r/Psychologists

I cried in session with a client today.

I’ve been a psychologist for six years.

I have previously welled up when hearing significant trauma, usually from a place of care and empathy. Unfortunately, today felt different.

It is very important to me that my client remains the focus of the session, and that any self-disclosure is carefully considered in terms of whether it supports their therapeutic goals. Because of this, I naturally keep my personal and professional identities quite separate.

I also value having clear boundaries while still being authentic with clients, and I am always holding ethical considerations in mind.

For context, last year I experienced a significant health scare. I thought I had processed it.

Today, something a client shared unexpectedly resonated with that experience.

I felt myself getting upset. I am usually quite confident in my ability to regulate and cope, but in that moment everything flooded in too quickly. I began to tear up.

This is the part I am struggling with.

I was not tearing up purely from empathy. I was not regulated, and honestly, I was triggered. I was re-experiencing the fear I felt back then, which has never happened to me in relation to this illness. I have spoken about it before and have never been triggered like that. I genuinely thought I was not carrying any leftover pain from that time.

I started to cry the kind of crying where I was trying very hard not to properly cry and took maybe 20 seconds to gather myself. From there, I was able to redirect the focus back to them.

Afterwards, I was mortified. I went into my room and cried more. It really shocked me, because I have never had this experience before.

I am seeing my supervisor and I am also thinking of seeking counselling to process any pain that may still be left over from that time.

In the meantime, I am not entirely sure what I am looking for from this post. I feel guilty and, strangely, as though I have done something very unethical because there was such significant countertransference.

I checked in with the client about the impact, and they did not report feeling uncomfortable.

Thoughts?

I somehow got through two masters degrees and a PhD without publishing any research. Now I feel like I have the time— what can I do?

Definitely on me for waiting to bank my credentials so I own that.

Found out when I went to contact them about verifying my hours that my postdoc supervisor passed away in 2025. She was in solo private practice so there's no alternate person who could sign off.

There's nothing specific that I need the verification for right now. I'm licensed, I'm just in the middle of applying for the E.Passport for PSYPACT and figured I would also bank credentials as good practice.

Does anyone know what happens in cases like this if my hours did need to be verified in the future?

I was recently licensed as a clinical psychologist and have continued working at my Post Doc site in private practice. I’m wondering what to add and take off my CV because I’m interested in potentially returning to the VA or hospital setting. I’m unclear as to what is relevant to a grad school CV versus now.

would greatly appreciate any help I can get! these questions seem silly to ask.

Do you just list your licensing number under your name? What licensing info needs to be included? like state board exam date or anything about my EPPP date and score?

It feels weird that I have all my GPAs listed first (including undergrad honors) but not these recent exams.?

My research is not strong (I’m a PsyD) so those details are towards the back of my CV- (I don’t have additional pubs). But I had really great practicums and work experience, a lot of assessment. To showcase that I was advised to list every measurement and evidence based therapy I used under each individual site. this seems extremely redundant and my CV is currently 11 pages long?
Is it normal to list it like that?

On the other hand, I’ve thought about making a resume instead since I have such a strong work background. But I’ve seen advice to make bullet points like “decreased client anxiety by 75%” “increased note taking efficiency by 25%”
I know I’m a good therapist but I don’t have stats like that lying around. Yeah I’ve used some GAD and PHQ9 screeners in therapy but to condense it to statements like that would be a huge estimate. Is that what we’re supposed to do? 😅

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Hello. A clinic I am a postdoc at is offering me $130,000 for 2 cases per week. We do comprehensive pediatric neuropsychological evaluations. Testing days are about 5-6 hours. Reports are 20-30 pages long (more so 15-20 without datasheets). As part of my postdoc, I have done 6 and I feel like I work nonstop.

I'm trying to figure out if this is an efficiency issue on my end and/or 8 cases is considered a lot for pediatric, comprehensive neuropsych evaluations. Batteries include cognitive, EF, memory, academic (KTEA or WIAT), social/emotional pieces. Recommendations are tailored and usually 5-7 pages long.

