I worked in a special school for severely emotionally disturbed children. I have two master's degrees in the mental health area. I worked long hours, often including nights and weekends. If there was a crisis at night or on weekends, I was often called. BUT I was paid well, was given insurance as part of my benefit package, a decent pension and had generous vacation time. I could have worked in private practice, but I choose not to. I never had any regrets. My colleagues working in mental health agencies and in private practice, often looked down on me and my fellow colleagues working in schools because we weren't doing "real" therapy. It always made me smile. They saw a child for a 50 minute session once a week (usually every other week) and they were positive they knew what the child and the family needed more than any school mental health worker. I saw that same child every morning as he got off the bus, in the cafeteria, on the playground, in my office, in the music room and in the school nurse's office numerous times during the day. I ate lunch with him, went for walks and on field trips and knew his stumbling blocks and his dreams.

The crowning silliness of this bias was when the private and agency mental health workers would moan and groan to me about how well I was paid and how much vacation time I got. But none of them would THINK of moving over to the education system because it would bruise their ego LOL And the few that did, often came to me later and said, "Wow! I never realized how intense the work would be in a school! The kids just burst into my office when in crisis and want my attention right then! And if a teacher is having trouble in the classroom, they think nothing of paging me to come to their classroom to help! When am I suppose to get any work done!" I'd always just nodded and said, "Yeah, it is intense work." But those were the things that made me stay and enjoyed every minute of the intensity. I wouldn't have given up being in the trenches rather than sitting in an office waiting for the child to be brought in by his parent and then escorted out the door at the end of 50 minutes. I don't have a lot of sympathy for the woman. We work in a job that we choose or we move on. I respect my therapist, pay her the fee that she feels she can charge and don't worry whether or not she is getting enough. If she isn't, it's her responsibility to up her fees. Working privately has its advantages. No boss breathing over your shoulder. No dealing with organizational craziness. Lunch on a daily basis without a client--my lunch was usually with a child or two who had been asked to leave the lunchroom due to disruptive behavior We all have our crosses to bear. They are just different shapes and sizes--the weight of each is pretty much the same.