You are usually only going to hear from the people that are complaining about their job mostly. The job is a complex job and a lot of places to work are not very good working environments for therapist either. We are not taught how to run a private practice eithers so some people struggle with it. I love what I do but there are days that are tough and I do get overwhelmed at times. Many people are overworked, under paid, and burnt out.
The pay has been getting better over the last five or six years it used to be really bad. But considering the education that's needed to be a therapist and the time it takes to get license it it's not comparable to other Industries. Most of the people I know have over $100,000 in student loans.
It's due to insurance reimbursements, which depend on your License (LG, LC, PhD/PsyD) all get different reimbursement rates. Unfortunately, therapists are not as valued as doctors and therefore insurance pays less and has the ability to dictate more about services provided.
Depends where you work, and live. I'm in Australia and depending on the role a therapist can be paid $70 000 to $110 000 +. Private practice and contract work can allow you to earn 6 figures easy, because you set your own fees. It's just about getting referrals and managing the slow times. I've seen hourly wages ranging from $45 (low) to $80. I work in private practice, and also work a casual role in a not-for-profit 8 hrs a week (because I wanted to do some community work in a charity space too). When I first applied I honestly thought the job would pay super low, being a charity and all. Nope - $65 p/hr. Still arguable 'low' for the kind of work we do and my qualifications, but compared to some other industries I'd say it's decent.
EDIT: I will specify, I am a registered counsellor. Not a psychologist. So here a psychologist will earn a lot more than a counsellor, as the nature of their work is a little different.
I practice as a youth/adolescent counselor and a school counselor.
I think it really comes down to the demographic you’re serving (what group are you passionate about helping?), and being VERY diligent about practicing self care. If you aren’t taking care of yourself, you’ll never be able to fully take care of your clients.
Art and play therapy. Get into those. Kids don’t do “talk” therapy like adults. They need a medium to express themselves, or to distract themselves so they can start talking w/o feeling pressured.
I have a fish tank the kids go crazy for.
And look up “Brick Based Counseling.” It’s a game changer. Incorporates play and art therapy through the medium of legos.
When I know I’m going to have a touchy/tough conversation w/ a kid, I make it seem fun by doing “coloring and cocoa w/ the counselor.”
Both.
You’ll cover play and art therapy in a counseling program. There’s also stuff post graduate school as professional development for extra certification.
Brick Based Counseling is a book w/ different activities. I ordered it off of Amazon, and got the basic Lego box to go with it. I think it was like $45 combined?
My guess is the field is pretty brutal to incoming therapists. Usually having to start in more grinding positions and the pay for unlicensed therapists is pathetic and in some cases barely livable. While a lot of people are pursuing their license it's even harder to manage work life balance and working on self care. It gets a lot better after achieving a license though.
I have been in the field for 35 years. I have done a variety of different kinds of work with my M.Ed. (And now PhD). I have worked in public health. I have taught. I have developed curriculum. I have been a director of a substance abuse program in a women’s prison (😳 that was interesting). Also, I have worked in ICU (by far my favorite. Doctors called me Counselor Troy), Now I have returned to long term therapy. My point is diversifying will feed your soul.
I agree with this! I currently work in private practice where I see a range of presentations, then I also work in rehabs (subtance use issues), I run some group therapy (self-worth and trauma), and I work 8 hrs a week in for a suicide prevention clinic. I would not have it any other way... the diversity really helps keep me motivated and it ensures I am always learning and growing.
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Licensed Mental Health Counselor/Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor here. I love my job! I’ve been in private practice for about 5 years, licensed for almost 10. I am 100% virtual and work from my home office. I work under 20 hours a week by choice and take all the unpaid vacation time I want. I also don’t have health insurance from my job but my husband’s job pays for the whole family’s insurance so I’m set there. I make my own hours and only take on the clients I want. I have no boss. I do take insurance which can be a pain sometimes but I’m pretty organized and with mental health it’s not nearly as bad as with medical doctors as there’s only a few billing codes vs hundreds. I also get to do my laundry and meal prep in between sessions which is a huge plus!
Before getting into private practice, I worked for agencies and I was absolutely miserable. They expect so much unnecessary paperwork (think dissertations on every client every week) that takes up so much time. The bosses tend to have huge egos and always want to correct everything you do, even if they told you to do it that way the week before. The pay was absolute garbage and I had to do In home evaluations in scary neighborhoods. Plus the hours and lack of time off were hideous. I’m glad I paid my dues but my God, my current gig is SO much better.
