. Jessi Gold

Dr. Jessi Gold is the first Chief Wellness Officer for the University of Tennessee System, which comprises five campuses and more than 60,000 students. Also serving as an associate professor of psychiatry, Dr. Gold is a speaker, media advocate, author, and mental health consultant. She recently wrote How Do You Feel? One Doctor's Search for the Humanity in Medicine.  In today’s session, Jessi shares her experience in teetering on the edge of burnout and what she learned about herself. 

Dr. Jessi Gold

You’ll Learn:

• The basics of Dr. Jessi’s role with the University of Tennessee and what it means to be a Chief Wellness Officer
• The differences and barriers from campus to campus in a university system
• “Silo-breaking” as it relates to mental health
• The difficulty in caring for ourselves while caring for others
• Perfectionism, burnout, and why “it’s OK not to be OK”
• The pandemic’s part in training us to wear a “badge of honor” for not caring for ourselves and our mental health
• We are human—and we forget that very often.
• The event that was the impetus for Dr. Jessi’s book—and why it left her feeling horrible
• Signs of early burnout that Dr. Jessi only noticed in hindsight
• Making the shift to navigate perfectionist tendencies to prevent burnout
• The importance of having self-compassion and reframing the mean things we say to ourselves
• The value of timeout for ME

Resources:

Learn more at sellingthecouch.com/alma and get 2 months FREE–an exclusive offer for STC listeners. 

Want to launch your online course?

Please check out our free 7-Day Course Creator Starter Kit for Therapists at https://sellingthecouch.com/coursekit.

Check out our new membership site that’s launching in January! Find out more and join the interest list for Haven. 

Mentioned in this episode:

Try Alma!

Building and managing the practice you truly want can feel overwhelming. That’s why Alma is here—to help you create not just any practice, but your private practice.

Here we are at the last episode of 2025, our 10th year of the podcast. For the last episode of the year, I usually try to focus on reflections about lessons learned, tough decisions, and pivots that are happening. My intent today is to be transparent and share in a “fireside chat” format. Take a pause with me, sit back, and think about your business as we approach the end of 2025.

You’ll Learn:

• The underlying question to ask: “How do I build something that lasts without losing myself in the process?”
• Announcement about closing STC Elite, our mastermind that has lasted for 4 years
• Closing the mastermind, all related to my stress level, focus, and mental clarity
• “Sometimes, the highest ROI decision we can make in our businesses is subtraction.”
• Feedback about concerns over the $9K investment
• Highlights of a new membership site, Haven, launching in January 2026 (A much more affordable option!) Find out more and join the interest list. 
• The Quiet Builder Newsletter: How this movement resonates with so many people
• What’s coming up for me in the form of courses, books, and new platforms to create space for my clinical skills
• My tip: Create your first course to support your enduring identity.
• Factors in life that go beyond business
• Choosing clarity over complexity
• Legacy, stewardship, and charitable giving
• My passion to help those who’ve been rescued from sex trades
• Thank you for your support over these past 10 years!

Resources:

Learn more at sellingthecouch.com/alma and get 2 months FREE–an exclusive offer for STC listeners. 

Want to launch your online course?

Please check out our free 7-Day Course Creator Starter Kit for Therapists at https://sellingthecouch.com/coursekit.

If you are a seasoned therapist looking to transition from clinical to online course income, we have a specialized mastermind for you. We meet together to build, grow, and scale our online courses. You can learn more at https://sellingthecouch.com/mastermind.

Check out our new membership site that’s launching in January! Find out more and join the interest list for Haven. 

Mentioned in this episode:

Try Alma!

Building and managing the practice you truly want can feel overwhelming. That’s why Alma is here—to help you create not just any practice, but your private practice.

What does it mean to have an “anti-racist practice”? With all the changes taking place regarding DEI and the current US political climate, this is a challenging endeavor for clinicians. Join us for a closer look at this important topic in today’s session. 

