What If We Built a New Therapy Profession That Put Clients First?

Creating a new path for those betrayed by the current system.

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Building a Better Way: A New Profession for Mental Health

What do you do when the very professions designed to protect mental health, psychiatry, counseling, and psychology, are captured by an ideology that promotes racism, fosters division, and leads vulnerable young people toward irreversible surgeries without ever challenging the delusions driving those choices?

What if the same professions that claim to help people also hold the power to strip your rights, label you, and hospitalize you against your will, with little to no due process?

Most people don't realize just how fragile their liberties are until they run into these systems. And every day, school children and struggling clients are marched through a gauntlet built by ideologues who believe they are saving the world, at the expense of the individual in front of them.

Last week, I outlined how counseling could potentially be reformed from within, how science-based practitioners might reclaim the Professional Counselor designation and offer a lifeline to clients looking for grounded, ethical care. But the more I think about it, the more I realize: that road may be too damaged to travel. Trying to preserve the trust of the public while sharing a title with practitioners who affirm delusion and suppress dissent may be a losing battle.

So let’s imagine something different. A new path. A brand-new profession, built from the ground up.

This isn’t a utopian fantasy—it’s a blueprint. Think of it less like a detailed map and more like the trailhead of a long hike. It’s a starting place, for those who see the problem clearly and are ready to find a better path.

But first, a quick refresh on how we got here.

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Why the Mental Health Professions Are Failing

The mental health field was built on the scaffolding of the Industrial Revolution. Its earliest efforts were noble, scientific study of the human mind, new methods for healing, and hope for those in pain. But as the field professionalized, it adopted the structures of trade cartels and bureaucracies. Licensing laws and accreditation systems became the gatekeepers. The personal art of helping someone through a difficult time became the formal, credentialed job of the expert.

In this way, therapists replaced the village elder, the wise friend, the trusted clergy. And for a while, it worked—at least in part.

But as these systems grew, so did their blind spots. Professional codes of ethics helped limit obvious exploitation, but did nothing to guard against slow, ideological capture from within. Over time, many organizations became self-reinforcing clubs. Educators, accreditors, licensing boards, and professional associations now share not only missions but political priorities and unspoken allegiances.

What was once a field built on inquiry has become a field ruled by dogma.

You can see this clearly in organizations like Chi Sigma Iota, which excludes anyone not trained in CACREP-approved programs. Or in profession-wide “conventions” that set national direction while actively excluding licensed practitioners who don't share the ideological vision.

The problem isn’t just bad actors—it’s a systemic failure. It’s the belief that elite professionals can be trusted to self-regulate, immune from the temptations that plague everyone else.

If we’re going to build something new, we have to start by refusing that illusion.

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The Vision: Psychological Consulting

So let’s reimagine the work entirely. Let’s clear the board and design a mental health profession that works for clients, not institutions. One grounded in scientific rigor, but resilient to ideological creep. One that embraces transparency, protects free speech, and builds trust through accountability, not coercion.

Let’s call this new profession psychological consulting. It’s a working name. Maybe a better one will emerge. But the point is to make a clear break from existing systems, while keeping the mission of mental health support front and center.

The first step? Forming a nonprofit organization to lay the groundwork. This wouldn't be just another trade association; it would be the founding body, with a written charter as rigorous and clear as the U.S. Constitution. That charter would serve as a firewall against the types of corrupt alliances we’ve seen elsewhere. No more gatherings or roundtables filled with conflicts of interest, lots of support for healthy debate, compromise, and the recording and remembrance of dissenting views when the majority decides differently.

It would set ethical boundaries, define who holds power and for how long, and establish checks and balances so that no ideology—no matter how well-intentioned—can ever hijack the mission.

From there, a shared code of ethics would guide practitioners. It would protect free inquiry, emphasize evidence over ideology, and establish clear rules for client autonomy and informed consent.

But unlike the old professions, this new one wouldn’t be locked behind six-figure degrees and bureaucratic gatekeeping.

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Flexibility, Science, and Collaboration

The world doesn't need more paper credentials. It needs people who are effective and ethical.

