Therapists Unchained

Data, Dollars, and the Future of Therapy: The Therapist Resource Institute with Sharon Harper, LCSW

In this episode of Therapists Unchained, Sivie Suckerman interviews Sharon Harper, a licensed clinical social worker and the founder of the Therapist Resource Institute (TRI). The conversation explores and emphasizes the necessity of reclaiming professional autonomy and building sustainable careers through authentic human connection and systemic advocacy while also delving into the Therapist Resource Institute as a national platform designed to unify mental health professionals across all licenses and career stages. Harper explains that she created the organization to combat the fragmentation of the field and the growing influence of venture-backed tech platforms that often exploit clinician labor and client data. The sources describe TRI as a supportive professional community that offers practical tools, such as referral networks and business vetting, while aiming to provide a collective political voice through future lobbying efforts.  -- Sharon Harper, LCSW, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, private practice owner, and the founder of the Therapist Resource Institute (TRI), a national platform created to connect therapists across all states, licenses, and career stages. TRI focuses on strengthening referral networks, providing practical resources, and building collective voice in a field that is often fragmented. Sharon is also the owner of Sharper Counseling and Sharper Practice Consulting, where she provides therapy, supervision, and consulting to clinicians looking to grow sustainable practices and better navigate the business realities of mental health care. Her background includes work in an acute psychiatric setting, child and family services, and intensive in-home care, giving her a broad view of the system from multiple angles. Known for her direct and practical approach, Sharon speaks openly about the challenges therapists face—from burnout to business confusion to industry shifts and is focused on building solutions that are grounded, collaborative, and actually useful. Please check out the Therapist Resource Institute's website! https://therapistresourceinstitute.com/ This episode was produced and edited by Sivie Suckerman, MA, LMHC, ACS

Dismantling the Status Quo: The People's Solidarity Fund with Nicole Sartini, LPCC, IMHP

*The audio in this episode is not my favorite. Thanks for your understanding!* In this episode, host Sivie Suckerman welcomes her first-ever return guest, Nicole Sartini. Nicole is a licensed professional clinical counselor, integrated mental health professional, and a fierce advocate for social justice and health insurance reform based in Louisville, Kentucky. Following up on their previous conversation from August, Nicole shares vital updates on her macro-level advocacy work within the Mental Health Insurance Reform Taskforce, to challenge corporate greed and the monopolization of the behavioral health profession. Sivie and Nicole dive deep into the newly formed 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Build Better Health, and explore a groundbreaking, cooperative alternative to traditional health insurance known as the People Solidarity Fund. --- Nicole Sartini is a licensed counselor, mental health leader, systems reform advocate, and social impact entrepreneur working to transform how healthcare is structured, funded, and delivered in the United States. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Build Better Health, a nonprofit advancing equitable, transparent, and sustainable healthcare systems, and leads the Mental Health Insurance Reform Task Force, a national, multi-discipline coalition of provider advocates spanning more than 40 states. Through this work, she focuses on enforcing parity laws, challenging harmful insurance practices, and advancing structural reform that protects both clinicians and the communities they serve. Nicole is also the Founder of the People’s Solidarity Fund, a cooperative healthcare model being developed as an ethical, community-centered alternative to traditional insurance, designed to bring care, funding, and decision-making back into right relationship. With over two decades in the mental health field, including building a large integrative group practice called Bridge Counseling and Wellness based in Louisville, KY, Nicole has transitioned from clinical care to focusing her work on advocacy, coalition building, and system design. Her work is rooted in the belief that healthcare can be mutually respectful, collectively minded, and heart-led in a way that puts people over profit and truly serves the whole.   Links: MHIRTF is currently conducting a national provider survey to better understand how insurance practices impact clinicians and the communities they serve. This data supports ongoing advocacy efforts and helps inform more just and equitable policy solutions. Take the survey: https://forms.gle/bRNdaLhfk9mYZTok6 [https://forms.gle/bRNdaLhfk9mYZTok6] Clinicians who are interested in learning more or participating in this work are invited to complete the Get Involved form and attend our monthly national meeting. Meetings are held via Zoom on the second Wednesday of each month at 11:00 AM ET and include updates, shared learning across states, and opportunities for deeper engagement. Get involved: https://bintake-formbh.zapier.app/get-involved [https://bintake-formbh.zapier.app/get-involved?utm_] Register for meetings: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/9a3WuXZmRjyxPXNlHRU0-A [https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/9a3WuXZmRjyxPXNlHRU0-A?utm#/registration] Build Better Health website: www.buildbetterhealth.org [http://www.buildbetterhealth.org/] Bridge Counseling and Wellness website: www.bridgemndbody.com [http://www.bridgemndbody.com/] Mental Health Insurance Reform Task Force on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MentalHealthInsuranceReformTaskForce [https://www.facebook.com/MentalHealthInsuranceReformTaskForce] This episode was produced and edited by Sivie Suckerman, MA, LMHC, ACS

