In the past year or so I know of at least three young speech therapists (under 30 years old) who decided to leave the field and explore other options. We SLPs went through a TON of school that involved indescribable stress to obtain our degrees, and even after all that- the immense pressure on the job chased them out early into their careers. This stress still consumes veteran therapists, but they’ve put up with it for so long that they’re at the point of just calculating when they can retire. There seems to be a trend with new SLPs who quickly say, “I’m done,” and move on before exploring other options using the degree they worked so hard for. 

I hear recurring reasons why school-based SLPs are losing interest:

1. We’re put on the spot in meetings to have an answer for any speech and language disorders. I’m sorry, but even after years and years on the job- there’s just no way we can be proficient at discussing and treating EVERYTHING. We are allowed not to know the answer but are terrified to say it.
2. There are tasks put on us that are unrelated to our title that take time away from us getting important things done. This can involve figuring out new billing systems, long email threads that could have just been a short phone call, attending meetings where you only really had to introduce yourself and sit there, and so on. One perk, however, of doing teletherapy is that we can’t be asked to stand outside at the buses before and after school or read instructions during state testing week. Phew!
3. Many SLPs I know have type A tendencies and obsess over perfection. That might have been great in grad school when you received scores back on your exams, but you don’t get a score back from providing therapy. You get data- and the lack of BIG results causes many therapists to feel inadequate. If you can’t relate to that, I need you to share some of that confidence with me! I think most of us feel like we have imposter syndrome. 
4. We are held to such high standards and put in positions that could place us in legal trouble. There are aggressive parent advocates, administrators who don’t seem to understand what we do, demanding or nonresponsive parents, and unmotivated teachers/aids who dismiss your recommendations, making it difficult to feel that we will be supported if something serious happens. 

Okay, I vented a lot and probably struck a nerve. It may be hard to believe- but there are ways to combat these feelings by staying a speech-language pathologist. I’ll list a few things that have helped me and others I know…

1. Change your setting. If you’re a parent of toddlers (like me), you shouldn’t be working with a young population. Request an older caseload (like high school) so you feel you’re doing something different than you’d be doing when you’re off the clock. I don’t want to do Bluey or Paw Patrol-themed therapy activities and then have to watch those shows with my kids that same evening. The same could go for parents of teenagers- you are probably aching to be silly with some preschool or elementary kids!
2. Request a role without a caseload. If you are exhausted from direct therapy services, ask to only do evaluations. Find another SLP who enjoys providing therapy but not writing reports- split that load with her. Or pursue a supervisor role where you can support other therapists and provide training. If you aren’t yet yet, work on making that your goal!
3. Get a certificate in an area you enjoy the most and make that your specialty. You could become the AT person at your school with some AAC training. Take behavior-related courses so that you can be the therapist who takes the students with behavioral challenges (I promise that isn’t as daunting as it sounds once you take on the challenge). Be the go-to SLP for fluency students because we all know most of us feel intimidated by this type of treatment! There are other areas to specialize in, but you get the idea.

While there are a lot of challenges, the job also comes with some great rewards, like seeing clients meet their goals. Hopefully, some of these suggestions will help ease your mind as burnout rears its ugly head.