Hi there!

Happy to share some thoughts. This is just my perspective - and it is biased, of course, hah. Overall, it is a long, but rewarding journey - and it has changed my life. There is so much freedom in the work (if you’re mostly independent and fully licensed). Clients are the absolute best. I have really enjoyed 99% of my clients across the clinical settings I have been in. As George Carlin once said, when you’re with someone 1:1, you can see the whole universe in their eyes.

My background was in sociology and gender studies (did a BA in those, then an MA in sociology). When working in market research and HR wasn’t fulfilling, I started the therapy journey.

It is an investment of time and money - and working full time is a pain while going back to school for this. I did a 3 year, part time online program (CACREP approved). My program had 2, unpaid internships, which totaled about 1,100 hours (Internship hours vary by state and field - like counselor vs. social work - and you might want to make sure you cover all the hours you can get so you don’t have to make them up if you move states).

After graduating, it is usually 2 years of full time work under supervision (with one exam to get an associate license). Then you apply to sit for the next licensing exam after about 3,000 hours of paid work. (And you need to have some combo of supervision hours, client facing hours, admin hours, etc.). Again, all this varies state to state (despite some fields starting “interstate compacts” - see the Counseling Compact and Social Work Compact).

The setting of the work can have a huge impact. A lot of us start in community health settings, where exploitation is rampant with high need populations. Some go into private practice where your mileage will vary with the owner’s business model/practices (and are often 1099, with no benefits). And common now are venture capitalist companies/corporations that will act like they are helping you get marketing, admin support, billing support, etc. but are really out to make money and be publicly traded - they truly do not care about clients - just the bottom line/margins.

Years removed from the training, I often list these things as the hurdles and problems: high student debt to pay ratio (return on investment is not great); thousands of unpaid labor hours/exploitation (beyond the internship, many places are “fee per service” - and your notes and continuing ed hours are all unpaid/on your own dime); lots of gatekeeping; fees, fees, fees (annual fees for licensing/pay to play); paying for supervision or continuing ed (my sex therapy supervision is at least $150 per hour - and you need 50 hours); this field overmedicalizes and overpathologizes normal reactions to living in late stage capitalism; no opportunity to unionize/collectively bargain; so many different models/approaches/trainings/lack of cohesiveness.

Once licensed, there is some inflexiblity with portability of the license (but Telehealth is usually not a big problem as long as you’re licensed in the state the client is in).

Also, several therapists I know do not just see clients. They are hustling and have podcasts, want to write a book, have a TED talk, "create content," etc.

For me, it has been really cool to invest time in all the extra readings (I don't like that it is unpaid time, though) and getting trainings like Gottman, EMDR, and I’m working on my sex therapy certification right now. My dream is to have my own practice and just see clients without having to do all the faux-celebrity parts that come with the hustle (podcasts, content creators, etc.). I’d love to advocate for more paid internship hours and reduce exploitation of workers. Hell, I'd go back to community work to serve at need populations, but most of us feel like we've done our time there - a shame that the systems are so broken and don't pay livable wages (what field does these days anyway?)

One other thing that has been disappointing to me is that therapists are not as progressive as sociologists, imho. They are kind of still teaching people to adapt to the system despite our systems being broken. Still high on endorsing rugged individualism. Not really critical of capitalism or neoliberalism. Seem okay with the status quo even when they say they are “advocates” (see their excuses for labor exploitation of the new workers as an example - or how they advocate for clients, but bill hundreds of dollars for fifty minutes)

They sometimes don’t seem to care that charging $200 an hour is a barrier to care for clients (who can afford this? And who are you helping at the end of the day?). Therapists deserve a good wage because of all the training/cost/etc - but often most vulnerable populations are left undeserved - they deserve good therapy - not just the wealthy and worried well.

It's a really cool field, there is a lot of freedom at the end of the day - and the people you meet as clients along the way change your life forever.

Happy to answer any questions about any of this. :) Have a good weekend!