To the Baby Therapist: Chew the Meat and Spit Out the Bones
Finding Your Own Path: Wisdom for New Therapists Starting Their Career Journey
Before I Begin: A Letter to the "Baby Therapist"
Before I begin, let me say this: I don't consider myself a veteran Licensed Professional Counselor. I've been fully licensed for about two years, and if you count my time as an LPC Associate, I've been practicing for almost four. There are clinicians with decades more experience than I have, and I still consider myself a lifelong student of this profession.
But maybe that's exactly why I wanted to write this.
I remember what it felt like to be the "baby therapist." I remember wondering if I was making the right decisions, questioning whether I was moving too slowly, comparing my journey to everyone else's, and feeling like every time I opened social media, another expert was telling me the "right" way to build a career.
If you're in that season, I want to encourage you with a saying I grew up hearing: Chew the meat and spit out the bones.
If you've never heard that expression before, it simply means to receive what is useful, leave behind what isn't, and don't choke on something that was never meant for you.
The Opinions Begin
The longer I've been in this profession, the more I've realized how much that wisdom applies to becoming a therapist.
Graduate school is demanding enough. You're juggling classes, internships, studying for licensure, supervision, documentation, and trying to figure out what kind of clinician you want to become. If you're anything like I was, you may also be balancing a full-time job, a spouse, children, ministry, or simply the responsibilities of everyday life.
Before you've even seen your first client independently, you've already had to overcome obstacle after obstacle.
Then, somewhere along the way, the opinions begin.
One clinician says insurance is the worst decision you'll ever make. Another says it's the best way to build a practice. Someone else tells you to go private pay immediately. A coach promises six figures in a matter of months. Another warns you that you'll burn out if you don't niche down right away.
Some advice is rooted in years of wisdom. Some comes from painful personal experiences. Some is simply opinion dressed up as fact.
That's why I believe one of the greatest skills a baby therapist can develop isn't just learning how to help clients—it's learning how to discern which advice fits the season they're actually in.
The beautiful thing about our profession is that there isn't just one right path to becoming the therapist God has called you to be.
My Own Journey
My own journey certainly didn't look like the "perfect" roadmap.
I earned my graduate degree while working full-time in education and raising my family. After graduating, I became a high school counselor. Although many people encouraged me to take my licensing exam immediately after graduation, while everything was still fresh, that wasn't my journey. I waited about a year, prayed, studied, and, by God's grace, passed on my first attempt.
Then I prayed for something else: a supervisor I could afford and a paid LPC Associate position.
God answered both prayers.
The group practice I joined was about forty minutes from my home. It wasn't ideal, but it was the opportunity God opened.
I worked there part-time while continuing my full-time job as a high school counselor. Eventually, after many conversations, budgeting sessions, and prayers with my husband, we decided it was time for me to leave education and pursue counseling full-time.
That transition taught me lessons no graduate program ever could.
The education profession offered consistency. I knew exactly when I would be paid and how much my paycheck would be. Private practice doesn't work that way. Insurance companies pay when they pay. Building a caseload takes time. Learning business takes time. Learning marketing takes time.
There were seasons when I saw nearly thirty clients a week. I wouldn't recommend that, but it was part of my journey.
After becoming fully licensed, I opened my own private practice, but even then, I didn't jump straight into doing everything on my own. I continued working at the group practice while gradually building my own practice.
I also used therapy platforms.
Now, if you've spent any time on therapist social media, you've probably heard plenty of negative opinions about therapy platforms, also known as venture-capital-backed platforms. Were some of the concerns shared on social media valid? Absolutely.
But I also understood my goal.
I wasn't planning to stay on those platforms forever. I was using them strategically. They allowed me to gain experience, generate referrals, create financial stability, and gradually transition into running my own business without placing unnecessary financial pressure on my family.
Eventually, I outgrew them.
Today, I own my own practice, continue to grow, and recently opened my own office for in-person counseling after beginning with a fully virtual practice.
Chew the Meat and Spit Out the Bones
Could I have skipped those steps?
Maybe.
But those steps gave me confidence. They allowed me to grow without rushing the process.
That's why I say, "Chew the meat and spit out the bones."
- Take the wisdom. Leave the pressure.
- Take the education. Leave the comparison.
- Take the encouragement. Leave the fear.
- Take what fits the season God has you in today.
Become a Student
Another piece of advice I'd give every baby therapist is this:
Become a student.
Collect all the free information you can. Subscribe to newsletters (you can always unsubscribe after you get the free resources if you'd like—LOL!). Listen to podcasts. Read blogs. Attend free webinars. Join Facebook communities. You get the idea.
So much of what helped me build my practice came from free resources long before I ever invested in coaching programs.
When I was finally in a position to invest, I joined a coaching program that has been incredibly valuable—but only because I had already spent time learning what worked for me.
Wise preparation led to a wise investment.
Remember, there isn't only one right way to become a successful therapist. Some clinicians go straight into private pay. Others build through insurance. Some start virtually, while others open an office immediately. Some work another job while building their practice. Others have the financial freedom to go all in from day one.
None of those paths is automatically better.
They're simply different.
Comparison will convince you that you're behind.
Wisdom reminds you that you're on your own timeline.
So, to every baby therapist reading this...
- Be patient with yourself.
- Pray often.
- Learn continuously.
- Ask questions.
- Stay teachable.
- Trust God's timing.
And don't let someone else's journey make you question your own.
Chew the meat. Spit out the bones. Then keep becoming the therapist God has called you to be.