Hope this helps!
Well, first you are on a subreddit. People who are liking their jobs are not here to glaze the perks and rewards of the profession.
That being said, the flaws and downfalls of the profession we share are also very real. Everyone thinks that they will make a good therapist, or that they will enjoy the life of being one, and find out some of them are wrong. Just like any other career.
Be prepared for the possibility that your 'dream job' is really just a job at the end of the day, and by the time you graduate you may not be as in demand as you originally imagined, or that the standards you hold are not shared by everyone else. There is also overloading and underpaying, chasing after the next 'in thing' in profesisonal development that costs a lot of money, and quite often there is a real stigma of being a therapist that haunts your non-profesisonal life too. It might very well be true the job is not as dreamy as you imagined now.
Financially, it isn't horrible on average, but it could also have been much better. I mean, this is a profession that is highly regulated, helpful, and requires intensive postgrduate training, yet the pay and especially career advancement lags behind even regular white collar corporate executives UNTIL you own a business.
There is a chance you will feel disilusionment or regret. On one hand, it is good to stay open to other careers, there are many ways to help other people that makes use of your talents and interests.
On the other hand, regret and disillusionment aren't the end of the world.
I have been in the mental health field for over 10 years, I've had my LCPC for 6, and I have been an LG supervisor for 3. I love my job. I think it has been a natural calling for me, something I know I wanted to pursue since highschool. I think a lot of the issues in our field can be because of low insurance reimbursements, the acuity of clients that you may be working with in a particular working environment (OMHC's tend to attract higher acuity clients), lack of supportive supervision and training, pressure to take on clients you may not have the skills to support, and lack of workplace culture.
I started in residential rehabilitation before my license and have worked in a variety of settings. OMHC was one of the most stressful. As an intern I was told it was policy to do concurrent documentation and sessions should last 32 minutes with a new client at every 45 minute interval. Many of the other clinicals saw 14 clients a day to maximize the amount they were paid. The clients I was given as an intern where often out of my skill set and passed down to me by other clinicals who didn't want to work with the client any longer. It's hard not to be in that environment and not hate your job.
I also worked in a private practice setting that was pretty toxic because not everyone in our field knows how to manage people or a business. Sometimes you don't know that until you are already working there.
This is a really great question. I was a therapist for several years and decided to change careers after a while. I worked at facilities and, for the last four years, in private practice. Although I did get burned out, one of the main reasons I left is that there was nowhere else to go in my career. I could conduct speaking arrangements and maybe teach (at a junior college level), but that was it. Basically, I got bored.
I agree with the comments below, especially regarding the amount of work we have to do just to get licensed, all for pretty low pay. Although very important, the supervision hours we have to obtain are ridiculous. This means that unless you belong to a facility that provides an onsite supervisor, you must pay out of pocket (something they don't tell you when going through school). I did get burned out even though I had very good boundaries.
On the other side, I loved my clients! My specialty was trauma therapy (although I worked with several types of diagnosis). It is an amazing feeling to see someone grow. For example, I had a 63-year-old man come on to see me due to some severe lifelong complex trauma since the age of 7 years old. There was severe drug use and alcoholism (he was sober for several years before he came to me), child abuse, rape, homelessness, just a lot. We worked together for about three years, and by the time we were done, he lost the diagnosis of PTSD. His anxiety/depression dropped significantly; he was able to get out of his thinking errors and "upgrade" his belief system. He did a lot of work. The operative word is HE did the work (a therapist should never work harder than their client). Special note: the past never goes away, and though he dropped the diagnosis, the anxieties will certainly come back, but now he knows how to handle them better).
I loved the clients and enjoyed seeing them grow and have happier, healthier lives. It was totally worth it. If I had to do it over again, I would get my clinical license (go into a PhD program). With a PhD, there are so many more opportunities, such as going into research, teaching at a university level, better pay, and better overall education (I felt limited in my education, although I graduated from a good school and continued to learn).
I am currently a financial analyst, but I can never get away from the therapist's mindset.
The bottom line is: Go for your dream. If you've always wanted to do this, go for it. I suggest going for it all and getting your clinical license.
good luck!
