Therapist Burnout Podcast: Mental Health, Business, and Career Tips for Therapists, Counselors, & Psychologists

📥 Download the Free Practice Closure Guide: Your First 30 Days [https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/closureguide] If you’re considering leaving therapy or closing your private practice, this guide gives you the emotional and logistical support you need during those first 30 days. 🛑 What no one tells you about leaving the field of therapy? It can feel like grieving a version of yourself. In today’s episode of The Therapist Burnout Podcast, we’re not just talking about the decision to close your private practice—we’re talking about what it does to you emotionally. Because stepping away from therapy work isn’t just a professional change… it’s an identity shift. 🔍 IN THIS EPISODE: * What it really feels like to close your therapy practice * Why burnout is about emotional weight, not just hours worked * How grief, fear, shame, and relief show up in the closure process * What no one prepares you for when you stop holding space for others * The quiet, scary, and freeing in-between moments post-closure * Why nervous system support is a non-negotiable part of this transition 💬 REAL TALK FROM THIS EPISODE: * “I wasn’t broken—I was buried under what I had been holding for years.” * “Grief isn’t just sadness. It’s numbness, rage, confusion, and letting go of who you thought you'd be.” * “There’s something else on the other side—but it might not look like what you expected.” 📌 MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: 🔗 Practice Closure Guide: Your First 30 Days [https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/closureguide] 👀 Next week’s episode: The logistics of ethically and practically closing your practice Therapist burnout, closing private practice, emotional fatigue therapist, grief therapist identity, practice closure tips, vicarious trauma therapist, therapist mental health, compassion fatigue, therapist career change, therapy business exit plan, therapy practice transition, nervous system healing therapist 💌 STAY CONNECTED: If you’re holding big feelings about leaving the field—you’re not alone. Subscribe to The Therapist Burnout Podcast for more honest episodes about the realities of therapy work, career transitions, and what healing looks like after burnout. And don’t forget to share this episode with a therapist friend who may need to hear this.

What if closing your practice wasn’t the end — but the beginning of a quieter, more intentional way of building? In this episode, I talk with Melvin Varghese, psychologist, creator of The Quiet Builder [https://quietbuilder.com/], and host of Selling the Couch [https://sellingthecouch.com/]. Melvin and I explore what it looks like to build a life and business rooted in peace, integrity, and enoughness — rather than urgency, comparison, or constant growth. We talk about the evolution many therapists face after private practice burnout — when you realize that the way you’ve been working is no longer sustainable, but you’re not sure what comes next. Melvin shares how his own journey from therapy to podcasting to online education unfolded slowly and quietly, through self-trust and paying attention to what felt aligned, not what looked impressive. Together, we dig into: * What it truly means to be a quiet builder — and why slow, steady growth is often the most sustainable * How to listen for your next chapter after private practice burnout * Building work that fits your nervous system and your season of life * Letting go of the idea that more output equals more impact * How Melvin rebuilt his business around family, creativity, and energy If you’re at a point where you know something has to change — but you’re unsure where to start — this episode will help you imagine a softer, more sustainable path forward. And if you’re ready to begin your own transition, I created a free guide to help you start. 👉 The 30-Day Quick Start Guide for Practice Closure [https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/closureguide] walks you through the first steps of closing your practice with clarity, structure, and less overwhelm. Listen to Episode 91 of The Therapist Burnout Podcast and rediscover what it means to build quietly, intentionally, and on your own terms.

If you’ve ever thought, “I left my agency job to have more freedom, but now I’m more exhausted than ever,” — this episode is for you. In Episode 90 of the Therapist Burnout Podcast, I’m asking a bold question: Is private practice a scam? When I left my agency job, I was told that private practice would mean freedom — flexibility, financial ease, and time for my life. But a decade later, I see a harder truth: many therapists are burning out under the weight of a system that was never designed to sustain them. This episode kicks off a new Practice Closure Series where I unpack what happens when private practice stops working — emotionally, financially, and ethically — and how to know when it’s time to make a change. 💬 IN THIS EPISODE, I TALK ABOUT: * The myth of private practice as the “dream job” for therapists * What I discovered when my highest-earning year still brought in only $50K take-home * Why so many therapists feel like they’re failing when the system itself is broken * The emotional cost of “freedom” — no PTO, no supervision, and a lot of isolation * How insurance rates, under-earning, and compassion fatigue quietly drive burnout * Why it’s okay to consider closing your practice — or changing how you work — without shame 🧭 KEY TAKEAWAY Private practice isn’t always the scam itself — but the promise that it will fix everything often is. It’s okay to admit when the numbers, energy, and emotional math just don’t add up anymore. 🌱 MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE * Entrepreneurial Poverty (Mike Michalowicz) — why “more clients” doesn’t equal success * The upcoming Practice Closure Guide: Your First 30 Days to Closure * Next week’s guest: Melvin Varghese, host of Selling the Couch, on pivots and permission 💌 CONNECT & LEARN MORE If this conversation resonated, join my Therapist Pen Pal List — you’ll get the first look at my new Practice Closure Guide and honest conversations about burnout, career pivots, and what comes next when therapy no longer fits. https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/drjenb [https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/drjenb]