Thank you for your input.

Hi, I am a clinical psychologist from Germany, I have a Bachelors degree (3 years), a Masters degree (2 years) and I just finished a 5-year training to become a psychological psychotherapist specializing in psychodynamic psychotherapy.
I want to move to Australia, however, I worry about not being able to work in Australia as a therapist. I can only find vague information on how likely it is to have my degree recognized. Does anyone have experience with the process or knows how I can gather more information? After so many years of training, I would love to make it worthwhile..Thank you! ❤️

does anyone have a good podcast rec that focuses on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy or similar third-wave CBT?

I was offered a job as a neuropsychologist at a therapy practice. I’m located in a major city on the west coast.

Full time. Working primarily with children. Was told 8 cases a month for $120-130k. They handle referrals and billing and test costs. I have to do intakes, all testing/scoring, report writing, and feedbacks. Referrals are likely social/emotional, neurodevelopmental, and learning. I’m early career-ish (3 years out). They offer benefits (partial coverage of health insurance, retirement etc.)

Is this offer typical for 8 cases a month? I just want to know if this is fair or I’m being taken advantage of. I’m don’t have much mentorship so I’m curious what others think.

(For reference, I'm an early career clinician who graduated from a CBT focused program and is working in the VA system.) I keep finding myself wishing there was a good journal or even website to read nuanced conversations between informed professionals about some of the important controversies in our field.

For example: I work with several folks who swear by EMDR for their patients with PTSD (and also offer PE and CPT), but I work with others who think the theory behind EMDR is pseudoscience. When I try to learn more from either camp, they are completely dug in on their positions. I can of course read the many studies and meta-analyses published about EMDR, or read some of the publications criticizing it, but I've been finding that neither of those bodies of work are really engaging with the points made by the other side in a meaningful way. I realize a big part of doctoral training is to gain the tools to do this synthesis on your own, but we all also know it's a lot of work to get to that level of competency on every topic of this kind that comes our way.

So how does everyone else approach these issues? Do you have trusted resources you go to gain a deeper understanding of these issues without having to review the full literature on the topic? If not, do you have any recommendations on how to think about these things as they arise?

For those in private practice (especially solo PP), what website builders/hosts are you all using these days? If so, how much time do you spend maintaining it? And how is the SEO support?

Or did you hire someone to set up your website? If so, how much did you pay? Was it worth it, especially compared to current AI tools? Do you do your own updates?

Currently, I have a Wordpress Premium (not Business) account, but I haven’t fully set it up, and now I’m wondering if it’s the best option currently. I’m especially uncertain with so many AI tools now on the market. My solo PP is a side gig on top of a full time research job, and I’ll take insurance, so I’m not trying to build a full time private pay caseload on SEO. I don’t need this to be anything groundbreaking nor do I have the time or funds for that, but I want it to look professional and do ok on Google searches.

Not opposed to hiring someone, but I don’t want to pay $700 for someone to use an AI tool I could figure out myself.

I'm in the process of preparing to apply for board certification I meet all of the basic general requirements and there's a couple specialties that I'm looking at but I don't meet requirements for some yet.

I'm finding it really difficult to follow along with the process there's so many differences in the steps based on specialty boards.

I'm wondering if anybody has already created a spreadsheet or checklist that includes the requirements for the speciality boards so I can go through check off what I already have and what would be needed and then I can narrow down what board to focus on.

I'm about to make one myself which I'll be happy to share but I was wondering if anybody else had already done this and was willing to share.

If it matters any I am eating disorder psychologist and my focus is working in hospital settings with a primary focus on children and adolescents so the specialties I'm considering are:

Clinical Psyc

Pediatric Clinical psych

Health psych

Hi there,

When you panel with insurance, do they provide a list of assessment measures they deem acceptable to qualify as “tests” that count when billing appropriately for psych assessment?

