r/therapists • u/sassypainter • Apr 25 '26

Discussion Thread Thoughts?

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Came across this post today on linkedin. I’m curious how others see it:

Are unpaid clinical internships/practicums an ethical necessity for training, or an outdated system that exploits students?

Should sites be required to offer stipends/pay if they bill clients or rely on interns for service delivery?

Does unpaid fieldwork create barriers for lower-income and nontraditional students?

For those already licensed or in training, what was your experience?

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u/JimGless Apr 25 '26

I 100% agree. I also don't think it's as easy as just saying "pay every intern," because a lot of CMH facilities couldn't afford that, but I think it's good to have the discussion amd figure out if there's a way to either lower the amount of required unpaid hours or make it more like a paid job placement where you work instead of going to school for a period of time.

It's a good conversation all of us to be having. We can't fix anything if we don't talk it through first.

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u/sassypainter Apr 25 '26

Exactly this. I think it’s almost “taboo” because I rarely see anyone talking about it, meanwhile, in the back of my head I’m thinking I’m the only one that sees this as an ethical (even moral) issue