Season 4 Ep 7 You've Got Your Degree, Now What?

In this week's episode, we discuss life after the degree. Listen as we talk about what our lives were like right after obtaining the MSW degree, having expectations versus not having expectations of ourselves as clinicians and the field’s overemphasis on choosing a setting and a population. Dive in as we discuss our figure out current ways to customize our professional careers to suit our individual talents, interests, and strengths.

Are we masochists or gluttons for punishment for staying in this field?

Key takeaways from this episode:

1. Diversify your experiences. Get one school placement and one hospital placement with the goal of gaining experience in the higher-paying sectors. Don’t be afraid to work in the hood, hood, hood.

2. Gain experience working for a child protection or adoption agency, group home, or a residential setting or in-home therapy work. You will develop strong clinical skills and crisis management skills. Everyone should have some community-based experience to develop a variety of skills.

3. This is hard ass work. Do not shy away from the uncomfortable and hard tasks and conversations with clients. Seek out mentorship and strong supervision to help you grow and to develop grit.

4. Listen to feedback others give you about your strengths and use them to your advantage. Talk to seasoned clinicians and healers to hear what is it really like to work in the field.

5. If you are burnt out then make the plan to exit. Take a break and rest, reevaluate, and reset. Pivot. Don’t be afraid to move on. It is that simple.

6. Try to remember what got you into this field. Check-in with yourself and ask is what I am doing now still feeding me and my soul?

For questions and shareouts and further discussion please contact us at therapistsarepeopletoo@gmail.com.

Until next time, remember to live, laugh, love, and keep it real.
-Frantzces, Sabeen and Tonika :)

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