122: Becoming Him: Freedom, Burnout, and the Gator Life with Dr. Jason Branch
A Simple Therapy Podcast: Honest Conversations on Therapy, Mental Health, Healing and Self-Growth
Release Date: 12/06/2025
A Simple Therapy Podcast: Honest Conversations on Therapy, Mental Health, Healing and Self-Growth
In this episode of A Simple Therapy Podcast, Sindee Gozansky welcomes Linda Ugelow—speaking confidence and vocal coach, podcast host, and author of Delight in the Limelight. Once paralyzed by public speaking fear herself, Linda now helps therapists, entrepreneurs, and professionals transform their relationship with visibility from dread to genuine delight. Drawing on her master’s degree in expressive arts therapy and four decades performing with the women’s world music group Libana, Linda brings therapeutic insight and embodied practice to help people reclaim the joy of speaking....
info_outlineA Simple Therapy Podcast: Honest Conversations on Therapy, Mental Health, Healing and Self-Growth
In this episode of A Simple Therapy Podcast, Sindee Gozansky welcomes Gino Titus-Luciano, LMHC—CEO of Kokua Mental Health and Wellness Group, president of the Hawaii Counselors Association, and a therapist who believes you can't show up as a textbook and expect real healing to happen. Calling in from Honolulu, Gino brings insight into what culturally grounded care actually looks like and why bringing your authentic self into the room doesn't mean losing your professional boundaries. Together, Sindee and Gino explore how to balance being real with staying professional, why cultural...
info_outlineA Simple Therapy Podcast: Honest Conversations on Therapy, Mental Health, Healing and Self-Growth
In this episode of A Simple Therapy Podcast, Sindee Gozansky welcomes Carla Titus—finance expert, founder of Wealth & Worth Within, and fractional CFO who helps practice owners build sustainable, profitable businesses. Carla brings warmth and clarity to a topic many therapists avoid: money. She shares how financial burnout starts with not paying yourself at all and why the "everyone else first" mindset is quietly destroying your business. Together, Sindee and Carla explore why profit isn't selfish, how to stop being scared of your own bank account, and the difference between...
info_outlineA Simple Therapy Podcast: Honest Conversations on Therapy, Mental Health, Healing and Self-Growth
In this episode of A Simple Therapy Podcast, Sindee Gozansky welcomes Lorain Moorehead, LCSW—psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, EMDR consultant, and host of the Self Careapist Therapist Podcast—for a conversation about burnout, perfectionism, and why most therapists are doing self-care all wrong. Lorain shares how she reverse-engineered her own self-care after realizing her TV binges left her feeling worse, not better. Together, Sindee and Lorain explore how childhood wounds of “be the role model” drive our over-functioning, why competitive athletes can’t just “work out” and...
info_outlineA Simple Therapy Podcast: Honest Conversations on Therapy, Mental Health, Healing and Self-Growth
In this deeply reflective episode of A Simple Therapy Podcast, Sindee Gozansky sits down with Alyssa Scarano to talk about what it really means to care for ourselves while doing emotionally demanding work. While Alyssa’s background in family therapy shaped her clinical lens, this conversation goes far beyond technique. Together, Sindee and Alyssa explore how a therapist’s internal emotional experience — the frustration, ache, exhaustion, or even invisibility felt after a session — can become valuable information rather than something to push away. Alyssa shares a pivotal supervision...
info_outlineA Simple Therapy Podcast: Honest Conversations on Therapy, Mental Health, Healing and Self-Growth
In this episode of A Simple Therapy Podcast, Sindee Gozansky welcomes Dr. Jason Branch—therapist, educator, podcaster, and self-proclaimed Gator—for a conversation about burnout, authenticity, and becoming the best version of yourself. Dr. Branch shares his raw journey through severe burnout as a new clinician and how an unexpected detour into bartending school helped him evolve into “Him.” In this fun episode, Sindee and Jason laugh, get real, and go deep as they explore the beliefs that keep us stuck, the power of doing something different, uncomfortable, and new (DUN), and why most...
