If you've ever come back from a vacation still running on empty, you already understand why PTO doesn't fix burnout on its own. In this episode of The Traveling Therapist Podcast, I sit down with ShannonElaine John, a licensed therapist and EMDR specialist who spent over a decade in the travel industry before founding Travel To Retreat, a travel advisory built specifically for burned-out healthcare and service professionals.

ShannonElaine unpacks the guilt and savior complex that keep so many of us from actually stepping away, why the balance between rest and fun determines whether time off actually works, and how that same thinking is showing up in her work with ancestral travel and retreat planning for other practitioners.

In This Episode, We Explore…

• Why guilt and a savior complex keep healthcare professionals from truly taking their PTO.
• The two-part balance between rest and fun that actually resolves burnout.
• How a decade in the travel industry shaped ShannonElaine's approach to burnout prevention.
• What ancestral travel is and why it's becoming a meaningful way to reconnect with identity.
• How ShannonElaine helps other practitioners plan and run their own retreats.

Connect with ShannonElaine John:
Website: https://traveltoretreat.com/ | https://alongyourjourney.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonelaine-john/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShannonES.John/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happychani | https://www.instagram.com/traveltoretreat

Are you ready to take the plunge and become a Traveling Therapist? Whether you want to be a full-time digital nomad or just want the flexibility to bring your practice with you while you travel a couple of times a year, the Portable Practice Method will give you the framework to be protected!
➡️ JOIN NOW: www.portablepracticemethod.com/

Connect with me:

• www.instagram.com/thetravelingtherapist_kym
• www.facebook.com/groups/onlineandtraveling/
• www.thetravelingtherapist.com

The Traveling Therapist Podcast is Sponsored by:

Berries: Say goodbye to the burden of mental health notes with automated note and treatment plan creation! www.heyberries.com/therapists

Alma: Alma is on a mission to simplify access to mental health care by focusing first and foremost on supporting clinicians www.helloalma.com/kym

Planning a trip can go from exciting to overwhelming fast, and that's the spot I was in when I finally brought in a travel agent instead of doing it all myself. In this episode of The Traveling Therapist Podcast, I sit down with Sally Riggs, a fellow therapist who works as a travel agent, to talk about what changed once I handed the planning over to her.

We get into the hotel mixup that almost put me in the wrong place entirely, how she handled my CPAP machine for my first trip traveling with one, and the perks that showed up on my bill without me asking for them. I also ask her about travel insurance, refundable rates, and what happens when your plans change at the last minute. By the end of this one, you'll understand why I'm never booking a trip on my own again.

In This Episode, We Explore…

• How two hotels with nearly identical names almost caused a booking mixup.
• What it actually takes to fly internationally with a CPAP machine, including the extra bag rule most people don't know about.
• The perks that came free with booking through an agent, from airport shuttles to early check-in.
• Why booking a fully refundable rate matters, especially if you live with a chronic illness.
• How points and miles can get business owners into business class without spending more money to earn them.

Connect with Sally Riggs:
Website: https://www.sallyssafeandconnectedtravel.com/
Points and miles offerings: https://www.sallyssafeandconnectedtravel.com/pointsandmiles
Freebie - How to visit Japan without crashing on Day 2: https://mailchi.mp/fora/eh0ztkgo8z

Are you ready to take the plunge and become a Traveling Therapist? Whether you want to be a full-time digital nomad or just want the flexibility to bring your practice with you while you travel a couple of times a year, the Portable Practice Method will give you the framework to be protected!
➡️ JOIN NOW: www.portablepracticemethod.com/

Connect with me:

• www.instagram.com/thetravelingtherapist_kym
• www.facebook.com/groups/onlineandtraveling/
• www.thetravelingtherapist.com

The Traveling Therapist Podcast is Sponsored by:

Berries: Say goodbye to the burden of mental health notes with automated note and treatment plan creation! www.heyberries.com/therapists

Alma: Alma is on a mission to simplify access to mental health care by focusing first and foremost on supporting clinicians www.helloalma.com/kym

Getting recruited by a platform, telling them flat out that you live overseas, and then getting cut off anyway is a special kind of frustrating, and it's a big part of why an out-of-network private practice starts to look like the smarter move. In this episode of The Traveling Therapist Podcast, I sit down with Karen Ann Schmid, who came out of retirement at 70 and has been piecing all of this together from a 32-acre farm in New Zealand.

Karen has been through it. A handful of platforms, a cease-and-desist, and a lot of late nights trying to keep seeing her clients while living abroad. We talk about what actually shifted for her once she stopped trying to credential with insurance panels, and what she's building in its place.

In This Episode, We Explore…

• Why so many platforms started cutting off therapists located outside the US.
• What happened when Karen got a cease-and-desist after years of full disclosure.
• The realization that opened up once she stopped chasing insurance panels.
• How superbills let her keep working with clients out-of-network.
• The AI tools she leaned on to build her website, logo, and outreach from scratch.

Connect with Karen Ann Schmid:
Website: https://www.seensevicesusa.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-ann-schmid-7998ab75/

Are you ready to take the plunge and become a Traveling Therapist? Whether you want to be a full-time digital nomad or just want the flexibility to bring your practice with you while you travel a couple of times a year, the Portable Practice Method will give you the framework to be protected!
➡️ JOIN NOW: www.portablepracticemethod.com/

Connect with me:

• www.instagram.com/thetravelingtherapist_kym
• www.facebook.com/groups/onlineandtraveling/
• www.thetravelingtherapist.com

The Traveling Therapist Podcast is Sponsored by:

Berries: Say goodbye to the burden of mental health notes with automated note and treatment plan creation! www.heyberries.com/therapists

Alma: Alma is on a mission to simplify access to mental health care by focusing first and foremost on supporting clinicians www.helloalma.com/kym