Leadership Trauma & The Courage to Heal
Licensed professional counselor and serial entrepreneur Khara Croswaite-Brindle joins Morgen and Ashley to explore a topic rarely discussed in the therapy world: career trauma. Khara breaks down the six adverse career-altering events therapists face: client suicide, sudden client death, client violence, professional betrayal, subpoenas, and grievances — and introduces the concept of "leadership trauma," the psychological toll of being made to question your self-worth by a supervisor or manager. The conversation covers confidential grief, the danger of mistaking private practice for a burnout cure, self-disclosure in the therapy room, and practical tools like the "self-disclosure short stack" and the "DAP note Reuben sandwich." A candid, healing conversation for therapists navigating the hidden wounds of the helping profession.
Guest Bio:
Khara Croswaite Brindle, MA, LPC, ACS, CFT is passionate about giving people aha moments that create goosebumps and catalyze powerful action. She is a TEDx Speaker, Licensed Professional Counselor, Certified Financial Therapist, Certified Enneagram professional, Approved Clinical Supervisor, and journal therapist living in Colorado. Khara enjoys various roles as a serial entrepreneur, 2x Amazon #1 Best-Selling Author, professional speaker, professor, and consultant. Khara specializes in helping therapists and financial therapists create secondary income streams against burnout through consultation, courses, and supervision. She is originally from the Pacific Northwest and gets her best ideas walking outside and being around water. When Khara’s not writing her next book or supporting fellow professional helpers on their own self-discovery journeys, she enjoys spending time with her daughter, reading, and indulging in gluttonous, gluten-free desserts with her family.
Guest Contact Info:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kharacroswaite/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kharacroswaite/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/khara.croswaite
Website: https://croswaitecounselingpllc.com/
Host Bios:
Ashley Charbonneau, LCSW, LAC, ACS, is a therapist, evaluator, clinical supervisor, consultant, and educator. Her clinical expertise centers on working with individuals impacted by the legal system, grounded in a commitment to offender accountability, survivor healing, and restorative justice.
Ashley has developed multiple 45-hour training programs on clinical supervision and is the author of The Resilient Therapist (Bloomsbury, 2026) and Supporting Clients of Sexual Trauma: Establishing Safety, Processing Shame, and Fostering Healthy Intimacy (PESI, 2026). She provides training nationally on restorative justice, addiction, clinical supervision, working with individuals who have committed sexual offenses, professional boundaries in therapy, and mandatory reporting.
To contact Ashley directly, her website is: https://www.ensopllc.com/
Morgen Villegas, LCSW, LAC, ACS, is a therapist, writer, consultant, and an EMDR International Association Approved Consultant. Through her practice, Vida Idílica Therapy & Consulting, she specializes in helping women heal from trauma, attachment wounds, emotional neglect, and the lasting effects of overfunctioning and caregiving. Using a blend of Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), she helps clients reconnect with themselves and create lives that feel more authentic, spacious, and connected.
Morgen also provides consultation to EMDR therapists seeking greater confidence and nuance in working with complex trauma. Drawing from both professional expertise and lived experience, she is passionate about helping people move beyond "faking fine" and toward lasting healing. She is the author of Shadows to Light, a collection of stories and reflections on emotional neglect, motherhood, and breaking intergenerational cycles. Morgen lives in Colorado with her husband, two sons, rescue dog Raven, and an ever-growing stack of library books waiting to be read.
To contact Morgen directly, her website is: vida-idilica.com
