You Might Be Experiencing the Golden Child Syndrome If…

• You feel anxious when you’re not being productive
• You struggle to know what you actually want
• You seek acceptance, but praise often feels uncomfortable
• You fear disappointing people more than anything
• You put everyone else’s needs above your own
• You’ve been called “mature for your age” your entire life

You were the easy one, the pleasure to have in class, the one your parents didn’t have to worry about. You knew how to be good. You had everything together. You made it look so easy. No one saw what it cost you to stay that way.

You were the Golden Child.

In a family system, each person often falls into a role – spoken or unspoken. It’s the way the system seems to function, with each member fulfilling a duty. This 14-part series explores common family roles found in dysfunctional family systems and how they shape the way we show up in relationships, work, and identity. We’re starting with the one that often gets praised the most…and questioned the least. Golden child syndrome.

The Golden Child is the favored child who often receives special treatment, high praise, and meets high standards. The Golden Child is often the one who can do no wrong – or more accurately, the one who is not allowed to.

Let’s also quickly explain what we mean here by syndrome. A syndrome is a group of behaviors or traits that tend to occur together. A syndrome describes what is happening, but unlike a disorder, it doesn’t always have a single, clearly understood root cause. As you’ll see, the Golden Child Syndrome is formed through a varied family system dynamic that has many layers that include the role he/she is placed in and learns and his/her own way of being that is part of the innate self.

What it Looks Like:

From the outside, The Golden Child may look privileged and highly regarded in their family. They may receive constant praise for their achievements, earned or not. But this praise comes with strings attached.

The Golden Child is often held to unrealistic expectations and face consequences when they are not met. Consequences in this role do not often look like punishment in the traditional sense but instead may come in the form of the withholding of love and acceptance. The Golden Child learns quickly: if they are not “perfect,” they are not worthy of love.

What it Feels Like to Be the Golden Child

Being the Golden Child can be incredibly lonely. They are often ostracized from their siblings; the pedestal they’re placed on keeps them out of reach. The siblings of the Golden Child often develop resentment and jealousy. The Golden Child may cope with this elevated status by developing entitlement-oriented and superiority-driven traits that live up to this “perfect” image they seek to obtain. From the outside, their suffering can look like privilege. What it really is, though, is a coping mechanism to receive love and care.

The Golden Child often develops intense people-pleasing tendencies, carrying the belief that others’ needs must come before their own. Many Golden Children struggle to identify what their own needs could be, their identity slowly shaping itself around expectations and external praise.

Perfectionism and the fear of failure become the armor the Golden Child learns to wear. When someone is taught that their worth is directly derived from their ability to be “perfect,” failure becomes a terrifying option.

How the Golden Child is Formed (Golden Child Syndrome)

Favoritism plays a lead role in the formation of golden child syndrome. One child is often selected as the idol in the sibling line-up, assigned to take on the expectations and dreams of the family system.

The Golden Child’s existence may revolve around the parents’ attempt to live vicariously through them. Rather than being a separate being with their own strengths, weaknesses, hopes, and dreams, the Golden Child becomes an extension of the parent or caregiver. This version of themselves the parents see through their Golden Child is an idealized version. When the Golden Child does not live up to this dream and ambition, they are often harshly criticized.

This criticism often comes wrapped in the package of coercion. The family system makes it unsafe for the Golden Child to be anything aside from “perfect.” The child may not feel safe voicing their opinions or feelings.

Conditional love becomes the foundation of the Golden Child’s world. Their identity, motivations, and role become defined by the approval and acceptance of their family system. Yet, the system has taught them that the only way they can gain this approval and acceptance is through performance. This codependent and symbiotic relationship between parents and the Golden Child fuels the system and ensures the Golden Child continues seeking approval and strives to accomplish the family’s goals. The Golden Child learns that if they stop performing properly or agreeing wholly, the love vanishes. Their nervous systems become wired for relentless achievement and hypervigilance in seeking acceptance or rejection.

