Curt and Katie talk about therapists who become impaired – by substance abuse, cognitive decline, their own mental health concerns, burnout, etc. The challenges of addressing impaired therapists given the ethics codes, the lack of effective means to make complaints, and the difficulty in finding effective solutions.          It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age. In this episode we talk about: The definition of Impaired Therapist The lack of recent research on the topic The types of impairment: substance abuse, cognitive decline, mental health concerns, burnout Why and how therapists can become impaired Looking at how therapists are more likely to have these impairments The responsibilities and challenges of observing impairment of others (especially depending on the role, supervisor, supervisee, colleague) The ethical responsibility to pay attention to your own potential impairment The challenge of making a complaint related to an impaired therapist Looking at the ethics code, with the responsibility to approach impaired colleague first How the interaction in the Facebook groups is not necessarily taking care of this responsibility well. The harm of shaming therapists – and the importance of supporting each other The impact of the power differential on having these difficult conversations The negative impacts on clients and treatment team members from impaired therapists What is the difference between impaired therapists and bad therapy? The importance of the response and introspection related to impairment What we’re supposed to do when we identify an impaired colleague, supervisor, or supervisee Who are the gatekeepers? Why is it important? A strange foray into the thoughts on vigilante therapists and the #cardigancartel   Our Generous Sponsors: SimplePractice SimplePractice is a HIPAA compliant, fully integrated EHR for health and wellness professionals in private practice. It consistently ranks as the “#1 Most Popular Mental Health Software” on Capterra, and has collected over $2.8 billion in revenue for its customers. SimplePractice offers features like paperless intakes, automated billing for self-pay and insurance, free appointment reminders, secure messaging, telehealth, and more. Learn more by going to www.simplepractice.com/therapyreimagined. You can also sign up and receive a special promotion of getting 3 months of SimplePractice for the price of 1 (equivalent to a $50 credit). Please note, this offer is valid for new customers only and does not include product add-ons.   Resources mentioned: We’ve pulled together resources mentioned in this episode and put together some handy-dandy links. Psychology Today: Why Shrinks Have Problems APA Article - Self-care and intervening with impairment Ethics of Burnout APA: Ethics related to an impaired colleague Very Bad Therapy Podcast   Relevant Episodes: When Clients Die That’s Unethical Haters and Trolls   Connect with us! Our Facebook Group – The Modern Therapists Group Therapy Reimagined 2019   Our consultation services: The Fifty-Minute Hour   Who we are: Curt Widhalm is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in private practice in the Los Angeles area. He is a Board Member at Large for the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, a Subject Matter Expert for the California Board of Behavioral Sciences, Adjunct Faculty at Pepperdine University, and a loving husband and father. He is 1/2 great person, 1/2 provocateur, and 1/2 geek, in that order. He dabbles in the dark art of making "dad jokes" and usually has a half-empty cup of coffee somewhere nearby. Learn more at: www.curtwidhalm.com Katie Vernoy is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, coach, and consultant. As a helping professional for two decades, she’s navigated the ups and downs of our unique line of w