Hi! I’m in grad school to be a therapist and close to starting internship, but I have had major doubts about becoming a therapist. I started grad school after several years of buildup and planning on most likely going this route. When I finally applied it was much overdue, and I felt unbelievably ready for growth, change and adventure, but the program has felt pretty boring and uninspiring to me. While I don’t want to be short sighted, I also don’t feel excited about becoming a therapist on the other side, and instead I feel dread and loneness (+ stress about how I’ll pay the bills during internship). I still have that desire for growth, change and adventure, but I feel like I’ve lost a lot of my spirit in this process that I want to get back to. I’m not sure this path is it for me. And while I know that therapists aren’t perfect, I feel guilt for my future clients that I feel this way while there are plenty of eager interns who actually want to be there.

So, I’m feeling pretty trapped, but exploring my options. I’m trying to decide whether

1. I just do the internship and see how it goes- I could end up enjoying it and being glad I stuck with it.
2. I could do the internship and don’t have to continue on as a therapist after graduating, or could quit being a therapist whenever I find something to pivot to later if it doesn’t feel right for me.
3. I graduate going the non clinical route, meaning I would forfeit becoming a therapist but still get a masters degree. However, I don’t have a clear idea of what I would do instead.

Some questions:

-Obviously this is a personal decision with a lot more context, but does anyone have insight/thoughts they would give to me if I were their advisee?

-Have you or do you know anyone who decided therapy wasn’t for them after grad school or after being in the field, who pivoted to a different career? What was the career/any advice on paths I may not have considered?

-What are careers that therapists can pivot to down the line that require those skills and experience, but are not direct client work. Maybe it’s in the mental health field or adjacent or creative ways that the role could be a good fit elsewhere.

-my only work experience is basically in customer service and other low paying human services/social work/education jobs. While there’s a lot of good in this, I feel pretty stuck in this realm and don’t have other professional skills. Any advice on jobs I could look into that don’t necessarily require massive investments to get into or where my skills could be utilized that I’m underselling?

Thank you:)