What is it like being a therapist?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a teacher and would say look into the career. We constantly hear about kids in crisis and how they can’t get in to see a therapist because there is a shortage.

OP here. I’m a teacher right now and this is part of the reason why I’m considering being a therapist.

I’m so tired of being blamed for societal issues that are beyond my control. I feel like therapy is frequently the same way, where therapists are expected to fix everything in society — the phrase “go to therapy” seems way too common these days and is just a band aid for societal shifts. But it seems like a lucrative grift, and one I’m happy to jump on.

NP here. I swear most of the therapists do what they want, when they want, when it comes to their schedule - even if it is only working a few hours per week. Must be nice.

If they worked 40 hours a week they’d be charting at night instead of sleeping and likely rocking in a corner. A full time therapist is going to limit their case load to what they can realistically support without burn out. It’s not scheduled the same way a 9-5 is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My LCSW friend raised her prices, deceased her clientele, and now works solely from home. She does make about 250K per year, and no more paying for office space! She works 4 days per week. She has 30+ years of experience. She does not take insurance; her clients seek re-reimbursement on their own. I think she charges $250ish for 75 minutes. (She found all her clients preferred a session longer 50 minutes.)

She published articles regularly and never has a shortage -- always a wait list.

I would do it.

This amount roughly suggests she sees about 6 clients a day, 4 days a week which is actually a pretty demanding full time schedule, (long term or after age say 55) particularly if you then add admin time. It's also a very high hourly rate for an LCSW (it's on higher end for a psychologist too). She would really be an outlier but if accurate yea she's doing what some therapists do which is basically to work their asses off, not what op was getting at in wanting better lifestyle. She has to be pretty exceptional to charge that much and have that many people round the clock. If she an LCSW but also a psychoanalyst or major name in the field it seems more likely.

[Anonymous]

What I don’t get is why would someone choose to see a social worker over a psychologist if neither accept insurance? The whole advantage of seeing a social worker was that formerly, a lot of them took insurance. So even if they had less training, it was more financially practical to see a msw. Especially for problems requiring many sessions; that was the trade off.

It seems like many social workers are doing cash only now, here and in nyc…so why pay that much as a patient when for a few dollars more you can see a psychologist? It would be like if your pcp went concierge then all the nurse practitioner pc practices in the area did the same. Who would pay a concierge retainer for an np when roughly the same money could get you an md? What am I missing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a teacher and would say look into the career. We constantly hear about kids in crisis and how they can’t get in to see a therapist because there is a shortage.

+1 high demand for child therapist.

My niece went to a no name state u, got her Masters in clinical therapy, and just started her own therapy practice. She easily earns six figures, and sees many of her patients via video from her home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a teacher and would say look into the career. We constantly hear about kids in crisis and how they can’t get in to see a therapist because there is a shortage.

+1 high demand for child therapist.

My niece went to a no name state u, got her Masters in clinical therapy, and just started her own therapy practice. She easily earns six figures, and sees many of her patients via video from her home.

I would think video would not work as well for children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a teacher and would say look into the career. We constantly hear about kids in crisis and how they can’t get in to see a therapist because there is a shortage.

+1 high demand for child therapist.

My niece went to a no name state u, got her Masters in clinical therapy, and just started her own therapy practice. She easily earns six figures, and sees many of her patients via video from her home.

I would think video would not work as well for children.

Don't think her niece cares about that part...$$$$$$$

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What I don’t get is why would someone choose to see a social worker over a psychologist if neither accept insurance? The whole advantage of seeing a social worker was that formerly, a lot of them took insurance. So even if they had less training, it was more financially practical to see a msw. Especially for problems requiring many sessions; that was the trade off.

It seems like many social workers are doing cash only now, here and in nyc…so why pay that much as a patient when for a few dollars more you can see a psychologist? It would be like if your pcp went concierge then all the nurse practitioner pc practices in the area did the same. Who would pay a concierge retainer for an np when roughly the same money could get you an md? What am I missing?

Yeah I don’t get this either. When I was searching for an out of network therapist I was only looking at psychologists, why would I pay those rates for any other type of therapist?