What it Costs You to Be the Golden Child

Bessel van der Kolk, MD, a psychiatrist and trauma researcher, found that childhoods fraught with conditional approval produces hyperactive threat-detection systems in the nervous system that endure into adulthood. Conditional love breeds hypervigilance in Golden Children – one of the most enduring effects of golden child syndrome. These Golden Children often grow into adults who are trained to monitor and respond to others’ emotional states in order to maintain their own safety. Existing in a constant state of fearing rejection can quickly escalate to emotional burnout, chronic stress, and other states of havoc in the Golden Child’s nervous system. The Golden Child’s body may stay on high alert, even in moments that are supposed to feel safe.

Growing up in a home where their parents offered love in return for accomplishment, the Golden Child often seeks external validation. They may struggle to develop a healthy sense of self-worth and autonomy outside of their parents’ expectations and validation. As adults, this can morph into a desire to hear external validation from other authority figures, such as a boss, or from their romantic partners.

The Golden Child from childhood to adulthood may struggle with criticism. In their role, failure or perceived weakness was enough to challenge their worth as a human. If they were to not meet expectations, they were no longer worthy of being loved. When someone criticizes them, even constructively, it can feel like a personal attack. Many Golden Children do not tolerate this type of feedback.

In turn, the Golden Child as an adult may also struggle to accept positive feedback as well. Growing up in a home where their identity was crafted by praise, receiving compliments may feel dangerous and trigger their same anxiety from childhood.

The Golden Child’s self-image is one of the most devastating casualties of golden child syndrome. Unable to form an identity outside of their family’s acceptance and praise, the Golden Child may view themselves constantly as “not good enough” when “perfect” is out of reach. This inadequacy haunts the Golden Child throughout their life, in their relationships, career aspirations, and achievements unless they begin to examine their way of being. They may find it difficult to trust their own judgment, leading to difficulties becoming independent and making decisions. In their roles as adults, they may develop imposter syndrome, not believing they are capable or worthy of their positions because they are never quite “good enough.”

Dan Siegel, MD, a clinical professor of psychiatry, found that children raised with performance-based, conditional love are significantly more likely to show symptoms of anxiety and lower inherent motivation in adulthood compared to the children in homes with unconditional positive regard. We worked with a teen client whose parents were exacting in their expectations and she, needing their love and support, worked hard to meet them. The result was burnout and suicidality at the tender age of just sixteen.

The Golden Children as Golden Adults become anxious and struggle to find motivation away from their parents’ approval. Rest can begin to feel unsafe, even if earned. Slowing down can feel like losing your worth. It often leads the Golden Child to constantly over-book or overload themselves in an attempt to avoid that feeling.

Relationships with family are often casualties to being anointed the Golden Child. Sibling dynamics are often fraught with jealousy and resentment from the other siblings and guilt from the Golden Child. They often carry guilt–knowing, even if they couldn’t fully name it, that the way they were treated wasn’t the same as everyone else. The Golden Child may develop resentment toward their parents, creating a complicated source of inadequacy, lost worth, and lack of identity.

What Healing Looks Like:

Parents

Parents of Golden Children, it isn’t too late to mend this imbalance. There are a number of ways to create healing in the family dynamic when you realize you’ve inadvertently created Golden Child syndrome for one of your children:

1. Setting Healthy Boundaries

Creating boundaries in the family that ensures attention is balanced between siblings is a strong way to amend the damage created by the Golden Child role. With our young client, the parents were able to see as we worked together how their expectations were formed by their own struggles and fears and were able to balance the family dynamic.

1. Encourage Identity Independent of Praise

Parental praise cannot be the end-all-be-all of the child’s worth. Encouraging the children to explore their own experiences and feelings about them can help remediate this damage. Rather than praising the child’s accomplishments, parents can honor the traits the child exhibited (e.g., courage, strength, wisdom, kindness, honesty, empathy, curiosity, etc.). For our client and her family, her parents actively praised things other than her accomplishments. They also praised her accomplishments, which is appropriate and needed, but it was no longer the sum total of the praise they gave.