What is the difference between perseverance in autism and OCD compulsions in young children? What is the similarities?

For context I work as an RBT. My clinic does have a psychologist. My client displays behaviors of consistently slamming doors, and will often try throughout the day IF I deny him the slam. The Psychologist mentioned it is likely not OCD due to him not displaying distress if I do not let him slam a door. But she said we can’t really know for sure since he cannot communicate to us yet why he tries to shut them. I did not even think of OCD until I started to hear others mention it. Like I feel he does not repeatedly slam it out of fear that something will happen if I don’t let him. It’s not ritualistic either.

Obv not asking for clinical advice, just curious of the differences. Sometimes even when he gets the chance to slam a door, he’ll still keep trying.

I'm currently licensed in 2 states and am considering Psypact. If you are a member, how did it work out for you in terms of new referrals, billing etc. ? Was it worth the hassle and fees of the registration process?

Thanks i

Trauma, Grief and EMDR clinician here, independently licensed, working in a group private practice -

My caseload is almost exclusively veterans, first responders, emergency medicine practitioners, lawyers, coroners, etc. In other words, the people in our society who see and experience the worst of the worst.

Often, my clients are referrals from their friends/coworkers. It is not uncommon for then to run into each other in the parking lot or waiting room. I imagine this could be common in smaller towns or more rural areas but I am in a suburb of a very large metropolitan area. In part this says how needed this specialty is and how few resources these populations have they can trust. So, if anyone is interested in doing this work - which can be very difficult - I encourage you to learn the culture and do it.

I've been in this role for about 6 years and in a related role for a decade before this. Since I've focused my practice three years ago, these considerations have become more relevant. I swear I've worked with half the emergency and ICU staff at one hospital, and most every police and fire department in the wider area at this point. Everyone really does know everyone.

Currently, I have two sets of close friends (four different clients) where one referred the second, meaning they expect to run into each other and will actually schedule themselves so they can get together after the second person's session. I am deeply complimented my clients feel they are getting help with some pretty horrific stuff, and they feel comfortable enough to talk with others who are struggling. This requires me to hold very, very strong boundaries on confidentiality which is something we all should be doing anyway. But it occasionally feels a bit weird.

As a side note, I have some personal medical stuff coming up and my doctor is at this same hospital. I'm really not sure how I will feel being the 'patient' to my clients! It would be the same if I had to call 911 as the probability I know the firefighters or paramedics or cops - or their bosses - is pretty high.

I'm looking to hear from other clinicians. Maybe you work in a small town or community? How do you handle all of these types of 'almost' dual relationships?

Is 8 cases a month a typical caseload per month? What salary would you expect? Trying to figure out if I got a low ball offer.

Hello everyone,

I am posting here hoping someone out there might be able to help me out.

I am trying to apply to the College of Alberta Psychologists and I need a senior level undergraduate or a graduate level Biological Bases course. I have looked through Athabasca and the only course (Psyc 302) seems to be horrible.

I am wondering if anyone at all has taken an affordable biology based course that CAP has approved from any institution at all. I am hoping for an online and self-paced option that is decently priced.

I appreciate any and all support for recommendations.

Group practice in HCOL city hires postdocs as salaried W2s with health insurance & PTO. Offers them to stay in the practice as staff as 1099s with a 50% fee split, no benefits (insurance, PTO, retirement), part-time office space (roughly 2 days/week total, split in chunks across the week). Another factor is that referrals coming through the practice are pretty much all funneled to new fellows building their caseloads (new cohort each year), so staff are more or less expected to generate their own referrals. Staff are also paid to supervise fellows. I'm not crazy for thinking this is an awful setup, right? Since fellows can take their patients with them if they go to solo PP, besides supervising fellows it's hard to see the incentive to stay in the practice. I'd think 60/40 (or higher) on W2 basis with benefits or 70/30 (or higher) on 1099 basis w/o benefits would be more in line with field standards for HCOL areas. But I want to see what others think.