Feature: Another Therapist’s Take
Here I am welcoming one of my closest friends, and fellow therapist, Katie Weidenkeller. Katie has 10 years of experience as a Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado and Texas.
Not only do I love Katie’s therapy style for my referrals, but she also has a ton of life experience which makes her super relatable - and therefore an even better therapist.
Katie and I discuss the field of therapy often - probably weekly. This month’s blog post is Katie’s raw observation of what therapists are seeing - and struggling with - as of June 2026.
Please read below to get an unfiltered view of what we, and our clients, are dealing with.
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What a time to be a therapist in today’s world.
With so much chaos, war, division, pain, and anxiety, it is crucial to seek support where you feel heard, validated, and seen.
With the recent changes in the mental health field, I feel an overwhelming sense of fear about the future. While AI was supposed to bring advances, I have witnessed more detrimental consequences than positives.
Lately, a new fear has emerged: the ever-cyclical thought of “Will I survive this?”
It is challenging enough to work in a field where many view therapy as:
Not actually helpful
Just a glorified friend
Just a good listener
But there is so much more to it.
Although the stigma around mental health has improved, it remains extremely difficult at times.
Insurance companies, the often-preferred payer, make it hard to provide quality, supportive care to our clients.
-The hoops to jump through to get sessions approved.
-Requiring a diagnosis (and that needing to be approved too)
-Limited to very specific minutes (45-, 50-, or 53-minute sessions)
-The claw backs (frankly, just terrible)
-The dictation of how many sessions are deemed “enough” to “cure” a client is daunting.
Community mental health is both a great resource and yet still falls short in supporting therapists (therefore clients as well) as a whole. We are overworked, underpaid, and often thrown into highly stressful, high-acuity situations. How many of you have had to switch therapists many times at an agency because your therapist left?
Let’s not beat around the bush: many of us started fresh out of college, thrown into these situations. While we received education and supervision, textbook scenarios can only prepare you so much for real-life experiences.
And if you are brave enough to venture into private practice to have more control over your caseload, prevent burnout quicker, and provide better quality care to your clients without micromanagement by big tech companies or insurance companies, may the odds ever be in your favor.
While still facing all the same concerns as working in community mental health or group practices, we often hear, “you are just in it for the money,” “you just do not want to work as much,” or deal with the imbalance of steady appointments one week to crickets the next.
Not that we need to justify why we are not in it “just for the money,” let us remind you, the session fee reflects the work put into reaching this point. The years of completing a bachelor’s, then a master’s degree, all including unpaid internships. Then we venture into the “big career” world post-graduation with jobs to acquire the appropriate license, which typically requires anywhere between 2,000-3,000 hours on top of taking and passing the exam to gain licensure. And that does not include the required CEUs to complete. The fee is not to be greedy; it is to provide a sustainable life for ourselves, our families, and our future.
Tell me why mental health professionals with a master’s degree are paid about $30,000 less than other careers with a master’s degree?
It is disheartening that most therapists, despite the vital and rewarding nature of their work, are forced to take on secondary jobs, side hustles, and additional responsibilities just to make ends meet.
At what point will therapists and mental health providers be seen as valuable assets to society?
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More information about Katie and her practice:
My approach to therapy: I like to meet my clients where they are in life and help provide them with the tools needed to make life feel more manageable. Let's face it, life is hard and unpredictable and I get it, sometimes things just feel really difficult to get through. I believe a strong therapeutic relationship starts with connection and trust. I want to help you feel like the best version of YOU and live life authentically.
What you can expect from me: My hope is to give you the skills to manage stressors in your life and create space to feel uncomfortable emotions while also giving you the skills to regulate those emotions. I also want to help you challenge negative thoughts/self-talk and help you set boundaries so that you can become the best version of yourself!
Article Features:
Canvas Rebel Magazine: Meet Katie Weidenkeller
Voyage Denver: Exploring Life & Business with Katie Weidenkeller
Bold Journey Magazine: Meet Katie Weidenkeller
Where to find her:
Katie’s Psychology Today
Katie’s LinkedIn
Katie’s Open Path