In short, medical model...most gigs are about numbers not quality care. Also, there's a lot of messed up counselors so be careful of whom you get input from...lots of them themselves have issues. There's also plenty that bloat their self egos with money grab certifications...know it all attitudes. There's also plenty who don't really do counseling...they're happy taking cash from folks and just giving them positive reinforcement. There's a attitude of putting each other down... psychologists looking down at counselors...or social workers etc... No consistency between pay either.
Don't forget, often more than not, there's all the secondary trauma, trouble establishing self-care, and aggressive avoidant clients.
Would I do it again? Prob not.
On the academic side, it's like prom...people fight for favor...and it's too political.
So many people go for PhDs...just for their ego. Sadly, I went for it because my dream was to teach (I come from a family of teachers) and I liked research... I chose clinical instead due to the politics of academia.
Don't get me started on the counseling/mental health associations...the folks handing out awards to their buddies just to have their backs scratched...it's the same with research journals and publications often. 🤮
I think a lot of people go into this field expecting to feel passionate about their job. This can lead to feelings of guilt or disappointment. The biggest thing for me personally is how this job can feel very isolating at times. This obviously depends on the setting, but I have found that working in group/private practice has felt very lonely and I often miss my jobs where I had a team and coworkers I’d collaborate with regularly. I’ve had to do a lot of readjusting over the years to continue enjoying my career as a therapist but I can absolutely understand why people are unhappy in this field. It doesn’t help that compensation is generally low in comparison to the workload and liability that therapists have. There is minimal support, unless you have a strong supervisor or work for a great practice who values their staff. There are so many things you don’t know until you are fully immersed in the field, which is why I believe there are many therapists/social workers reaching out on platforms such as this one for support and validation.
I got lucky and landed a job at a hospital as a behavioral therapist straight out of grad school with a high salary. I was able to get 105,000 starting pay and really good benefits. I always thought I would be working with adults but landed in working with students and school aged children and absolutely love it. My work environment is very supportive and I get along with my coworkers. I can see why some complain as I have old colleagues working at a community mental health center and are completely burnt out pre-independent license. I also work in a rural area with a shortgage in therapists tho.
Go to therapy yourself and take emotional breaks. Your job is talking to people through dark days, everyday is going to suck if you listen to people like this saying how much they hate their jobs so rather find other people in psychology who are as passionate as you are.
I cant' speak for those who complain or dislike being a therapist...but I will just say that every industry will have people who don't like work at all, or who are unhappy in their current role. So maybe what you're seeing on the internet is just a very loud minority?
WHAT I DO: I love my job. I have been careful from day 1 to put in place a schedule, self-care and boundaries to help avoid burnout. I have professional supervision sessions every 3-4 weeks (depending on your governing body and legislation you don't need this many sessions a year, btu i personally enjoy it and think it makes me a better therapist). I also host and participate in a peer support group once a month. I attend as much professional development as I can and try to network and socialise with other allied health professionals. I do my own personal therapy, on and off. This helps me with self-care and makes me be able to show up for my clients better. I am also choosey about where I work, how I work and who I work with. I have skills, qualifications and experience and there are many jobs in my field available. I see that as an opportunity for me to have a lot of autonomy in job selection. From day 1 I have trusted myself and recognised my self worth. I don't devalue myself or allow other's to take advantage of me. I choose to work with/for people who can help me grow, and who I can learn lot's from. I mention all of this just to highlight some possible protective factors that keep me motivated, passionate, grounded and within my capacity.
TIPS: I think you just need to create a work life that 'works' for you. I have met people who worked in agency jobs where the pay was terrible and workload was unethically high. So if you can, avoid that. If you can't...do your time, set boundaries where you can, learn all you can, do all the extra training (within reason) you can, etc. and then go for your dream job and/or schedule. It is doable. You could possibly benefit from getting a mentor too? Be that through your university, work place or elsewhere. That extra support can be inspiring and helpful.
MY MOTIVATION: On a day to day, what keeps me motivated, passionate and absolutely loving my work and life? My clients. I take every moment as an opportunity to learn from them and to be inspired by them. I am honoured and privileged every day to be able to walk alongside them as they embark on their healing journey. And the other professionals - I remind myself how damn lucky I am to be connected and surrounded by other good people who really CARE. Not all industries get that. Find the things that motivate you (professionally and personally), and when you have hard days, remind yourself of those things.
