👋Welcome to r/CMHCounselors - Introduce Yourself and Read First!

Welcome to Our Community — A Space for Counselors & Counselors-in-Training

Welcome—we’re glad you’re here.
This community was created specifically for professional counselors, therapists, and graduate students pursuing counseling-related degrees. Whether you’re just starting your journey in grad school, navigating practicum or internship, studying for licensure, working toward independent practice, or already an established clinician, this space was built for you.

Counseling is a deeply meaningful profession. It’s also one of the most emotionally demanding, intellectually challenging, and often misunderstood careers out there. We hold space for others every day—but too often, we don’t have enough spaces where we can be supported. That’s the purpose of this community.

This is a place for honest conversations, practical advice, professional growth, and mutual support among people who truly understand the realities of this field.
Here, you can discuss:
✔️Graduate school stress, coursework, practicum, and internship experiences
✔️Licensure pathways, supervision, and exams like the ✔️National Counselor Examination (NCE)
✔️Clinical skills, case conceptualization, treatment modalities, and ethical questions* (while always protecting client confidentiality*)
✔️Burnout, compassion fatigue, work-life balance, and therapist wellness
✔️Career opportunities in community mental health, hospitals, schools, group practice, and private practice
✔️Insurance, documentation, business building, and marketing for private practice
✔️Wins, milestones, frustrations, and everything in between

This community is for:
✅Graduate counseling students
✅Counseling interns and practicum students
✅Associate-level clinicians and pre-licensed counselors
✅Fully licensed counselors and therapists
✅Supervisors, educators, and mentors in the counseling profession

A few community values we want to prioritize:
Respect first.
We welcome diverse perspectives, clinical orientations, and backgrounds. Healthy discussion is encouraged; disrespect is not.
Confidentiality matters.

!Please never share identifying client information.!< Protecting privacy and ethical practice is non-negotiable.
Support over competition.
This field can feel isolating enough. Let’s build each other up, share resources, and make the path easier for those coming behind us.
Students belong here.
If you’re in grad school and feel overwhelmed, unsure, or intimidated—ask your questions. Everyone here was new once.
No gatekeeping.
There is no “one right way” to be a counselor. Community mental health, school counseling, private practice, telehealth, crisis work—your path is valid.

Most importantly, this is a place for real conversations. Not just polished success stories, but the actual experience of becoming and being a counselor—the rewarding parts, the difficult parts, and the moments that remind us why we chose this profession in the first place.

Take a moment to introduce yourself:
What stage are you in—student, intern, associate, licensed clinician, or supervisor?
What populations or specialties interest you most?
What are you hoping to gain from this community?
We’re excited you’re here—and we’re looking forward to building something meaningful together.

Welcome. You’re among your people.