How is the job market for therapists in Portland?

Looking For

My wife and I are looking to move to Portland later this year. I work remotely and she’s a therapist.

I tried searching other threads in the sub to get a sense for the therapist job market. I mostly see posts about looking for therapists, or posts about how the general job market is rough. She wants to work in a more community mental health setting if possible.

Any advice is much appreciated. Thank you!

Edit: Thank you everyone for your responses. I’m bias, but I know she’s a great therapist and glad she’ll be of use. We just visited again and we’re super stoked about the city.

in askportlandby jackalopeair

87%

2mo

I_think_I_forgot

113

Sunnyside

2mo

Therapist here. She’ll get 5 job offers within a week. Seriously, we are desperate for people to fill therapist positions.

jackalopeair

2mo

Awesome, I’m glad she’ll be able to help.

RangerBumble

2mo

And then dm me with wherever she settles so I can get a head start with the armed combat necessary for an appointment.

elizaisntfunny

2mo

If she wants to work in CMH she’ll be fine. Oregon has a significant therapist shortage. Have her look into what her particular board needs to be registered or licensed now so she can get ahead of that — it takes a while for applications to move through the system.

jackalopeair

2mo

Awesome, yeah she’s looking into that and figuring out the test and requirements. Thank you!

[deleted]

2mo

My partner is a therapist and found a job right away. We moved from the south and she is thriving.

jackalopeair

2mo

Oh perfect, glad to hear that. Thank you.

floralfemmeforest

-1

2mo

This is a huge reach but you and your partner didn't move from Louisiana, did you? I work in community mental health and one of my coworkers moved up from there.

jackalopeair

2mo

Haha no we’re not, worth a try.

WitchyMango

2mo

Portland has a wonderful network of therapists and it’s a place where a person can really establish a niche if they’d like to. CMH is always hiring, and there are some great Facebook groups for local therapists to network and collaborate. Not sure which licensure she’s under, but the Oregon boards are very slow to process applications (2-5 months for LCSW approval) - so if you’re moving from out of state I would start on that paperwork soon. Best of luck!

jackalopeair

2mo

Thanks for the info. Yeah LCSW. We’re still like four months away from moving, so we’ll start what we can.

oobboos

2mo

Yes, apply now. The SW Board is very very slow at processing licensing applications.

hydnhyl

2mo

Would you mind sharing some of the Facebook groups? It would be much appreciated!!

hummingbirrrrd

2mo

I just got licensed in OR (was licensed in WA already) and the process took about 4 months so I highly suggest she gets that started as soon as possible. I have found no shortage of therapy jobs in all kinda of settings (cmh, group and private practice, hospital, etc.).

MsL2U

2mo

I've worked in Portland BH arena for years and now CareOregon. We need as many licensed therapists as we can get. Please consider the Medicaid and Medicare populations as those areas need a lot more providers.

jackalopeair

2mo

Awesome, yeah those are more the populations she works with.

MsL2U

2mo

The she should be able to take her pick among the county health centers and Medi clinics compensation packages. May offer telehealth too!

Otherwise_Mall785

2mo

My husband has been looking for a therapist who takes insurance for six months to no avail. I’m actually in school to become a therapist because there’s a real need and not enough therapists.

lonepinecone

2mo

It’s difficult to get paneled with insurance providers

jackalopeair

2mo

Oh awesome good for you!

excitablekidsfunclub

2mo

Sorry if this is inappropriate, or feel free to send me a DM, but are you attending one of the local programs, or an online one? The local ones are so competitive to get into, so I'm trying to explore my options for getting into a program while staying in Portland (because I'm rooted here - this is a midlife career change). Would be curious to hear your experience.

Otherwise_Mall785

2mo

Sorry, I just saw this. I’m attending an online program based in Virginia actually. It’s part time because I am my family’s breadwinner and have to keep working during the first two years of the program. Feel free to DM me if you want to talk more!

petrichoring

2mo

What population does she want to work with in CMH? I’m a therapist and my agency has openings in our school-based outpatient program. For CMH it’s a really supportive agency with good benefits. I also was able to get hired and see clients (ie get paid) before my associate license went through by practicing under the agency’s license so it might be helpful while waiting for the board on her end. Happy to share if she’s interested!

Anecdotally, when I graduated a year and a half ago I applied to a large handful of private group practices and all of them gave me an offer. There is such a shortage.

jackalopeair

2mo

Sure, if you want to DM me I’d be happy to pass along the name. Right now she works with children and teens, but would prefer teens-adults. And yeah she is still accruing hours so I believe does need something like that. Thanks!

whore-4-petrichor

2mo

She might be interested in searching for TAY programs in Portland, I see postings somewhat regularly. As everyone has already stated, she will have no issue becoming employed. That being said you can find union positions, but finding a non-union option may yield higher pay. I would recommend that she market any niche skills or populations she can work with competently (ie BIPOC, AAPI, LGBT, bilingual). More than a few people I know have been able to leverage better salaries/more desireable caseloads/positions (in addition to being in a position aligned with their values/cultures of origin)based on these skills.

