Hi everyone! I wanted to keep it real with this video and share things with you all that I would share if I was talking 1 on 1 with a fellow therapist but not all experiences in these settings are the same so feel free to share some of your pros and cons too.😊
I work at a community agency. Great pay (80K), I don’t get pressed on quotas (that’s a supervisor thing) and I have great benefits. I’ve never felt overwhelmed. I’ve been at my agency almost 6 years and I see the same LPCs from 6 years ago. Not a huge turn over rate. It depends on the agency!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience!!😊 So happy to hear this and it blows my mind how drastic caseloads and quotas can be. I left my agency when I went to a training where different employees from different agencies in Texas shared their caseloads and quotas and ours was one of the highest and intense. I’ll never forget the faces others made when we shared ours, I was like nope I’m done. Appreciate you, thank you for watching and sharing!
Thanks for your content! I’m really on the fence about going online with my own practice, currently going through your channel to see if you have a video about starting up. Feel free to share anything my way.
My experience with community mental health centers so far has been absolutely terrible. I lost my job a couple years ago and went on Medicaid. I have established diagnoses from before this personal crisis of ADHD and MDD. Access to adequate care and competent providers who show respect for me has been extremely challenging. There's also quite a bit of distrust of patients who have valid reasons for stimulant medications.
I worked community based mental health for over 5 years, working for the county now as a new associate therapist (Bay Area). There are just certain populations that you will not get the opportunity to work with as closely as you will with clients that have Medi-Cal for example. I've gotten to work with severely mentally ill adults, homeless clients, foster care children, clients on probation/court involved and I honestly have loved that exposure and getting to support the most vulnerable clients in my community. I most likely will not get that with private practice. Of course yes, insane caseloads, depending on your agency, high productivity standards, but it really depends on your work environment and having supportive management. A supportive manager and healthy work boundaries make all the difference. I feel like I want to gain more training and specializations to feel ready to think about establishing a private practice, I feel like I'm just scraping the surface on our field! But yeah, if you can establish healthy boundaries, don't want to think about insurance/running a business, worrying about PTO, community mental health may be a good option for you. The good thing with our field is that you can change directions and try different work settings anytime!
I'm starting my counseling master's on saturday, and it is insighful to listen to the pros and cons of different work environments. Right now, I am leaning more towards having my own practice in the future.
That’s such a huge milestone, congratulations! 🎉 I’m planning on making a video soon on how to prep for private practice while you’re in grad school, hopefully it’ll be helpful for others wanting to do private practice. Thank you for watching!😊
This is so helpful as someone working now as an IC, community mental health, and starting my own PP. I will subscribe to my other registered account to learn more.
literally me right now 6 months in- i applied to grad school to get my MBA in HR. i feel like working as a case manager has aged me up due to how burnt out i constantly feel
In my area, it’s common to see newer therapists doing both part-time. I’m thinking about this option myself as I’ve done both throughout my internships. I’m definitely working under someone else’s practice though😂 EDIT: these cons make both options look HORrible😂
Thanks for sharing your experience! I hate how many cons there are but I told myself I was gonna keep it real…by the time I was editing I was like damn is this too real?😂🫠 We truly never know until we try working somewhere though. The right supervisor and environment can make all the difference.
Hi, I wanted to comment on why people do work with community health agencies knowing the demands of them. The issue is that a lot of people are in debt from their student loans and community mental health clinics are one of the ways that can help pay them off. When one decides to go private practice they are taking away that opportunity to have their student loans paid in full. This can be very costly.
100% this. I took my community mental health job because I wanted to learn and needed to pay my bills. Not everyone knows what they’re fully getting into though so the more we know and can mentally prepare to have a good exit plan if needed the more we can avoid burnout. For me the amount of years it would take for my loans to be forgiven if I worked in community health is not worth it but to someone else it might be so I love that we can all talk about it, share our experiences and perspectives, so thank you for sharing yours.😊
There's pros and cons for community mental health. But high caseloads, low pay unreasonable paperwork is ridiculous. My agency the insurance is poor. I'll be looking to leave when I get licensed. Community mental health is a starting point but if you want to expand or do more to a hospital or private clinic.
