Scaling Without Selling Your Soul: Building a Business That Loves You Back

Author: Dr. Colleen Long, Dr. Jennifer Politis, and Erika Bugaj, LICSW
Published: Tue 19 Aug 2025
Episode Link: https://off-the-chair.captivate.fm/episode/scaling-without-selling-your-soul-building-a-business-that-loves-you-back

Therapist burnout doesn’t start with big breakdowns - it starts with tiny betrayals of your time, your energy, and your vision.

In this episode, we get real about the emotional toll when you scale therapy practices, the identity shifts that come with leadership, and how to build a business that actually loves you back.

We don’t just talk about how to scale therapy practices - we unpack what it means to scale with integrity, values, and your own well-being intact. If you're craving more ease in your practice management while staying deeply connected to your mission, this conversation is for you.

In this episode, we explore:

How therapist burnout creeps in - even when your business looks successful on paper
What we wish someone told us before stepping into leadership and practice management
How to scale therapy offerings without abandoning your clinical identity or burning out
Why alternative careers for therapists don’t always mean leaving therapy - and what that path can look like
The moment we each realized our business no longer felt like ours - and what we did to take it back

Whether you’re managing a growing caseload, hiring your first employee, or questioning if this path still fits - this episode will help you gut-check your growth strategy and reconnect with the parts of you that got lost along the way.

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO EPISODE HERE!

Connect with us!

Podcast Website: www.offthechair.com

Colleen Long, Psy.D.

Website: www.claritypsychologicaltesting.com

LinkedIn: Dr. Colleen Long

Jennifer Politis, PhD, LPC

Website: www.wellnesscounselingBC.com

Instagram: @wellnesscounselingnj

TikTok: @wellnesscounseling

LinkedIn: Jennifer Politis

Erika Bugaj, MA, MSW, LICSW