That’s why the path to becoming a psychological consultant would be modular and skill-based. You could start with a basic certificate—say, in conversational guidance—and add additional specialties over time. Trauma care. Grief. Addictions. Family dynamics. As your knowledge and ability grow, so do your credentials. It’s the same logic that makes sense in today’s trades and tech: learn, apply, refine, and build on it.

Training could happen through a mix of apprenticeships, short courses, and real-time supervised practice. Student debt would not be a prerequisite for joining the field. Nor would a commitment to any political ideology.

What matters is whether your work helps clients and whether it can be evaluated transparently.

We'd also bring together insights from other fields—biology, neuroscience, anthropology, even economics. Mental health doesn’t happen in a vacuum. And psychology, still a young science, benefits when we treat it as one part of a larger human puzzle.

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A Profession That Serves the Public—Not the System

One of the biggest hurdles? Licensure. State licensing laws won’t roll over quietly. But here’s the truth: therapy is just conversation. And the First Amendment protects conversation. The government can’t—and shouldn't—police what consenting adults say to each other, especially when one is paying for insight, compassion, or advice.

Laws like those banning “conversion therapy” have already blurred the line between professional regulation and unconstitutional speech restrictions. The rise of so-called “affirming care,” where disagreement with a client’s delusion is treated as harm, is a direct consequence of this confusion.

So, the legal strategy must be layered:

• In some states, push for new professional recognition.

• In others, fight to roll back overreaching licensure laws.

• And where necessary, challenge unconstitutional restrictions head-on in court.

Cases like Chiles v. Salazar may soon force a reckoning on these issues. But even without legislative change, a parallel system can grow. Because clients are already seeking alternatives—they just need to know who to trust.

That’s where technology steps in. Imagine a transparent rating system like Healthgrades or the in-process experiment RateMyTherapist, but designed for real accountability. Every psychological consultant would have a public profile, a track record of client reviews, and clear documentation of their credentials. Ethics complaints would be handled openly, with outcomes shared—not buried.

Clients don’t need perfect practitioners. They need honest ones. And they need a way to know who’s safe.

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Building Toward a Healthier Future

This won’t happen overnight. But it can happen because public trust in the existing system is collapsing. Two-thirds of Americans already express little faith in medical institutions. Mental health professions, which have long struggled to earn public confidence, are now being exposed as politically compromised and ethically inconsistent.

We can do better.

A new profession of psychological consultants can start small pilot programs, review-based platforms, training cohorts. And as it grows, it can draw disillusioned therapists, curious scientists, and courageous thinkers who still believe that truth and compassion are not mutually exclusive.

It’s not just about escaping a broken system. It’s about proving that something better can be built.

If we get the structure right—if we root it in ethics, science, and transparency, we won't just offer an alternative.

We’ll offer hope.

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Wonder what that would look like as a business plan? Check out how it could be planned out below. Feel free to amend, change, and alter this as your imagination and good sense dictate. Then find some friends and go do something about it.

PHASE 1: FOUNDATION & FRAMING (0–6 Months)

1. Form the Foundational Nonprofit

• Entity: Launch a 501(c)(3) called The Psychological Consulting Alliance (PCA).

• Mission: Restore ethical, evidence-based mental health practice free from ideological capture.

• Governance: Start with a founding board with diverse backgrounds (law, science, therapy, client advocacy).

• Safeguards: Enact bylaws that prevent capture—term limits, open-source ethics code, transparency requirements, whistleblower protections.

2. Develop the “Constitution”

• Name: Call it the Foundational Ethical Charter.

• Content:

  • Affirm client autonomy and free speech.

  • Prohibit ideological discrimination.

  • Require rigorous conflict-of-interest disclosure.

  • Require that all theories or interventions be grounded in falsifiable or replicable knowledge (or clearly labeled otherwise).

• Public Input: Create a public comment portal for iterative development.

3. Brand & Frame the Profession

• Title: Psychological Consultant.

• Framing Strategy:

  • “Guides grounded in science, not ideology.”

  • Position as client-first, results-driven, evidence-oriented.

