Should School Counselors Get Their LPC?

When you are dismissed by your administration , your abilities are ignored by your school district or you feel like you're getting shoved into every crisis and coverage duty on your campus , it's only natural to think about escaping all of that baloney and heading to the promised land .

You start imagining what life would be like if you just ran that cozy , peaceful private practice and got to wear jeans or leggings every day and only talk to people who actually wanted to be in your office . But before you get too deep in that fantasy , let's pump the brakes just a little bit .

Today we're going to look at the LPC decision and we're going to look at it beyond the lens of burnout and through the lens of reality .

We're going to look at the pros , the cons and all the hidden costs and realizations that no one's talking about , because leaving your school counseling job might solve some problems , but it just might create a whole bunch of new ones too . Hey , my friend , welcome back .

I'm Steph Johnson , a licensed professional counselor and full-time school counselor , just like you . If you're tired of school counseling advice that sounds like it came from Pinterest , you're in the right place .

Around here , we're keeping it real , we're keeping it grounded , and I'm giving you tools and ideas that actually work , because you deserve more than pretty graphics and empty promises . There is a growing group of school counselors who are sort of treating clinical licensure like a parachute .

You'll see them post things that say I'm so sick of being micromanaged so I'm just going to jump into clinical practice , or I want more time freedom , or I just need to leave education and becoming an LPC is my way out . And for some folks that might be true . But here's the thing Most of those posts that you see were written in a moment of frustration .

They most often are not written in a moment of clarity . And here's something else that I've noticed about those situations For all the talk about leaving schools , I rarely see posts from former school counselors after they make the leap .

I'm in school counseling groups , I'm in therapist groups and I know a lot of people in real life on both sides of that aisle , and I have never seen or heard a flood of best decision I ever made updates .

Maybe they're off living their dream I hope so or maybe , just maybe , the dream isn't quite what they expected , and if that's true , shouldn't we be asking why ? This is a conversation that matters , because what looks like your parachute could actually just be a trade-off . So as I'm talking about this , you're going to hear me using the term LPC .

I'm sure you already know that that stands for licensed professional counselor . States use all kinds of clinical designations , but we're going to use LPC as a catch-all for all of those in this episode , really just meaning the licensure that allows you to work and serve as a state-licensed counselor in a clinical capacity .

All right , so what does that path to licensure really involve ? It's complicated

and it varies by state , but here's the short version . First , it's not a direct path . Most school counseling programs do not meet the coursework requirements for an LPC . You're likely going to need some additional classes , maybe some additional internship hours and lots and lots of supervised clinical hours .

For instance , in my home state of Texas , in order to gain my LPC licensure , I had to complete 3,000 supervised hours of practice . Secondly , you need to know you pay for those supervised hours . In most places supervision is not free and in many states you'll pay somewhere between $75 and $125 per hour for supervision over a span of several years .

Going back to Texas , just because that's my best frame of reference , minimum supervision time in Texas is 18 months , which means that supervision at a rate between $75 and $125 an hour is going to run you between $6,000 and $10,000 .

Sometimes you can sign up to work within a counseling practice that tells you that they're going to provide free supervision in exchange for you working there , but most often they're taking a bigger cut of what you are charging clients . So beware . Third , you need to know that licensure takes time .

Between the leveling classes and the clinical exams , like the NCE and post-grad supervision , you're looking at a minimum of two to four years after your leveling courses before you'll be able to practice independently .

And fourth , you need to realize that there are ongoing costs , that there are ongoing costs Continuing education units , licensing fees , liability insurance and all of that is before you ever see a client or engage in any practice-affiliated costs .

All that to say , if you are imagining getting your clinical licensure as a quick escape hatch clinical licensure as a quick escape hatch it's more like climbing out of a window into another burning building . So before you jump , make sure you know the floor plan .

For argument's sake , just for a minute , let's imagine you've made it , you are fully licensed , you can practice counseling independently and you are also exhausted , because here's what no one tells you about that scenario . The math doesn't always work out the way it's presented online .

There are a lot of people in the social media world right now trying to convince others that clinical mental health can be done on a cash-only basis and make you a millionaire in a short amount of time .