Outside of praise, creating a space where children can explore their own identity, interests, and beliefs can be a wonderful way to help bring healing to the Golden Child. Encourage the children to make decisions based on their values rather than on the influence of the parents. For our client family, this meant looking carefully over the extracurricular activities for the teen. Some serious cuts were made in her schedule and she was able to lean more fully into her interests and activities, not just what her parents thought would get her into the best college.

1. Therapy

Surprise, surprise that the therapist is recommending therapy as a remedy for this dynamic. I hear you. Let me explain. Therapy for both the parents and the children can be a wonderful way to create a safe space for everyone to examine what was going on for this dynamic to be present. Whether it’s individual or family therapy, it can bring in an empathetic third-party who is rooting for all of you, willing to get in the trenches with you to explore this and bring healing. It’s not easy work, but you don’t have to do it alone. Our client family did excellent work both individually and as a family. We saw much of the anxiety our teen client was experiencing melt away as the pressure was lifted.

The Golden Child

Healing is very possible. You are so deserving of it. Healing often begins when you realize your worth was never meant to be earned. You might start to wonder who you actually are outside of who you were expected to be.

1. Gather Your Tribe

It is not all on the Golden Child to heal. Healing is done in community and in practice. Through self-reflection, open-communication, and emotional support, healing is available. And, yes, therapy is incredibly helpful for those who are on this healing journey. Having a therapist on your side can help facilitate this growth and healing.

1. Boundaries

Just as the parents need boundaries when raising their children, it is important for Golden Children to establish boundaries when healing. The Golden Child is encouraged to set boundaries based on their own values and beliefs, to recognize their own needs and limitations. Our teen client was able to express the activities she liked and did not like. At first it was super scary for her since she’d never given her own opinion to her parents. She was able to learn to speak up and respectfully state what she enjoyed and what was too much in her schedule.

1. Reclaim Independence

In healing, adult Golden Children are encouraged to explore their own interests, apart from the expectations put on them as children. Relocation can potentially be an option, if needing physical space away from their family. The healing Golden Child is encouraged to find themselves, through play, through choice, through vulnerability.

Conclusion

The easy one. The pleasure to have in class. The hero. The saint. The Golden Child.

So much was expected of you–and even more was taken from you. Oftentimes parents don’t mean this with malice, but it doesn’t make Golden Child syndrome any easier. Healing is possible. I know it feels like you have to do it perfectly, that you have to do it right. It takes learning and practice to let go of those standards set for you so long ago. You don’t have to do it alone. Healing is messy, but it is worth it. You are worth it.

If any of this is resonating with you and you’re ready to finally rest and heal, we’d love to help you. Reach out today for a free, 15-minute consultation with one of our amazing therapists or coaches.

References

[1] Bay Area CBT Center (2024). Exploring the golden child syndrome: Navigating the complexities with trauma therapy. Bay Area CBT Center. https://bayareacbtcenter.com/golden-child/

[2] DeWitt, H. (2024). Golden child syndrome: How does it develop, and what effect does it have? Thriveworks. Clinically reviewed by Christine Ridley, LCSW. https://thriveworks.com/help-with/children-teens-adolescents/golden-child-syndrome/

[3] Embark Behavioral Health (2025). Dysfunctional family roles: Identifying and addressing them. Embark Behavioral Health. https://www.embarkbh.com/treatment/therapies/family-therapy/dysfunctional-family-roles/

[4] Martino, M. (2025). Understanding golden child syndrome: Symptoms, impacts, and strategies for healing. Handspring. Medically reviewed by Amy Kranzler, PhD. https://www.handspringhealth.com/post/understanding-golden-child-syndrome

[5] Wright, A. (2026). The golden child: The burden of being the ‘easy’ one. Annie Wright. https://anniewright.com/golden-child-high-achieving-women/

The post Golden Child Syndrome – What it is and how to heal appeared first on Tabitha Westbrook.