[Anonymous]

My virtual therapist from CVS is a licensed social worker. She is awful. My Employee Assistance Program is paying for it. She is MEAN. She does a long questionnaire on a scale of 1 to 10. She has zero interest in me or anything I am saying. I am scheduling another appointment with her just to pi$$ her off because I hate her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My virtual therapist from CVS is a licensed social worker. She is awful. My Employee Assistance Program is paying for it. She is MEAN. She does a long questionnaire on a scale of 1 to 10. She has zero interest in me or anything I am saying. I am scheduling another appointment with her just to pi$$ her off because I hate her.

That’s actually funny. Hope you find a better one soon

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a teacher and would say look into the career. We constantly hear about kids in crisis and how they can’t get in to see a therapist because there is a shortage.

OP here. I’m a teacher right now and this is part of the reason why I’m considering being a therapist.

I’m so tired of being blamed for societal issues that are beyond my control. I feel like therapy is frequently the same way, where therapists are expected to fix everything in society — the phrase “go to therapy” seems way too common these days and is just a band aid for societal shifts. But it seems like a lucrative grift, and one I’m happy to jump on.

You will be a bad one and it will show.
You have no interest so don’t do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What I don’t get is why would someone choose to see a social worker over a psychologist if neither accept insurance? The whole advantage of seeing a social worker was that formerly, a lot of them took insurance. So even if they had less training, it was more financially practical to see a msw. Especially for problems requiring many sessions; that was the trade off.

It seems like many social workers are doing cash only now, here and in nyc…so why pay that much as a patient when for a few dollars more you can see a psychologist? It would be like if your pcp went concierge then all the nurse practitioner pc practices in the area did the same. Who would pay a concierge retainer for an np when roughly the same money could get you an md? What am I missing?

Because some social workers have more training and expertise in specialized areas - many therapists no matter their degree do more certifications AFTER they complete their licensure requirements. For example, a licensed social worker may also be certified in something like EMDR (a very specialized treatment for trauma). Not every psychologist has the niche speciality someone might be looking for.

[Anonymous]

My psychiatrist who functions mainly as a therapist to most of his patients works 7am-10pm M-F with 20 minutes for lunch and spends half the weekend doing charts. Pays a bookkeeper to do billing. He does take insurance but he must be absolutely raking it in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My psychiatrist who functions mainly as a therapist to most of his patients works 7am-10pm M-F with 20 minutes for lunch and spends half the weekend doing charts. Pays a bookkeeper to do billing. He does take insurance but he must be absolutely raking it in.

That’s a lot of information.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I don’t get is why would someone choose to see a social worker over a psychologist if neither accept insurance? The whole advantage of seeing a social worker was that formerly, a lot of them took insurance. So even if they had less training, it was more financially practical to see a msw. Especially for problems requiring many sessions; that was the trade off.

It seems like many social workers are doing cash only now, here and in nyc…so why pay that much as a patient when for a few dollars more you can see a psychologist? It would be like if your pcp went concierge then all the nurse practitioner pc practices in the area did the same. Who would pay a concierge retainer for an np when roughly the same money could get you an md? What am I missing?

Because some social workers have more training and expertise in specialized areas - many therapists no matter their degree do more certifications AFTER they complete their licensure requirements. For example, a licensed social worker may also be certified in something like EMDR (a very specialized treatment for trauma). Not every psychologist has the niche speciality someone might be looking for.

Yeah some social workers will also have extensive experience training and working in very specific types of inpatient settings — addiction/rehab centers, eating disorders treatment centers, patients with specific terminal illnesses (cancer, AIDS).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have absolutely zero interest in other people’s problems, but I’m slowing starting to realize that being a self-employed therapist might just be the best job ever.

I have an acquaintance who is not too bright (has a BA in Visual Arts from a mid-tier state school) who went to some CUNY school for a Master’s in Social Work. She charges $250/hr to listen to rich New Yorkers complain about their problems and is usually fully booked. She doesn’t have to deal with co-worker/employee/manager BS because she’s self-employed, can schedule her appointments around her kids’ schedules, works completely remotely, and has consistently made a profit of $200k/year for the past few years.

This is way better than any lawyer or project manager job. Are there any therapists on here? Is the job really the cushy lay-up I’m making it out to be? Thanks.

Its just a profession which pays bills and gives you opportunity to dress up and get out of the house and socialize with some colleagues. It also gives good stories to tell in parties. If you are good and lucky, you may help some people but majority just uses you as a sound board and does what they want.