Being a therapist is a lot. Can we talk about it?
You can love being a therapist and still have a lot of feelings about the job.
We're starting a free, 8-week peer support group for prelicensed therapists to talk about the stuff that comes with working in this field. Burnout, compensation, caseloads, supervision, workplace dynamics, and figuring out how to actually have a life outside of work.
It's a chance to connect with other therapists, compare experiences, share resources, and be honest about how things are going.
So, how's being a therapist actually going?
And we don't mean how your clients are doing.
There's a lot to figure out when you're starting your career. You're learning how to be a therapist while also navigating productivity expectations, supervision, documentation, compensation, and all the other things nobody really prepares you for.
And it can be hard to know what's normal when you don't have much to compare it to.
Is seeing 30 clients a week reasonable? What are other prelicensed therapists actually making? How do you handle a supervisor who's also your boss? What do you do when you genuinely enjoy the clinical work but aren't so sure about the workplace?
These are the kinds of conversations we want to have.
Because you should be able to enjoy being a therapist without feeling like the job is taking over your entire life.
WHY WE'RE DOING THIS
We need to talk about more than self-care.
We spend a lot of time in this profession talking about burnout and telling therapists to take better care of themselves.
And yes, taking care of yourself matters. But so do your working conditions.
Your caseload, your schedule, your pay, your benefits, your relationship with your supervisor, and whether you actually have time to eat lunch are all part of the conversation.
We want to talk about what taking care of yourself looks like during the workday, too. Not just what you can squeeze in after you've finished seeing clients and writing notes.
And we want therapists to be able to learn from each other. Sometimes hearing how another practice handles compensation, supervision, or scheduling can completely change what you thought was normal.
That's why we're bringing people together.
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We spend our days being present for other people, and that takes energy. We'd love to talk about how burnout shows up in our work, how to recognize when something isn't sustainable, and what other therapists are doing to manage the emotional demands of the job. We also want to talk about the difference between being tired after a long week and working in an environment that's consistently draining you.
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What's a reasonable caseload for a prelicensed therapist? How many clients are other people seeing, and what happens when cancellations, documentation, and administrative work get factored in? We want to compare experiences around productivity expectations, scheduling, and what a full-time workload actually looks like across different settings.
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Talking about money shouldn't be so uncomfortable, especially when so many of us are trying to figure out what fair compensation even looks like. We'll make space to discuss salaries, fee splits, health insurance, PTO, budgeting, and the financial realities of being early in your career. Nobody has to disclose what they make, but we want people to feel comfortable sharing information and learning from each other if they choose to.
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Supervision is supposed to be a place where you can ask questions, make mistakes, and grow as a clinician. But that can get complicated when your supervisor is also your employer, or when the relationship doesn't feel particularly supportive. Let's talk about what good supervision can look like, how people navigate difficult dynamics, and what to do when you're not sure how to advocate for yourself.
What we'll talk about
We're not following a set curriculum. Jenny will help guide conversations, but what we discuss will come from the people in the group and what feels relevant to them.
Here are some things we expect to come up:
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There are a lot of expectations in this field that get presented as just part of being a therapist. Unpaid administrative work, unrealistic caseloads, confusing compensation structures, and being expected to take on responsibilities outside your role. We want to have honest conversations about what people are experiencing, how to recognize when expectations are unreasonable, and what advocating for yourself can look like when you're still working toward licensure.
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We're less interested in giving you another list of things to do after work and more interested in figuring out how to make the workday itself manageable. That might mean changing how you schedule clients, building in actual breaks, using fidgets or other tools during sessions, or finding ways to stay on top of documentation without spending your evenings catching up. We'd love for people to share the small, practical things that have genuinely helped them.
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There's a lot of pressure to figure out your clinical identity, your preferred approaches, your niche, and your long-term career plans pretty quickly. But becoming a therapist is an ongoing process, and your relationship with the work will probably change over time. We want to talk about figuring out what matters to you, how you want to show up professionally, and what kind of work environment would actually support that.
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Sometimes the most helpful thing is hearing how someone else handles a situation you've been struggling with. We want this group to be a place where therapists can ask questions, share resources, compare experiences, and build relationships outside their own workplaces. You don't need to come in with a specific problem to solve. Being around other people who understand the work is valuable on its own.
WHY A PEER GROUP?
Sometimes you just want to talk to people who get it.
There's something really helpful about hearing how other therapists are doing things.
Especially when you're prelicensed and still figuring out what kind of workplace you want to be in, what you should expect from supervision, and how to advocate for yourself.
We also know that talking about work can feel vulnerable, particularly if you're in a difficult workplace situation.
We won't ask where you work or who supervises you. You're welcome to share those details if you want to, but there's no expectation to.
We'll have clear group agreements around privacy, respect, and confidentiality, while recognizing that confidentiality among peers can't be absolutely guaranteed.
And just to be clear, this isn't therapy, clinical supervision, or case consultation.
It's a place to talk about being a therapist with other people who are also figuring it out.
The Details
8 Wednesdays
November 4 through December 23, 2026
2–3 PM
Central
For Prelicensed Therapists
Approximately 10–12 participants
Virtual
Join from a private space
And yes, it's free!
We're keeping the group small because we want people to actually get to know each other. We're also hoping to have a consistent group over the eight weeks, so we'll ask about your availability on the interest form.
Filling out the form doesn't guarantee a spot, but we'll follow up with everyone about this cohort or future groups.
