Designing a Sustainable Psychiatry Practice Around What Interests You: Dr. Daniel Hochman on DPC, Addiction Medicine, and Building Self Recovery

In this June sustainability episode, Maryal sits down with Dr. Daniel Hochman, a psychiatrist in private practice in Texas and the founder of Self Recovery, an online addiction curriculum built from thousands of hours of one-to-one clinical work.Dr. Hochman left the insurance model early, around 2014, because the deep, philosophical therapy he wanted to practice could never be reimbursed in a fee-for-service system. His definition of sustainability is simple and worth sitting with: work that is aligned with your interests is sustainable, and the drag of burnout shows up when there is interference and conflict instead of alignment.What you will hear in this episode:Why sustainability is about alignment with your interests, not just doing less, and how "slow down" can mean five different thingsHis trial-and-error method for building a personal repertoire of recovery tools, using something as ordinary as what you choose to watch at nightHow he protects a sacred solo lunch, eats at his desk, and works calisthenics and movement into the day instead of a separate gym routineThe honest distinction between what drains him: a suicidal patient that morning did not deplete him, but a misaligned patient asking for a quick fix didHow he screens for fit by taking every call himself and asking one question: "Are you curious?"How to neutrally end or decline a relationship that is not a fit, and why modeling that can itself be therapeuticThe story behind Self Recovery: why he spent years writing a true addiction curriculum rather than referring patients to subpar optionsHis addiction model that became the course structure: emotional pain leads to craving, craving to following through, following through to false pleasure, with a capstone on how to actually liveWhy an educational designer helped him break heavy material into digestible, story-driven modules that keep people asking "what's next"Why online, private, self-paced work helps people face their hardest material when they are ready, on their own timeA one-minute motivational interviewing technique any physician can memorize: "On a scale of zero to 10, how ready are you to change?" then "Why not higher, and why not lower?"The tool most physicians leave on the table in addiction care, and how to pitch it as helping a patient be accountable to their own better halfHis incremental, no-big-scary-beast advice for physicians who feel stuck but are not yet a 10 out of 10 ready to make the leapConnect with Dr. Hochman:Self Recovery (online addiction curriculum, direct to consumer)The Zanko Method, a curriculum for professionals living with addiction.One-day Intensives at his practice: hochmanhealth.com (see the Intensives tab)New to DPC? Head to the Start Here page at mydpcstory.com for a practical startup guide and the essential beginner episodes.Got a question for the show? Leave a voice message on the contact page at mydpcstory.com.Want commercial-free and extended episodes? Join the My DPC Story Patreon.Follow along @mydpcstory and find everything at mydpcstory.com.If this episode inspired you, please leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts. It helps more physicians find these stories when they need them the most.Support the showGET your FREE MONTHLY BUSINESS TOOL DOWNLOADBecome A My DPC Story PATREON MEMBER! SPONSOR THE PODMy DPC Story VOICEMAIL! DPC SWAG!FACEBOOK * INSTAGRAM * LinkedIn * TWITTER * TIKTOK * YouTube