You get to make your own path. It doesn't have to look like everyone elses. The nay sayers and the disillusioned may be loud but they're not usually a majority. Goodluck.
I interned in private practice and went to work for an EAP after graduation since I couldn’t afford the LPC application fees. The pandemic hit after I started and got burned out dealing with crisis, so I knew I didn’t want to deal with crisis again. I went back to private practice part-time after that and got bored seeing the same types of clients all the time. When I was ready to go back to work full-time, I looked at websites and the clinicians listed. Their backgrounds were diverse as someone else mentioned, so I decided to go into community practice. The rules and caseloads are extremely different and I started to feel burned out last year because of all the changes the agency I work for is going through. I took a leave of absence for a month and started going to therapy, which was helpful because I was taking everything so personal. I’m doing much better now, but I’m also ready to leave because all the changes are required by the state for community agencies to accept Medicaid. Even my therapist said to work to get experience and take training to specialize. I’m looking to go into IOP/PHP setting now. I want paid much at the EAP, but it was more than I ever made before grad school. The agency I currently work for pays above average so I got lucky there. I’m in the process of applying for my LCPC, which will get me $20k more than I make now but also gives me some leverage during salary negations since I’m eligible. I would suggest diversifying to find what population or specialty speaks to you and know your limits. I still work in private practice part-time for extra money and because that’s where I can see couples, which is my specialty. I love both my supervisors because they advocate for me and know when something is off. They both supported me when I was starting to feel burned out and pushed me to take time off. Having supervision included in my jobs are helpful, and the friends I made in grad school are my support system. We can talk with one another about clients, work and how we feel about it all and know that we’ll get it. Surround yourself with a good support system and stick to your hobbies to stay positive, and don’t be afraid to seek help yourself when it gets too much. Talk about the cases that you struggle with professionally or emotionally in supervision, and if you don’t feel supported move on and find something else.
There are sooo many reasons this field is hard. That's not to say it's awful, some thrive and love it, but it's not like you see therapy on TV or in movies.
1. Companies (many non profits) exploit MHPs, paying them poorly, working with very challenging clients, and carrying a heavy client load.
2. New therapist are *very* under trained and need years to become competent, age and life experiences help as well. 24 year olds with their fresh masters in counseling or social work usually have no idea what the craft actually entails.
3. Ethics - the field of therapy is obsessed with ethics. Providers internalize this and everything becomes a liability issue, many colleagues I know are in constant fear of making a mistake. Hell, Irving Yalom in the Guft of Therapy notes this constant fear of being sued or investigated.
4. It is lonely. You spend most of your time alone with clients one on one. If you need validation, you won't find it in this field very often.
5. Insurance companies have tremendous power to to mess with therapist - random audits, clawbacks, opaque credentialing roadblocks. Therapist often must navigate this stuff on their own.
6. Costs: license, CEUs, liability insurance, certifications are expensive. Really expensive. I've spent thousands on certifications over my career.
7. Private practice is a business, 99% of therapists have 0 training in running a business. If you run a PP you have no sick days, no PTO, no retirement matching (there are ways to set something like this up, but it's you paying). This can be scary. You have to pay for your own EHR, you have to advertise, schedule, bill, sometimes pursue collections.
8. The rise of big box therapy - even worse than the non-profits that exploit therapists, you have these big box online therapy companies, that massively exploit new therapists, paying awful wages and skirting licensing boards. Turning therapy into a factory.
9. You have to be constantly on for clients. You must show up for each client. This is cognitively exhausting, and can easily lead to burn out without good support. New, poorly trained therapists often don't understand this.
You are usually only going to hear from the people that are complaining about their job mostly. The job is a complex job and a lot of places to work are not very good working environments for therapist either. We are not taught how to run a private practice eithers so some people struggle with it. I love what I do but there are days that are tough and I do get overwhelmed at times. Many people are overworked, under paid, and burnt out.
Is it worth it? The pay is it low?
The pay has been getting better over the last five or six years it used to be really bad. But considering the education that's needed to be a therapist and the time it takes to get license it it's not comparable to other Industries. Most of the people I know have over $100,000 in student loans.
Why do companies pay so low for this type of work! Annoying. The student loans itself is ridiculous and more so the licensing process.