Hi, I’m Tabitha and I’m a recovering perfectionist. I say recovering because it’s an ongoing process, sometimes a rather frustrating one if I’m being honest.

Perfectionism is sneaky. It disguises itself as high standards, as diligence, as caring deeply about doing things well. Before you freak out and say, “Hi, we need to have some standards here” let’s flesh out what I mean. High standards and care aren’t the issue; it’s what underlies those standards. There’s a relentless inner voice that keeps a running tally of every misstep, every shortcoming, every way you didn’t quite measure up today. That voice has a favorite word:

Should.

I should be further along. I should have handled that better. I should be more patient, more productive, more consistent, more spiritual, more everything. And underneath all of that shoulding is the unspoken belief that if you just judged yourself hard enough or tried harder, you’d finally become the person you’re supposed to be. And sometimes that shoulding is encouraged by environments we exist in—maybe our home or even our church community.

Here’s what I know after years of working with clients and walking this road myself: that belief is not true. And the connection between perfectionism and anxiety is far closer than most people realize.

What “Shoulding” Actually Does to You

In therapy, as you’ve seen above, I use this phrase: shoulding on yourself. And before you laugh — or wince — let me tell you why I use it deliberately. Because it captures something true about what harsh self-judgment actually does. It doesn’t clean things up, it actually just makes a mess.

When we should on ourselves, we are essentially telling ourselves that reality is wrong. That the way things are is unacceptable or not enough or wrong. And here’s the problem with that: saying something should or should not have happened doesn’t change the fact that it did. It also doesn’t mean whatever standard we’re applying is accurate. All it really does is add a layer of shame and self-condemnation on top of whatever already happened or whatever we’re trying to accomplish.

Perfectionism and anxiety are deeply linked because the perfectionist mindset is fundamentally future-focused and fear-driven. It’s not just I want to do well. It’s If I don’t do this perfectly, something bad will happen — I’ll be exposed, I’ll disappoint people, I’ll lose something important. It also indicates a standard, and we don’t always stop to explore where we got that standard from and whether it’s reasonable or not. That underlying fear keeps the anxiety engine running constantly, even when there’s nothing actually wrong.

And when we inevitably fall short of the impossible standard the negative self-judgment kicks in. And this, of course, fuels more anxiety. Which fuels more perfectionism. It’s a cycle that feeds itself, and it is exhausting. It’s for sure not a good time.

Has Harsh Self-Judgment Ever Actually Worked?

I want to ask you something directly: Has judging yourself harshly ever produced lasting change in your life?

I’m not asking whether it has ever motivated you temporarily. Sometimes shame and self-criticism do produce short bursts of behavior change. But lasting change, the kind that actually sticks and becomes part of who you are? I have never, in all my years of practice, seen harsh self-judgment produce that.

Think about it this way: if shoulding on yourself worked, I literally would not have a job. We would all just judge ourselves into excellence and go about our days. But that’s not what happens. What actually happens is that we judge ourselves, feel shame, either shut down or overcompensate, fall short again, judge ourselves again and the cycle continues.

The harsh inner voice isn’t making you better. It’s keeping you stuck. And the perfectionism and anxiety it fuels are not a sign of high standards, they’re a sign of rigidity and potentially past wounds that need some healing.

Pride Goes Both Ways

Here’s something that tends to surprise people: thinking too lowly of yourself is just as much a form of pride as thinking too highly of yourself. Both are a form of self-focus that pulls us out of the present moment and out of genuine connection, with others, with our work, and with God.

When we are deep in the perfectionism and self-judgment cycle, we are living on autopilot (if you’ve been reading along with these past blogs, you know that autopilot doesn’t help us get where we want to go). We reacti to an internal critic rather than responding to what’s actually in front of us. We are so consumed with measuring, evaluating, and finding ourselves lacking that we can’t be fully present in our own lives. We miss what’s actually happening because we’re too busy running the internal audit.

Romans 8:1 says it plainly: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Not a little condemnation. Not condemnation except for the really big failures. No condemnation. The inner voice that keeps up the running tally of your shortcomings is not the voice of the Holy Spirit. It is not godly conviction. It is condemnation and it is not from God.

The Difference Between Conviction and Condemnation

I want to make an important distinction here, because I know this is an area where well-meaning Christians can get real confused at times. There is a difference between godly conviction and the shame spiral of perfectionism and self-judgment.

Conviction is specific. It points to a particular thought, action, or pattern and invites you toward something better. It is ultimately hopeful. It says, “This can change. You can grow. Come this way.” And then it moves on.

Condemnation is global. It doesn’t point to a behavior, it indicts your whole self. It says, “You are the problem. You are not enough. You will never be enough.” It doesn’t invite you toward growth. It pins you to the floor.

Perfectionism lives in the condemnation space. And it is worth learning to recognize the difference, not so you can ignore genuine growth opportunities, but so you can stop letting a voice that isn’t God’s (or even your own voice at times) run your internal life.

The Grace-filled Alternative to Perfectionism and Anxiety

So if harsh self-judgment doesn’t work, what does? This is the part I love, because the alternative is not lowering your standards or giving yourself a pass on everything. It is something much more powerful and far more nuanced than that.

There is an essential truth that I come back to again and again, both in my own life and in my work with clients. It holds two things together at the same time: I am doing the best I can in this moment, and I can do better. Both are true. Neither cancels out the other.

This is what theologians call sanctification—the ongoing process of being changed into the likeness of Christ. We are redeemed and we are being changed. We are accepted as we are and we are not yet who we will be. There is no room for condemnation in that process. This is the essence of the now and the not yet.

Practically, this means replacing the should with something more honest and more useful. Instead of “I should be further along,” try: “I wish I were further along, and I’m going to take one step today.” Instead of “I should have handled that better,” try: “I didn’t handle that the way I wanted to. What can I learn from it? Do I need to make a repair with someone?” The facts stay the same. The shame is removed. And the path forward opens up.

Mindful Connection: The Antidote to the Perfectionism Spiral

One of the most powerful tools for breaking the perfectionism and anxiety cycle is the practice of mindful connection. As a reminder, that’s being fully present in the moment rather than lost in the internal audit of everything you’re doing wrong. We keep our feet in this present moment instead of the shoulding of it all.

When we are present we’re able to observe what’s actually happening without layering judgment on top of it. We can notice: I made a mistake. Full stop. Not: I made a mistake, which means I’m a failure, which means I can’t be trusted, which means… Just the facts. Just the moment. Just what is.

This is not lowering the bar. This is seeing clearly. And seeing clearly, without the distortion of perfectionism and self-judgment, is actually what makes genuine growth possible. You can’t address what you can’t see accurately. And you can’t see accurately when shame is clouding the lens.

Progress, Not Perfection

I say it constantly: mindful connection, not mindful perfection. Progress, not perfection. And I say it constantly because people — especially perfectionists (including me) — need to hear it constantly. Because the inner critic is loud, and the grace-filled alternative feels unfamiliar at first.

But here’s a big take away I want you to understand: choosing progress over perfection is not giving up. It is not settling. It is not a spiritual or personal cop-out. It is the only framework in which real, lasting change actually happens. Because change requires trying, and trying requires the willingness to be imperfect in the process.

There is only one perfect person. His name is Jesus. And He didn’t come to give us a higher standard to fail at; He came to set us free. That freedom includes freedom from the tyranny of the should. Freedom from the perfectionism and anxiety cycle that keeps so many of us exhausted and stuck. Freedom to show up, imperfectly and fully, and to grow.

You are not a project to be managed. You are a person to be loved.

I invite you to stop shoulding on yourself. It isn’t working anyway. This week I invite you to take one of the more gracious positions I outlined in this blog and try it out for yourself. Notice whether it’s easier or harder depending on the topic or situation. Notice what you feel in your body as you get curious. And if you need a little support with it, reach out to us for a free, 15-minute consultation. One of our fantastic therapist or coaches would be happy to help you build these skills and those new neural pathways that go with them!

