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

102. Burnout, Pivots, and Why You Don’t Have to Do This Alone

JOIN LEAVING THE CHAIR (REGISTRATION CLOSES SAT, JAN 31 AT MIDNIGHT): https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/jhvxnbroxe [ https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/jhvxnbroxe] In this quick episode, I’m recapping the live webinar I just hosted on burnout and pivots — and what surprised me most wasn’t the content… it was the honesty in the questions. A lot of therapists who showed up were already in motion: closing their practice, leaving a job, or standing right on the edge of a big change. And it reminded me how common this really is — and how heavy it feels when you’re trying to figure it out alone. I also share why I’m opening my 12-week group experience, Leaving the Chair, and how it’s designed to be supportive (not content-heavy) for therapists who are trying to make real decisions in the middle of burnout. IN THIS EPISODE, I COVER WHAT CAME UP ON THE WEBINAR * Why the questions weren’t casual — they were vulnerable and real * The themes I keep attracting: practice closure, leaving therapy, and “I can’t do this anymore” * How much life it gave me to hold space with therapists who get it MY BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS 1. Burnout makes decision-making feel impossible 2. When you’re fried, your brain treats everything like danger — and it’s hard to trust yourself. 3. “What job should I do?” isn’t the real question 4. There are infinite options — the deeper work is learning what your body and life can hold right now. 5. Your pivot doesn’t have to be dramatic 6. A slower move can be more sustainable (unless your body is forcing an emergency exit). 7. The Career Traffic Circle (broad strokes) * Stop / pause (sabbatical, medical leave, real break) * Slow down (reduce intensity, reduce clients, contract work) * Bridge (off-ramp immediate income or on-ramp training) * Full pivot (usually later — after stabilization) 8. Identity grief is real 9. Untethering from “I am a therapist” can bring grief, confusion, and shame. 10. Termination and closure always come to the table 11. Client reactions, ethical goodbyes, and the emotional load of wrapping up. 12. The biggest problem is doing it alone 13. This is hard work — and isolation makes it heavier. JOIN ME INSIDE LEAVING THE CHAIR Leaving the Chair is a 12-week group experience for therapists who want support making a pivot — without panic decisions. * Starts: Friday, February 6 * Meets: Fridays at 2:00 PM Eastern * Investment: $950 * Includes: 12 group sessions + 4 guided workshops + supportive circles focused on space, feedback, and decision support (not content overload) * Spots available: 5 * Registration closes: Saturday, January 31 at midnight 👉 Register here: https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/jhvxnbroxe [https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/jhvxnbroxe] WANT MY WEEKLY NOTES ON BURNOUT + PIVOTS? Join my Pen Pal list here: https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/drjenb [ https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/drjenb] QUESTIONS? REACH OUT * Email: info@drjenblanchette.com * LinkedIn: @drjenblanchette (DM me — I’ll reply) CLOSING NOTE If you’re in the “I can’t do this anymore” season, you’re not failing — you’re overloaded. And you don’t have to make these decisions by yourself.

101. 5 Therapist Burnout lessons in 3 years of podcasting

After nearly three years of talking with therapists about burnout (and living my own recovery in real time), I wanted to pause and name what I keep seeing underneath the surface — especially for therapists who feel stuck, spinning, or quietly wondering if they can keep doing 1:1 work. IN THIS EPISODE: * Burnout isn’t just exhaustion — it’s losing your aliveness * Therapist burnout isn’t a personal failure — it’s a systems problem * Spinning isn’t indecisiveness — it’s nervous system overload * You don’t need a dramatic pivot to move forward * You can be good at your job and still not be able to do it anymore ALSO MENTIONED: * Burnout vs depression (and why real support matters) * Menopause + mental health * Cognitive burnout, digital overload, and modern life * Why doing less can be the most radical move in burnout recovery LINKS + WAYS TO STAY CONNECTED Therapist Pen Pal List: https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/drjenb [ https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/drjenb] Free Pivot Call (Mon Jan 26 @ 2pm ET) — replay available: https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/hidsgfobza [ https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/hidsgfobza] Submit a question for the Pivot Call (anonymous option): https://forms.gle/Hs5GYYKFFMP45xmn9 [ https://forms.gle/Hs5GYYKFFMP45xmn9] Leaving the Chair (Group Program) — starts Feb 6 | Fridays at 2pm ET: https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/jhvxnbroxe [ https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/jhvxnbroxe]

100. What I've learned about Burnout (with Micah Freeman)

Quick note: Enrollment is open for Love It or Leave It (Leaving the Chair). Closes January 30 (at the time of recording). Join Love It or Leave It (Open Enrollment): https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/jhvxnbroxe [https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/jhvxnbroxe] Book a consult call (limited availability): https://calendar.app.google/JBkK3aUPXyvxr46F7 [https://calendar.app.google/JBkK3aUPXyvxr46F7] ABOUT THIS EPISODE Micah Freeman interviews Jen for Episode 100. We talk about milestones, burnout (in real life), cognitive overload, and why so many therapists are done with 1:1 as it’s currently structured. WHAT WE COVER * What 100 episodes actually feels like (and why “arrival” doesn’t land the way we expect) * The arrival fallacy and the “have done list” * Jen’s current relationship with burnout and learning to be gentler with herself * Cognitive burnout: screens, tabs, constant input, nervous system fatigue * The added layers for many therapists: caregiving, emotional labor, hormones/menopause * Why Jen started studying burnout before becoming a psychologist (therapeutic foster care) * Burnout vs depression and the overlap in symptoms * Therapist isolation, clinical grief, and why support matters * Community, meaning, and the messy middle of spirituality/faith * Why listener emails and reviews matter more than you think A FEW LINES THAT STUCK * “Earth School is very hard.” * “There are only so many times you can walk through fire and not get burned.” * “I wanted to give it the breadth of time. 100 felt like doing that.” REFLECTION QUESTIONS * What am I waiting to achieve so I can finally feel okay? * What would be on my “have done list” this year? * What’s burning me out most: work, life load, cognitive overload, or all of it? * What would a sustainable next step look like (not a dramatic pivot)? GUEST Micah Freeman Website: egostrength.net Podcast: Ego Strength