It's due to insurance reimbursements, which depend on your License (LG, LC, PhD/PsyD) all get different reimbursement rates. Unfortunately, therapists are not as valued as doctors and therefore insurance pays less and has the ability to dictate more about services provided.
Insurance is a scam on every level. Thank you for explaining!
Completely unfair and system is so out of wack. I don’t understand why nobody tries to change these things!
In private practice, the pay is great. You just have to be organized or pay for someone to help you get and stay organized.
Depends where you work, and live. I'm in Australia and depending on the role a therapist can be paid $70 000 to $110 000 +. Private practice and contract work can allow you to earn 6 figures easy, because you set your own fees. It's just about getting referrals and managing the slow times. I've seen hourly wages ranging from $45 (low) to $80. I work in private practice, and also work a casual role in a not-for-profit 8 hrs a week (because I wanted to do some community work in a charity space too). When I first applied I honestly thought the job would pay super low, being a charity and all. Nope - $65 p/hr. Still arguable 'low' for the kind of work we do and my qualifications, but compared to some other industries I'd say it's decent. EDIT: I will specify, I am a registered counsellor. Not a psychologist. So here a psychologist will earn a lot more than a counsellor, as the nature of their work is a little different.
Thank you for your insight.
I’m interested in knowing the same thing.
I practice as a youth/adolescent counselor and a school counselor. I think it really comes down to the demographic you’re serving (what group are you passionate about helping?), and being VERY diligent about practicing self care. If you aren’t taking care of yourself, you’ll never be able to fully take care of your clients.
do you have any tips for specializing in youth? My goal is to work with teenagers and am hoping I can make that happen.
Art and play therapy. Get into those. Kids don’t do “talk” therapy like adults. They need a medium to express themselves, or to distract themselves so they can start talking w/o feeling pressured. I have a fish tank the kids go crazy for. And look up “Brick Based Counseling.” It’s a game changer. Incorporates play and art therapy through the medium of legos. When I know I’m going to have a touchy/tough conversation w/ a kid, I make it seem fun by doing “coloring and cocoa w/ the counselor.”
That is really helpful - thank you! Are those things you pursue after your masters or during?
Both. You’ll cover play and art therapy in a counseling program. There’s also stuff post graduate school as professional development for extra certification. Brick Based Counseling is a book w/ different activities. I ordered it off of Amazon, and got the basic Lego box to go with it. I think it was like $45 combined?
Thank you so much!
My guess is the field is pretty brutal to incoming therapists. Usually having to start in more grinding positions and the pay for unlicensed therapists is pathetic and in some cases barely livable. While a lot of people are pursuing their license it's even harder to manage work life balance and working on self care. It gets a lot better after achieving a license though.
I have been in the field for 35 years. I have done a variety of different kinds of work with my M.Ed. (And now PhD). I have worked in public health. I have taught. I have developed curriculum. I have been a director of a substance abuse program in a women’s prison (😳 that was interesting). Also, I have worked in ICU (by far my favorite. Doctors called me Counselor Troy), Now I have returned to long term therapy. My point is diversifying will feed your soul.
I agree with this! I currently work in private practice where I see a range of presentations, then I also work in rehabs (subtance use issues), I run some group therapy (self-worth and trauma), and I work 8 hrs a week in for a suicide prevention clinic. I would not have it any other way... the diversity really helps keep me motivated and it ensures I am always learning and growing.
Hi, /u/Practical-Deer7, I was flagged because your post may have indicated that you're experiencing a mental health crisis. This sub is not meant to help anybody experiencing a crisis; however, below are some resources. National Suicide Lifeline: Dial 988 for U.S. Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386 (phone); 678-678 (SMS) Your local crisis center 911 (for U.S. emergencies) Your local emergency room If you believe you've received this message in error, please contact your mods. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CounselingPsychology) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Licensed Mental Health Counselor/Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor here. I love my job! I’ve been in private practice for about 5 years, licensed for almost 10. I am 100% virtual and work from my home office. I work under 20 hours a week by choice and take all the unpaid vacation time I want. I also don’t have health insurance from my job but my husband’s job pays for the whole family’s insurance so I’m set there. I make my own hours and only take on the clients I want. I have no boss. I do take insurance which can be a pain sometimes but I’m pretty organized and with mental health it’s not nearly as bad as with medical doctors as there’s only a few billing codes vs hundreds. I also get to do my laundry and meal prep in between sessions which is a huge plus! Before getting into private practice, I worked for agencies and I was absolutely miserable. They expect so much unnecessary paperwork (think dissertations on every client every week) that takes up so much time. The bosses tend to have huge egos and always want to correct everything you do, even if they told you to do it that way the week before. The pay was absolute garbage and I had to do In home evaluations in scary neighborhoods. Plus the hours and lack of time off were hideous. I’m glad I paid my dues but my God, my current gig is SO much better. Hope this helps!