  • Avoid framing as “anti-counseling”—instead, frame as restoring what therapy was meant to be.

• Outreach:

  • Secure endorsements/testimonials from respected professionals and ex-clients harmed by legacy systems.

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PHASE 2: PLATFORM & PILOT (6–18 Months)

4. Build the Digital Infrastructure

• Platform: Develop a flagship site—Psychology_Consulting.org—with:

  • Practitioner directory

  • Ratings & reviews (similar to RateMyTherapist)

  • Credential search

  • Transparent public ethics violations reporting system

  • Resource library on free speech & scientific standards in mental health

5. Create a Training + Credentialing System

• Credential Levels (stackable):

  • Level I: Psychological Guide (basic ethics + conversational skillset)

  • Level II: Psychological Consultant (apprenticeship + core theory)

  • Level III: Specialist (add-on modules for grief, trauma, etc.)

• Education Models:

  • Online micro-certifications with rigorous content and case-based assessments

  • Apprenticeship with mentor evaluations and real-time feedback

  • Credit-bearing continuing education open to allied professionals (e.g., pastors, coaches, nurses)

6. Launch the First Cohort Pilot

• Recruitment:

  • Invite professionals who left the field due to ideology

  • Invite clients to nominate former therapists they trusted

• Purpose:

  • Gather outcome data and reviews

  • Test legal boundaries (speech, payment models)

  • Refine rating, grievance, and education systems

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PHASE 3: GROWTH & SYSTEMIC DISRUPTION (18–36 Months)

7. Build a Transparent Public Reputation System

• Client-Facing:

  • Verified public reviews

  • Ethics scorecard and complaint resolution history per consultant

  • Clear markers for training level and specialty

• Practitioner-Facing:

  • Dashboards for personal growth and outcomes

  • Peer forums to discuss cases (anonymized) and research

8. Legal Strategy Development

• Partner with:

  • First Amendment law centers (e.g., FIRE, Pacific Legal Foundation)

  • Strategic constitutional litigators

• Plan for Three Paths:

  1. Parallel Practice: Operate in jurisdictions without licensing laws

  2. Legal Reform: Draft legislation to create “free speech” exemptions or new designations

  3. Litigation: Support a test case (e.g., Chiles v. Salazar) to set legal precedent

• Media Strategy:

  • Highlight regulatory abuses

  • Feature harmed clients and brave consultants

  • Position the movement as pro-science, pro-choice (in therapy), pro-ethics

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PHASE 4: ECOSYSTEM & GLOBAL OPTIONS (36+ Months)

9. Develop an Ecosystem of Trust & Transparency

• Technological tools:

  • Blockchain credential verification

  • AI-assisted case documentation (privacy-centric)

  • Outcome tracking systems modeled after Scott Miller’s supertherapist studies

• Public Engagement:

  • Webinars, public conversations, client Q&A events

  • “Transparency badges” for top-rated consultants

10. Expand Globally & Cross-Disciplinary

• Global Reach:

  • Launch in countries with therapy shortages or where licensing is loose (e.g., Latin America, Eastern Europe)

  • Partner with NGOs or private health orgs to offer affordable care

• Cross-Training:

  • Create consultant training tracks for:

    • Teachers (psych literacy)

    • Coaches (scientific guidance)

    • Clergy (ethical boundaries)

    • Journalists (mental health accuracy)

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Further Reading

Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows

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About

Diogenes in Exile began after I returned to grad school to pursue a Clinical Mental Health Counseling master’s degree at the University of Tennessee. What I encountered, however, was a program deeply entrenched in Critical Theories ideology. During my time there, I experienced significant resistance, particularly for my Buddhist practice, which was labeled as invalidating to other identities. After careful reflection, I chose to leave the program, believing the curriculum being taught would ultimately harm clients and lead to unethical practices in the field.

Since then, I’ve dedicated myself to investigating, writing, and speaking out about the troubling direction of psychology, higher education, and other institutions that seem to have lost their way. When I’m not working on these issues, you’ll find me in the garden, creating art, walking my dog, or guiding my kids toward adulthood.

You can also find my work at Minding the Campus