New Therapist Supply Chain
The New Therapist Supply Chain is a diagram of the birth-to-practice pipeline that supplies our profession with new counselors. It is "the system" through which our new therapists are generated, and it is broken. We use the diagram as a visual aid to analyze the various steps and pitfalls in counselor development. It's a subs-set of a larger, master diagram but that's material for another post.
Why Bother?
Because I can remember things better when they are in diagrammatic form! Each segment of the flow can be analyzed and potential problems can be identified. From there we can compile a list of issues that need attention, prioritize them then determine what must be done at each point in order to reclaim our profession. Is it an oversimplification? Maybe. But I don't think so. It's a tool for brainstorming problems and potential problems. The real work, though, is in determining what must be done about it, which is what academics have historically been pretty good at. Unfortunately they tend to stop there, publish, and leave the heavy-lifting to others (just calling it like I witness it), and that's fine.
We're Somebody!
Kathleen and I have analyzed this diagram many times over and assembled a list of issues we think are worthy of our collective time and attention. The areas on this chart and the specific issues we've compiled from it are our focus for 2025, and probably the foreseeable future. Our posts, our podcasts, and our annual conference are all going to be centered around these topics and the wholistic approach to mental health and all of its current woes.
We're going to do our part to do some heavy lifting and we need your help. We want our profession back from those who have hijacked it. Hope the diagram helps!
The New Therapist Supply Chain
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About the Author
Phillip's background has blessed him with a variety of interests, skills, and tools to get things done. He spent 25 years in the printing and marketing industry before meeting Kathleen Mills in 2015. They quickly figured out that they made a pretty good business team and, owing to Kathleen's story, embarked upon a mission that would see the creation of PracticeMentors.us and eventually the Association for Mental Health Professionals.
