Burned out, morally injured, and wondering if you’re the problem? Good news and bad news: it's not you, it's the system. This episode is for clinicians, group practice owners, and mental health leaders who feel trapped between their ethics, insurance demands, and the crushing weight of “doing it all.”

In this conversation, we unpack the evolving challenges facing clinicians in independent practice, especially the shift from “I’m just burned out” to recognizing true moral injury. We look at how systemic forces, insurance requirements, and changing rules in healthcare are reshaping what it even means to do ethical, sustainable clinical work.

You’ll hear how isolation in leadership, constant multitasking, and opaque power dynamics erode both capacity and integrity over time. The episode also explores why so many group practice owners feel like they “failed,” when in reality the rules changed without their consent or control.

What you’ll learn

➡️ Why your group practice didn’t fail just because you “couldn’t hack the rules”

➡️ The difference between burnout as a capacity failure and moral injury as an integrity failure

➡️ How clinicians become the vicarious “fall guy” for insurance companies and broken systems

➡️ Why burnout can stop being a phase and start to feel like an identity you can’t escape

➡️ How isolation at the top quietly harms clinical judgment, leadership, and well-being

➡️ What it looks like to reinvent your work using technology and AI without losing your humanity

➡️ Why “off the chair” means refusing to believe that suffering is the price of legitimacy in this field

If you’ve ever thought, “I can survive this if I can just see a way out,” this episode sketches the contours of that way out. It offers language, frameworks, and possibilities for clinicians who are ready to stop surviving in silence and start reimagining what practice can look like.

Episode chapters

00:00 – Introduction to the journey of clinicians

06:46 – The illusion of freedom in group practice

09:05 – The changing landscape of healthcare

10:26 – The new power dynamics in healthcare

12:53 – The burden of multitasking in practice management

13:11 – Understanding moral injury vs. burnout

17:55 – The impact of moral injury on clinicians

21:13 – The isolation of leadership in healthcare

25:07 – Navigating workplace turmoil

27:48 – The burden of leadership in mental health

30:27 – The impact of insurance on mental health practices

36:43 – The journey to selling a practice

40:24 – Reinventing mental health care in a changing landscape

45:58 – Embracing technology for sustainable practice

48:33 – Finding hope and healing in the chaos

50:33 – Understanding human behavior and cues

51:24 – Taking action for change

If this episode resonated with you, hit subscribe so you don’t miss future conversations. Leave a review to help other clinicians find this show, and share this episode with a colleague who is quietly burning out or carrying moral injury alone.

Connect with us!

Website: www.offthechair.com

Instagram: @offthechairpodcast

YouTube: @offthechairpodcast

TikTok: @offthechairpodcast

In this conversation, the hosts discuss the challenges of leadership in group practices, emphasizing the importance of trauma-informed leadership and building a culture of trust. Dr. Colleen Long introduces Poonam and Julianne from Level Up Leaders, who share their journey from clinicians to leadership consultants. The discussion covers the significance of understanding group practice owners, navigating isolation, and integrating culture into daily practices, especially in remote work environments. They highlight the costs of neglecting culture and the need for compassionate accountability in leadership, ultimately encouraging leaders to embrace their humanity and foster relational ecosystems within their teams.

Key takeaways:

• Trauma-informed leadership is essential for sustainable practices.
• Turnover is costly, affecting both finances and morale.
• Survival mode hinders effective leadership.
• Building a culture of trust is crucial for team cohesion.
• Daily practices can automate culture cultivation.
• Compassionate accountability balances empathy with expectations.
• Honesty in leadership fosters trust and growth.
• Neglecting culture leads to high costs and low morale.
• Everyone in a team shares responsibility for culture.
• Transitioning from clinician to entrepreneur requires strategic planning.

If you are in the thick of it, you are not alone. And you are definitely not the only one trying to survive inside something that was never built to support you.

Connect with us!

Julianne and Poonam:

Website: https://www.levelupleaders.org/

Newsletter: https://levelupleaders.myflodesk.com/newsletter

Off the Chair:

Website: www.offthechair.com

Instagram: @offthechairpodcast

YouTube: @offthechairpodcast

If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking, “There’s got to be a smarter way to run this practice,” this episode is for you. Dr. Colleen Long takes you behind the scenes of AI automation examples and tools that are helping the modern therapist finally reclaim time without sacrificing quality, connection, or creativity.

From real-world AI for clinicians to easy-to-apply systems that bring freedom back to your week, Colleen breaks down how AI tech is reshaping what’s possible in private practice. This is your no-fluff guide to building structure, scaling smarter, and learning how to reclaim time while letting technology do the heavy lifting.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The AI automation examples that make running your practice simpler and more sustainable
• How AI for clinicians is changing documentation, admin tasks, and communication
• Which AI tech tools Dr. Colleen actually uses to reclaim time every week
• Why the modern therapist needs systems that match their values and workflow
• How embracing AI automation examples helps you grow with purpose, not pressure

If you’re ready to work less, earn more, and think bigger, this conversation will show you how to apply AI for clinicians, choose practical AI tech, and join a community of modern therapists redefining success through systems that reclaim time and energy.

👉 Join the conversation inside the Founders Circle, our 2026 mastermind for clinician-entrepreneurs ready to grow sustainably.

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO EPISODE HERE!

Connect with us!

Website: www.offthechair.com

Instagram: @offthechairpodcast

YouTube: @offthechairpodcast

Colleen Long, Psy.D.

Website: www.claritypsychologicaltesting.com

LinkedIn: Dr. Colleen Long

Jennifer Politis, PhD, LPC

Website: www.wellnesscounselingBC.com

Instagram: @wellnesscounselingnj

TikTok: @wellnesscounseling

LinkedIn: Jennifer Politis

Erika Bugaj, MA, MSW, LICSW

Website: www.dandelioncounselingcare.com

Instagram: @dandelioncounselingcare

LinkedIn: Erika Bugaj