nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com

The state and more than 20 others restrict therapists from trying to change the gender identity or sexual orientation of L.G.B.T.Q. clients under the age of 18.

Needless to say, this will seriously scar a whole lot of kids whose homophobic parents force them through this

  • ickplant
    1·
    8 小时前

    I don’t think making people get PhDs in order to be a therapist is a solution here.

    I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a therapist. I already had to go through 2 years of grad school plus a little over 3,000 hours of supervised work before receiving my license (I also did an additional 2-year post-grad program in marriage and family therapy).

    Acting like that doesn’t make me qualified to provide therapy is frankly bullshit and elitist.

    LCSWs are the largest group providing behavioral health services in the Unted States, at 60% (Page 7 - https://socialwork.utexas.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/TX-SW-Workforce-Report24.pdf). Suggesting that every single therapist should be a PhD would result in a very swift and decisive mental health crisis in the country because not everyone can afford to take years off making income to get another degree.

    Wouldn’t it be nice if every doctor did a psychiatry residency and a cardiology residency and a surgical residency… you know, so that they can be the best doctor and provide the best services? And don’t get me started on PAs!

    Shouldn’t all nurses be RNAs then? Why have CNAs and such?

    I am sure you see my point.

    It is absolutely true that there are bad master’s-level clinicians out there (case in point, see the therapist who brought this suit). There are also bad PhDs out there. Your degree does not determine how good of a therapist you are.

    The solution is to do a much better job with state regulations and laws, which will only take you so far… once again, case in point. Colorado tried to do the right thing only to have the Supreme Court shut them down.

    Your entire argument is summed up and rebutted here, if you care to read: https://www.psichi.org/page/042EyeWin00bActkinso

    • daanniiEnglish
      1·
      3 小时前

      Well I ment have these higher regulations specifically for conversion therapy as a way to make it near impossible for anyone to do it.

      I suggested that to get license for conversion therapy you must have supervised training by someone with a conversion therapy license. Of which this would be a closed system. As no one can have a license without someone else having it first to train them. Maybe that wasn’t clear in my proposal.

      Conservatives push laws like this all the time that basically make it so no exceptions can meet the qualifications for the exceptions.

      Why not do the same ?

      And yeah there are great therapist with masters and terrible ones with PhDs. I only referred to statistics.

      Statistically, PhD are more likely to use evidence based therapies like CBT and have better patient outcomes.

      But CBT can be given by a master’s holder.

      I’ve definitely met people with masters doing therapy who are much more informed and scientific minded than some PhDs Ive met.

      It really depends on the individual and the university they attend and the focus of their curriculum.