Our Featured Guest

Kenya Crawford

Kenya Crawford is a licensed therapist and trained facilitator who works with individuals, companies, and therapists to create healing spaces for our collective liberation. In today’s conversation, Kenya provides a behind-the-scenes look at the current state of DEI programs and discusses how to balance DEI and anti-racist work with running a sustainable business. This is a practical conversation around building and designing practices and businesses with strategic intentionality. 

Kenya's Website

Cultivated Healers Community

You’ll Learn:

• The current state of DEI work: It’s not dead, but it has shifted.
• Our companies reflect our communities.
• Kenya’s focus from 2020-2025, aiming for overall sustainability in her practice
• Kenya’s personal example of navigating life with an “All money is not good money” philosophy
• “Is it really worth it to do work that doesn’t align with my values?” 
• Considerations in a fee structure that make therapy more accessible
• Actions to cultivate space, community, and gratitude
• First steps in starting an anti-racist practice
• An anti-racist practice is intentional in every touch point in your business. 
• Finding your community (and accountability partners) with a shared vision
• Balancing anti-racist work with running a sustainable business 
• Challenges in the differing language used to describe “psychological safety”
• Kenya’s perspectives on the removal of DEI language from websites, publications, etc. 

Resources:

Interested in becoming part of our affiliate program? Learn more!

Want to launch your online course?

Please check out our free 7-Day Course Creator Starter Kit for Therapists at https://sellingthecouch.com/coursekit.

If you are a seasoned therapist who wants to move from clinical to online course income, we have a specific mastermind for you. We meet together to build, grow, and scale our online courses. You can learn more at https://sellingthecouch.com/mastermind.

Mentioned in this episode:

Try Alma!

Building and managing the practice you truly want can feel overwhelming. That’s why Alma is here—to help you create not just any practice, but your private practice.

This session is the second part of a series called “Podcasting for Therapists.” You can check out the first part of the series on launching your podcast with this link. Today’s focus is on what happens after you launch your podcast. More specifically, how do you strategically and thoughtfully turn your podcast into a platform that leads to more income, impact, and invitations to do the work that lights you up? This is an aspect of podcasting that is often overlooked. You start a podcast to serve others, but it gradually becomes a bridge to other opportunities, like online courses, book deals, speaking gigs, retreats, and relationships you could have never imagined. If you’ve ever wondered if you can really build a business through a podcast, this episode is your roadmap!

You’ll Learn:

• There was no grand vision or monetization plan when I began back in 2015.
• The #1 recurring question I’m asked: “How did you launch a podcast?”
• My journey into online courses—how it began and grew (To date, that first course has generated over $340,000 in revenue!)
• The STC podcast, which started with just the basics in my home office, was the foundation to show people they could trust me.
• My view of a podcast as a “channel of authenticity,” when it’s built with care and intention
• 3 anchors for turning your podcast into a platform:
• Listen closely to what your audience asks for. 
• Create soft invitations, not hard pitches.
• Build systems behind the scenes.
• My approach to calls-to-action at the end of each podcast episode (invitation-based, not pressure-based)
• Want to know more about starting YOUR podcast? Check out our FREE Podcasting Workshop. 

Resources:

Interested in becoming part of our affiliate program? Learn more!

Want to launch your online course?

Please check out our free 7-Day Course Creator Starter Kit for Therapists at https://sellingthecouch.com/coursekit.

If you are a seasoned therapist who wants to move from clinical to online course income, we have a specific mastermind for you. We meet together to build, grow, and scale our online courses. You can learn more at https://sellingthecouch.com/mastermind.

Mentioned in this episode:

Try Alma!

Building and managing the practice you truly want can feel overwhelming. That’s why Alma is here—to help you create not just any practice, but your private practice.

Today’s session is about shutting down your private practice, which is an inevitable step in the journey for many therapists. The two main options are to sell their private practice or shut it down, which can be the best choice for a therapist who wants to pursue other avenues and achieve more freedom in their life. Join us to learn more!

