281 - Cara Chae, Part 1 - Facing Doubts on the Road to Authentic Leadership
Conversations With a Wounded Healer
Release Date: 03/05/2025
305 - Behavioral Health Trends You Need to Know for Therapy Practices in 2026
Conversations With a Wounded Healer
The end-of-year mental health-related assessments are in and, y’all. You. All! These reports offer some bad news and worse news. Sorry, I ran out of sugar-coating; it’s been a long year. Psychotherapy Action Network’s latest survey uncovered a substantial disconnect between what PMCs, for-profit private management companies like Alma, Headway, and Rula, promise therapists and what they deliver. Shocker, I know. While demand for mental health is exploding, power and influence are shifting to insurers and investors at the expense of patients and providers. But we possess the...
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Shame Resilience & the Myth of Competence with Maddie Tonjes, LCSW, Group Practice (R)evolution
Conversations With a Wounded Healer
Gen Z is at the mic, and they have some thoughts. I can feel my fellow “olds” getting their hackles up. But, hold on! I’m asking all of us to stay curious, regardless of generational or career-stage identity. Isn’t that what we instruct our clients to do when faced with new information or complicated emotions? Time to take our own advice! Maddie Tonjes, LCSW, is an early-career therapist at Centered Therapy Chicago with keen insights into what her generational cohort needs to thrive. And, honestly? I’m here for two suggestions in particular: creating space for client population...
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304 - Supporting the “Becoming” of Others in Therapy with Santiago Delboy
Conversations With a Wounded Healer
Before pursuing a career as a psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, and founder of Fermata Psychotherapy, a psychoanalytic group practice in Chicago, Santiago Delboy, MBA, LCSW, spent over a decade climbing the corporate ladder in the US and his home country of Peru. The shift forced him to grapple with the “disagreeable” parts of himself. In a nod to the educational children's shows of old, this episode is brought to you by the word "becoming." Part two of my conversation with Santiago explores the art of becoming, a process he defines as connecting with our authentic self. GUEST...
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303 - How We Relate to the Moment Impacts How We Show Up as Therapists with Santiago Delboy
Conversations With a Wounded Healer
All of us show up with multiple identities (partner, parent, revolutionary, etc.). How do we, as therapists, get better at existing in discomfort and creating space where everyone can explore without rushing to define themselves? Santiago Delboy, MBA, LCSW, is a psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, and founder of Fermata Psychotherapy, a psychoanalytic group practice in Chicago. I consider Santiago a true in-betweener (or, n’betweener©, the term coined by previous guest Nora Alwah for those who, like herself, feel suspended between two (or more) identities; not fully inhabiting one or the...
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New Ways to Survive and Thrive as an Entrepreneur with Uriah Guilford, Productive Therapist - Group Practice (R)evolution
Conversations With a Wounded Healer
Scan any therapists' forum and you’ll discover that the operational strategies that group practices have relied on no longer work. Could organizing principles like collaboratives, collectives, and cooperatives offer group practices new ways to thrive? Uriah Guilford, MFT, thinks so! He has had success bucking the industry’s tried-and-true practice model. Uriah’s evolution from traditional group practice owner to collaborative model speaks to his willingness to take on risks within reason. GUEST BIO Uriah Guilford, MFT, is a licensed therapist and a group practice owner. He's also...
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302 - Creating Conditions in Which People Can Heal with Michael Sykes
Conversations With a Wounded Healer
The answer to righting the world’s many wrongs is more love. Love is also the problem. If you’re new here, then solving this conundrum may seem hopeless. Fear not! In part one of my conversation with Michael Sykes, we began with a simple question: How can we encourage ideas or policies rich in love for each other when so many of us struggle to love ourselves? In part two, Michael and I dig into the societal pressures, inherited traumas, and self-doubts that have disconnected us from our authentic loving natures. GUEST BIO Michael Sykes is the founder of Equitable Solutions and...
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301 - Realize How Much You’re Worth with Michael Sykes
Conversations With a Wounded Healer
Some people remind us to trust the process, even when it seems hopeless. Michael Sykes is one of those people. He's the cheerleader encouraging us on the uneasy journey to authenticity. What I appreciate most is his commitment to integrity, even when the path toward that innate wholeness feels inaccessible. He doesn't shy away from sharing the most heart-centered version of himself with the world. Sure, he may metaphorically faceplant from time to time (who hasn't?!). But, Michael stays the course—and he's created a guide to help us do the same. GUEST BIO Michael Sykes is the founder of...
