I'm going for clinical mental health counseling (CMHC) license in IL. I acknowledge I'm in a privileged position. But I still hate it
They charge for undergrad
They charge for grad school (which is really just jobs training you have to pay to get)
Pay for testing (including a multiple choice test on freuds old dumb theories about the phallic stage of life). Complete BS by the monopolist testing company Pearson. A paper test doesnt prove to anyone I can counsel
Then you have to get 700 hours as an intern. But for the first semester only 100 max can count. I had over 400 but only 100 count. Who can afford to work 9-12 months for free while likely being in massive debt already?
And then the industry is completely captured by insurance companies. No diagnosis, no coverage. And only certain diagnoses are covered. The diagnoses themselves are often unscientific (being gay used to be one, being trans still is (with dysphoria)).
Most counselors themselves are burnt out and tired. As David Graeber said, a lot of BS jobs such as counseling (not all but it's a bloated field) are only there to support other ppl who are unwell because they are overworked. Instead of preventing mental harm, lets just grow the counseling industry to profit off it. I do think Im helping my clients, but Im frustrated cause the pressures society places on ppl are causing these mental health issues but thats not our department I guess (or anyones). I can go on forever but just needed to vent a bit