If it Sucks, Fix it: Taking Back our Professional Associations with Shannon Thompson, LMHC

In this episode, Sivie sits down with Shannon Thompson, LMHC, Executive Director of the Washington Mental Health Counselors Association (WMHCA), the state chapter of the American Mental Health Counselors Association, to explore and dismantle the typical narrative around professional organizations. Shannon explains how the WMHCA has evolved into a "unicorn" in the field by employing a paid leader who is also a licensed clinician. They discuss the role of professional associations for clinicians, limitations and challenges of state advocacy, the myth of the workforce shortage, how to be more engaged in your local chapter, and why "neutrality" is no longer an option for organizations committed to equity.  --- Shannon is a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) and a child and adolescent mental health specialist (CMHS).  Shannon graduated from Argosy University with a Master's in Mental Health Counseling in 2006.  She spent many years in community mental health before opening a private practice in 2013.  Her career has primarily been focused on serving children, adolescents, and their families.  Shannon has been part of the WMHCA board since 2016.  She joined originally as a volunteer and was the workshop chair.  In 2018 she became the Education and Advocacy Director and more recently has been promoted to Executive Director of the WMHCA board. Learn more about the Washington Mental Health Counselors Association (WMHCA) by visiting their website: www.wmhca.org [https://wmhca.org/] This episode was produced and edited by Sivie Suckerman, MA, LMHC, ACS

Building a Safety Net: The Therapist Resource Network with Jeanine Rousso, LMHC, LPC, ACS, RPT-S

In this episode of Therapists Unchained, host Sivie Suckerman sits down with Jeanine Rousso, a licensed clinical mental health counselor and registered play therapist supervisor based in North Carolina. They discuss the harsh financial realities facing mental health professionals today—from staggering student loans to the rising costs of private practice—and introduce a beacon of hope: The Therapist Resource Network. Jeanine shares how her 501(c)(3) nonprofit is providing emergency grants to therapists in crisis and building a community to combat burnout and isolation. --- Jeanine Rousso is a licensed counselor in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina as well as an Approved Clinical Supervisor. A helper to her core, Jeanine maintains a private practice in addition to being the founder of Therapist Resource Network. Jeanine recognizes how often therapists themselves are left without the time, space, or financial stability to receive the support they deserve, especially during times of burnout or personal emergencies. In response, she founded TRN to create new, accessible ways to support mental health professionals. Website: www.therapistresourcenetwork.org [http://www.therapistresourcenetwork.org/] Email: therapistresourcenetwork@gmail.com [therapistresourcenetwork@gmail.com] Therapist Resource Network mission: To provide emergency financial support, burnout prevention and recovery, and advocacy for mental health clinicians. This episode was produced and edited by Sivie Suckerman, MA, LMHC, ACS

Hacked! Data Security, Ethics, and Venture-Backed Platforms: an Interview with Kim Kabar, LMFT

In this episode of Therapists Unchained, host Sivie Suckerman, LMHC, ACS sits down with Kim Kabar, LMFT, to discuss the hidden dangers of the "uberification" of mental health care.  The conversation highlights a harrowing security breach where Kim’s deactivated Psychology Today account was hacked and altered, raising urgent questions about HIPAA compliance, data retention, and the vulnerability of private practice clinicians. Drawing on her background in investigative journalism, Kim exposes ethically concerning policies at venture-backed platforms like Grow Therapy, including requirements for client reviews and unauthorized management of therapist profiles. Sivie and Kim conclude by discussing the necessity of legislative advocacy and how therapists can reclaim their autonomy through direct networking and independent contracting. ----------- Kim Kabar is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California and Arizona specializing in trauma, attachment issues, and gender identity. An EMDR and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy provider, Kim is also a second-generation therapist. Her mother, now 87, is a practicing Jungian analyst in Chicago. Growing up immersed in conversations about mental health, trauma, and the therapeutic process profoundly shaped Kim’s reverence for the sanctity of the therapeutic relationship. Before becoming a clinician, Kim spent over a decade as a journalist, a background that continues to shape her insistence on truth-seeking, pattern recognition, and asking uncomfortable questions about power, systems, and whose interests are really being served. Her current advocacy work focuses on how venture-backed mental health platforms and insurance-driven systems are reshaping therapy—often at the expense of client privacy and clinical integrity. When she’s not working, Kim loves to cook, go on bike rides, and play with her dog, Babette.  Kim also maintains a blog where she explores the ethical, emotional, and systemic realities of modern mental health care. Drawing on both her clinical work and her background in journalism, she writes about privacy, platform power, trauma-informed practice, and what happens when therapy is shaped by corporate and technological forces rather than human need.  Website: https://www.kimkabar.com Blog: https://kimkabarlmft.wordpress.com This episode was produced and edited by Sivie Suckerman, MA, LMHC, ACS