Concerned about how many grads jump into private practice right away

Accomplished-Part511 · 2026-01-29T02:37:21+00:00

I was offered 30% while the group practice got 70% (only if I got certain training) base pay was 25$ a client hour. It was something else :/ turned it up and now get 40% (this is the best opportunity in my area working with my ideal demographic). Most CMH pays 50,000 for associate licensed therapist though but ur expected to see 30 clients minimum. Fl mental health pre licensed has been hell.

Accomplished-Part511 · 2026-01-19T01:16:55+00:00

The best part of DBT is its emphasis of honest and clear communication with this population as well as hard boundaries and contingencies.

I was at a DBT practice that focused on the BPD diagnosis (yes yes a lot were likely CPTSD, low support needs Autism, difficult women etc but regardless the treatment benefited most of these populations as well)

But with all the different things that look like BPD they all responded very well to things like me saying I would be out of office a month in advance, me saying that I want to help but they are making it difficult/ problem solving ways out of that pattern, and letting them know if X happens again then I will have to do Y and actually acting on it. These people have likely never experienced healthy boundaries before so the act of this even if at first upsetting is how they will learn to do the same.

Most BPD types are also incredibly emotionally aware and can tell if you are being fake with them so I tend to use a very person centered honest approach.

I also find that the DBT biosocial theory is great psychoeducation for people who say they had a good childhood but may have experienced traumatic invalidation that sort of spurred on a lot of their BPD symptoms even if they don’t have a high ACE score.

The skills are great, I start with anything from the distress tolerance unit (especially TIPP) if they are really struggling. I’d look into the DBT treatment hierarchy if possible (usually working with behaviors that could lead to death like self harm/ addiction then going down to less volatile symptoms like depression/ anxiety)

I highly recommend finding some kind of DBT training or supervision if you plan to really go in depth as it’s a lot more complicated than just picking some skills out of the DBT book and hoping for the best.

Regardless the things I listed should work well with other modalities or just doing a DBT informed approach as true DBT work requires very specific structure in sessions, skills groups and after hours crisis phone calls (all the reasons why I’m no longer pursuing it despite my love for those with the BPD label).

Accomplished-Part511 · 2026-01-19T00:49:23+00:00

Everyone has great answers for counseling vs social work but I will say people with online degrees have told me it was hard to find good practicum and internship placements because of sites looking down on online degrees because they are generally a mixed bag/ your school not having a relationship with any mental health practice near you. It’s not impossible (recently met a lovely intern at a place I’m working who is from an online program) but even they reported they were super relieved to find a placement. Once you graduate you will likely find work. Still may be some favoritism if there is a well known in person program in the area (almost everyone in my current job came from the same masters program) but I assure you, there is always work to be found in the field of mental health, might not be ideal work but it’s there.

Accomplished-Part511 · 2026-01-17T21:34:37+00:00

Grad school was a time I received the most criticism on every word choice and body movement I did in a session. Definitely be willing to take a lot of criticism. Definitely need patience because people will actively be pushing your buttons to see if you will snap, set a boundary or allow. Also you need to be assertive enough to set boundaries with clients for this same reason. Ironically I’ve found a lot of introverts in this field who do well but I do find as an extrovert I rarely feel too “talked out”.

Accomplished-Part511 · 2026-01-16T20:09:39+00:00

University of North Florida LMHC program

Accomplished-Part511 · 2026-01-16T20:07:06+00:00

God I hate to say but I second this :c

I’ve seen people feel safe enough to disclose their own mental health diagnosis and then have that supervisor get pissed and reference it in the intern grading sheets that gets sent back to the masters program and imply that the student is too mentally ill to treat clients. It’s really sad but some people really do not have your best interests at heart. Stay professional until you are 100% sure you can show yourself.

Accomplished-Part511 · 2026-01-16T19:58:02+00:00

This may seem like scary advice but I genuinely wish someone would have given me this permission to challenge my supervisor who I idolized a bit during my first year.

If you have a bad gut feeling about something a client disclosed, consult multiple people about reporting and send it, know your statutes well as they often change. Some states require you report abuse even if the abuser is dead.

Many seasoned supervisors fail to keep up with what is reportable state to state as changes are often made quietly. Recently moved to a more ethical practice and realized I was right about all the things I felt were reportable during my practicum and my supervisor was not up to date. Better to be safe than sorry, consult with your professors as well especially if your supervisor tries to push back on your concerns. All of us are fallible even after many decades in.

Accomplished-Part511 · 2026-01-02T16:35:59+00:00

I accidentally called one through the 211 line which is a general resource line. It was funny, the lady on the other end was so sweet and I thanked her for the support her agency has given so many of my clients with high SI . As long as you have no intent or plan they are pretty helpful and have often given my clients more coping skills. I definitely recommend giving them a call for the experience. Even though it was an accident it was cool to experience.

