Hey there,

I've got a bone to pick with the state of mental healthcare these days.

As EMDR therapists, we've seen the power of depth and attunement in therapy. We know that healing happens when we tailor our approach to each client's needs and build genuine therapeutic alliances.

But let's be real:

That's not the reality for far too many clinicians and clients today.

Instead, what we're seeing is the steady creep of “-tion’s”: corporatization, commodification, medicalization, and industrialization of care.

Massive, profit-driven entities are increasingly setting the terms of how therapy is delivered, prioritizing efficiency and scalability (instead of what’s actually important… effectiveness and sustainability).

And as a result…

We have a system that treats therapists and clients as cogs in a machine, rather than complex human beings with individual needs and challenges.

You’ve probably experienced this too:

• Being pressured to take on unsustainable caseloads and churn through clients to meet productivity quotas
• Feeling constrained by rigid, manualized treatment protocols that leave little room for clinical judgment
• Inadequate pay, benefits, and support for therapists' own wellbeing and professional development
• Clients shuffled through revolving doors of brief, surface-level interventions without the depth or continuity needed for full healing

It's no wonder burnout is such a big occurrence among mental health providers.

And it's no wonder that far too many clients (and therapists!) are starting to feel frustrated and failed by the very systems meant to support them.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

There ARE alternatives to the corporate mental health machine.

There ARE models of care that center therapists' autonomy and development as essential preconditions for providing effective treatment.

So what does this look like in practice?

In my experience, therapist-centered models prioritize:

1. Depth over volume, recognizing that effective therapy requires time, continuity, and attunement to each client's unique context. They resist pressure to churn through high caseloads, instead creating space for the deep relational work that's at the heart of healing.
2. Ongoing training, mentorship, and professional community, recognizing that our development as clinicians is a lifelong process.
3. Clinical autonomy and judgment, trusting practitioners to adapt evidence-based approaches to each situation rather than imposing rigid, top-down protocols.
4. Fair compensation and sustainable working conditions, recognizing that burnout is a systemic issue, not a personal failing. They advocate for livable wages, manageable caseloads, benefits, and policies that support our overall wellbeing. Or they empower therapists in private practice.
5. Ethics and social responsibility, understanding that our work happens in the context of larger social systems and power dynamics. They challenge us to grapple with questions of justice, equity, and liberation as integral to our healing mission.

The road to building these alternative models isn’t easy.

It requires us to resist the seductive pull of "quick fix" solutions, to swim against the tide of market forces that prioritize profit over people.

But I believe it's a road we must walk, for the sake of our clients, ourselves, and the integrity of our field.

We cannot continue to accept a status quo that degrades and depletes us as therapists, and by extension… undermines the quality of care we provide. We cannot settle for systems that treat mental health as just another commodity to be bought and sold, rather than a sacred trust and human right.

And as EMDR practitioners, we have a unique role to play in this reckoning and reimagining.

We know the power of depth, attunement, and transformation. We know that real healing happens not on an assembly line, but in the crucible of genuine therapeutic relationships.

It's time for us to take that knowledge and use it to advocate for a new paradigm - one that honors the inherent dignity and complexity of both therapists and clients AND that recognizes the deep, soulful work of therapy as a craft.

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It's time for us to come together and say "enough" to corporate models that deplete us, and to start building something better in their place.

Something that nurtures our own growth as clinicians, so that we can show up fully for the clients we serve.

Something that allows us to put depth before volume, and sustainability before scale.

I know this is no small undertaking.

It will require us to get uncomfortable, to take risks, to face resistance from entrenched systems and vested interests.

But I also know that as EMDR therapists, sitting with discomfort and facilitating transformation is what we do best.

If you're ready to be part of this movement, I invite you to apply for our Helicon community. It's a space for EMDR therapists like you who are committed to depth, ethics, and mastery - to gather, learn, and conspire toward a more human mental health paradigm and feel supported with empowering tools along the way..

The journey ahead won't be easy. But I believe it’ll be worth it.

Until next time,

Chris

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Thanks for reading Helicon's EMDR Therapist Weekly, where we aim to provide a weekly dose of insights, tools, and opportunities for EMDR therapists; designed to support your growth, sharpen your practice, and connect you with what's next.

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