The idea for Therapist Resource Network has been in the making for years now. In 2012, The Giving Kitchen was established as a non-profit providing emergency financial support to those in the food and beverage industry. I remember thinking to myself that the mental health profession could benefit from something similar. I was in the early stages of my career and not in a position to embark on a new project, But the idea stuck with me, and I thought about it often as my career progressed.
Many outside of the field don't realize that the process for becoming a mental health counselor is a long and expensive one. In total, it generally takes at least 4 years after graduating with a Bachelor's degree to become a therapist: a two-year master's degree followed by at least two years of supervised practice (this varies some by state and discipline). Some therapists are able to find jobs that provide clinical supervision while others have to pay out of pocket for supervision. In 2017, I began providing post-graduate clinical supervision for mental health clinicians employed in a variety of settings: community mental health, schools, and private practice. No matter the work setting, these therapists all had one thing in common: financial struggles. It was baffling to me: we had master's degrees--we should be compensated as the professionals we are. We shouldn't be struggling to make ends meet or have to babysit or wait tables or have other gig work to pay the bills. What other professions with similar education requirements experience the same financial strain on a global level? The income discrepancy was becoming more evident the longer I worked in the field. The realization that being a therapist is not financially sustainable for many clinicians only fueled the idea for Therapist Resource Network.
Fast forward to 2019. I was self-employed in my play therapy private practice, which meant I was responsible for covering my own health insurance costs. For those unfamiliar with being self-employed in America, this is an expensive but vital expense. I had opted for a high deductible health insurance plan; I rarely went to the doctor and didn't have any major health concerns...until I did. I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and fortunately it was a relatively easy treatment but it came with a hefty price tag. Having to undergo a thyroid removal procedure meant facing the full brunt of that high deductible all at once. Luckily, I had money stashed away for emergencies, but it dawned on me that many therapists lack such a financial safety net. My thoughts went back to the emergency financial support fund I had always kept on the back burner.
In 2023, the timing seemed right for me on a personal level and in the mental health field to launch TRN. During and after the Covid-19 pandemic, the need for mental health counseling skyrocketed. Many clinicians could not keep up with the demand. As the cost of living continued to increase, I heard more and more from others in the mental health field that it was becoming nearly impossible to keep up financially while also maintaining an ethical caseload. Personally, I was experiencing high levels of burnout and some big life transitions (some may call it a mid-life crisis of sorts) and I needed to shift where I put my time and energy. I took a former supervisee to lunch, and what I thought was going to be a hard sell was an easy 'yes' to get Zandra on board as my co-founder of Therapist Resource Network. Over the year, we did a lot of brainstorming, learning, listening, and collaborating with other professionals until Therapist Resource Network was founded at the end of 2023.
I wish this organization wasn't needed so desperately. I wish mental health clinicians were paid in line with the similarly educated physical health care professionals who are making at least 35% more than we are. I wish our job settings provided ethical and reasonable caseloads so we can care for ourselves. I wish health insurance companies paid what we are worth for our services. But here we are today, a team of four passionate professionals striving to support mental health clinicians in a small way. I hope you'll join us on this fight to support clinicians and advocate for better compensation for mental health clinicians.
Jeanine Rousso, LMHC, LPC, ACS, RPT-S
Founder, Therapist Resource Network
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