99. Soft Starts: Rejecting January Reinvention

HAPPY NEW YEAR, THERAPIST. IF YOU’RE LISTENING IN REAL TIME, IT’S 2026—AND WE MADE IT THROUGH ANOTHER YEAR OF “EARTH SCHOOL (THANKS LIZ GILBERT!)” IN 2025. In this episode, I’m rejecting the hustle harder / reinvent yourself energy that shows up every January—especially when your nervous system is already fried. Instead, I’m making the case for a soft start: a gentle re-entry that’s doable, realistic, and rooted in your actual capacity. If you’re stuck between “why even try?” and “I have to change everything right now,” this one’s for you. LINKS Join Love It or Leave It (Open Enrollment): https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/jhvxnbroxe [https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/jhvxnbroxe] Book a consult call (limited availability): https://calendar.app.google/JBkK3aUPXyvxr46F7 [https://calendar.app.google/JBkK3aUPXyvxr46F7] IN THIS EPISODE, WE COVER * Why January can feel like a flood for therapists—not a clean slate * The thesis: you don’t need a January reinvention—after 2025, we need a soft start * A nervous-system lens: window of tolerance + “titrating” your life (EMDR concept applied to real life) * The origin of New Year’s resolutions (and why the timing is kind of absurd) * The shame layer of burnout: “I failed… I should’ve known… I should be stronger” * A quote (shared by Liz Gilbert) from Leonard Cohen: standing guiltless in the predicament * The minimum effective dose approach to movement, connection, and nourishment * “Addition vs. subtraction” with food (and why diet culture can create more stress than we realize) * How to take small, doable steps toward change (not panic pivots) NOTABLE QUOTE (LEONARD COHEN) “There is a feeling we have sometimes of betraying some mission that we were mandated to fulfill… and the deeper courage was to stand guiltless in the predicament in which you find yourself.” TIMESTAMPS * 0:00 — “It’s January. The internet wants you to sprint.” * 1:40 — Thesis: a soft start for 2026 after a tough year * 4:26 — Window of tolerance + titrating your life * 5:16 — Fitness instructor story: don’t push past your range * 6:45 — History: resolutions started in spring, then moved to January * 9:08 — “The system is broken, not you” + the shame of burnout * 11:11 — Why winter goals can feel like punishment * 12:46 — Leonard Cohen quote + “stand guiltless” reflection * 16:00 — Sponsor break (me) + program invite * 18:34 — Minimum effective dose: movement, connection, nourishment * 27:00 — Soft pivots: small actions toward what you want * 30:03 — Episode 100 teaser: Micah Freeman interviews me SPONSOR (ME): LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT If you’re a therapist who feels fried to a crisp—and you’re fantasizing about doing something else just to breathe again—I created Love It or Leave It, a small group coaching program for therapists who want to quit 1:1 therapy (or at least a lot less of it). We’ll do this softly—nervous-system friendly and practical, so you can make real moves. Enrollment: https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/jhvxnbroxe [https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/jhvxnbroxe] Consult call: https://calendar.app.google/JBkK3aUPXyvxr46F7 [https://calendar.app.google/JBkK3aUPXyvxr46F7] NEXT EPISODE Episode 100 is next week—my friend Micah Freeman interviews me.

98. Burnout isn't just Exhaustion (especially for Therapists)

Join the therapist (Pen Pal List): https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/drjenb [https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/drjenb] I write back! Burnout isn’t just exhaustion — it’s the loss of feeling alive. In this final episode of the year, I’m sharing what burnout recovery has actually looked like for me: the slow parts, the stuck parts, the softening of ambition, and the small pockets of aliveness that are bringing me back to myself. IN THIS EPISODE, I TALK ABOUT: * Why burnout isn’t just about depletion, but about losing a sense of aliveness * Why leaving private practice didn’t “fix” burnout the way I expected * Jumping straight into school psychology without a real break — and what that brought up * The existential “midlife stuckness” many therapists experience * Why the question “What else can I do?” is a doorway, not a failure * Using memories of past aliveness as a bridge back to yourself * Glimmers, play, and small pockets of aliveness in daily life * How ambition has softened — and why the “arrival” point doesn’t actually exist * Why burnout seemed to have a moment in 2025 * What it means to work toward enough instead of more IF YOU’RE FEELING STUCK… If you’re burned out and trying to figure out what’s next, I invite you to start here: come back to yourself first. Figure out what you need as a human — not just as a therapist. That’s the path out of burnout. That’s the path toward something more sustainable. WHAT’S COMING NEXT I share a bit about where the podcast is heading in the new year, including: * moving toward a more sustainable rhythm * inviting more guests * continuing to talk honestly about burnout, identity, and recovery Pen Pal List: https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/drjenb [https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/drjenb]