Reimagined: The Show Where We Transform Selfless Syndrome

About Reimagined: The Show Where We Transform Selfless Syndrome

You became a chiropractor because you believed in something. But somewhere between the skeptics, the insurance battles, and the business advice that never quite fit — you started to lose connection to the dream that brought you here. The Rooted DC is a podcast for chiropractors who are done trying to fit inside a system that was never designed for them. Hosted by Dr. Alex Swenson — fellow DC, PhD researcher in organizational development and change, and someone who built a seven-figure practice, lost everything, and rebuilt it with an entirely new foundation — this is where we go beneath the surface and reclaim what was always ours: our identity, our worth, and our legitimacy as a profession. Ready to go deeper? Find the community at The Practice Beneath The Practice on Substack.

Publisher

Dr. Alexandra Swenson-Ridley

Category

business · health & fitness · health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

7 Feb 2020

Latest episode

22 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

273 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   22 Oct 2026

   S3E9 Checking the “Other” Box: Chiropractic Identity and Burnout

   There was no box for us. On a survey from the National Board of Health and Wellness Coaches, every health profession had a checkbox except mine. I clicked “other,” typed in Doctor of Chiropractic, and couldn’t stop thinking about what that tiny moment says about where we stand as a profession. We survived a medical establishment that formed a committee to destroy us. We won Wilk v. AMA. And we still spend so much energy proving we belong inside a system that was never built for us. What is that costing us? I see it in the most common burnout pattern I come across in DCs: resignation. We give up, a little at a time, on the dream that brought us to chiropractic in the first place. This episode connects our profession’s collective history to the exhaustion so many of us carry in our own practices. It also asks a question only you can answer: why is chiropractic your vehicle? What you’ll hear in this episode Recognize how the AMA’s legacy still shapes the way you explain, defend, and value your work, decades after Wilk v. AMA See the crossroads our profession faces: absorption into Western medicine, or defining standards of our own Spot the “resigned practice owner” pattern in yourself, the slow surrender that passes for acceptance Understand why the fight between “philosophy” chiropractors and “evidence-based” chiropractors grows from the same root of collective trauma Use the lens of organizations as psychic prisons to see our profession’s shadow side and where it shows up in your practice Reconnect with your own reason for choosing chiropractic, the root that can hold you steady when the system won’t Resources mentioned Burnout Blind Spot Quiz: rootedpractice.co/burnout-quiz (rootedpractice.co/burnout-quiz) Aligned Authority workshop: https://rootedpractice.co/aligned-authority (https://rootedpractice.co/aligned-authority) The Practice Beneath the Practice on Substack, including my article on Wilk v. AMA: https://practicebeneaththepractice.substack.com/ (https://practicebeneaththepractice.substack.com/) Images of Organization by Gareth Morgan Reach out: dralex@rootedpractice.co (mailto:dralex@rootedpractice.co) Chapter Summary [00:00] The Box That Wasn’t There A routine survey with no checkbox for chiropractors opens a bigger conversation. Dr. Alex looks at the profession in its ecological context and at the leftovers of a history that was built to erase us. [02:39] Absorbed or Distinct: How Professions Organize Drawing on her PhD studies, Dr. Alex explains how professions form around sameness, standards, and control over who belongs. She traces how the AMA built a monopoly and why chiropractic, born in an era open to spiritual approaches to healing, still sits on the outside. [05:38] We Won Wilk, Then Kept Asking Permission Winning the lawsuit should have changed everything. Instead, the profession kept trying to prove itself by medicine’s standards, while bias continues to show up in medical and PA education today. [08:46] A Career Interview With My Son, and the Resigned Practice Owner When her 13-year-old asks what it’s really like to be a chiropractor, Dr. Alex gives an honest answer that surprises even her. That leads to the most common archetype in her burnout quiz, the resigned practice owner, and a parallel she sees in Indigenous communities trying to hold onto their values inside Western systems. [13:23] Two Reactions, One Wound A social media post about D.D. Palmer’s mystic roots draws two predictable camps, and Dr. Alex shows how both come from the same collective trauma. She makes the case for defining legitimacy through the people we serve, shares her own story of healing through chiropractic, and challenges a research model that leaves out the art of what we do. [16:28] The Practice Beneath the Practice Under every frustration in practice sits a deeper layer: your identity, your values, your strengths. Dr. Alex asks each listener to get clear on why chiropractic, out of every path to healing, is the one they chose. [17:53] Our Profession’s Shadow Using Gareth Morgan’s metaphor of organizations as psychic prisons, Dr. Alex looks at the collective shadow shaping our profession’s decisions and our personal fulfillment. She closes with her own three years away, why she came back, and where to start this deeper work.

2. 

   24 Sept 2026

   S3E8 Reclaiming Our Spine: Identity, Worth, and Chiropractic’s Future

   This episode unpacks the identity crisis many chiropractors face: feeling squeezed between Western medicine’s expectations and the original chiropractic philosophy. Dr. Alex draws parallels between Indigenous cultural revitalization and chiropractic’s need to reclaim its unique voice—rather than trying to mimic medicine for legitimacy. She explores how bureaucracy, insurance systems, and professional politics erode practitioner worth, creating burnout and disillusionment. Listeners are invited to consider reciprocity—how the profession gives back—and to experiment with new ways of practicing that honor core values. The episode closes with an open invitation to connect, reflect, and generate more creative, coherent choices for practice. To connect with Dr. Alex find her on social media or send an email to dralex@rootedpractice.co. You won't end up on an email list and she won't try to sell you anything.

3. 

   10 Sept 2026

   S3E7- Stop Fitting In: Build the Practice and Life You Actually Want

   Dr. Alex digs into a core problem many chiropractors face: a fractured professional identity built reactively in response to critics, insurance systems, and contextually charged and confusing (but not lacking merit) language like “subluxation.” Using personal stories—from her son’s toe injury to building and losing a clinic—she contrasts reactive identity (shaped by outside pressure and fear) with generative identity (built from internal values and clear boundaries). She challenges listeners to stop borrowing legitimacy and instead design practices and lives from the inside out. The episode closes with a practical challenge: identify where you’re reactive versus generative and start choosing who you want to be. Referenced in this episode: Glucina, T. T., Krägeloh, C. U., Spencer, K., & Holt, K. (2023). Defining chiropractic professional identity: A concept analysis. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 35, 75–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2023.04.047 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2023.04.047) The Practice Beneath the Practice (https://practicebeneaththepractice.substack.com/) on Substack Let's connect! dralex@rootedpractice.co

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 50 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

89

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

27