I think if that were true , we would see more mental health counselors and we would not have the shortage that we currently have we currently have , according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics , the median salary for school counselors in 2024 was $65,140 .

So , depending on your school district , your degree and your years of service , you could potentially end up making well into $80,000 or $90,000 as a school counselor , if not now eventually . Plus you've got health insurance , sick days and , depending on your state , you might even have a pension . Now let's compare that to a clinical role .

The median salary for a clinical mental health counselor , again according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics , was $59,190 in 2024 , and social workers sat at $61,330 . But keep in mind , even though both of those salaries are within $4,000 to $6,000 of the median salary for school counseling , they're both without summers off and without sick days .

So if you don't work , you're probably not getting paid , and it's also without anyone else helping fund your retirement , but you . So not only are you building a clinical presence and perhaps a whole business from scratch , you're

doing it without a lot of the benefits . So then let's talk about insurance billing . Insurance companies often delay payments . Sometimes they'll deny the amounts that you build outright . You'll probably , as a licensed clinician , spend hours fighting rejected codes and you don't set your rates .

The insurance companies do , and they're often um , oh , what's the nicest way I can say this ? They are often disappointing .

I actually know a lot of therapists in real life that routinely wait a year or two for a reimbursement bump from an insurance company and finally get this big grand announcement that they're getting a raise of something like 14 cents a session . Y'all 14 cents .

If you think our raises in the educational world are sad , wait till you see some of these reimbursement rate increases . They're crazy . That's even before we bring into the conversation these venture capital-backed platforms . You've probably seen commercials for them , things like BetterHelp or Cerebral .

They promise flexibility and a full caseload and the ability to work from home to clinicians , but behind the scenes they've been involved in some tremendous legal battles centered around their ethics as well as their fulfillment of their promises to their clinicians .

You would be pressured to meet quotas , you'd be paid far less than the market average , you might be assigned clients with little regard for whether or not they're a right fit , and you're often prohibited from building your own brand or your own practice on the side , either explicitly or just due to the time constraints .

Those companies do not exist to empower clinicians and give them a path toward clinical freedom , as they often imply . They are here to extract profit . So while they might help you get started , they are no substitute for a sustainable ethical practice and they certainly are not a long-term solution .

So if your plan has been , I'll just get my LPC and then everything will be better , let's take a step back .

So this far into the episode . Let me make another point very clear Clinical licensure is not the enemy . I'm not opposed to it at all . As a matter of fact , if you've been listening , you've heard me say I have my clinical licensure . There are absolutely times when pursuing your LPC is the right move .

Maybe you are passionate and want to learn more about providing deep therapeutic work like EMDR or true play therapy or family systems work . Maybe you feel a call to serve populations that you can't ethically or legally work with in the schools anymore . So many states are passing mandates that limit our capacity to help certain student populations .

So if you have a burning desire to make an impact in those areas , you might want to look at clinical licensure . You may already have a clear business plan and some stable backup income to support you while you establish your clinical presence .

And , most importantly , you might be making the switch just to do it for you and not as a reaction to school counselor burnout . In those cases , becoming an LPC can open doors , it can expand your skill set and it can help you serve others in ways that you could never do in the school setting .

But make no mistake about it Clinical work is a different profession . As school counselors , we often operate in short bursts within systems . We are time limited . We have a tremendous amount of variety in our day , even though sometimes we don't enjoy it .

Clinical therapists operate over time , often through deep diagnosis , treatment planning and legal accountability for that client care . It is not school counseling in a different office . It is not school counseling in a different office . It is a different kind of job and it also means that you're not just accountable to your school anymore .

You're assuming clinical liability when you diagnose and treat clients . So if you do not have a clear plan for a clinical journey or if your expectations are based off of some sort of fantasy of clinical counseling , licensure could become a whole new form of stress . So don't mistake the promise of freedom for a lack of responsibility .

You could gain a little bit of freedom in your day-to-day work , but you take on a whole new set of responsibilities and obligations as a clinical counselor . All right . So if you are looking toward becoming an LPC , I hope that I haven't dissuaded you yet . There is an idea that doesn't get enough credit in my opinion , especially in the school

counseling world . Here it is Sometimes for school counselors , just having your LPC license changes the way you show up at work because it builds confidence in your clinical thinking . You can't go through all of the courses and training and CEUs and hours of supervised practice and not build more confidence in your abilities .

