I honestly don’t know how we are supposed to survive before being fully licensed. I already took a cut with doing an internship and full class load last year of school then unless you are able to get a full caseload out the gate. I’m on snap assistance and Medicaid. It doesn’t seem fair for the kind of work we do and trying to help a very serious epidemic.

Nope. Been working in the field 11 years now with basically no raises bc insurance companies don’t increase reimbursement.

I'm fully licensed with 25 years of experience. The answer was, is and always will be "no" and the only ones that will tell you different are supervisors praying they can replace you immediately so they don't have to go back to counseling.

I wanna preface this by saying, my situation is definitely unique. But, I also would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that there is a chronic devaluation of pre-licensed and associate licensed therapist. Where we over work and under pay (or in interns cases, NOT pay them). Cuz they’re earning their ‘dues’. Giving our profession the unspoken permission to mistreat us. Which has to end.

That said, I’m in private (not my original intention. As I’ve worked in CMH and community health and non profits, in a non practitioner capacity for almost a decade). I make over $70k/yr as an LAC, with the potential to make much more upon full licensure. So, I do feel like I’m being compensated adequately in this case. With a manageable caseload. But I’m the exception, when I should be the rule.

No. I’m a resident in counseling and I only get paid when clients show up. Lots of cancellations equals no pay and as a single father in this economy it’s made me want to walk away from it more times than I can count, unfortunately.