In this episode of Therapists Unchained, Sivie Suckerman, LMHC, ACS, sits down with Laura Durkin, LMFT, PhD, to unpack the systemic challenges mental health professionals face. From rigid professional identities and inadequate supervision to exploitative contracts and lack of organizational support, they explore the urgent need to rethink therapist training, strengthen advocacy, and build a more collaborative, sustainable, and ethical field rooted in community.
Laura is a WA State Approved Clinical Supervisor and received her PhD in 2025 in Counselor Education and Supervision from Antioch University, with her dissertation research focusing on accessibility within systems of higher education. She is passionate about the progressive evolution of the field of mental health as a whole.
She is also a mother, partner, daughter, sister, and friend. She likes to practice yoga, paint/doodle (all website art is her own), write, dance, hike/camp, cook, embrace solitude, and connect with loved ones.
https://www.lauradurkincounseling.com/
This episode was produced and edited by Mckenna Paddock, MA, LMHCA, ATR-P.
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CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.