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you and this video. I live in West Virginia and graduated with my masters in March 2022. Went straight into a community health setting and I crashed and burned. I was also studying to take the NCE while trying to work full time. I didn’t pass the NCE, so I lost my temporary permit once it expired and couldn’t see clients anymore. So I lost that job and am focusing now on studying to pass the NCE. I’ve been processing if I want to return to the community health setting after passing the NCE but this video confirmed it’s not for me. I wish I could go straight into my own private practice after I pass the NCE but I don’t think West Virginia allows Provisionally Licensed Therapists to do that. :(
Great video! Thanks for sharing the pros and cons to community mental health! I had no idea and tbh, I feel somtimes it’s glamorized working in “mental health” but don’t understand the truth behind it so your video helped alot and being up front about it! I think more videos like this are so helpful for people just stepping into the field. Looking forward to the next one! (as always!)💓
Thanks Lanicia!! I was like I’m not trying to be a dream crusher here or super negative but I definitely wish I had known these things to mentally prepare. I’m really glad not everyone has had my experiences though plus we’re all built different. A good supervisor or boss makes a huge difference😊 I really appreciate you watching!
Thank you for this. I just started my own practice. I’m looking forward to seeing where this goes. I will still likely get at least a party time job. Some im not fully operational. But soon I plan to be.
So by chance do you have a video explaining how long you must work community health before you can have a private practice? Also, how to file clients heath insurance?
Hi! There’s no requirement for how long, you get to decide in the type of setting you want to work or how long. In Texas you can graduate, get your lpc-a, and directly have your practice while supervised by an lpc-s who supports you doing this. If you don’t have any previous mental health experience then you’ll have to invest more in workshops or consulting with other therapists or your supervisor so they can walk you through the private practice process. It completely depends on your preference and there’s nothing wrong with any of the options. I don’t bill insurance or take insurance but if you want to you can hire someone to do the credentialing process for you and walk you through it.😊
Thank you! My clients are mainly coming from Instagram and RU-vid. I also have a psychology today account. I think our first year can be rough because we’re like the new kids on the block compared to other practices. Are you based in Texas too?
I enjoy your videos. What are you focusing on in your practice? I am personally really wanting to help veterans and really anyone with ptsd and addiction.
Thank you! That’s awesome!! I decided to specialize in working with Latina (Latine, Latinx, Hispanic, Chicana, Mexican American) women in the areas of anxiety, depression, trauma, and just creating a safe space for self-exploration and healing.
Question: are you allowed to work part-time for a community agency and then create your own private practice on the side? Is it possible to have both at the same time?
Hi! Yes and it completely depends on the agency so that’s definitely something to look through in your contract and ask about. It’s usually private practices that don’t allow it because they view you as competition. If you’re able to do that it’s a great option so you can gradually build your practice 😊
Hey, I recently graduated in May 2023. I have the option of working in a hospital or a private practice. The private practice is fee for service, vs hospital which is salaried. My biggest worriest atm are my student loans. Can i survive off of private practice?
I hear you, tbh private practice comes with the work of marketing to find clients and it’s a business so no one can ever guarantee you a fixed number of clients because it could fluctuate. It was the right decision for me to start my own practice but you should try the option that can guarantee what you need to see how you like it. Most people that choose working for someone else’s practice is because of needing a smaller caseload compared to community mh.
Hi good information, I'm a clinical mental health student, I wanted to know being a telehealth therapist in private practice, how do you get referrals for clients?
Hi! Thank you! This is coming out in my video this week but essentially you can sign up for directories like psychology today or inclusive therapists, through marketing on social media, or getting a contract with a local business or partnering with a doctors office or school.
Hi Erica😊 When you’re first starting out and launch your practice I would say that it’s good to have at least one other stream of income because it takes time to build up your caseload if you don’t have connections or are well known in your community (whether that’s online or in person). I’m making a video about how to prepare for private practice while in grad school soon so hopefully that can be helpful.😊 Things start to eventually even out the more you market yourself and you can see if you need to spend less time on other income streams.