info_outlineA Simple Therapy Podcast: Honest Conversations on Therapy, Mental Health, Healing and Self-Growth
In this gentle, heart-centered holiday episode, Sindee offers simple, grounding guidance for therapists moving through a season that can feel both beautiful and overwhelming. She explores how to set clear, ethical boundaries, how to approach crisis concerns with steadiness, and how to notice the early signs of burnout before the new year hits hard. Sindee also shares practical ways to support clients through family dynamics without diving into heavy trauma work right before a break—focusing instead on preparation, coping tools, and loving limits. Throughout the episode, she reminds us...
info_outlineA Simple Therapy Podcast: Honest Conversations on Therapy, Mental Health, Healing and Self-Growth
In this episode of A Simple Therapy Podcast, Sindee Gozansky sits down with José Rosario—therapist, human rights speaker, and founder of The Phoenix Empowered—for a powerful and heartfelt conversation about radical healing, identity, and the systems that shape our mental health. Born to young Puerto Rican parents and living with cerebral palsy, José’s story is one of defiance, resilience, and community. From being told as a child that he would “never accomplish anything” to becoming a leading voice in intersectional mental health, José shares his deeply personal journey of finding...
info_outlineA Simple Therapy Podcast: Honest Conversations on Therapy, Mental Health, Healing and Self-Growth
In this episode of A Simple Therapy Podcast, Sindee Gozansky sits down with Jonathan Kemp—mental health advocate, entrepreneur, and author of Finding Peace of Mind—for an honest conversation about living with undiagnosed bipolar disorder, addiction, and dyslexia, and what it means to find healing later in life. Jonathan shares the many twists and turns of his journey—from working in the Australian outback and serving in law enforcement in the UK to completing a master’s degree in international finance—all while navigating systems and self-doubt that told him he couldn’t do...
info_outlineA Simple Therapy Podcast: Honest Conversations on Therapy, Mental Health, Healing and Self-Growth
In this episode of A Simple Therapy Podcast, Sindee Gozansky sits down with Monica DiCristina, LPC, therapist, writer, and podcaster, to explore the healing power of naming our pain. Monica shares her personal journey of living with undiagnosed OCD and intrusive thoughts, and how finding a name for her struggle became the first step toward freedom. Together, Sindee and Monica talk about separating identity from wounding, why coping behaviors don’t define us, and the importance of listening to the “trauma whispers” in our daily lives. They also discuss the cultural pull toward quick...
info_outlineIn this episode of A Simple Therapy Podcast, Sindee Gozansky welcomes Dr. Jason Branch—therapist, educator, podcaster, and self-proclaimed Gator—for a conversation about burnout, authenticity, and becoming the best version of yourself. Dr. Branch shares his raw journey through severe burnout as a new clinician and how an unexpected detour into bartending school helped him evolve into “Him.”
In this fun episode, Sindee and Jason laugh, get real, and go deep as they explore the beliefs that keep us stuck, the power of doing something different, uncomfortable, and new (DUN), and why most of us are walking around as Salamanders when we could be living as Gators. Jason breaks down his three parallels framework, the four P’s of Salamander life versus the five C’s of Gator life, and why therapists desperately need their own therapists.
This conversation is funny, relatable and full of bold frameworks, concrete examples, and permission to stop apologizing for being you. Jason’s energy, spirituality and wisdom remind us that healing requires becoming comfortable being uncomfortable, listening to your future self’s whisper, and celebrating every single day.
00:49 - Meet Dr. Jason Branch: Therapist, Professor, and Founder
03:00 - Burnout, Vulnerability, and Becoming “Him”
06:20 - The Three Parallels: Who We Were, Who We Are, Who We’re Becoming
12:06 - Going Deeper with the Junk Drawer: Tangible and Internal
16:29 - The Four P’s of Salamander Life
19:47 - Therapists Need Therapy Too: Jason’s Call to Action
23:28 - Stop Apologizing and Stop Telling Yourself No
28:40 - DUN: Different, Uncomfortable, and New
36:08 - The Five C’s of Gator Life
41:56 - The ESPM Model for Self-Care
43:20 - Jason’s Burnout Story: The Job That Almost Killed Him
52:11 - The Gator Lab Community, Resources, and How to Connect
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3 Parallels Podcast
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Want to be a guest on the podcast?
Email Sindee: info@asimpletherapy.com