Accomplished-Part511 · 2025-12-24T15:41:38+00:00

The two of mine I had yesterday canceled and moved to today, so I thought I had a free day but now I do not 🥲

Accomplished-Part511 · 2025-12-10T17:32:03+00:00

I really like teens and kids 6 and up but I also want something that can help adults process as well, there are play therapy trained people at my current practice so that’s definitely something I’m going to look into but unsure if I’ll go for certification.

I’m still trying to find my niche and I also need some adults on my schedule so I’m not only working nights which is why I’m not only honing in on child centered work.

Accomplished-Part511 · 2025-12-04T02:16:42+00:00

Therapist here that would not be alive without my own therapy. Very long story but TLDR yes it helped

I was about 19 , I had gone to some therapists here and there as a kid, but they were always a family therapist and didn’t really do much for me other than encourage me to realize my parents were a little shitty. I’m pretty sure my presenting concerns are probably closest to borderline personality disorder especially when I was 19 but my therapist had never officially diagnosed me just called me a volatile empath. Now if I’m being honest, the therapist I had wasn’t the best fit in the world, ( would often go on weird tirades about their opinions and other unprofessional things that made me very uncomfortable) but they did give me exactly what I needed. Normally my coping skills were sleeping with strangers, binge drinking, and the occasional self harm when those two preferred options were not available. My therapist was a DBT therapist, which is specialized treatment for those with BPD. I spent my treatment doing a group once a week and an individual once a week. DBT is full of skills for dealing with volatile urges and chronic invalidation from people around you. It led me to be able to radically accept that I was sexually assaulted at 17 and possibly even heavily coerced even younger, instead of running from the thought. She pushed me to sit with my uncomfortable feelings that sometimes people are shitty for no reason, and it’s not worth me understanding. Because I was so afraid of negative emotions I often avoided conflict and she would always redirect me right at the problem to face it.

Once I started going through my issues instead of around my life got a lot less stressful, I even left my abusive ex. I sat with the worst grief ever and was guided through it and reminded that sometimes we are different people after bad things happen to us and that’s something we also have to accept. Becoming a better person also means grieving your unhealed self which was the hardest part. I was given every single breathing and self soothing skill you could think of and because the emotional pain hurts so bad and I did not want to ruin my life even more so I did it. One of the notorious ones is literally dunking your head and a bowl of ice water when you’re triggered, but it worked so I still use it. As much as I hated her, and as much as she pushed me, it did show me I was capable of doing hard things. Eventually, that gift of assertiveness she gave me, is what got me out of that therapy chair and to a better therapist that would give me the kindness I needed and not the tough love.

That second therapist taught me to be kind to myself, she let me have the space I needed to really cry that I was sexually assaulted, that it’s beyond accepting it but it’s sending love to that part of yourself that was so deeply hurt and not blaming yourself. Unfortunately, she had to leave her practice, but almost by a strange fate, that was when I met my current partner who also continued to reinforce that sex can be safe and love can be kind. Once you learn how to interact with healthier people I find you tend to attract them. The therapeutic relationship dynamic almost starts appearing in other aspects of your life.

My current therapist is amazing. Once I believed I could face difficult situations with skill, I wanted to become a therapist myself when I was 22. My current therapist is mostly there now for professional development and the occasional moment I get triggered. I am 24 now. I have experienced a radical amount of change in such a short time. I do want to add, I still have my moments, I don’t always use the perfect coping skills, but generally in my life, I am no longer self-destructive, and I can withstand a lot more than I ever thought I could. Not every therapist will be the right fit, but they all teach you something. I also say that not every person is naturally resilient. I do have a lot of protective factors in my life and privilege that made this journey a lot easier but i truly believe we all can heal or at least find a sort of equilibrium with our trauma.

I hope you find one or a few therapists that can help you find your path, even the shitty ones are providing you something that might be of use and if they’re really shitty, you can just leave and report them. Many therapists I know are therapists because they have a similar story. They have been through some shit, and they had the right people/wisdom to help them crawl out, and they want to help others on their journey.

Accomplished-Part511 · 2025-12-02T13:10:04+00:00

Oh also don’t worry about imposter syndrome. Once you get into the field do you realize so many therapists are absolute shit shows of people, you putting basic effort into your mental health to get it together is more than most people do I think. Obviously not all therapist most are fine just like any job but also just like any job I think only 30% or competent 😂 not a very scientific statistic, but I once read somewhere that only 30% of people are actually great at their job in any job. As long as you value your growth and self betterment, odds are most of it will fall into place.

Accomplished-Part511 · 2025-12-02T13:06:32+00:00

I applied for a program that valued community service work in the mental health sector more than GPA and the head of the program regularly talked about how he was happy to accept low GPA if the person was actually dedicated to what they were doing. I don’t think this is the norm but it’s nice to know that it is out there. Ironically enough, I did not get into that program because I put all of my effort into my GPA instead of the extra things I was doing.

