The Traveling Therapist Podcast

Kym Tolson

Hi, I'm Kym Tolson, and I'm the traveling therapist. It's my passion to teach therapists how to navigate online private practices and multiple income streams so they can travel the world. I'm a digital nomad. With a virtual insurance based private therapy practice and a multi six figure coaching business. I'm obsessed with entrepreneurship and developing tools that can help therapists live an adventurous lifestyle. In this podcast, I will discuss my journey as a digital nomad. I'll chat with other traveling therapists and help you navigate the complexities of running an online insurance based practice. I'm so glad to have you with me on this journey.

  1. 220. How Sailing Wellness Retreats Became Her Next Chapter with Cheryl Greathouse

    1d ago

    220. How Sailing Wellness Retreats Became Her Next Chapter with Cheryl Greathouse

    A lot of therapists believe they need their full license, years behind them, and a perfect plan before they can build a business around something like sailing wellness retreats. Cheryl Greathouse is proof that the timeline can look completely different. In this episode of The Traveling Therapist Podcast, I sit down with Cheryl, a counselor and newly minted boat captain who put her practice on hold for four and a half years, sailed across the Pacific, and came home to start over as a pre-licensed intern while leading women's wellness retreats on a yacht in Greece. We get into how she built a life and a model that fits her instead of the other way around, and why being pre-licensed has not slowed her down one bit. In This Episode, We Explore… Why Cheryl put her therapy practice on hold and went sailing at 50.How she went from Army deckhand and powerboats to skippering her own boat.What a women's wellness retreat on a 48-foot yacht actually looks like day to day.How she handles her caseload and clients when she leaves for a month.Why she does not believe you have to wait for your license to do this work internationally.Connect with Cheryl Greathouse: Website: https://www.wayfinderwisdom.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wayfinderwisdom/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cherylsailsaway/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cheryl.l.greathouse/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheryl-greathouse-8795847/ 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_kymwww.facebook.com/groups/onlineandtraveling/www.thetravelingtherapist.comThe 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

    35 min
  2. 219. Work Exchange Travel with Kids as a Remote Therapist with Shannel Busuioc

    May 27

    219. Work Exchange Travel with Kids as a Remote Therapist with Shannel Busuioc

    Work exchange is one of those ideas that sounds great in theory but feels impossible once you add kids, a therapy caseload, and two suitcases into the equation. Shannel Busuioc figured out how to make it work anyway. In this episode of The Traveling Therapist Podcast, I sit down with Shannel, a Marriage and Family Therapist who left San Francisco in 2023 with her husband and two young kids to build a remote life abroad. She has spent the past three years moving her family through farms in Oregon, coastal towns in Mexico, forest schools in Portugal, and now the mountains of San Miguel de Allende. Work exchange has been one of the tools that made it sustainable, and she breaks down exactly how she approached it with a family in tow. In This Episode, We Explore… How Shannel and her husband planned their first year of family travel.What work exchange actually looks like with young kids.How Workaway works, what the membership costs, and the range of exchanges available around the world.How Shannel sets up a private practice workspace in each new location.Why she sees travel as a therapeutic tool, and the "family internship" philosophy behind how they choose destinations.Connect with Shannel Busuioc: https://www.therapywithshannel.com https://www.travelthroughtrauma.org https://www.gounpacked.substack.com 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_kymwww.facebook.com/groups/onlineandtraveling/www.thetravelingtherapist.comThe 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

    37 min
  3. 218. Building a Life You Love with Multiple Income Streams with Lisa Bodenstein