Our Featured Guest

Dr. Jen Blanchette

Dr. Jen Blanchette is a licensed psychologist, podcaster, speaker, career coach, and business consultant. Her passion is helping therapists and other caring professionals say goodbye to burnout culture and find the support they need. In the early years of the pandemic, Dr. Jen made the decision to close the private practice she had worked hard to build; a combination of burnout and the realization that she wanted to focus on other things fueled her decision. In today’s conversation, we cover the real, emotional side of shutting down a private practice, which includes terminating relationships with clients and handling logistical challenges. Guilt and shame accompany this difficult decision, and Dr. Jen shares what she wishes she had known back then. She gives her insight into other details of the closing process, along with an optimal timeline for closing. 

Website: drjenblanchette.com

You’ll Learn:

• Considering what comes “on the other side”---finding freedom and clarity
• Tips for planning to shut down
• How to communicate with clients about closing
• The grief element for you AND your clients requires time to heal
• Dr. Jen’s hindsight into what she wishes she had done in the process of shutting down her private practice
• Ethical questions about the termination of treatment
• Top 3 logistical tasks in shutting down your private practice:
• Contacting your liability insurance carrier
• Handling records appropriately
• Contacting your state board
• Considerations for choosing an appropriate attorney
• Most common mistakes therapists make: not having the support they need and trying to handle it all solo
• Dr. Jen’s advice: What she wishes every therapist knew about closing down a private practice
• Visit Dr. Jen’s website, drjenblanchette.com, for information about the Ethical Practice Closure Course, her free Quick Start Guide, and The Therapist Burnout Podcast.

Resources:

Building and managing the practice you truly want can feel overwhelming. That’s why Alma is here—to help you create not just any practice, but your private practice. 

With Alma, you’ll get the tools and resources you need to navigate insurance with ease, connect with referrals that are the right fit for your style, and streamline those time-consuming administrative tasks. That means less time buried in the details and more time focused on delivering exceptional care to your clients.

You support your clients. Alma supports you.

Learn more at sellingthecouch.com/alma and get 2 months FREE–an exclusive offer for STC listeners. 

Want to launch your online course?

Please check out our free 7-Day Course Creator Starter Kit for Therapists at https://sellingthecouch.com/coursekit.

If you are a seasoned therapist looking to transition from clinical to online course income, we have a specialized mastermind for you. We meet together to build, grow, and scale our online courses. You can learn more at https://sellingthecouch.com/mastermind.

Mentioned in this episode:

Try Alma!

Building and managing the practice you truly want can feel overwhelming. That’s why Alma is here—to help you create not just any practice, but your private practice.

Today’s session is all about designing a therapist-friendly course that actually gets finished. This is the third in our series, The Therapist’s Path to a Successful Online Course. A lesser-known fact about online courses is that they have a notoriously low completion rate. The real challenge for course creators is to include content that is engaging yet concise, so that people stay engaged until completion. Since we've invested time and effort in creating a transformational online course experience, we want people to complete the entire course.

You’ll Learn:

• Course building strategies that don’t overload your students
• Building a course for them, not me
• In course creation, look for the most straightforward path from A to B.
• “A finished course is more powerful than a perfect one.”
• 3 anchors for course design to improve completion rates:
• Design for real-life energy, not ideal circumstances.
• Layer-in accountability and gentle community to serve “one to many” over 1:1.
• Keep the path simple and straightforward. Don’t overwhelm people with too many options or resources.
• “Clarity builds momentum; confusion kills it.”
• Check out our free email course, The Course Creator Starter Kit.

Resources:

Interested in becoming part of our affiliate program? Learn more!

Want to launch your online course?

Please check out our free 7-Day Course Creator Starter Kit for Therapists at https://sellingthecouch.com/coursekit.

If you are a seasoned therapist who wants to move from clinical to online course income, we have a specific mastermind for you. We meet together to build, grow, and scale our online courses. You can learn more at https://sellingthecouch.com/mastermind.

Mentioned in this episode:

Try Alma!

