There is a huge jump from grad school to private practice life and from being a student to being a clinician full time. Unfortunately, there are challenges stacked up against beginning therapists that make it difficult to feel like they're doing enough whether it's professionally, developmentally, or even one-on-one with their clients. In this episode, Dr. Erin Elmore speaks with Ben Behnen. Ben has a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy from St. Mary’s University. He is currently accruing his hours to become licensed. Ben has taken his experience of becoming a MFT and turned it into a blog aptly named, “Becoming a Therapist”, where he writes a bi-weekly newsletter, hosts a podcast, and is building a community to help beginning therapists grow. Together Erin and Ben discuss the current state pre-licensure therapists are coming into, some of the challenges around the transition from student to clinician, the common struggles around imposter syndrome and frequent questions asked by pre-licensed therapists. There is a huge jump from grad school to private practice life, but resources like Ben’s website Becoming a Therapist can help guide that growth process.

Resources

For more information about Becoming a Therapist, please visit:

For more information about Becoming a Therapist Podcast, please visit:

To subscribe to the Becoming a Therapist Newsletter, please visit:

For more information about the early career practitioner experience, we suggest How to Survive and Thrive as a Therapist by Kenneth S. Pope and Melba J. T. Vasquez, please visit: