Articles
Welcome to SWEET’s blog, where co-founders Mardoche Sidor, MD, Quadruple Board Certified Psychiatrist, and Karen Dubin-McKnight, PhD, LCSW, write about the most important topics in the field, from psychology to science to self fulfillment.
The Accountability Illusion: Why Pressure Doesn’t Create Performance
Accountability is one of the most talked-about leadership principles in organizations. Leaders want it, boards demand it, funders expect it, and managers try to enforce it.
Supervision as the Engine of Culture
In most organizations, supervision is treated as a routine administrative task. It is treated as a meeting, as a checklist, or as a compliance requirement.
Why Crisis Culture Is Quietly Destroying Your Agency
Most agencies don’t choose crisis culture. They drift into it.
The Hidden Culture Problem: When “We’re Like Family” Backfires
It sounds warm. It sounds loyal. It sounds connected. It sounds human. “We’re like family here.”
Why High Performers Leave Good Agencies
Many leaders are surprised when high performers resign.
· “These were our best people.”
Why Meaning — Not Perks — Keeps Staff Committed
Many agencies are trying to solve retention with perks. More flexibility. More benefits. More appreciation days. More wellness initiatives. More incentives. More pizza lunches.
The Power of Breath in Leadership: Why Regulation Beats Motivation
Most leadership advice focuses on mindset. Think bigger. Inspire more.
Time Management Isn’t the Problem — Fragmentation Is
Most agency leaders don’t need another time management training. You’ve already tried them.
Why Teamwork Breaks Down Even When Everyone Cares
Most agency leaders don’t have a “teamwork problem.”
You have:
Accountability Without Fear: What Agencies Get Wrong
Accountability has become one of the most misunderstood and most feared words in organizational life.
The Truth Leaders Feel but Rarely Say Out Loud
Most agency leaders carry a private burden: “We’re doing everything we’re supposed to do, and it still feels unsustainable.”
Evaluating the Impact: How to Measure Healing Without Losing the Magic
Healing Circles often create deep, personal, and systemic transformation—but capturing that impact in measurable terms can be challenging.
The Healing Circle as Supervision: Embedding Reflection into Clinical and Administrative Coaching
Supervision is one of the most powerful yet underutilized tools for culture change in any organization.
What If the Circle Never Happens? Making Space When Time, Stress, and Culture Push Back
Many facilitators have the intention, training, and vision to implement Healing Circles—but find that time pressure, culture resistance, or logistical breakdowns prevent Circles from taking place.
The Facilitator’s First Step: How to Prepare Yourself Before You Lead a Circle
Healing Circles do not begin when the group enters the room. They begin within the facilitator.
Holding Space When There’s Resistance: What to Do When a Circle Gets Hard
Even the best-designed Healing Circles will eventually meet resistance—eye rolls, shutdowns, power plays, silence, sarcasm, or emotional escalation.
Beyond the Team: Spreading the Circle to Systems, Stakeholders, and Society
Healing doesn’t stop with staff. To fully transform organizations, the reflective principles of the SWEET Healing Circle are to reach stakeholders across all levels—executive boards, funders, government agencies, community partners, and clients themselves. This article explores how healing-centered practices and Four-Layer Thinking can shape decision
Why Healing Is the Future of Organizational Strategy
In an era of burnout, disengagement, workforce crises, and cultural reckoning, healing is no longer a soft skill—it is a core strategy.
Conflict as Catalyst: How to Use Tension as a Team Growth Tool
Conflict in teams is inevitable—but unresolved conflict corrodes trust and performance.
The Rituals That Sustain Us: Designing a Healing Infrastructure
Healing isn’t sustained through passion—it’s sustained through ritual.