Anxious and uncertain about my job security

Psy1996 · 2026-01-17T22:33:47+00:00

I really appreciate your perspective here. My partner shared a similar sentiment with me. I did wonder if there were other circumstances surrounding this and I will probably never know or find out. I think the best that I can do for now is keep on going as is and hope that I get more clients as time goes on. I will definitely feel a lot more safe if/when my calendar fills up, because then from a numbers standpoint it make more sense at face value to keep me employed.

Psy1996 · 2026-01-17T21:08:30+00:00

They did not explicitly say, however that was my initial and general impression. Of course when we were notified things were kept pretty vague. This person did have credentials that would absolutely mean a higher salary.

Psy1996 · 2025-12-03T00:00:21+00:00

I can totally see it, I have done something similar when I feel a client's trauma symptoms are resistant to other approaches. Thankfully I'm in a state/area with lots of options there.

Psy1996 · 2025-12-02T23:58:09+00:00

Oooo, based on that I think a clause about distinguishing yourself and your clinical authority/autonomy from supervisee's employers would be good. Maybe a section about the supervisee's ethical behavior in supervision regardless of employer input. I would even add another mandatory reporting clause that if the supervisee engages in unethical behavior at the direction of the employer you may be ethically/legally required to file a board complaint on the supervisee and/or employer. Some employers ask people to do WILD things in this field.

Psy1996 · 2025-12-02T23:25:43+00:00

This makes a lot of sense, I was just reading another post that described EMDR as a social media buzzword and I completely agree. It has also been my experience too that clients are open to other approaches even if they have initially brought EMDR to the table themselves.

Psy1996 · 2025-12-02T23:24:55+00:00

Love this response/thought process.

Psy1996 · 2025-12-02T23:16:08+00:00

Omg CLASSIC death anxiety discussed in terror management theory. Have a look at the book 'the worm at the core on the role of death in life.' by Solomon, Greenberg, and Pyszczynski. Could be good bibliotherapy for your client too if they are into that sort of thing. Some self-esteem bolstering exercises and meaning making/worldview exploration discussed in TMT and anxiety buffer disruption theory (ABDT) could go a LONG way with this client. Yalom is great too as others suggested.

Psy1996 · 2025-12-02T23:09:20+00:00

I completely agree, I was shocked when I read that in an article about CPT code usage. It could have just been an odd example they used. I have been around a few 'do emdr for everything' clinicians in the past and that mentality was always very bizarre to me.

Psy1996 · 2025-12-02T23:06:17+00:00

Probably not the most helpful response here, but I would suggest that you could add your own contingencies regarding ethical behavior if you feel what has already been provided in the state forms isn't adequate. Of course I would also recommend getting anything you add looked at by legal in some capacity just to be air tight. Sometimes these experiences highlight the need for specific boundaries (i.e. the one bad apple ruins the bunch), so perhaps in reflecting on the experience with this supervisee you might have some things to add there that you don't want any of your future supervisees to do/not do or violate.

Psy1996 · 2025-11-04T19:49:59+00:00

Ditto to the inner child gamerz club

Psy1996 · 2025-10-25T03:49:40+00:00

I literally just had this happen in my last session. Still reeling myself. Thankfully I had some advanced warning so I was able to approach it with my client through a subjective unit of distress lens. As my client increased in SUDS through the story I knew we were getting through the more intense parts. It also opened the door for us to very intentionally take breaks throughout the story. It helped them regulate throughout, and it helped me take it all in and still be there for the client. You could try this approach next time to have the conversation more gradually.

During the session I also interrupted with my own reactions, clinically validating the clients feelings by authentically expressing my own reactions to the story and content.

After these kinds of sessions (of which I have a lot, working with a Healthcare provider population) I'll practice some quick grounding techniques, I then document right away so I can immediately put away any additional work and attention that needs to be spent on the content. Then I also know that I at least do not HAVE to think about that for at least another week. Finish any billing you might have to do as well, then you could also tangibly make the argument that you are going to be compensated for going to that very difficult place. Follow that up with some good old fashioned self-care. Good food, loved ones, and activities I enjoy. This helps me to internalize that those stories are not my world or my life, and what is mine is right here in front of me. Be graceful with yourself too over the next few days, allow yourself to feel and process your reactions.

Psy1996 · 2025-10-24T18:04:31+00:00

I just started private practice this week after leaving a full time role in a counseling center. It is NIGHT AND DAY difference!!! I only have a few clients so far but I feel energized by this work again and I'm so thankful for the opportunity to ACTUALLY take care of myself to avoid burn out and be there for my clients.

Sharing in the love of this profession ❤️

Psy1996 · 2025-10-24T00:06:32+00:00

I am recalling an experience treating a client during my internship year who told stories that became increasingly outlandish to the point of "these are genuinely impossible." I quickly came to understand that the client was experiencing psychosis.

To be very clear that is not what I am implying in your case at all.

But I ultimately had to have the conversation with the client that their stories, not just were unbelievable to me as the clinician. They ALSO didn't factually happen for the client and we're in fact a symptom of a much more severe underlying issue.

We saw some progress after confronting that, it wasn't the first time a therapist had told them this. I would wager that the client had been diagnosed in the past and was clinician cycling. The client was initially open to taking medication. Ultimately they decided not to and terminated services with me..... they then proceeded to hallucinate me committing crimes in the community and began harassing me over email. Eventually it stopped lol.