Nothing-No1

2mo

Hello, I’m soon to graduate. Would you be willing to DM me the list of private group practices you applied to or point me in a direction? I’ve just been scrolling Indeed.com and keep finding CMH. :(

petrichoring

2mo

It’s definitely trickier to find private group practices hiring on job listing pages. I found the ones I applied to by googling “Portland group counseling practice” and going through each one for the employment section almost all of them have. Would definitely recommend doing that!

I don’t have the capacity (yay for CMH) to go back through and make a list, but I’ll dm you the ones I can remember off the top of my head.

Nothing-No1

2mo

Thanks for this, I tried that google suggestion and it was helpful. :)

TreebeardLookalike

2mo

Considering everyone I've met In Portland has 2-3 mental health conditions, probably pretty good.

anonymous_opinions

2mo

Not in the field but as a patient I found my therapist when he put up his shingle so to speak. Sadly he was a terrible fit for me but he seems to have more clients than he can handle. I think 98% of Portland has some kind of MH issue so she should be fine.

floralfemmeforest

2mo

Others have already said this, but I work in mental health as an admin person and there is a definite shortage of therapists here, especially in community mental health. I used to work at a non-profit mental health agency if you have any specific questions, it's one of the bigger ones in the area I think.

CyanCyborg-

2mo

The lack of sun for 5 months at a time is good for business I imagine.

babycrow

2mo

I feel like all my friends here are therapists and they are all doing well. Happy/successful!

Brilliant-Apricot423

2mo

As a parent who just had to find a therapist for my teen......seems like they are REALLY shorthanded here!

I_think_I_forgot

Sunnyside

2mo

And even more shorthanded for youth mental health.

pantoponrosey

2mo

She’ll have no trouble finding work, especially if she’s licensed. If she wants to work in CMH agencies will practically be fighting over her. That’s not to say the pay will necessarily reflect that—CMH is still not well compensated here in comparison to other areas of practice and COL definitely exacerbates it—but she’ll have her pick of places and probably specialties/settings too, and there are some loan forgiveness programs that are fairly generous for certain settings (clinics at Cascadia count, for example, or at least did a few years ago.) You’ve got some great advice in this thread, but throwing my hat in as another person happy to talk shop with you (or your wife) as she considers where to land!

pdxgrassfed

2mo

I have 5 therapist friends and they have to turn away work all the time they are so full

Sekhmet3

2mo

Demand for therapists is INCREDIBLY high. Waitlists are months out for patients for even standard, run-of-the-mill therapy. She could probably tailor a work life for herself that is a mix of things given the high demand, for example community work some days, private practice some days, consulting some days, flexibility to take certain days/times off per her preference, etc.

KnitQuickly

2mo

I’m a therapist. Your wife will have absolutely no problem finding a CMH job. Those places can’t hire folks fast enough to keep up with the need. Fair warning though, many of the large agencies here are pretty terrible to work for and have exceptionally high turnover, so definitely have her vet the places well before accepting a position.

bigfatcarp93

2mo

Just speaking culturally, I feel like a therapist is bound to do well in one of the most famously eccentric cities in the country lol

lbrlokie77

2mo

My husband is a therapist. He found a job with the first company. He does mostly Telehealth. DM if you want more information.

Ecomonist

2mo

Plenty of jobs for Therapists in Portland, but most of the therapy won't be dealing with peoples individual problems, but dealing with those people's anxiety/guilt/vexation with regards to other peoples trauma.

MarketSignificant816

2mo

All the therapists have long wait list if that’s any indication

s_x_nw

2mo

Portland VA has loads of LCSW positions! Feel Free to dm, I can probably get you connected to one of the hiring manager or give an overview of the different clinics and service lines.

Disclosure: I’m a psychologist for Portland VA.

oogmar

2mo

My therapist mentioned last week that she's turned off every referral service she has and still gets a dozen calls/emails a week.

We need more therapists.

myprettyinwonderland

2mo

If she wants to work with kids- trillium family services is always hiring because their programs are rapidly growing!

Nothing-No1

2mo

Hello! Would anyone be willing to share a list of/ or point me in the direction of finding group private practice looking to hire new grad associate therapists? Thanks! :)

Fast-Reaction8521

2mo

There are so many that I gave up trying to get an appointment with any.

User deleted comment

2mo

BeautifulMoonClear

2mo

I think OP is asking about mental health therapist jobs.

AskTheNextGuy

2mo

Whoops thank you for the correction! Comment deleted.