My Story: From Bartender to Therapist

From Bartender to Therapist

Once I finished my undergrad degree at Howard University in 2008, it was in the throes of the financial crash, and finding a job as a recent graduate was near impossible. I continued to bartend to make ends meet. To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do with my Sociology degree. After being fired from my bartending job (that’s a blog for another day) I returned home to my parents in an attempt “to get my 21 year-old life together.” I am still unsure of how forensic psychology came to me, but it did and I started to research programs.

Education

I quickly realized that John Jay had the #1 program for forensic psychology in the country. The bonus was that I could get in-state tuition, live at home, and save money. I applied and I was rejected due to my GRE score (I am not a good test taker). I scored a 990 and you needed at 1000 to even be considered. Looking back, I wish I would have emailed, called, and tried just a little bit harder to get accepted. I believe that there is always an exception for every rule and I also believe things happen exactly the way they should. I applied to the Chicago School of Psychology (Washington DC campus) because they didn’t require a GRE score, it was in a city I was familiar with, and had my major. 

School was an absolute struggle

It took me three years to complete my graduate degree. I felt like I was holding on by the tiniest of microscopic threads the entire time. It wasn’t the academic rigor, it was the grueling work of my internship, working full time, going to school full time, and just trying to live. I would get home from my bartending job around 1am (on a late night at 2am), go to my internship at 9am, and go back to my bartending job at 4pm. I did this three times from Monday through Friday and sometimes after work I would sleep in my car because I was too tired to drive to my apartment in Laurel, MD. I had ZERO days off because I  bartended on weekends, so I didn't have to take out extra student loans. I have no idea how I even did this for three years, but it came at a cost. I missed countless hours of sleep every night, experiences with friends, and had a few failed relationships because of my schedule. I now realize that I didn’t get to enjoy learning (which I genuinely love) during grad school.

I’ve been asked if I would consider getting my doctoral degree? NO! I really feel like grad school took years off my life and honestly I have achieved things I thought I couldn’t at my current level. 

Internship

The amount of internship hours required is determined by your grad school. My school required 700 internship hours to graduate. I graduated with 720. I had to sign a contract THAT I COULD NOT BE PAID while interning. At one point, I was called into my program’s director’s office to discuss how being a bartender “posed an ethical dilemma.” They explained that consuming alcohol was a violation of my client’s probation or parole terms, so what would I do if a client ordered a drink from me while I was working (which never actually happened)? While it is an understandable question, I felt ridiculed. I explained that finances were a recurring dilemma, I didn’t have the resources of my family sending me money every month, and quitting bartending was not an option.

Right before I was slated to start my internship, there was a government shutdown, only essential employees could work, and interns were not considered essential employees. I was delayed about two months while the government got their act together and finally passed a spending budget. 

Once I finally started, I had to switch to a different site because my would-be supervisor’s license expired and she was ineligible to sign my supervision hours. I changed sites and then the person that was designated to sign my supervision hours ended up in the hospital with a serious illness. I wish I was making this up, but it really happened. They ended up finding someone to sign my hours and it all worked out. 

Finally Finished…but not really

I finished grad school with about 100k worth of student loans. I actually don’t remember  feeling much relief even at graduation because I knew I had to pass an exam, and complete 3,500 supervision hours, before I could become fully licensed. 

Exam

Careers in mental health require an exam based on your degree level. At the master’s level, I had to pass the National Counselor’s Exam with an 80% or higher. I studied for hours, passed it on my first try (not typical for me) but I was under extra pressure due to the cost of the exam (I think it was about $250). I remember seeing the score with tears in my eyes. Next, I passed the state law exam for Maryland. It was 10 questions and took approximately 15 minutes. 

Licensure

The story to get my license truly deserves a separate blog post. It took me about 6 years (typical is 2 years). However, it’s done and I am currently licensed in Washington, DC and Maryland.

Present Day

Currently, I work at a private practice in Washington, DC. I am a trainer for DBT in Schools, an adjunct professor, and an ISITDBT board member. My clients are teens, young adults, and adults. Although grad school was one of the hardest things that I did, it all needed to happen the way that it did. I didn’t retire my tins (bartending) until the pandemic. However, I am pretty much always down to make a cocktail or two.