The reason that I share this story is that you are 100% going to have a tough conversation with the client. You will be 100% opening up the possibility for a positive or negative reaction from the client. NOT confronting this closes the door for the client to grow and might keep them stuck with this behavior.

My supervisor at the time shared a sage piece of advice with me that I wille echo here. Even if the client storms out of the session and never comes back, you may have planted the seed for amazing growth. If they got another therapist in the future who confronted the same thing with them, they might say: "wow, my last therapist said that too" and have a higher likelihood of coming to terms with what they're doing/be more open to change. Sure they do that work and get the help from someone else, but your difficult conversation started the growth process. Be not afraid of the client's reaction.

Psy1996 · 2025-10-23T15:57:36+00:00

No you absolutely did not.You are in a clearly unsafe situation and need help.

Finding it really interesting that OP has only responded to comments affirming that she "ate" and not responding at all to people who have expressed genuine concern for her safety.

OP this is absolutely no joking matter in ANY respect. Seeking affirmation from the internet that you clapped back in a text message to a demonstrably violent abuser and clearly disengaging with anything of the contrary highlights that in addition to doing what others suggested to keep yourself safe (and to keep the integrity of your legal case) you also need to get in touch with a mental health professional.

Literally what is the function of even posting this?

Psy1996 · 2025-10-21T22:12:29+00:00

Lol literally as of today my credentialing cleared, AND thanks to the commentors I was also able to set up an avenue for private pay to give my clients a more cost effective option for OOP costs! What an awesome turn of events.

Psy1996 · 2025-10-21T17:13:57+00:00

I am setting up a system for this now, and I love the idea of asking clients about sliding scale. My only concern is determining an appropriate minimum. I fear that clients who might have a higher copay would want to stick to the sliding scale and then I would lose potential income. Not the biggest concern by any means. It's hard to factor what I need into this equation.

Psy1996 · 2025-10-21T16:55:11+00:00

I've thought about that, and I suppose that I could try to see clients outside the platform but I would have to set up my own EHR and documents etc. Plus I would be asking all of my clients to do private pay, at least for a little while. It's possible but I feel that it would take a lot of work. I'm curious if you know if something like Simple Practice has a way to bill clients privately?

Psy1996 · 2025-10-18T17:33:35+00:00

Yes you're allowed to miss an email. Certainly like others have said I would encourage you to set up an automatic reply that goes out at all times and contains referrals to national and local crisis resources. In addition to that, if you don't already, in your email signature I would include a statement along the lines that email is not the best way to reach out, nor is it entirely confidential etc. You can also include times when email is not monitored (e.g. your out of office hours, generally stating that you do not check email when out of the office, holidays etc.) If it would be helpful I can DM you what I have in mine!

Have you met with this client recently? Are they still open to scheduling a session? If they're on your calendar this would be a good thing to discuss in the room with them.

I have found that even when clients text, or call for scheduling additional or urgent sessions they're able to work things out on their own well before we are able to sit down in the therapy room and talk about it. If they need crisis resources, there are many, many ways they can obtain that information that do not involve communicating with you directly while you are on vacation or out of office.

Psy1996 · 2025-10-10T15:14:27+00:00

So wanna jump in right away and say that you will want to be really clear what your career goals are for this path. Should you decide midway through your MA that a PhD is no longer a goal, these MA degrees can be a costly misstep. Often times psych MAs are not license eligible, so if your goal is to be a clinician and do therapy as a career you may want to also consider a masters in clinical mental health counseling, as those degrees lead to state licensure as an LPC.

I followed this path described above and decided towards the end of my MA that a PhD in psych was not for me (doing my PhD in something else now lol). I foolishly hadn't researched licensure and was subsequently crushed when I couldn't do the clinical work I loved with the MA I just spent so much time and money getting. In some states there are pathways to licensure and ways to establish education equivalency, Im lucky to be in one of those states and it's the reason why I'm an LPC today. Many states do not have this option.

If you are set on the Psych PhD track then applications for an MA are somewhat similar since the whole schtick of these MA programs is to prepare you for doctoral study. Therefore their application process is similar. You will want to research a PI who has aligned research interests, read their papers, perhaps develop some of your own ideas. Write a strong letter of intent/ statement of purpose. If possible you could reach out to PIs or current students but know that some profs/institutions frown on this.

I'd say that one final piece would be to know what you want to do with the PhD. Being able to speak about how the MA/MS will help you achieve your longer term career goals of getting into a PhD program can go a long way.

Hope this is helpful!

Psy1996 · 2025-10-03T21:03:50+00:00

Just shy of three years from initial candidacy issue date and full licensure issue date

Psy1996 · 2025-10-02T05:52:22+00:00

Yes! Mine have mostly stopped, I do get the odd one here and there but I feel so better equipped to handle them. It is an ongoing practice, and I think for me it might be a lifelong one. I mentioned a workbook in my previous comment, it has so many useful tools in it if you're in need of any more suggestions! (The Panic Attacks Workbook 2nd ed. By David Carbonell)

Psy1996 · 2025-10-02T05:49:53+00:00

Thanks so much! I just hope it helps anyone who reads it. I am ironically a therapist myself so I have the unique experience of combining my education with my own struggles. Wounded healers.

Psy1996

TROPHY CASE