I Just Graduated, Now What? – Career Advice for New Mental Health Clinicians Curt and Katie discuss how clinicians can decide what types of jobs to pursue when they first graduate from their clinical program. We look at whether you should go into a community mental health organization or a private practice. We also dig into what you might want to consider when making these choices and looking for these jobs. Curt and Katie share their own perspective and experiences to help you consider many different options at this stage in your career. Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsgpodcast.com! In this podcast episode we talk about a new therapist’s career path   We received a listener email asking advice for how to approach getting their first job after graduating. We decided to answer that listener and to address the question of how to start your career more broadly.   Should you go into a community mental health organization or private practice? “I'm of the philosophy that, especially if where you imagine yourself being is in private practice at some point, my recommendation is start doing that as soon as reasonably possible” – Curt Widhalm, LMFT Considerations related to longer term goals Practical and logistical factors related to compensation, benefits, and time Clinical training and opportunities What to consider when looking to join a group private practice “When you are looking for a group practice, don’t look for something that’s just a duplication of a community mental health organization… there is a discernment that needs to happen to identify: is this actually preparing you for the private practice that you want to have in five years? Or is it a mill, where you're churning through insurance clients that don't align or… you're working for a fee that you wouldn't be able to sustain?” – Katie Vernoy, LMFT Caseload and pay expectations Training and supervision opportunities What you are willing to do to obtain your own clients Whether you will stay at an agency while building a caseload What are the job options for therapists when they graduate? The importance of informational interviews to understand the options The benefits (and detriments) to different types of work settings Community mental health versus private practice Moving around and getting different experiences versus starting in a niche Identifying what is right for you Our Generous Sponsors for this episode of the Modern Therapist’s Survival Guide: Thrizer Thrizer is a new modern billing platform for therapists that was built on the belief that therapy should be accessible AND clinicians should earn what they are worth. Their platform automatically gets clients reimbursed by their insurance after every session. Just by billing your clients through Thrizer, you can potentially save them hundreds every month, with no extra work on your end. Every time you bill a client through Thrizer, an insurance claim is automatically generated and sent directly to the client's insurance. From there, Thrizer provides concierge support to ensure clients get their reimbursement quickly, directly into their bank account. By eliminating reimbursement by check, confusion around benefits, and obscurity with reimbursement status, they allow your clients to focus on what actually matters rather than worrying about their money. It is very quick to get set up and it works great in completement with EHR systems. Their team is super helpful and responsive, and the founder is actually a long-time therapy client who grew frustrated with his reimbursement times The best part is you don't need to give up your rate. They charge a standard 3% payment processing fee! Thrizer lets you become more accessible while remaining in complete control of your practice. A better experience for your clients during therapy means higher retention. Money won't be the reason they quit on therapy. Sign up using bit.ly/moderntherapists if you want to test Thrizer completely risk free! Si