I decided less than a year ago that I want to become a therapist, and now I’m already in school, taking my first steps in that direction. I decided that I wanted to be a therapist because I already use a lot of therapy tools that I learned to help other people and I want to be able to use it even more, and in a more professional capacity. If you are considering becoming a mental health professional, here are some things to consider.
Ever been the friend who always gets the 2 a.m. texts from someone falling apart? Not just once or twice, but consistently—the one people turn to when things get dark or confusing. If you’ve wondered whether that instinct to listen and support could turn into something more than just a personality trait, you’re not alone. In this blog, we will share how to decide if a mental health career is right for you.
More Than a Trend: The Shift Toward Mental Health Work
Over the past few years, conversations around mental health have moved from the margins to the mainstream. Social media platforms are flooded with reminders to “check on your strong friends.” Celebrities are talking openly about therapy. Workplaces are running stress management workshops with titles like “Burnout Is Not a Badge.” The message is clear: people are tired, and mental health can’t be treated like a luxury anymore.
That shift hasn’t just raised awareness—it’s created real demand. More people are reaching out for help, but in many communities, the waitlists are long, the providers are few, and the burnout rate for existing professionals is through the roof. If you’re thinking about entering the field, this is both an opportunity and a responsibility.
A growing number of people are exploring counseling as a second career, a midlife pivot, or an extension of work they already do informally. Paths like earning an LMHC degree have become more accessible, with schools offering flexible schedules and online options. This degree—Licensed Mental Health Counselor—is a popular route for those looking to work one-on-one with clients in therapeutic settings. It’s structured, widely recognized, and meets licensure requirements in many states.
Pursuing this degree isn’t just about picking up credentials. It’s about learning how to do the work ethically, effectively, and sustainably. The training covers more than theory—it includes real clinical experience, supervised hours, and exposure to situations that test your limits in a controlled setting. It’s the difference between being a good listener and being a skilled, licensed professional who knows how to support someone without getting swallowed up in the process.
Check Your Motivations Before You Sign Up
Deciding whether this path fits you starts by asking why you’re drawn to it. Wanting to help people is good, but it’s not the whole story. Everyone wants to help—until they meet someone in crisis at the end of their tenth hour that day and realize that “help” doesn’t always come with closure.
If your instinct is to fix people or rescue them, you might want to pause. Mental health work isn’t about solving problems for others. It’s about walking alongside them, often through things that won’t resolve quickly. If you’re comfortable sitting with discomfort, holding silence, and not always getting a thank-you, you might be closer than you think.
Also ask yourself how you handle emotion—your own and other people’s. Do you carry it long after a conversation ends? Do you find yourself overwhelmed when others are upset, or can you stay grounded? Emotional regulation isn’t just for clients. It’s for the clinician too.
This career isn’t built on being the nicest person in the room. It’s built on clarity, boundaries, and showing up again and again, even when the work is heavy. If you already have a sense of that—through volunteer work, caregiving, mentoring, or coaching—it can be a strong indicator that you’re ready to go deeper.
Understand the Commitment Involved
Getting licensed to practice isn’t a weekend course. It requires graduate education, supervised clinical experience, and passing national or state exams. The journey takes time, effort, and, yes, money. But unlike some academic tracks that leave you guessing what comes next, this one is fairly structured.
Once you earn your degree, you’ll need to complete a certain number of supervised hours under a licensed professional. These hours vary by state but often take one to two years post-graduation. After that, you sit for licensure exams and apply to become fully licensed. Only then can you practice independently.
Along the way, you’ll be exposed to real clinical settings: community health centers, schools, hospitals, private practices. You’ll work with people facing trauma, grief, anxiety, and more. You’ll be asked to examine your own triggers and blind spots. If that sounds intimidating, that’s okay. It should.
But it’s also deeply rewarding. You start seeing patterns. You learn to trust your instincts. You develop skills that apply not just in therapy rooms but in your relationships, your parenting, your everyday life.
Prepare for the Emotional Labor
There’s a reason burnout is common in this field. The emotional labor is real. Listening to people’s pain all day requires stamina and systems of support. If you neglect your own mental health while tending to others, you’ll hit a wall.
Self-care isn’t just bubble baths and deep breathing. It’s supervision, peer support, therapy, vacations, clear boundaries, and knowing when you need a break. The most effective mental health professionals are the ones who take their own wellness seriously.
If you already have a support network, know how to recharge, and can ask for help when needed, you’re ahead of the curve. If not, you’ll need to build those muscles as you train.
The goal isn’t to harden yourself against pain. It’s to learn how to stay soft without falling apart. That balance is what keeps good counselors in the field long after the initial idealism fades.
Deciding whether a mental health career is right for you isn’t about checking off personality traits or getting the right grades. It’s about readiness. Readiness to grow, to face complexity, to sit with pain, and to find joy in small, quiet progress.
It’s a path that asks a lot. But it also gives a lot. The work is human. Messy. Challenging. And deeply worth it—if it fits who you are and what you’re willing to learn.
There’s no perfect time to start. But there is value in starting with clarity, humility, and a sense of what this work demands—and what it can return. If you feel that pull and know you’re ready to explore it fully, the path is there. You just have to walk it with your eyes open and your heart steady.
