It’s time for you to start a private practice. Not next year. Not “when you’re ready.” But now.
You’re overworked. You’re underpaid. You’re not getting treated the way that you deserve to be treated. With your own private practice, you can free yourself from all of that, making more money and living better in the process.
The US needs more therapists of all kinds. But one thing it *especially* needs are culturally competent therapists. Are you bilingual or do you come from a marginalized group? You’re needed more than ever.
A Story About Cultural Competency
I’m sharing someone else’s story here.
I spoke to someone – not a client, just a friend of a friend – that is of a different culture. They’re Hmong. For those unfamiliar, the Hmong people are a nomadic people that originated in China but have since become residents of Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. They often live in their own communities and have their own religion and culture.
The Hmong people helped the United States during the Vietnam War, so after the war was over, hundreds of thousands became refugees and ultimately over 100,000 immigrated to the United States. While many states are unfamiliar with the Hmong people, some states – like California and Minnesota – have large Hmong communities. The city of St. Paul, MN has over 65,000 Hmong Americans, for example.
This acquaintance that I spoke with had parents that were married nearly 40 years. But they were fighting, often. With all the kids out of the house and both partners retired, they were struggling to adapt to being alone, they were arguing daily, and were starting to discuss a separation – maybe even a divorce.
The problem she faced was that her family’s culture is not at all like the culture of the United States. Not only are they collectivistic generally, but there many other issues such as:
- Family obligations that cannot be ignored without severe, existential shame.
- Incredibly severe, generational life traumas that few in the US understand.
- Religious beliefs that directly contradict some therapy training.
These issues are only the beginning. Our training teaches us things like “communicate your boundaries” but this would not necessarily be possible the way that we often think it will be. Or it expects us to teach our clients how to accept things they cannot change, without recognizes the severe traumas that they’ve experienced in the past that has shaped who they are today.
What this acquaintance shared was that the only person that would be able to help understand them and guide them would be a Hmong therapist, or at least a therapist from a similar cultural background. And while there were some Hmong therapists that existed, there were very few, and the ones that were in the area were either full or – and this can also be a problem in small communities – family.
What They Need is You
We need therapists of any background to start their own private practice. There are simply too few therapists out there and too many people that need mental health support.
But if you need that extra motivation: if you come from a marginalized group or an underrepresented cultural background, it’s possible that your community desperately needs people that understand them and can recognize their needs and struggles. Someone that has shared experience with generational trauma, or someone that understands the expectations put on them by family, or someone that recognizes some of the barriers and anxieties they face today.
People are looking for therapists like you.
Contact PsychFusion today to learn how you can launch your private practice and get started.