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How Can We Support New Clinicians Through Imposter Syndrome And More? with Sierra Waller - Group Practice (R)evolution
Conversations With a Wounded Healer
Chats with group practice employees are more fun when you’re not their practice owner! Maybe a bit more revealing, too. Such is the case with my guest, Sierra Waller, LCPC, an early-career therapist working at Health In Tandem, a small group practice in Chicago. Apologies if you’ve landed here hoping for a gripe-and-gossip session. Instead, Sierra and I dig into her experiences as a newer therapist in a group practice setting. This trajectory from grad school straight into private practice has become increasingly common. Subsequently, there’s a learning curve to be aware of on both sides...
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300 - How to Be a Conscious Leader Without Closing Off Your Heart with Julianne Guinasso
Conversations With a Wounded Healer
How do leaders keep their heads clear and hearts open in the heat of difficult conversations? I ask because it’s only natural for leaders (and any human, really) to bristle at opposition to their ideas, critique of their efforts, or recommendations for improvement. Being in community with each other requires a high level of mutual responsibility. But the practice of accountability can activate deeply entrenched defense mechanisms, even in the most self-aware among us (note to self). In part two of my conversation with Julianne Guinasso, LMFT, and co-founder of Level Up Leaders, we explore...
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299 - Changing Systems From the Inside with Julianne Guinasso
Conversations With a Wounded Healer
Outward change (to our profession, our communities, and our world) can only happen when we start from within—and we're gonna need all the help we can get. Julianne Guinasso, LMFT, is a role model for these contentious times. She's a therapist in private practice and the co-founder of Level Up Leaders, a partnership that helps mental health group practice owners cultivate psychologically safe, trauma-informed work cultures. Our two-part conversation begins with an honest assessment of the "becoming" process and offers some helpful reframes for when things feel especially sticky. GUEST BIO...
info_outlineCue the klieg lights and gift bags because THIS episode marks the seventh anniversary of Conversations With A Wounded Healer! Major thanks to everyone from the OG fans to the newbies. I couldn’t do it without you, which is the perfect segue to today’s episode.
Cara Chae, LCPC, is a psychotherapist at Inner Voice Psychotherapy, a group private practice in Chicago. She focuses on issues related to attachment (parenting, relationships, childhood wounds) and, more recently, neuroplastic symptoms. Cara also spent eight months as a member of my Authentic Leaders Group. I thought it might be interesting to explore some of her a-ha! moments and group experience on the podcast.
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Cara Chae, LCPC, (she/her) is a psychotherapist working in a group private practice in Chicago. Her professional interests include working with issues related to Attachment (parenting, relationships, childhood wounds), and, more recently, Neuroplastic Symptoms. Cara’s second full time job is parenting her two elementary school aged children while trying to simultaneously take care of herself, too.
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GET TO KNOW THE GUESTS FEATURED IN OUR ANNIVERSARY GIVEAWAY!
Loretta Pyles - Radical Self-Care and Rewilding in Everyday Practice
Virginia Castillo - Clairvoyance, Spiritual Development and Unexpected Career Paths
Mishara Winston - A Model for Communal Mental Wellness
Mishara Winston - Eat Snacks / Take Naps
Kira Macoun - Somatic Movement And Embodied Activism
Allison Staiger - Rage And The Emotional Labor Of Parenting
Annie Schuessler, Rebel Therapist - Make an Impact Beyond Traditional Private Practice
Authentic Leaders Group
Are you a therapist stepping into leadership for the first time? Or maybe you've been in a leadership position for a while, but are bumping up against new struggles?
Our Authentic Leaders Group is here to help you become the authentic and wholehearted leader you aspire to be. And we believe this journey is best undertaken with the guidance of experienced mentors alongside fellow learners.
Join Sarah in this journey of self-discovery and leadership mastery, where you'll enhance your leadership skills and forge meaningful connections with fellow therapists who are committed to their own growth and the betterment of the therapy field.
Join the waitlist now to be part of the next Authentic Leaders Group!
1:1 With Sarah
Wounded healers need supervision too. Sarah is passionate about fostering therapists’ personal and professional growth through mentoring, supervision, and consultation.
Mentoring options are available for therapists who are looking for a transformative supervision experience and practice owners who are looking for customized support.
Supervision not only plays a crucial role in the professional development and ethical practice of therapists, but also provides parallel process for our own healing.
In consultations, Sarah helps practice owners align their business with their lifestyle goals. Together, we'll look at both the concrete business practices as well as the emotional stuff that complicates business ownership.
Reach out to find out more and book!
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