Work-life balance is a myth—and it’s keeping therapists stuck in burnout. We’re told to strive for balance, to neatly separate our professional and personal lives, as if caregiving, therapy, parenting, and invisible household labor can be tucked into separate boxes. But the truth? For therapists and other caregivers, life doesn’t work that way. In this episode, I introduce a new concept I’m calling the Caring Quotient: the total emotional, physical, and mental energy you spend on caregiving—inside and outside the therapy room. When your caring quotient is maxed out, burnout is inevitable. I share stories from my Nana’s fried chicken, my own journey into motherhood after my son’s heart surgery, and years of working with brain injury survivors and their partners who were drowning in care. These stories reveal a deeper truth: burnout isn’t about poor self-care—it’s about the weight of unmeasured caregiving. You’ll learn: * Why “work-life balance” sets therapists up for failure * How caregiving bleeds into every part of our lives—therapy sessions, parenting, household labor, emotional holding * Why women therapists are disproportionately impacted by rising caregiving demands * The connection between cognitive overload, caregiving, and therapist burnout * How counterbalance—not balance—can help restore your capacity to care * Practical ways to recognize when your caring quotient is maxed out and what renewal can look like This episode is for therapists who feel like they’ve hit the wall—emotionally, mentally, and physically. If you’ve ever wondered why your burnout feels different from other jobs, the caring quotient may be the missing piece. I’ll leave you with this reflection: What is your caring quotient right now? Are you maxed out, or do you have space for renewal? 👉 Coming in October: A full series on practice closure—how to know when it’s time, how to honor endings, and how to create space for what’s next.

👉 First things first: Join my Therapist Pen-Pal List Get my weekly notes, practical prompts, and updates on ways to work with me. Subscribe: https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/drjenb [https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/drjenb] EPISODE SNAPSHOT After nearly two years of talking with hundreds of therapists about burnout (and living my own), I’m revisiting the core question: What is therapist burnout—really? I share a body-based story from a back injury, then map burnout using a memorable lasagna metaphor so you can name what you’re feeling and choose a first small step. You’ll hear about: * Why the ICD-11 frame only scratches the surface for clinicians * Why vacations alone don’t fix therapist burnout * The layered experience of exhaustion, resentment, “I don’t care,” clinical grief, vicarious trauma, moral injury, body symptoms, and shame * Small moves to create safety and margin before “doing the trauma work” on yourself THE LASAGNA LAYERS OF THERAPIST BURNOUT (BECAUSE THERAPISTS NEED A GOOD METAPHOR) 1. Noodles: Exhaustion as the base You’re doing too much. First step: do less. Fewer clients, fewer tasks, more margin. 2. Sauce: Anger and resentment Irritability that leaks into everything. Paperwork, payers, tough sessions, home life. 3. Cheese through everything: “I don’t care” Scary to admit. Often a nervous system survival response, not a character flaw. 4. Hidden filling: Clinical grief Losses without ritual or witnessing. Client death, sudden endings, ghosting. 5. Spicy layer: Vicarious trauma Intrusions, hypervigilance, worldview shifts from the work itself. 6. Bitter bite: Moral injury When systems force choices that betray your values. It hits identity and ethics. 7. Burnt edges: Body symptoms Headaches, GI issues, tight chest, sleep disruption—your body waving a red flag. 8. Top layer: Shame The whisper that says “You’re a bad therapist.” It seals the whole dish and keeps you stuck. A BODY-BASED REFRAME Like my back flare, burnout involves multiple systems at once. It’s not about you “mismanaging stress.” It’s about adjusting inputs, removing aggravators, and rebuilding capacity step by step. TRY ONE SMALL MOVE THIS WEEK * Create margin: Remove one task or one client block. * Add safety: Choose one nervous-system support (sleep, movement, gentle connection). * Get care: Loop in your therapist, PCP, or a trusted peer for assessment and support. RELATED EPISODE * Ep. 70: Burnout doesn’t stay at work [https://drjenblanchette.com/podcast/070-therapist-burnout-or-depression-lets-get-granular/] — how it spills into life and what to do next. [https://drjenblanchette.com/podcast/070-therapist-burnout-or-depression-lets-get-granular/] SHARE + STAY CONNECTED If this helped, share it with a therapist friend. That’s how this message grows. Join the Therapist Pen-Pal List: [https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/drjenb] weekly notes, gentle prompts, behind-the-scenes updates, and first dibs on offers. [https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/drjenb]