    May 20

    218. Building a Life You Love with Multiple Income Streams with Lisa Bodenstein

    Building multiple income streams as a traveling therapist isn't just a financial strategy; it's how some clinicians make the whole lifestyle actually work. In this episode of The Traveling Therapist Podcast, I sit down with Lisa Bodenstein, a therapist, coach, and clinical supervisor who has been doing this since 2012, long before online therapy was even a thing. Based in Italy, originally from South Africa, trained in the UK, she has figured out how to keep practicing across borders while building a life that genuinely fits her. Lisa shares how she navigated international licensing across three countries, why having multiple income streams took the financial pressure off her client work, and what it looks like to build offerings that come from real lived experience. From a supervision community to an ADHD book in progress to a creative retreat space in rural Italy, she's a great example of what's possible when you stop waiting for permission to do things differently. In This Episode, We Explore… How Lisa has practiced across South Africa, the UK, and Italy since 2012, and what she learned about navigating licensing along the way.Why building multiple income streams gives traveling therapists more flexibility and less pressure around client work.Her clinical specialty in womb twin survivors, and how an ultra-specific niche can attract clients without heavy marketing.The Brew and Do Supervision Crew, her community for therapists to get accountable and get things done together.Her book in progress, You, Me, and This Thing Called ADHD, and how her own ADHD diagnosis shapes how she works and travels.Using TrustedHouseSitters as a low-cost way to explore new destinations while keeping a home base.Connect with Lisa Bodenstein: https://www.lisabodenstein.online/ https://www.skool.com/brew-and-do-supervision-crew-9236/about https://forbodymindandsoul.com/ https://wombtwinsurvivor.com/ https://www.instagram.com/forbodymindandsoul/ BnB: https://www.booking.com/hotel/it/sonic-alchemy.it.html?utm_source=copilot.com Recording studio: https://sonicalchemy.it https://www.lisabodenstein.online/ 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_kymwww.facebook.com/groups/onlineandtraveling/www.thetravelingtherapist.comThe 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

    48 min
  4. 217. What It’s Really Like Working Inside a Prison as a Therapist with Ana Godoy

    May 13

    217. What It’s Really Like Working Inside a Prison as a Therapist with Ana Godoy

    Working inside a prison as a therapist is not something most clinicians ever picture for themselves. But for Ana Godoy, it turned out to be one of the most humbling, eye-opening experiences of her career. In this episode of The Traveling Therapist Podcast, I sit down with Ana, a bilingual social worker and licensed clinician based in Southern California, to talk about what led her to take a contract role inside a California state prison, what the work actually looked like day to day, and how that leap eventually opened doors she never expected. If you've ever thought about doing something completely outside your clinical comfort zone, this one is for you. In This Episode, We Explore… What drew Ana to correctional mental health work after 25 years in schools and family services.What it was actually like walking into a prison and running groups with incarcerated individuals.How contract recruiting works for mental health clinicians in California, and what to expect with pay and benefits.The telehealth options now available inside correctional settings, and why some positions don't require you to be on-site.How Ana is now channeling her experience into independent facilitation and consulting for families navigating the California Regional Center system.Connect with Ana Godoy: Website https://mifortaleza.us/ Website https://allthingslatina.com/ 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_kymwww.facebook.com/groups/onlineandtraveling/www.thetravelingtherapist.comThe 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

    29 min
  5. 216. The Truth About Starting Over in a New Country as a Therapist with Meashline Komara

    May 6

    216. The Truth About Starting Over in a New Country as a Therapist with Meashline Komara

    Starting over in a new country is something most therapists never picture for themselves. But for Meashline Komara, LCSW, it wasn't just a leap of faith. It was a four-year decision rooted in love, values, and a lot of honest conversations about fear. In this episode of The Traveling Therapist Podcast, I sit down with Meashline to talk about how she went from practicing in California to running her online private practice from Guinea, West Africa. She shares what the planning process actually looked like, how she navigated resistance in her own life, and what it's taken to build a life that works on every level. In This Episode, We Explore… How Meashline identified her non-negotiables before relocating and why that mattered.The role resistance played in her own decision to move, and how she worked through it.The tools she uses to manage time zones and keep her practice running smoothly.What living in Guinea is actually like, including the infrastructure realities no one talks about.How her workbook Navigating Resistance helps clients identify what's really blocking change.Connect with Meashline Komara: Website https://www.envisiontherapy.net/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/envisiontherapypractice Facebook https://www.facebook.com/envisiontherapypractice/ Navigating Resistance: Understanding The Relationship Between Resistance And Change https://www.amazon.com/Navigating-Resistance-Understanding-Relationship-Between/dp/B0GCTSRD61 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_kymwww.facebook.com/groups/onlineandtraveling/www.thetravelingtherapist.comThe 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

