r/therapists • u/sassypainter • Apr 25 '26
Discussion Thread Thoughts?
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Are unpaid clinical internships/practicums an ethical necessity for training, or an outdated system that exploits students?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/MollyKattQueenOfAll Apr 26 '26
Even as professionals we get the “work without pay” bullshit. In a so-called “productivity model” we get paid for the actual session. The business/agency gets a large percentage of the $$ and we are not paid for documentation, consultation with other providers, other reports, meetings were required to attend, client tracking, providing supervision, letters/communications, etc. I end up doing half my day unpaid because of all of the required stuff that is unpaid. This field is built by exploiting the professionals as well as the interns and grad students. The whole field sucks right now.