There’s not a shortage of therapists.
There’s a shortage of therapists willing to work for $22 an hour.
The other day at the gym, a friend told me about her new job as a dog washer. Out of curiosity, I looked up the hourly pay. A dog grooming assistant can expect to make about $22.50 an hour.
Sound familiar?
Recently, I looked into what it would take to set up a profile on BetterHelp. On the surface, it seemed appealing: no marketing, a steady stream of clients, less administrative work. But when I dug into the compensation, I saw that therapists seeing between one and five clients per week earn about $22 an hour.
After years of graduate school. After licensure. After thousands of supervised hours. After carrying the emotional weight of people’s trauma, grief, and pain.
Twenty-two dollars an hour.
The Truth Behind the Therapist Shortage
All throughout graduate school, I heard the same refrain: There’s a therapist shortage. Utah doesn’t have enough therapists per capita. We need more therapists.
But recently, I posted a request looking for a therapist to work with one of my client’s parents. Within minutes, my inbox filled with responses.
“I’d be a great fit because…”
“I have immediate availability…”
“I specialize in this exact issue…”
Last I counted, over twenty therapists reached out.
Does that sound like a shortage?
The reality is more complicated. There isn’t a shortage of trained, capable therapists. There’s a shortage of sustainable, well-paying opportunities for therapists to do their work without burning out.
Community mental health centers, many of which accept Medicaid and serve the clients who need care the most, often have constant turnover. Not because therapists don’t care. But because the work is emotionally intense, the documentation requirements are overwhelming, and the pay is often unsustainable.
Private practices can offer more flexibility, but many take 40–60 percent of what therapists earn. Large tech platforms promise convenience, but often at rates that undervalue the profession entirely.
So therapists leave. Not because they don’t believe in the work. But because they can’t afford to stay.
Prioritizing What Matters
When therapists burn out, clients lose continuity of care. When therapists are underpaid, they can’t stay present, grounded, and fully available. When therapists leave the field entirely, everyone loses.
This isn’t just a therapist problem. It’s a mental health access problem.
NextTherapist exists because therapists deserve to financially survive doing the work they trained for years to do. Therapists deserve autonomy. They deserve fair compensation. And clients deserve therapists who aren’t exhausted, overworked, and one paycheck away from leaving the profession.
When therapists are supported, clients are supported.
It’s that simple.
