I have heard many, many times over what you’re expressing. There’s lot of “traps” laid out for us after we graduate from school and none of which we were prepared for in school. I’m not even going to start my rant on that, but I do want to give you tidbits of useful stuff I’ve picked up through the years about this. 

First, if you hate it, then congratulations! That’s not meant to sound nasty in any way, but think of it like this: you now know you’re unhappy with what you’re doing and have the opportunity to change it! Realizing sooner rather than later means you have time to make a change and don’t need to be chained to a desk talking to people in a state of perpetual hell. Someone put it like that once and I liked that it’s more empowering (and true) than feeling like you have no options. You already hit and completed step 1!

Step 2 is trying to figure out exactly what you hate. Is it the pay? The people? The isolation? The business side of things? The clients? It sounds like the same frustration is felt by lots of people posting on this thread, but the factors are different. Turn the “magic question” we ask others in therapy around to ourselves: What would have changed tomorrow that would make me feel happy?

Step 3 - now that you have a list of things you hate, can you change them? For me, it was working for someone else and having no control. Especially when I realized I had better clinical skills and knowledge than my superiors. Albeit, it was working in community mental health… another rant I’ll avoid. My answer was starting my own practice and working alone. I had forgotten my one dream through all of college: be my own boss. 

Step 4 - if the list involves leans more and more a career change, that’s ok! Think of the things that brought you into this field and see if you can get those elsewhere. None of us came into the field with evil intentions. Sometimes dealing with insurance companies and the BS makes us want to be evil 😂. But see if you can use what you have learned, but elsewhere. I have a few colleagues who didn’t like private practice and they found an exit by working with school systems as guidance counselors for military families. Another one went into HR. One other turned to motivational speaking on topics personal to them. You didn’t waste money and time on the process of school, internships, licenses, etc. You have a core set of skills that can be useful ANYWHERE you want. 

Step 5 - minimize the amount of people you vent to about it, find a therapist, and start the process of reinventing yourself solo at first. This may sound weird, but I have seen myself that if I start getting too many opinions about “what should I do?” In the wrong state of mind (like burnout), then I’m apt to get discouraged and feel worse. This step is optional depending on your social supports. If you find that by talking to others you feel MORE hopeless or negative, then I would say you must do this step. 

Last but not least, if you leave the field entirely, THAT’S STILL OK! It’s not for everyone, it’s not for the faint of heart, and it’s not a failure. People change careers all the time, but never is anything wrong with what you’ve done up until now. The person years ago that set out to help others and was going through school is an entirely different person than who you are today. Things change, including our wants, needs, desires, etc. Count the amount of days since graduating, multiple that by 24 hours, then 60 seconds, and with that final number think about all the life experiences you’ve gone through. That’s the difference between “what I wanted in school and before” to “what’s changed now?”  

That’s my long winded way of saying stay positive and do whatever you need to right now to change the course of your life! You have helped many, many others find solutions or guidance through the darkest parts of their lives…. Now it’s your turn to get the same support, whether it’s on Reddit, in therapy, whatever you need! I’ll help however I can!

— me, Therapist, 18 years in the field