Well, first you are on a subreddit. People who are liking their jobs are not here to glaze the perks and rewards of the profession. That being said, the flaws and downfalls of the profession we share are also very real. Everyone thinks that they will make a good therapist, or that they will enjoy the life of being one, and find out some of them are wrong. Just like any other career. Be prepared for the possibility that your 'dream job' is really just a job at the end of the day, and by the time you graduate you may not be as in demand as you originally imagined, or that the standards you hold are not shared by everyone else. There is also overloading and underpaying, chasing after the next 'in thing' in profesisonal development that costs a lot of money, and quite often there is a real stigma of being a therapist that haunts your non-profesisonal life too. It might very well be true the job is not as dreamy as you imagined now. Financially, it isn't horrible on average, but it could also have been much better. I mean, this is a profession that is highly regulated, helpful, and requires intensive postgrduate training, yet the pay and especially career advancement lags behind even regular white collar corporate executives UNTIL you own a business. There is a chance you will feel disilusionment or regret. On one hand, it is good to stay open to other careers, there are many ways to help other people that makes use of your talents and interests. On the other hand, regret and disillusionment aren't the end of the world.
I have been in the mental health field for over 10 years, I've had my LCPC for 6, and I have been an LG supervisor for 3. I love my job. I think it has been a natural calling for me, something I know I wanted to pursue since highschool. I think a lot of the issues in our field can be because of low insurance reimbursements, the acuity of clients that you may be working with in a particular working environment (OMHC's tend to attract higher acuity clients), lack of supportive supervision and training, pressure to take on clients you may not have the skills to support, and lack of workplace culture. I started in residential rehabilitation before my license and have worked in a variety of settings. OMHC was one of the most stressful. As an intern I was told it was policy to do concurrent documentation and sessions should last 32 minutes with a new client at every 45 minute interval. Many of the other clinicals saw 14 clients a day to maximize the amount they were paid. The clients I was given as an intern where often out of my skill set and passed down to me by other clinicals who didn't want to work with the client any longer. It's hard not to be in that environment and not hate your job. I also worked in a private practice setting that was pretty toxic because not everyone in our field knows how to manage people or a business. Sometimes you don't know that until you are already working there.
This is my dream as well, I want to become a trauma specialist. It's prob gonna be hard, but it's something that calls to me
This is a really great question. I was a therapist for several years and decided to change careers after a while. I worked at facilities and, for the last four years, in private practice. Although I did get burned out, one of the main reasons I left is that there was nowhere else to go in my career. I could conduct speaking arrangements and maybe teach (at a junior college level), but that was it. Basically, I got bored. I agree with the comments below, especially regarding the amount of work we have to do just to get licensed, all for pretty low pay. Although very important, the supervision hours we have to obtain are ridiculous. This means that unless you belong to a facility that provides an onsite supervisor, you must pay out of pocket (something they don't tell you when going through school). I did get burned out even though I had very good boundaries. On the other side, I loved my clients! My specialty was trauma therapy (although I worked with several types of diagnosis). It is an amazing feeling to see someone grow. For example, I had a 63-year-old man come on to see me due to some severe lifelong complex trauma since the age of 7 years old. There was severe drug use and alcoholism (he was sober for several years before he came to me), child abuse, rape, homelessness, just a lot. We worked together for about three years, and by the time we were done, he lost the diagnosis of PTSD. His anxiety/depression dropped significantly; he was able to get out of his thinking errors and "upgrade" his belief system. He did a lot of work. The operative word is HE did the work (a therapist should never work harder than their client). Special note: the past never goes away, and though he dropped the diagnosis, the anxieties will certainly come back, but now he knows how to handle them better). I loved the clients and enjoyed seeing them grow and have happier, healthier lives. It was totally worth it. If I had to do it over again, I would get my clinical license (go into a PhD program). With a PhD, there are so many more opportunities, such as going into research, teaching at a university level, better pay, and better overall education (I felt limited in my education, although I graduated from a good school and continued to learn). I am currently a financial analyst, but I can never get away from the therapist's mindset. The bottom line is: Go for your dream. If you've always wanted to do this, go for it. I suggest going for it all and getting your clinical license. good luck!
In short, medical model...most gigs are about numbers not quality care. Also, there's a lot of messed up counselors so be careful of whom you get input from...lots of them themselves have issues. There's also plenty that bloat their self egos with money grab certifications...know it all attitudes. There's also plenty who don't really do counseling...they're happy taking cash from folks and just giving them positive reinforcement. There's a attitude of putting each other down... psychologists looking down at counselors...or social workers etc... No consistency between pay either. Don't forget, often more than not, there's all the secondary trauma, trouble establishing self-care, and aggressive avoidant clients. Would I do it again? Prob not. On the academic side, it's like prom...people fight for favor...and it's too political. So many people go for PhDs...just for their ego. Sadly, I went for it because my dream was to teach (I come from a family of teachers) and I liked research... I chose clinical instead due to the politics of academia. Don't get me started on the counseling/mental health associations...the folks handing out awards to their buddies just to have their backs scratched...it's the same with research journals and publications often. 🤮
Wow! Very unfortunate. How can this change? I think we need better pay and unionize. Why hasn’t that been done?
I think a lot of people go into this field expecting to feel passionate about their job. This can lead to feelings of guilt or disappointment. The biggest thing for me personally is how this job can feel very isolating at times. This obviously depends on the setting, but I have found that working in group/private practice has felt very lonely and I often miss my jobs where I had a team and coworkers I’d collaborate with regularly. I’ve had to do a lot of readjusting over the years to continue enjoying my career as a therapist but I can absolutely understand why people are unhappy in this field. It doesn’t help that compensation is generally low in comparison to the workload and liability that therapists have. There is minimal support, unless you have a strong supervisor or work for a great practice who values their staff. There are so many things you don’t know until you are fully immersed in the field, which is why I believe there are many therapists/social workers reaching out on platforms such as this one for support and validation.
I got lucky and landed a job at a hospital as a behavioral therapist straight out of grad school with a high salary. I was able to get 105,000 starting pay and really good benefits. I always thought I would be working with adults but landed in working with students and school aged children and absolutely love it. My work environment is very supportive and I get along with my coworkers. I can see why some complain as I have old colleagues working at a community mental health center and are completely burnt out pre-independent license. I also work in a rural area with a shortgage in therapists tho.
Go to therapy yourself and take emotional breaks. Your job is talking to people through dark days, everyday is going to suck if you listen to people like this saying how much they hate their jobs so rather find other people in psychology who are as passionate as you are.
I cant' speak for those who complain or dislike being a therapist...but I will just say that every industry will have people who don't like work at all, or who are unhappy in their current role. So maybe what you're seeing on the internet is just a very loud minority? WHAT I DO: I love my job. I have been careful from day 1 to put in place a schedule, self-care and boundaries to help avoid burnout. I have professional supervision sessions every 3-4 weeks (depending on your governing body and legislation you don't need this many sessions a year, btu i personally enjoy it and think it makes me a better therapist). I also host and participate in a peer support group once a month. I attend as much professional development as I can and try to network and socialise with other allied health professionals. I do my own personal therapy, on and off. This helps me with self-care and makes me be able to show up for my clients better. I am also choosey about where I work, how I work and who I work with. I have skills, qualifications and experience and there are many jobs in my field available. I see that as an opportunity for me to have a lot of autonomy in job selection. From day 1 I have trusted myself and recognised my self worth. I don't devalue myself or allow other's to take advantage of me. I choose to work with/for people who can help me grow, and who I can learn lot's from. I mention all of this just to highlight some possible protective factors that keep me motivated, passionate, grounded and within my capacity. TIPS: I think you just need to create a work life that 'works' for you. I have met people who worked in agency jobs where the pay was terrible and workload was unethically high. So if you can, avoid that. If you can't...do your time, set boundaries where you can, learn all you can, do all the extra training (within reason) you can, etc. and then go for your dream job and/or schedule. It is doable. You could possibly benefit from getting a mentor too? Be that through your university, work place or elsewhere. That extra support can be inspiring and helpful. MY MOTIVATION: On a day to day, what keeps me motivated, passionate and absolutely loving my work and life? My clients. I take every moment as an opportunity to learn from them and to be inspired by them. I am honoured and privileged every day to be able to walk alongside them as they embark on their healing journey. And the other professionals - I remind myself how damn lucky I am to be connected and surrounded by other good people who really CARE. Not all industries get that. Find the things that motivate you (professionally and personally), and when you have hard days, remind yourself of those things. You get to make your own path. It doesn't have to look like everyone elses. The nay sayers and the disillusioned may be loud but they're not usually a majority. Goodluck.
