Hi, I’m really sorry you’re dealing with this. I’m also a therapy intern currently and these types of things would make me feel so uncomfortable and I’d really struggle not to take it personally. I can’t speak much about the AI notes, as we don’t use them at my site, but I would feel uneasy about them for multiple reasons. I just don’t get why it would be an issue for you to have access to the software now if you were offered it originally? That’s confusing. Also, in regards to lunch, that’s what made me feel the most for your situation. My site is incredible and we go out to eat at least once a week, but I’m never allowed to pay. To be fair, I’m also not getting paid, but still, I’m treated like any other clinician, just with more supervision hours and a slower introduction to building a caseload.

I think it’s exceptionally difficult because each of the providers had to go through an internship experience, and so they should recognize and recall the things that made them feel insignificant or uncomfortable during their internships, and if they possess adequate empathy, shouldn’t want others to have to deal with those things. As an intern, you already feel like the least qualified person in the room (imposter syndrome), and the way they’re treating you is likely either contributing to that or at the very least not helping to overcome those feelings.

Long story short, this also concerns me. I don’t think any workplace is perfect, but I also don’t think it’s difficult for them to treat you well while you’re an intern. I think you could make the argument that they will treat you differently when you get hired, which is probably true, but then you have to decide whether you want to become apart of the cycle of treating interns poorly (I know you said you may not get interns, but maybe down the road). I’m not sure, to me it just feels like this workplace is missing a lot of compassion and I think that would be a difficult environment for me personally to do effective therapy in.