Ready to break the perfectionism and anxiety cycle and find a more grace-filled way forward? Visit tabithawestbrook.com/online-courses to learn more about the Taking Every Thought Captive course series. Use code RESET24 for 80% off.

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Becoming a police officer isn’t just a career—it’s a calling.

You’ve passed the interviews, survived the Academy, conquered the fitness exams, and now you’re ready to wear the badge as a police officer. Answering this call is courageous, but too many officers neglect one critical piece of preparation: mental and emotional resilience.

You’re training to protect others—but who’s protecting you?

The Cost and the Calling: What Police Academy Doesn’t Teach

The law enforcement journey begins with adrenaline, purpose, and pride—but also brings hidden dangers like depression, anxiety, burnout, and PTSD. The Academy prepares you physically and tactically, but mental and emotional preparedness are just as vital.

Dr. Kevin Gilmartin, author of Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement, famously notes, “Most police agencies train new officers to be sprinters and then enter them into a marathon.” You may be trained for tactical survival—but are you trained for psychological endurance?

Understanding the Hypervigilance Roller Coaster

In police work, hypervigilance is essential for survival—but it comes with a cost. Police officers are taught to treat every encounter as potentially dangerous. This state of constant alert taxes the nervous system and creates a cycle: high alert on duty, emotional crash off duty.

Gilmartin calls this post-shift low a “vegetative, off-duty phase.” Over time, this emotional whiplash can erode your relationships, sleep, and sense of self.

Key Statistic:

The average police officer experiences 178 critical incidents over a career—compared to just 2-3 for the average person [4].

Suppressing emotions to stay composed at scenes can lead to emotional numbness, and many officers turn to unhealthy coping strategies: alcohol, isolation, or misplaced aggression.

Worse, police officers face:

• 2–4x higher rates of PTSD and anxiety
• A higher risk of substance use disorders
• Suicide rates 3x the national average [3,4]

“It’s part of the job,” many say—but it doesn’t have to be.

Mental Health Preparation for Police Officers

1. Know Your Triggers

Triggers are cues—sights, sounds, memories—that spark emotional responses. They’re deeply personal and can make you feel powerless or unsafe. But identifying triggers gives you power. It helps you respond instead of react.

Recognizing physical (tight muscles, rapid heartbeat) and emotional (fear, anger, anxiety) signs of being triggered allows you to stay regulated and in control—even in high-stress moments.

2. Strengthen Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence (EI) is your ability to understand and manage emotions—yours and others’. For officers, EI is critical for de-escalation, decision-making, and leadership. Like firearms or tactical skills, EI takes intentional practice.

• Emotion regulation—naming what you feel (“name it to tame it”)—reduces overwhelm.
• Mindfulness techniques like grounding, deep breathing, and body scans help officers stay present, focused, and calm under pressure.

3. Build a Support System Before You Burn Out

The time to get a therapist isn’t after a crisis—it’s before. A trauma-informed therapist helps officers process experiences, build healthy coping skills, and prevent long-term damage.

• Therapy is not weakness—it’s self-protection.
• Strong communication with your partner or spouse is also vital. Officers face higher rates of relationship conflict and emotional disengagement [1].

Don’t wait until it’s too late—invest in your mental health early.

Healthy Habits: Leave Work at Work

Law enforcement culture often breeds isolation, but life outside the badge matters. Maintain relationships beyond the force. As retired NYPD officer Graham Campbell puts it:

“Keep your old friends.” [2]

Your badge is part of you, but not all of you. You are also a parent, friend, spouse, athlete, artist, or bookworm. Claiming your identity outside the uniform helps your nervous system learn when it’s safe to rest and recover.

Over-identifying with the job (“I am a police officer” vs. “I work as a police officer”) can lead to burnout and emotional disconnection. Learn to flip the switch between duty and downtime.

