Episode 172: There Are Many Ways to Help People Heal: Parenting, Entrepreneurship, & Community Healing with Robyn Gobbel
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What happens when therapists begin listening to the quiet pull toward something different?
In this episode of The Innovative Therapist Podcast, I sat down with Robyn Gobbel for a rich and deeply honest conversation about parenting, entrepreneurship, nervous systems, innovative business models, community-building, and what it really means to help people heal outside traditional systems.
Robyn is the founder of The Baffling Behavior Training Institute, host of The Baffling Behavior Show, creator of The Club membership community for parents of kids with “big baffling behaviors,” and author of Raising Kids with Big Baffling Behaviors.
And honestly?
This conversation felt like such an important reminder that there are many ways to create healing, connection, and impact in the world.
In This Episode We Explore:
✨ Why Robyn stepped away from traditional clinical work
✨ The realities of entrepreneurship and building an online business
✨ Parenting kids with “big baffling behaviors” through a nervous system lens
✨ Why community and co-regulation matter so deeply for parents
✨ The overlap between creativity, leadership, parenting, and entrepreneurship
✨ How therapists can use their gifts outside traditional models
✨ The emotional complexity of leaving the therapy room
✨ Why experimentation and flexibility matter in innovative work
From Therapist to Community Builder
Robyn shared how she spent years working almost exclusively with children impacted by complex trauma, particularly kids adopted from foster care and internationally.
Over time, she began teaching and training other clinicians simply because the need was so enormous and there weren’t enough providers with specialized knowledge.
But eventually, through a combination of life circumstances, the pandemic, entrepreneurship, and evolving family needs, Robyn realized she wasn’t going back to traditional one-on-one therapy work.
And one of my favorite parts of this conversation was how honestly she talked about that transition.
Not from a place of:
“I hated therapy.”
But from a place of:
“There may be another way to use my gifts.”
I think so many therapists quietly wonder this.
Entrepreneurship Is Hard (And Nobody Talks About That Enough)
We also had a very real conversation about online business culture, digital courses, entrepreneurship, and the myths therapists are often sold about building businesses online.
Robyn shared how she initially found success with digital courses because she had already spent years blogging and building an audience organically. But she also realized pretty quickly that courses alone didn’t feel deeply satisfying or impactful because many people simply weren’t completing them.
And honestly? I appreciated how transparent this part of the conversation was.
Because both of us reflected on how easy it is for therapists to internalize:
“If this isn’t working, I must be doing something wrong.”
When in reality:
Building a business is genuinely hard.
Especially in today’s landscape.
The Power of Community & Co-Regulation
One of the most moving parts of the conversation was hearing Robyn talk about her membership community for parents.
She described parents arriving in the space completely exhausted, overwhelmed, and stripped of any energy for pretending or performing.
And yet…
What she’s built is a deeply compassionate, regulated, vulnerable community where parents support each other in profoundly healing ways.
As she talked about watching these parents show up for each other, I genuinely got emotional listening to her describe it.
Because this is the kind of work I think many of us are craving:
- meaningful
- reciprocal
- deeply human
- community-centered
- honest
- impactful
- sustainable
Not just information.
Connection.
Creativity, Leadership & Experimentation
Another major theme woven throughout this episode was the importance of experimentation, creativity, and flexibility.
Robyn described entrepreneurship almost like a process of:
- trying things
- paying attention
- adjusting
- learning
- and staying unattached to perfection
At one point she shared that she had to untangle business outcomes from her sense of self-worth and instead approach entrepreneurship more playfully:
“I’ll try this. Wow, okay. That didn’t go the way I wanted, so I’ll try something else.”
Honestly? I loved this framing.
Because I think many therapists and helpers are brilliant at overthinking and under-practicing experimentation.
And yet creativity, leadership, parenting, and entrepreneurship all seem to require some willingness to stay flexible, playful, and responsive.
There Are Many Ways to Help People
One of the biggest takeaways from this conversation was this:
There are so many ways to help people heal.
Sometimes that looks like therapy.
Sometimes it looks like:
- community
- education
- podcasts
- support groups
- books
- co-regulation
- creativity
- leadership
- nervous system education
- or simply helping people feel less alone
And maybe part of building an aligned life is allowing ourselves to imagine that our gifts can take many different forms.
About Robyn Gobbel
Robyn Gobbel is the host of The Baffling Behavior Show and founder of The Baffling Behavior Training Institute.
She is the creator of the BBTI Immersion Program for Professionals and The Club, a virtual community supporting parents of kids with big baffling behaviors.
Robyn is also the author of the USA Today bestselling book Raising Kids with Big Baffling Behaviors, praised by leaders including Stephen Porges, Tina Payne Bryson, and Laura Markham. Her upcoming guided journal companion releases September 2026.
Connect with Robyn
🌐 Robyn Gobbel’s Website
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Disclaimer:
This blog and podcast are for informational and educational purposes only. They do not constitute medical or mental health advice and are not a substitute for professional consultation or treatment.
