Why I Joined Therapist Resource Network and How We Give Back
by Andrea Shochet, TRN Board Member
When I entered the mental healthtech space in 2021, our mission-driven founder gave me advice that shaped everything: don't touch a thing, just listen and learn from our therapist customers.
So I listened. Over the last 5+ years, speaking with hundreds of therapists across different practice settings revealed three undeniable, recurring themes: staggering burnout rates, crushing financial burdens, and profound professional isolation.
A Cross-Disciplinary Crisis
The research across psychologists, counselors, social workers, and marriage & family therapists points to the same underlying challenges:
APA surfaced that 33% of psychologists have overall feelings of burnout; this spikes to 50% for early career psychologists.
ACA revealed that 55% of counselors cited insufficient pay/reimbursement and burnout as the top two challenges; 34% hold a second job.
AAMFT indicated that 35% of MFTs cited burnout as one of their primary challenges.
NASW highlighted that "Workforce Distress" fuels 20% to 40% annual social worker turnover in high-demand settings, making attrition, not growth, the primary driver of future openings.
Professional associations do vital work on behalf of their licensed therapists. But when crisis or burnout hits, the person behind the credential experiences the same hardship, regardless of whether there is a PsyD, LCSW, LMFT, or LPC after their name. Therapists spend their days carrying others’ pain in systems that are not set up for clinician wellbeing, yet rarely do they have a safety net of their own.
This is why I joined the Executive Board at Therapist Resource Network. TRN’s mission is to ensure no therapist has to go it alone.
Building the Safety Net at TRN
Here is how we are building that safety net:
Burnout Prevention Programs: Free, accessible, peer-led support circles and workshops where therapists from any setting (private practice, agencies, hospitals, or community mental health) can connect, process, and feel seen.
Emergency Financial Grants: Direct, dignified micro-grants for licensed therapists facing documented financial hardship from unexpected life events.
Professional Advocacy: Highlighting the clinical and financial challenges mental health professionals face and championing sustainable solutions for the entire ecosystem.
The Road to 10,000: Join the Movement
This Fall, we are launching a grassroots campaign to expand our community to 10,000 therapists:
For Therapists: You care for others. Let us care for you. Join our free community today to stay connected, sign up for an upcoming Support Circle, and learn more about our emergency grants.
For Corporate Partners & Sponsors: You rely on healthy, resilient therapists. Sponsoring TRN’s emergency grants and burnout prevention programs directly holds the healers.
Whether you spend your day with clients or building the tools that support those who are, we all have a role to play in sustaining this community. Together, we can build a future where no therapist stands without support.
Therapists give everything. We give back.
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