It's just almost virtually impossible if you're doing it right . It also gives you a depth of training and understanding that stands out even if you're not formally using that expertise in the schools , and it can signal credibility , both directly and indirectly with administrators and district leaders .

I can tell you from experience I don't put my LPC credential on school paperwork . I don't advertise it or talk about it . It's not in my email signature because I don't want to confuse parents about the scope of my ability to help . But more than once I've had principals , and sometimes even parents , ask me about my training .

Just based on how I explain clinical concerns , counseling , follow-up and what the next best steps are , your training will shine through and maybe most importantly , it also gives you options .

You may not want to leave schools right now , but there is a certain peace of mind that comes from knowing you could is a certain peace of mind that comes from knowing you could and sometimes having that parachute is enough to help you walk taller and be more assertive .

You may never need to pull that ripcord , but knowing it's there and available changes everything . So now that we've looked at the pros and cons of clinical licensure , let's zoom back out , because most school counselors , I believe , don't really want to leave their work in schools .

Often , when they head down this path of considering licensure , what they really want is to be respected , to have a clear role day to day , to use some of the skills they trained for and to have the ability to say no to some of the school-level nonsense and yes to making more of an impact .

When you look at it this way , clinical licensure sort of looks like the answer , but here's where we have to pause and get really honest , because the job title alone isn't what improves your mental health . It's not what brings you back around from burnout or makes your life unicorns and rainbows . The structure of your work is what makes or breaks your well-being .

Let me explain what I mean . In school settings , you know because you're there , we often feel underutilized or misappropriated . We are shuffled between lunch duties and crisis response and these random tasks that our administrators give us that have absolutely nothing to do with our jobs , and that lack of role clarity can wear us down .

It leads us down a path of stress and guilt and sometimes burnout . But it's not because we're doing the wrong job . It's because we're not being allowed to do it well . And let's be clear switching to clinical work does not magically solve that problem .

Yes , it can give you more autonomy , yes that deeper therapeutic work can feel more satisfying , but it also brings a new kind of pressure the pressure of diagnosing and treating serious mental illnesses , of managing the emotional fallout from prolonged exposure to trauma cases or navigating

inconsistent income exposure to trauma cases or navigating inconsistent income , maintaining documentation , handling stress and enduring professional isolation . And in a group practice , counselors can often experience some of the very same stressors that caused them to leave their school in the first place .

There is very , very little research to suggest that embarking in clinical work actually improves counselor well-being . So then , if the switch to clinical counseling doesn't change things , what does help doesn't change things . What does help ?

Studies show that well-being improves when counselors , regardless of their setting , have protected time for their actual counseling work , have reasonable caseloads , supportive peers and opportunities for reflection and professional autonomy . So instead of immediately jumping to do I need to leave my work in schools to feel better .

You might ask what about my current work condition ? Is hurting me , and are there ways to change that without walking away from the whole enchilada , instead of jumping to private practice and completely starting over . You might just need a new structure . You might need more clarity or a different kind of support .

That's exactly what we focus on in the School for School Counselors Mastermind . We use a smart school counseling framework to promote sustainable school counseling .

We help you rebuild where you are with the tools and the reflection and the peer support that actually protect your mental health , because when the system won't change for you , you've got to change what you're doing within it . That's truly the heart of sustainable counseling , and you don't have to become a therapist to feel capable .

You don't have to leave the school system to feel respected , but you do need to work in a way that supports your well-being , your values and your sense of professional integrity . Really , you need a model like our Smart School Counseling Framework that supports your growth from the inside out . So should you get your LPC ?

Maybe , but don't do it because frustration or burnout told you to do it . Do it because you're ready , because it aligns with your long-term goals or because it gives you something you want , not just because it's a way to run away from something that feels really hard .

With the right tools and support , you can thrive in the educational world and , for that matter , whether or not you have letters behind your name . You can absolutely become undeniable as a school counselor , and in the next podcast episode , I'm going to tell you exactly how to do that .

So keep listening , and I'll be back soon with another episode of the School for School Counselors podcast . In the meantime , I hope you have the best week . Take care .