Being a therapist is harder than it looks...
I am currently working towards licensure. No one really tells you how difficult the profession is, and they don't fully prepare you in graduate school or clinical. This is a high burnout profession, and we are held to a high standard (which I get). We are there to help people work through their experiences and trauma, but then we are asked if we have done enough self-care when sometimes we need to take a break from the job. I love what I do, and I really enjoy working with the children I see, but I am also human and get mentally exhausted.
Sometimes I think about whether this was the right career for me when I was in college and then graduate school. Sometimes I wonder if I should have worked with computers instead of people. I have years of experience working with children and adults. I have worked in childcare, teaching, youth shelters, and more. I have worked with infants to adults. I definitely enjoy K-8 the most.
Recently, I have been studying for my licensure exam, a 150-question examination consisting of clinical narratives followed by multiple-choice questions. However, only 100 of those questions are actually scored, and examinees are not told which questions count toward their final score.
The exam costs $350 the first time you take it. If you need to retake it, the fee is discounted to approximately $250. After spending three years in graduate school followed by two years of supervised clinical experience, it seems like the retake discount could be more substantial.
To prepare for the exam, candidates must have a strong understanding of the disorders outlined in the DSM-5-TR. Beginning in the summer of 2027, the exam will also undergo updates, including the addition of content related to artificial intelligence.
I got a little sidetracked talking about the licensing process, but it reminded me of another challenging aspect of being a therapist. As counselors, we are mandated reporters. While graduate school teaches us the laws and ethical responsibilities surrounding mandatory reporting, no one really prepares you for what happens when a report to the Department of Children and Families (DCF) is accepted.
Sometimes the family reaches out, and the client no longer wants to see you. That can be incredibly difficult because, over time, we build trust and rapport with our clients. Even when you know you did what was legally and ethically required to help keep a child safe, you still have to cope with the emotional consequences of that decision, including the possibility of losing the client's trust or ending a therapeutic relationship that you've worked hard to build.
One of the hardest parts of being a therapist isn't making the mandated reportāit's everything that can happen afterward. We know it's our job to report suspected abuse or neglect, and we know it's there to help keep kids safe. But no one really prepares you for what it feels like when the report is accepted and everything changes.
Sometimes the client or their family is upset, and the client doesn't want to see you anymore. It's an uncomfortable place to be. It's not because you're attached to the client or trying to keep them on your caseload. It's because you've spent time building trust, and suddenly you're in a position where doing the right thing can make someone feel like you've betrayed them.
You can know you made the right decision and still feel the weight of it. Two things can be true at the same time: you did what the law and your ethics required, and it still hurts to see a relationship you've worked hard to build change because of it. That's something I don't think people talk about enough when they talk about becoming a therapist.
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