15 Alternative Career Options for Therapists

15 Alternative Career Options for Therapists

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I know a lot of folks who entered the counseling profession gung-ho about offering direct client care services, only to find down the road that they don’t actually enjoy direct client care.

There are a variety of reasons this can happen, whether it’s just not the best personality match, you feel cynical after taking a peek behind the curtain and seeing how broken our mental health system is, or any number of other possible reasons.

But just because offering direct client care as a therapist might not be for you, it doesn’t mean that you can’t still use your counseling skills and training in an alternative way. If you’re interested in hearing more, then here are 15 alternative career options for therapists:

00:00 Intro
01:47 1. Run a Group Practice
02:13 2. Management at Mental Health Setting
02:34 3. Serve other Therapists with your Skillset
03:20 4. Mental Health Advocacy & Trainings
03:44 5. Mental Health Consulting for Orgs
04:01 6. Teaching
04:10 7. Super-Niche Specialty
04:38 8. Coaching
05:00 9. Work for Company Offering MH Product or Service
05:29 10. Academic or Career Advising
05:51 11. Human Resources
06:06 12. Special Education Teacher/Tutor
06:22 13. Writing
06:49 14. Entrepreneur
07:12 15. MH-Related Career Pivot
07:38 Outro

LINKS
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This video is geared for therapists of all kinds, including psychologists, MFTs, LPCCs, social workers, and others in the clinical counseling field.

Welcome to Private Practice Skills! I’m Dr. Marie Fang, psychologist in private practice. I post videos offering tools I learned the hard way about starting and growing private practice so that you don’t have to.

Insta: PrivatePracticeSkills

Music from Epidemic Sound:

This video is not intended as professional or legal advice. Be sure to seek the services of a professional if you are in need of them.

[jeremybrownstein]

I'm in PP and also teach as an adjunct at our local community college and run a food truck with my spouse. Therapy by morning, flipping burgers by night! Gotta keep it interesting.

[Panda]

Thank you for this video! Right out of graduate school I jumped into the field doing mental health counseling and right before the pandemic hit I begin to feel burnt out and decided to try school counseling thinking that would be better but nope lol. That was stressful too and it added to my feeling of burnt out. So I decided to find a work from home job where I can still work in the mental health field and still use my education but have more time to focus on taking better care of myself. Now I work remotely as a Clinical Care Navigator. Basically I provide in the moment support over the phone and connect callers to care. Best thing about it is that I work part time and the pay is great. I’m hoping to use my free time to start my private practice or develop a non profit. Either way, This is the best job that I’ve ever had and it’s very easy. I encourage everyone whose looking to try something new to look into remote work that’s still within the mental health field but not necessarily therapy. Hope this helps 🙏🏾

[sodiumandspite]

Trying to figure out how to preserve my longevity in this field by diversifying how my emotional labor is being spent, thank you for this!!

[blahblah]

Great video! Another one I did for a while was behavioral health utilization management. This is when you work for an insurance company and approve authorizations for services that require prior authorization. It includes zero client contact and most insurance companies let employees work from home.

[salliejl]

Wow, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!! 💜
I am a therapist in PP, have been for 8 years now. I have burnt out a number of times and been really blocked with what to do with my skills that isint direct work. Its such an exhausting (and amazing) career and I struggle to get the headspace to think outside the box ❤

[ronnie]

Thank you so much for this!!! I really needed this, as I’ve felt burnt out and wondered if I chose the wrong career path and wasted my time. All I’ve seen as options for therapist are direct care. Thanks!

[nsanenthembrane]

Utilization reviewer too and working for eap program

[zafriabailey]

I really appreciate this. I am struggling to stay motivated with this profession.

[drmichaelaphd]

I love the alternatives you shared here, Marie! It's so easy to confine ourselves to (very) specific tracks (and our training often reinforces this), but we have such unique + varied skillsets! 😍🌿

[lapetrawhigham]

Thank you! This was thought provoking. I love being a therapist but get bored doing direct care daily.

[A_Corte]

So nice to see this topic being discussed, diversifying to avoid clinical burnout is a real passion of mine. I just want that although there's much we can do outside therapy, it's still often the road less traveled and usually requires therapists to advocate/sell our skills. Also as someone who is also doing employee wellness/organizational consulting, I don't require taking these entrepreneurial steps if you're trying to reduce burnout! Would also be cool to see deep dives into what these careers are like, maybe through interviews.

[pegbayless]

Burned out on 1-1 svcs, trying to figure out "what's next!" Thanks for the ideas and info!

[tyronetownsend]

Thank you Marie!

This list was awesome and very helpful. I would also add my specialty. I’m a police officer and also a (temporary-licensed) Professional Counselor.

So one great job in Crisis Intervention with a law enforcement agency! It’s very exciting and the therapists that work with our agency love the fast pace & ability to directly change/save lives.

Our program is called a “Co-Responder” program where the therapist is paired with an officer & responds to MH calls.

[annakatherine]

great ideas! i’m in my first semester of a licensed counseling program, and i’ve been overwhelmed with having to choose a theory and a population to work with. this is such a diverse field and i’m glad that that’s acknowledged here, thank you!

[MissCupcakeslover]

Super interesting video which is something I have been thinking about a lot! I wish you would have elaborated a bit more on each option. The longer the video on this topic, the better!

[margheritaadornato]

hello Marie, your optimism and smile are so helping to me! I am starting my new job (i was a manager in a food producer) as a counselor in Milan

[russellbernheisel]

I’m completing a masters in school counseling which also satisfies the requirements for my LPC. I am unsure if I could handle being a full time therapist but I love one on one care/coaching/mentoring and I am looking to work at the high school level. Also, I have found that counseling is still stigmatized in athletics and I would like to partner with a local college and work in their athletic department as a mental health/mental performance therapist/coach on a part time basis. I’m pursuing licensure and certification in multiple domains so that I can 1. Carve out a niche that serves my community and sets me apart and 2. Make additional income outside of my 9-5.

[YourInspiredLife]

Love these ideas for flexing your career! I'm a dietitian but incorporate a few of these options for variety- advising other RDs and health coaching and writing. I still do 1:1 nutrition counseling, but the other activities keep me from burnout. Great video!

[surbs]

This gives me hope, next part is getting fear of failure and learning how to transition my Instagram from personal to professional posts.

[denisecatlyn]

I graduated 9 yrs ago with a Master’s in Counseling I try getting a job in school I can not get job. Then I try getting a job with mental health can not get job because I am not license no one will supervise me. I have been working at dead end jobs that pays no money. I am a very dedicated worker and cannot get an opportunity.