Episode 11

The Healer’s Exit Plan: Identity, Legacy & What Comes After the Chair

Published on: 14th October, 2025

What if leaving the char wasn’t the end of your career, but the beginning of your healing? If you’ve ever felt torn between ambition and exhaustion, this conversation is for you.

In this raw and unfiltered episode, we sit down with Gabrielle Juliano Vilani, a licensed clinical social worker who built and sold a seven-figure group practice, only to discover that true freedom requires more than a business transaction. Together, we talk about how to refresh mental health, rebuild your sense of purpose, and find peace in the space that success leaves behind.

You’ll learn:

• How to recognize the early signs of identity burnout and rebuild your foundation before it breaks

• Why selling your practice often triggers grief and how to refresh mental health without running from your emotions

• The smartest ways to achieve revenue diversification that add stability instead of chaos

• Simple business sustainability strategies that protect your energy and profits long term

• How to reimagine your legacy beyond the therapy chair through alignment, intuition, and rest

This episode is your permission slip to stop performing success and start living it. Whether you’re exploring revenue diversification, craving a full refresh mental health reset, or finally ready to apply business sustainability strategies that last, this conversation shows you what it really means to build a life after burnout.

🎧 Listen now to The Healer’s Exit Plan: Identity, Legacy & What Comes After the Chair and discover how to heal the healer, recover from identity burnout, and craft a more sustainable, fulfilling chapter of your work and life.

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO EPISODE HERE!

Connect with us!

Website: www.offthechair.com

Instagram: @offthechairpodcast

YouTube: @offthechairpodcast

 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

Website: www.dandelioncounselingcare.com

Instagram: @dandelioncounselingcare

LinkedIn: Erika Bugaj


Gabrielle Juliano-Villani

Website: http://gabriellejulianovillani.com

Instagram: @gjvconsulting

LinkedIn: Gabrielle Juliano-Villani

TikTok: @gabriellejulianovillani

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About the Podcast

Off The Chair
Breakout From Burnout
In a world where a nail artist can out-earn a licensed therapist, behavioral health professionals have no choice but to get scrappy, color outside the lines, and start writing our own rules. The old path—graduate school, licensure, paneled with insurance, packed calendar of 1:1s—is broken. It’s time for a new blueprint.

That’s where Off the Chair comes in. We’re not just talking about surviving the grind, we’re exploring radically different ways to thrive. From building passive income streams to launching scalable service lines, we dive into business models that break the mold. We cover how modern technology; AI, digital products, automation, and online communities—can even help clinicians step out of the therapy chair and into a more expansive, creative, and financially free version of practice.

Off the Chair is the no-BS podcast for therapists and clinicians from all disciplines, trapped in a broken healthcare system, ready to break out of burnout, reclaim their income, and build values-driven businesses beyond mis-managed care and trading hours for dollars.

Hosted by Dr. Colleen Long, Dr. Jennifer Politis, and Erika Bugaj, LICSW—three clinician-entrepreneurs who’ve built, broken, and rebuilt thriving mental health companies—this show brings you weekly conversations on what it really takes to succeed in today’s broken behavioral health system.

Whether you're a growth-minded psychologist, a private practice owner, or a therapist wondering how to scale without selling your soul, Off the Chair is your roadmap to redefining what success looks like in mental healthcare.

What You’ll Learn
- Business & Practice Management: Navigate the operations side of private practice with insight into EMRs, scheduling workflows, profitability pivots, and systems that scale.
- Hiring & Leadership: From managing your first intern to leading multi-state teams, get real-world advice on creating aligned, sustainable teams (and firing fast when it’s not a fit).
- Financial Freedom for Clinicians: Understand compensation models, create recurring revenue streams, and stop trading time for money—all without compromising your ethics.
- Mental Health Industry Reform: Challenge the status quo with honest dialogue on insurance gatekeeping, clinician burnout, and what it takes to build a more human-centered system.
- Personal Resilience & Growth: Behind every spreadsheet is a dark night of the soul. We talk mindset, mission drift, and how to stay motivated when the math doesn’t math.
- Overcoming Challenges: The podcast addresses common challenges faced by therapists, such as negative reviews, legal threats, and the fear of failure, offering strategies for navigating these obstacles. Overall, Off the Chair aims to empower clinicians to: Become more effective leaders and managers. Build strong, efficient, and profitable practices. Enhance their personal well-being and achieve a fulfilling career. Stay ahead of the curve in a constantly evolving industry.

Why Listen?
Off the Chair isn’t just about the logistics of running a practice—it’s about reclaiming your creativity, your autonomy, and your voice as a leader. No jargon, no perfectionism. Just vulnerable, strategic conversations that meet you in the messy middle.

New episodes drop every Tuesday.

Connect with us!
Podcast Website: www.offthechair.com

Dr. Colleen Long, Psy.D.
Website: www.drcolleenlong.com
LinkedIn: Dr. Colleen Long

Dr. Jennifer Politis, PhD, LPC
Website: www.wellnesscounselingBC.com
Instagram: @wellnesscounselingnj
TikTok: @wellnesscounseling
LinkedIn: Jennifer Politis

Erika Bugaj, MA, MSW, LICSW
Website: www.dandelioncounselingcare.com
Instagram: @dandelioncounselingcare
LinkedIn: Erika Bugaj