Healers in the Making Fund

SAVE Healers in the Making Fund

Did you know that becoming a licensed mental health clinician in California requires 3,000 supervised training hours — often completed while working unpaid or underpaid?

Across the U.S., licensure requirements typically range from 2,000 to 4,000 supervised hours, depending on the state and license type.

A System Under Pressure

Supervised training is a required and important step for mental health clinicians. It helps protect clients and prepares providers to deliver quality care.

But for many future clinicians, this stage is also one of the hardest. Supervised hours are often unpaid or underpaid, even as students provide real care. At the same time, many are juggling tuition costs, multiple jobs, and basic living expenses.

As demand for mental health care grows, the system struggles to support the people entering the field. Many communities face long wait times, clinics are stretched thin, and fewer clinicians are able to stay on the path to licensure—especially those from communities most affected by gaps in care.

This challenge often happens before clinicians are licensed.

Many students and associates are balancing training, work, and financial stress. Some are forced to pause or leave the field—not because they lack passion or skill, but because the path is difficult to sustain.

When future clinicians leave, access to care shrinks. When representation is lost, trust becomes harder to build. And when the workforce grows smaller, waitlists grow longer.

How the SAVE Healers in the Making Fund Works

The Save Healers in the Making Fund focuses on one critical point in the mental health care system: the supervised training period required for licensure. SAVE partners with both licensed clinicians and supervised associate clinicians—including those who work with SAVE—to strengthen the workforce and ensure future providers can complete their required training.

SAVE Family Foundation does not provide therapy or supervision directly. Instead, we work with licensed clinical partners to ensure funds are used responsibly and where they are most needed.

Here’s how support turns into impact:

Community donations are collected and designated. Contributions to the fund are specifically allocated to support supervised clinical training hours.

SAVE partners with licensed providers, supervisors, and associate clinicians. Funds are directed to trusted, licensed partners who oversee clinical training in compliance with state requirements, including supervised associates who deliver care through SAVE’s programs.

Supervised training hours are supported. This reduces the financial burden on student and associate clinicians during required training.

Future clinicians stay on track toward licensure. With financial pressure reduced, clinicians can complete training and continue serving individuals and families.

Access to care grows over time. A stronger, more stable workforce means shorter waitlists, increased continuity of care, and greater trust in mental health services.

Support the Fund

Why Your Donation Matters

Mental health care doesn’t improve overnight — it improves when people are supported consistently.

Research shows that continuity of care is essential for trust, progress, and meaningful outcomes. That’s why this fund focuses on sustained support, not one-time fixes.

It Affects All of Us

When the mental health workforce continues to thin, the impact reaches far beyond individual providers. Communities experience longer waitlists, fewer available therapists, and reduced access to culturally responsive care. Preventable stress escalates into crisis, and systems like emergency rooms, schools, and workplaces absorb the consequences.

Mental health care rarely fails all at once. It fails gradually — and by the time the impact is visible, it’s often too late to intervene easily.

Choose How You’d Like to Support

There is no “right” amount. What matters is participation.

$1 · $5 · $10 · $25 · $50 · $100 +

Each contribution — small or large — helps strengthen the mental health workforce and keep future clinicians moving forward. Every contribution helps ensure that future healers can stay in the field and that communities don’t lose access before care ever begins.

This Is How Access Grows

You’re not just donating to a session. You’re investing in the people who will carry mental health care forward.

You’re helping:

- Future clinicians stay in training

- Communities gain long-term access to care

- The mental health system grow stronger from the inside

Be Part of Building the Future of Care

The gap in mental health care is real. The solution starts earlier than most people realize. SAVE Healers in the Making Fund exists because supporting future healers today means better care for communities tomorrow.

Donate today. Support the future of mental health care.

About Your Donation

We use Zeffy to process donations because it allows nonprofits like ours to receive 100% of your donation with no platform fees. Zeffy may offer an optional tip to support their free service. This tip is completely optional.

Support the Fund

What happens after you donate?

1. Donations Are Collected and Designated

Community donations are pooled through the Healers in the SAVE Making Fund and designated specifically for supervised clinical training support.

Students are not relying solely on unpaid or underpaid training
Partners are not forced to absorb training costs alone
SAVE tracks total funds raised
Funds allocated for training support

2. Funds Are Directed to Licensed Partners

SAVE works with trusted, licensed clinics and supervisors who oversee clinical training and meet all professional and ethical standards. Funds are directed to these partners to support required supervision.

Clinics can continue training future clinicians without stretching already limited budgets
Supervisors are supported in providing consistent oversight
SAVE tracks partners
SAVE tracks type of training and supervision support

3. Student Clinicians Are Supported During Training

Funds help reduce financial pressure for student and associate clinicians so they can continue training without interruption.

Less financial strain during an already demanding phase
Lower risk of burnout, delay, or leaving the field
SAVE tracks number of clinicians supported
Number of supervised hours funded

4. Pressure Is Reduced for Partners and Students

With support in place, partners are not forced to absorb training costs, and clinicians are less likely to delay or leave training.

