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,…
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Dr. Alex explores why chiropractors often turn on each other—rooted in long-standing identity wounds, scarcity mindsets, and external skepticism. She connects personal stories (including a chaotic early-career job in Alaska) with current institutional stressors—school closures, accreditation shifts, and merger news—that threaten the profession. Drawing on her academic work in positive psychology,…
We learned the iceberg in chiropractic school as a way to picture the nervous system: symptoms above the surface, root cause below. What most of us were never told is that the model didn't start there. It started in organizational change theory, and it maps almost exactly onto why our practices keep circling back to the same problems no matter how many times we try to fix them. In this solo…
A chiropractor I've never met posted on Facebook this week: she's done. Not looking for how to fall back in love with the profession — just how to leave it. Over two hundred comments later, it was clear she isn't alone. This episode is about what that post cracked open in me, and what I believe we actually have to do if we want our profession to stop losing good people to burnout. What you'll hear…
How you price your practice is not a business decision. It's a worth decision. Most chiropractors don't see it that way — and that's exactly the problem. We dress up our scarcity in generosity. We call it patient-centered. We call it accessible. But underneath the frustrations with insurance, fears around charging cash, big care plans or heavily discounted rates is programming our whole profession…
There's a chiropractor in a parking lot hut in Maui who told a second-year chiropractic student to get out. She wrote him off at the time. Twenty years later, she understands exactly what he meant. This is the first episode of a new season — and a new focus. Dr. Alex is done talking around the elephant: chiropractors are carrying a legitimacy wound that has shaped how we build our practices, set…
You passed the boards. You opened the practice. You adopted the “fake it till you make it” approach to practice everyone told you to do in school. You did everything right. And still — there’s this voice that follows you everywhere. It says you’re not quite legitimate. You have to prove something. That you have to work twice as hard to be taken half as seriously. That you’re a third rate doctor…
In the concluding episode of the first season, Dr. Alex Swenson Ridley delves into the concept of the 'practice beneath the practice.' She reflects on her personal challenges of overcoming hustle culture and the associated anxiety, emphasizing the importance of aligning one's business practices with personal values for true fulfillment. Highlighting the transformation needed for personal and…
In this episode of the Rooted Health Practice Podcast, Dr. Alex Swenson Ridley explores the complex interplay between organizational legitimacy and identity within healthcare practices. She delves into how practitioners often face the dilemma of conforming to societal norms to appear legitimate while striving to maintain personal and organizational values. Highlighting her experiences as a…
IIn this episode, Dr. Alex explores how your relationship with yourself, your team, and your patients directly impacts your energy, leadership, and sustainability as a practice owner. What You’ll Learn: Why over-responsibility leads to burnout How boundaries shape sustainable leadership The difference between caring and losing yourself in the process How your internal patterns show up in external…
Dr. Alex Swenson-Ridley delves into the often unacknowledged struggles faced by healthcare professionals who venture into entrepreneurship. This episode sheds light on the contradiction of seeking to help others while feeling constrained by the business models inherited from previous mentors. The discussion revolves around the concept of 'reinventing the wheel' in healthcare, promoting creativity…