Voices: We all suffer when Utah therapists are forced to choose between their passion and their survival

When lawmakers chip away at safety nets that families rely on, the effects ripple far beyond individual households. They impact the very infrastructure of our communities, our schools, our clinics and our mental health systems.

As a nonprofit mental health clinic serving Utah’s most vulnerable and marginalized populations, therapists at Flourish Therapy — like me — feel these impacts firsthand, every day.

Our therapists are among the most dedicated professionals you will ever meet. We carry the stories of trauma survivors, walk alongside clients through grief and identity exploration, and help families and couples stay connected through life’s darkest chapters. Yet, despite the life-saving work we do, most of our therapists are burdened by significant financial strain.

To practice, we are required to hold a master’s degree. This level of education comes with immense student debt. Debt that is often untenable on a nonprofit salary. Many of our therapists are parents themselves, navigating rising housing costs and childcare expenses while showing up daily for the wellbeing of others. It is both unsustainable and unjust.

I know this firsthand. I entered the field to make a difference. To support queer and trans youth, to challenge oppressive systems, and to help people heal. But after completing a master’s program and working in this field for over a decade, I carry five figures (six after the high interest rate at the end of the 30-year loan term) of student debt and rely on public service loan programs just to survive.

In recent years, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and the SAVE repayment plan have offered some hope. These programs acknowledge that those in helping professions — therapists, social workers, nurses and teachers — all deserve relief for the education they needed to serve. But the future of these programs is now uncertain, caught in the crosshairs of political agendas that dismiss the lived realities of those who rely on and provide public services. This has been a terrifying reality for us.

I shouldn’t have to choose between doing the work I love and paying my rent. I fear the possibility of my wages being garnished if I get removed from the SAVE plan and can’t afford my student loan payments.

Higher education should be a right, not a burden. And those who choose careers of care and service should not be punished for that choice with a lifetime of financial insecurity. We should be paid enough to live with stability and dignity.

Nonprofit clinics like ours cannot compete with private-sector salaries. We rely on grant funding, donations and the resilience of a workforce driven by mission over money. But compassion shouldn’t be exploited. When our therapists are forced to choose between their passion and their survival, our entire system suffers. Clients lose access to continuity of care. Burnout rises. And the mental health crisis deepens.

We urge lawmakers and community leaders to consider the real human cost of defunding safety nets and stalling student debt relief programs. If we want thriving, emotionally resilient communities, we must invest in the people who hold them together.

Utah deserves better. Our therapists, and the families they support, deserve better.

C Meyer (she/they), TRS, CTRS, CSW, is a genderqueer, neurodivergent therapist at Flourish Therapy. A graduate of the University of Utah’s MSW and Recreational Therapy programs, they have spent the past decade advocating for equitable care for transgender youth and now facilitate a support group for trans and nonbinary individuals. Their work is rooted in social justice, community organizing, Queer Theory and body-based healing, and they are EMDR-trained and passionate about psychedelic-assisted therapy, trauma recovery and holistic mental health.

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