Why you should consider seeing a graduate clinician

You’ve decided to start therapy for yourself or a loved one and you’re in the process of choosing which provider to work with. While your first thought may be to skip over a graduate clinician and see somebody fully licensed, here are some compelling reasons why you may want to work with a student as your therapist.

Graduate clinicians are closely supervised by fully licensed therapists
Graduate clinicians always have one clinical supervisor, and often two: one at the site where they are interning, and often one or more in their educational program. These supervisors are fully licensed and credentialed, and review and consult with students on each of their clients. This means you have two to three professionals whose time, expertise, and investment are applied to working with you in therapy.

Graduate clinicians are constantly learning the most up-to-date techniques and theories
Graduate clinicians are still completing their master’s degree, which means it is their job to learn how to be an outstanding therapist. In a graduate clinician, you are getting a therapist who is not only on the cutting edge of theory and technique, but who also spends their days learning how to utilize those theories and techniques most effectively.

Graduate clinicians have a great deal of investment and energy devoted to your therapy
Since graduate clinicians are still in school, your therapy is their biggest focus during this time. Most counseling programs are incredibly rigorous and time-consuming, so learning and practicing become their full-time job. As a client, you can benefit from working with someone whose main focus at this time in their life is giving you the best care and therapy possible. Additionally, you can benefit from seeing someone newer in the field – leading them to be energized and excited to come to work every day!

Graduate clinicians often work on a reduced or sliding fee scale
Graduate clinicians are not fully licensed, and so they often work on a reduced or sliding-fee scale rather than charging what a fully licensed therapist would. Some can even take certain insurances. If you don’t have insurance, have an extremely high deductible, or choose to pay out of pocket for other reasons, graduate clinicians may offer a price point that fits into your budget a little easier.