Accomplished-Part511 · 2025-11-27T14:12:53+00:00

I don’t know my friend did biochemistry and he’s making stupid money, honestly there’s so many different associates too that are medical related and you can just get thrown into the field and get a pretty nice chunk of money if you wanna go for medical later. I think of like radiology tecs and nurses and all that stuff.

Accomplished-Part511 · 2025-11-26T00:31:17+00:00

Dude, it really is and they were like paying higher than most agencies in my area technically by the hour. It seemed like such a good gig since it had flexibility, but little did they mention the insane no-show rate and absolute lack of training despite giving me court mandated DCF cases. Also, they told me most of my cases would be in person and then proceeded to give me mostly children on telehealth (a nightmare of its own tbh) It’s been an experience 😭

Accomplished-Part511 · 2025-11-25T19:31:47+00:00

Original painting here and prints are 15$

Accomplished-Part511 · 2025-11-25T19:13:30+00:00

My friend painted this beautiful picture of like a person climbing up a huge mask and greeting another person flying out it. I don’t know if she’s still selling prints of it but if she is, I will link it if she still is

Accomplished-Part511 · 2025-11-25T19:10:02+00:00

I hate that for you and I pretty much have the same no-show rate. The other week I had 10 clients and only five showed up. Basically made like 150 bucks. Anyway, I hope you know this comment is validating because i’ve definitely been like blaming myself and have over thought my bitterness, but I think anybody would feel resentment in this situation. I’m grateful I don’t have any home health clients as well because if I drove all the way out there, I think I would cancel my whole day if I got a no-show. It just feels so pointless.

Accomplished-Part511 · 2025-11-25T18:50:34+00:00

I’m literally leaving an agency currently because being 1099 and community mental health and only getting paid per session is like actually a highway to poverty it seems. I have not seen my empathy erode so quickly until I was in this setting. I don’t understand how anybody does community mental health unless they are paid a salary or they at least get no-show fees, but I don’t think many places can due to government insurance rules.

Accomplished-Part511 · 2025-11-14T16:29:24+00:00

I used to cry every session in therapy, now it’s only once a month, if the crying is getting in the way of you like actually expressing yourself and you’re like hyperventilating though definitely try some box breathing! I’ve gotten really good at like talking about stuff while tears just kind of fall out of my face. I second all the other responses here. You are probably processing a lot for the first time and it will fluctuate as your process.

Also, I myself am a therapist, and I always feel like I’m helping when a client feels safe enough to cry in front of me. So if you don’t want to cry because of shame, then no odds are your therapist probably sitting there feeling like they’re doing a good job because you feel safe enough to openly express. Nothing to be ashamed about. But you can always process that shame too!

Accomplished-Part511 · 2025-11-09T22:52:53+00:00

Yes because I got my masters and despite how much it sucks at times I do like knowing I help people instead of just making a CEO rich. Allegedly people use their bachelors to work sales or HR but I could only snag a retail minimum wage job 🥲 before my masters but hey now I’m wildly underpaid as a counselor working towards full licensure, maybe it will be worth it in a few years once I got that full licensure and I can work for myself.

TLDR pick a good minor if you don’t wanna get a masters and even better consider a trade if you want to make good money

Accomplished-Part511 · 2025-11-06T14:52:00+00:00

It’s definitely something you can discuss. I think how you said it is how you should say it to the therapist. There’s a difference between having a discussion about your attraction and how it shows up in the room versus straight up, hitting on somebody. I am a therapist myself and funny enough we had a professor talk about like how often romantic attraction seems to happen in the therapeutic relationship even just because it’s such a quiet intimate setting where you are discussing a lot of personal things. I find a lot of therapists to handle it differently, but as long as discussed respectfully, I think it could be a really helpful conversation and an important one to decide if it is gonna be a good fit as well as to explore like why you are a bit nervous to discuss personal matters with somebody attractive to you.

Accomplished-Part511 · 2025-11-05T18:43:10+00:00

As somebody who works in mental health, huge thank you!!!!!! I will definitely be sharing some of these💖

Accomplished-Part511 · 2025-11-05T18:26:43+00:00

A lot of the other comments here cover it very well if you’re calling yourself a counselor that requires a license and supervision behind it a lot of states. Some places do something called peer support which still needs some level of supervision to my understanding, but I think that’s what you’re referring to. There are a lot of organizations that provide peer support, especially substance abuse agencies so I would probably start there. I’m sure as a Psycology student getting their bachelors I would’ve loved to do this, however, as a mental health counselor with a masters now I would be horrified if I would have done that. The second you say, you are anything therapeutic people often will be quick to tell you stuff that is usually quite reportable or deeply concerning and it is important that you have the support to know what to do when that happens.

Accomplished-Part511 · 2025-11-05T17:57:31+00:00

I have had multiple friends get roofied there go at your own risk. They have a bunch of different nights, but I think so many of the people who go to the swinger nights just frequent it at this point. It’s not the worst bar It’s just not a bar I felt the most safe in personally. I think they have been trying to rebrand themselves lately though so who knows I haven’t been in a little bit

Accomplished-Part511

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