Building and managing the practice you truly want can feel overwhelming. That’s why Alma is here—to help you create not just any practice, but your private practice.

This is the 400th episode of Selling the Couch! It is truly surreal to think back to 2015 and the show’s humble beginnings; reaching this milestone is beyond anything I ever dreamed of 10 years ago. I want to use this milestone to reflect on a few meaningful thoughts about staying the course to reap the quiet rewards. What does it mean to choose depth over scale and to build intentionally and slowly when the world often tells us to go fast? The truth in this concept of depth over scale is the most impactful lesson I’ve learned on this journey. In this episode, I’m focusing on 3 reflections that I hope encourage you, especially if you are in a season of slow growth. 

You’ll Learn:

• My experience: Feeling behind when everyone else seemed to be scaling faster: “Am I doing this wrong?”
• What clicked for me: “Speed makes noise, but depth builds roots.”
• 3 Quiet-Builder truths for longevity and depth:
• Slow growth is often the healthiest growth.
• We often think reputation comes from a single moment, but it comes from quiet consistency.
• Depth protects your nervous system. (“There is a cost for going fast. Depth is kinder.”)
• A business should give you life—not drain you.
• Want to know more about being a Quiet Builder? Check out The Quiet Builder Newsletter to get more of my reflective thoughts.

Resources:

Interested in becoming part of our affiliate program? Learn more!

Want to launch your online course?

Please check out our free 7-Day Course Creator Starter Kit for Therapists at https://sellingthecouch.com/coursekit.

If you are a seasoned therapist who wants to move from clinical to online course income, we have a specific mastermind for you. We meet together to build, grow, and scale our online courses. You can learn more at https://sellingthecouch.com/mastermind.

Mentioned in this episode:

Try Alma!

Building and managing the practice you truly want can feel overwhelming. That’s why Alma is here—to help you create not just any practice, but your private practice.

Today’s topic strikes fear into the hearts of many clinicians. We are talking about branding, not in the sales-y way that feels icky, but with authenticity, heart, and grace. Whether intentional or not, you have a brand; why not make it one to be proud of? Want to be an influential thought leader? Your personal brand should reflect your heart and core values. Join us to learn more!

Our Featured Guest

Adrienne Wilkerson

Adrienne Wilkerson is a personal friend and the CEO of Beacon Media + Marketing, a marketing agency that works closely with practices and clinicians in the mental health field. Our conversation begins with the starting point in thinking of yourself as a “brand,” clarifying and communicating who you are and what you stand for, and how clinicians can become thought leaders. Adrienne shares insights about branding principles to follow in building a platform and sharing a message that feels true and genuine. We conclude with a look at how to stay authentic in branding and content in today’s AI-dominated world. 

Beacon Media + Marketing

You’ll Learn:

• To think of yourself as a brand, start by telling your story!
• Clarifying and communicating who you are without being sales-y and fake
• The intersection of social media content, branding, and authentic connection
• Authentic vs. fake (“Perfect comes across as fake.”)
• Heart and intention connect people through the know, like, and trust factor (Don’t be afraid to share!)
• Things to consider in AI content vs. authenticity (AI is thought support, not a thought leader.)
• Adrienne’s branding principles
• Ways to stand out in a busy, crowded place
• Adrienne’s book, Digital Marketing for Mental Health: From Complex to Clarity

Resources:

Interested in becoming part of our affiliate program? Learn more!

Want to launch your online course?

Please check out our free 7-Day Course Creator Starter Kit for Therapists at https://sellingthecouch.com/coursekit.

If you are a seasoned therapist who wants to move from clinical to online course income, we have a specific mastermind for you. We meet together to build, grow, and scale our online courses. You can learn more at https://sellingthecouch.com/mastermind.

Mentioned in this episode:

Try Alma!

Building and managing the practice you truly want can feel overwhelming. That’s why Alma is here—to help you create not just any practice, but your private practice.