Final Word: You Are More Than the Uniform

The job will take what you give it—but it’s your responsibility to set the boundary. You were not built to carry trauma indefinitely, but you can build resilience. You don’t have to lose yourself to answer the call.

Let’s protect you—just as you protect us.

Are you a first responder realizing you need some support? 

The post Police Officer, Hold the Line: Mental Health Strategies for Aspiring and Active Law Enforcement appeared first on Tabitha Westbrook.

Why did you decide to become a therapist?

I am passionate about helping individuals, children, couples and families. I love assisting people with embracing their brain health and developing healthy, functional patterns.

What is your favorite thing about your work with clients?

Seeing the “lightbulb” and hearing the “aha!” go on when a client finds insight, awareness and peace in discovering the power within him-/herself.

What is something you wish people knew about counseling in Wake Forest?

What would you like to say to someone who isn’t sure whether counseling can help them?

Have you tried it? We all need tools to fill up our tool box to get through the peaks and valleys of life….the beauty of counseling is that YOU, the client, get to choose how you want to be helped. (If you need help knowing what to ask a potential counselor, we have blog posts here and here that can help).  

Share a fun fact about you:

I lived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Kristen is located in our Wake Forest counseling office and sees clients both in person and via secure, HIPAA-compliant video. Kristen has some evening hours as well for those who are negotiating work or school schedules. She specializes in working with children (including young children!), teens, couples, and families who are struggling with relationships, anxiety, overcoming past or present traumatic experiences, or struggling with identity. For kiddos, she uses play therapy and you can learn more about that here.

If Kristen sounds just like who you’ve been looking for in a counselor, reach out today at 919-891-0521 or click here to schedule your free, 15-minute consultation for counseling in Wake Forest, NC or online within NC. You will be so glad that you did!

The post Wake Forest Counseling – Meet Kristen appeared first on Tabitha Westbrook.

How to pay for counseling without insurance in Wake Forest NC.

You know finding the counseling in Wake Forest NC isn’t always the easiest process. Counseling is an investment in you and you need to find the right person and place to invest in your time and energy.

You know it’s something you need to do, but the amazing counselor you found doesn’t take insurance. Or you may not even have insurance. Or your insurance has a deductible that’s so high you’ll never meet it in the calendar year. Well, darn. How do you pay for counseling without insurance? We have some ideas for you!

Awhile back we did a blog on some options – you can read that here. Some of my clients told me they couldn’t do some of those things due to transportation issues or family constraints. I’ve been on the lookout ever since to find some options that will work if you have just a computer and a few skills. Here are some additional options for making enough money per week to cover the cost of amazing therapy – and maybe even set some money aside for other things!

Try transcription or captioning.

Rev.com allows you to become a freelancer and watch videos and type what you hear. Simple as that. It pays pretty decently, too! On the low end, at $0.45 per video minute, you can make $27/hour. If you work 10 hours per week, you’d make $270. So, that could be two hours when you get home from work, after the kiddos are in bed, or even in the morning if you get up a little earlier. And, if you can translate another language you can make even more.

Try being a virtual assistant

There are a lot of folks who own small business who need some administrative help. If you have a good grasp on something like Microsoft or Google products, you may be able to make some money helping them get things done. Upwork is a place where you can find projects on which to work. A quick search of available jobs turned up things like copying/pasting data from an email database into an Excel spreadsheet for 10-30 hours per week. Others included typical admin duties. Pay was between $13-$25/hour. Let’s say you worked 10 hours per week making $20/hour as a virtual assistant – you would bring home $200. Easily enough to pay for therapy.

Can You Really Make Counseling In Wake Forest, NC happen for you?

At the end of the day, you will make it happen if it matters to you. Counseling is an investment in you, and you are worth that investment. If you are ready to invest in yourself and the only thing standing in the way is finances, these ideas can help you get where you want to go. We really hope these new tips give you more ideas for how to pay for counseling without insurance.

If you think we might be a good fit for you, reach out today at 919-891-0525 for your free, 15-minute consultation for counseling in Wake Forest NC.

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