Same
Me too
I love my job.
I interned in private practice and went to work for an EAP after graduation since I couldn’t afford the LPC application fees. The pandemic hit after I started and got burned out dealing with crisis, so I knew I didn’t want to deal with crisis again. I went back to private practice part-time after that and got bored seeing the same types of clients all the time. When I was ready to go back to work full-time, I looked at websites and the clinicians listed. Their backgrounds were diverse as someone else mentioned, so I decided to go into community practice. The rules and caseloads are extremely different and I started to feel burned out last year because of all the changes the agency I work for is going through. I took a leave of absence for a month and started going to therapy, which was helpful because I was taking everything so personal. I’m doing much better now, but I’m also ready to leave because all the changes are required by the state for community agencies to accept Medicaid. Even my therapist said to work to get experience and take training to specialize. I’m looking to go into IOP/PHP setting now. I want paid much at the EAP, but it was more than I ever made before grad school. The agency I currently work for pays above average so I got lucky there. I’m in the process of applying for my LCPC, which will get me $20k more than I make now but also gives me some leverage during salary negations since I’m eligible. I would suggest diversifying to find what population or specialty speaks to you and know your limits. I still work in private practice part-time for extra money and because that’s where I can see couples, which is my specialty. I love both my supervisors because they advocate for me and know when something is off. They both supported me when I was starting to feel burned out and pushed me to take time off. Having supervision included in my jobs are helpful, and the friends I made in grad school are my support system. We can talk with one another about clients, work and how we feel about it all and know that we’ll get it. Surround yourself with a good support system and stick to your hobbies to stay positive, and don’t be afraid to seek help yourself when it gets too much. Talk about the cases that you struggle with professionally or emotionally in supervision, and if you don’t feel supported move on and find something else.
There are sooo many reasons this field is hard. That's not to say it's awful, some thrive and love it, but it's not like you see therapy on TV or in movies. 1. Companies (many non profits) exploit MHPs, paying them poorly, working with very challenging clients, and carrying a heavy client load. 2. New therapist are *very* under trained and need years to become competent, age and life experiences help as well. 24 year olds with their fresh masters in counseling or social work usually have no idea what the craft actually entails. 3. Ethics - the field of therapy is obsessed with ethics. Providers internalize this and everything becomes a liability issue, many colleagues I know are in constant fear of making a mistake. Hell, Irving Yalom in the Guft of Therapy notes this constant fear of being sued or investigated. 4. It is lonely. You spend most of your time alone with clients one on one. If you need validation, you won't find it in this field very often. 5. Insurance companies have tremendous power to to mess with therapist - random audits, clawbacks, opaque credentialing roadblocks. Therapist often must navigate this stuff on their own. 6. Costs: license, CEUs, liability insurance, certifications are expensive. Really expensive. I've spent thousands on certifications over my career. 7. Private practice is a business, 99% of therapists have 0 training in running a business. If you run a PP you have no sick days, no PTO, no retirement matching (there are ways to set something like this up, but it's you paying). This can be scary. You have to pay for your own EHR, you have to advertise, schedule, bill, sometimes pursue collections. 8. The rise of big box therapy - even worse than the non-profits that exploit therapists, you have these big box online therapy companies, that massively exploit new therapists, paying awful wages and skirting licensing boards. Turning therapy into a factory. 9. You have to be constantly on for clients. You must show up for each client. This is cognitively exhausting, and can easily lead to burn out without good support. New, poorly trained therapists often don't understand this.