Today’s solo episode is the second of a three-part series we call The Therapist’s Path to a Successful Online Course. Today’s focus is on what therapists often get wrong about selling their first online course, considering all the assumptions we make and the misconceptions we hold about online courses. I’m bringing full transparency to today’s topic as I share what I’ve learned through my years of experience with online courses. 

You’ll Learn:

• The guilt loop running in my head (“I became a therapist to help people, not to sell things.”)
• Mindset shift that made it all make sense to me
• Ethical selling: a path to transformation with deep care and clarity
• 3 sales mistakes therapists make—and what to do instead:
• Thinking “sales equals sleazing”
• Think of aligned sales as clear communication with a gentle and generous invitation.
• Avoiding the “ask” entirely
• If someone is clearly interested, don’t make them guess how to work with you. Give them a clear call-to-action.
• Not believing in the value of your course
• Your confidence comes from alignment. Focus on the transformation you can offer.
• Want to learn more about developing an online course? Find our FREE 7-day email course, The Course Creator Starter Kit, by clicking the link. 

Resources:

Interested in becoming part of our affiliate program? Learn more!

Want to launch your online course?

Please check out our free 7-Day Course Creator Starter Kit for Therapists at https://sellingthecouch.com/coursekit.

If you are a seasoned therapist who wants to move from clinical to online course income, we have a specific mastermind for you. We meet together to build, grow, and scale our online courses. You can learn more at https://sellingthecouch.com/mastermind.

How you can find Heather’s course, free webinar, and other resources at www.lovefilledlife.com 

Mentioned in this episode:

Try Alma!

Building and managing the practice you truly want can feel overwhelming. That’s why Alma is here—to help you create not just any practice, but your private practice.

Welcome to our fall season of new episodes! After a busy summer of family time and travel, I’m excited to be back with you on the podcast. Today’s conversation is an important one about mindful language in conversations touching on race and culture. Join us!

Our Featured Guest

Dr. Nathalie Edmond

Dr. Nathalie Edmond is a licensed psychologist and the author of Mindful Race Talk: Building Literacy, Fluency, and Agility. She is the perfect guest to help us approach race as clinicians in the therapy room and in our advocacy work. We are covering topics such as what it means to have an “embodied” conversation about race, the importance of our language, and how we can strike a balance between honesty and accountability. Our discussion includes the elements of conversations that are truly beneficial in light of today’s racially charged climate of cancel culture and “colorblindness.” We wrap up with a look at how clinicians can build cross-racial solidarity. 

Website

You’ll Learn:

• The impetus and inspiration for writing Mindful Race Talk
• An “embodied conversation” about race—What does that mean?
• The importance of practicing to balance compassion and accountability
• Not talking about race is NOT the answer!
• The danger that clinicians face regarding multicultural awareness
• The myth of “colorblindness” vs. living with an attitude of racial and cultural awareness
• Steps to build racial competence, literacy, and agility
• The “charge” associated with the topic of race
• Dr. Nathalie’s advice for clinicians about tuning in and developing mindfulness and awareness
• Actions clinicians can take to develop cross-racial solidarity—What does this look like?

Resources:

Building and managing the practice you truly want can feel overwhelming. That’s why Alma is here—to help you create not just any practice, but your private practice. 

With Alma, you’ll get the tools and resources you need to navigate insurance with ease, connect with referrals that are the right fit for your style, and streamline those time-consuming administrative tasks. That means less time buried in the details and more time focused on delivering exceptional care to your clients.

You support your clients. Alma supports you.

Learn more at sellingthecouch.com/alma and get 2 months FREE–an exclusive offer for STC listeners. 

Want to launch your online course?

Please check out our free 7-Day Course Creator Starter Kit for Therapists at https://sellingthecouch.com/coursekit.

If you are a seasoned therapist who wants to move from clinical to online course income, we have a specific mastermind for you. We meet together to build, grow, and scale our online courses. You can learn more at https://sellingthecouch.com/mastermind.

Mentioned in this episode:

Try Alma!

Building and managing the practice you truly want can feel overwhelming. That’s why Alma is here—to help you create not just any practice, but your private practice.