    38 min
  6. 215. Stop Managing Burnout and Actually Heal It with Trisha Wolfe

    Apr 29

    215. Stop Managing Burnout and Actually Heal It with Trisha Wolfe

    Burnout doesn't always look like falling apart. For a lot of therapists, it looks like keeping up, staying on top of it, and pushing through until there's nothing left. In this episode of The Traveling Therapist Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Trisha Wolfe, a trauma therapist, researcher, and educator who spent years studying burnout in therapists while living it herself. Trisha shares what finally shifted for her, and it wasn't adding more wellness habits to her list. It was learning to observe herself and understanding why the survival strategies that made her a great therapist were also the ones keeping her stuck. And she did all of this while building a life in Europe with one suitcase and no return ticket. In This Episode, We Explore… Why therapists are especially vulnerable to burnout and what's actually driving it.The difference between managing burnout and getting to the root of it.How somatic therapy and self-observation helped Trisha recover and eventually make the leap to full-time travel.The Primal Trust program and why it worked when other approaches didn't.Navigating European visas, taxes, and schedules as a traveling therapist.What it looks like to build a work schedule around your nervous system, not a nine-to-five default.Connect with Trisha: Linktree https://linktr.ee/thetrishawolfe Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thetrishawolfe/ TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@thetrishawolfe 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_kymwww.facebook.com/groups/onlineandtraveling/www.thetravelingtherapist.comThe 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

    34 min
  7. 214. What Becoming a Travel Agent Actually Looks Like with Lindsay Dollinger

    Apr 22

    214. What Becoming a Travel Agent Actually Looks Like with Lindsay Dollinger

    Becoming a travel agent sounds appealing, especially when you're burned out and looking for something that actually fits your life. But most people don't know what it really involves, how much it costs to get started, what you can realistically earn, or whether you can do it alongside everything else you're already managing. In this episode of The Traveling Therapist Podcast, I sit down with Lindsay Dollinger, travel agency owner and host of the Passports, Profits, and Pixie Dust podcast, to get into all of it. Lindsay started as a travel agent in 2019 while still teaching high school Spanish full-time, and she now runs her own agency with agents working under her. She breaks down exactly what the path looks like, what it costs, and why it might be more doable than you think. In This Episode, We Explore… How becoming a travel agent works and what the difference is between an agent and an agency owner.Why you can realistically do this part-time without monthly minimums or sales quotas.What startup costs actually look like and how little you need to get going.The travel agent perks, FAM trips, and commission structures worth knowing about.Why travel insurance is the one thing Lindsay says every traveler needs to stop skipping.Connect with Lindsay: Website www.lindsaydollinger.com Facebook www.facebook.com/lindsdollinger Instagram www.instagram.com/lindsaydollinger 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_kymwww.facebook.com/groups/onlineandtraveling/www.thetravelingtherapist.comThe 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

    30 min
  8. 213. What the LGBTQ+ Community Needs from Their Therapist with Eric Sullivan

    Apr 15

    213. What the LGBTQ+ Community Needs from Their Therapist with Eric Sullivan

    Creating a truly affirming space for the LGBTQ+ community starts before a client ever walks through your door. Most therapists have good intentions, but good intentions are not the same as knowing what to actually do. In this episode of The Traveling Therapist Podcast, I sit down with Eric Sullivan, a proud queer therapist and founder of Proud Practice, who spent a year traveling the globe and came home with a renewed sense of purpose. From Argentina to Scandinavia to Southeast Asia, Eric experienced firsthand how differently the queer community is treated around the world, and it deepened his commitment to helping therapy practices become fully LGBTQ+ inclusive from the inside out. In This Episode, We Explore… How traveling solo for a year across four continents shaped Eric's mission to serve the LGBTQ+ community.What queer clients are looking for before they even book a session.Three practical steps therapists can take right now to signal safety and affirmation.Why asking about sexual orientation, gender identity, and pronouns in your intake is non-negotiable.How Eric's new training program and quiz at proudpractice.com/quiz helps practices assess and improve where they already are.Connect with Eric: Proud Practice affirming therapy quiz https://www.proudpractice.com/quiz Proud Counseling https://www.proudcounseling.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/proudpractice/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/proudpractice 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_kymwww.facebook.com/groups/onlineandtraveling/www.thetravelingtherapist.comThe 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

    36 min
4.9
out of 5
39 Ratings

About

Hi, I'm Kym Tolson, and I'm the traveling therapist. It's my passion to teach therapists how to navigate online private practices and multiple income streams so they can travel the world. I'm a digital nomad. With a virtual insurance based private therapy practice and a multi six figure coaching business. I'm obsessed with entrepreneurship and developing tools that can help therapists live an adventurous lifestyle. In this podcast, I will discuss my journey as a digital nomad. I'll chat with other traveling therapists and help you navigate the complexities of running an online insurance based practice. I'm so glad to have you with me on this journey.

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