SAVE tracks Training continuity (hours completed vs. delayed)
SAVE tracks Retention of clinicians in training

5. Progress Toward Licensure Is Monitored

SAVE tracks training milestones in partnership with licensed supervisors — without accessing therapy records or personal health information.

SAVE tracks completion of required training hours
SAVE tracks ongoing participation in licensure pathways

6. Impact Is Reported Back to the Community

SAVE shares aggregated, non-identifying updates so donors can see how their support is making a difference.

SAVE reports:

Total supervised sessions supported
Number of clinicians retained in training
Partner participation
Growth in long-term workforce capacity

Resources

The California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) outlines the requirements for becoming a licensed mental health clinician in California. The BBS page explains the 3,000 supervised training hours, required timeframes, supervision rules, and steps clinicians must complete during the associate phase. These standards protect clients and quality of care, but also help explain why the training period can be long and financially challenging without support.

https://www.bbs.ca.gov/licensees/index.html

The 2023 HRSA Behavioral Health Workforce brief describes how the U.S. currently does not have enough mental health professionals to meet demand. It shows that over half of the U.S. population lives in areas with too few providers, workforce shortages are expected to continue, and challenges like burnout, low pay, and uneven distribution of clinicians make access to care harder. The report also highlights that the behavioral health workforce is not always representative of the communities they serve and suggests strategies like expanding services and using telehealth to improve access.

https://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/bureau-health-workforce/Behavioral-Health-Workforce-Brief-2023.pdf

The World Population Review page on LPC requirements by state shows how supervised clinical hours and training expectations vary across the country. Some states require around 2,000 supervised hours, while others may require 3,000 or more, depending on local licensing rules. This variation highlights that there isn’t a single national standard for supervised training — requirements are set by each state’s licensing board.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/lpc-requirements-by-state?utm_source=chatgpt.com

The Healers in the Making Fund is a community giving fund that supports future mental health clinicians during required clinical training. The fund helps cover supervised clinical hours so student and associate clinicians can stay on track toward licensure and continue serving communities that need care.

Clinical training is one of the most demanding — and least supported — stages of becoming a licensed therapist. Many future clinicians are unpaid or underpaid during this time, which forces some to delay or leave the field altogether. Supporting clinicians at this stage helps prevent workforce shortages before they deepen and protects long-term access to care.

Yes — SAVE offers therapy through licensed clinicians and supervised associates who contract with us. SAVE coordinates access, funds care, and ensures services are delivered responsibly, while clinicians provide treatment independently and maintain their own clinical records.

Clinics and providers are essential, and many people choose to support them directly. The SAVE Healers in the Making Fund focuses on a different part of the system that is often overlooked.

Before therapists can become licensed, they must complete required supervised training hours. This stage is critical — and it’s also when many future clinicians struggle the most. Without support, some are forced to pause or leave training altogether.

The SAVE approach steps in earlier. By helping cover supervised training hours through trusted, licensed partners, this fund helps future clinicians stay on track so they can continue serving communities long term. Supporting this stage helps strengthen access to care before shortages become even greater.

In simple terms: Donating through SAVE helps make sure there are enough trained providers available when people need care — not just today, but in the years ahead.

Donations are used to help cover supervised clinical training hours through trusted, licensed partners. Funds are allocated responsibly, aligned with training requirements, and tracked to ensure accountability and impact.

SAVE Family Foundation tracks funded sessions, partner relationships, and overall impact while maintaining privacy and compliance. We are committed to responsible stewardship and clear communication with our donors.

FAQ

Transparency Matters to Us

SAVE Healers in the Making Fund

Did you know that becoming a licensed mental health clinician in California requires 3,000 supervised training hours — often completed while working unpaid or underpaid?

Across the U.S., licensure requirements typically range from 2,000 to 4,000 supervised hours, depending on the state and license type.

A System Under Pressure

Supervised training is a required and important step for mental health clinicians. It helps protect clients and prepares providers to deliver quality care.

But for many future clinicians, this stage is also one of the hardest. Supervised hours are often unpaid or underpaid, even as students provide real care. At the same time, many are juggling tuition costs, multiple jobs, and basic living expenses.

As demand for mental health care grows, the system struggles to support the people entering the field. Many communities face long wait times, clinics are stretched thin, and fewer clinicians are able to stay on the path to licensure—especially those from communities most affected by gaps in care.

This challenge often happens before clinicians are licensed.

Many students and associates are balancing training, work, and financial stress. Some are forced to pause or leave the field—not because they lack passion or skill, but because the path is difficult to sustain.

When future clinicians leave, access to care shrinks. When representation is lost, trust becomes harder to build. And when the workforce grows smaller, waitlists grow longer.

How the SAVE Healers in the Making Fund Works

SAVE Family Foundation does not provide therapy or supervision directly. Instead, we work with licensed clinical partners to ensure funds are used responsibly and where they are most needed.

Here’s how support turns into impact:

Community donations are collected and designated. Contributions to the fund are specifically allocated to support supervised clinical training hours.

SAVE partners with licensed providers, supervisors, and associate clinicians. Funds are directed to trusted, licensed partners who oversee clinical training in compliance with state requirements, including supervised associates who deliver care through SAVE’s programs.

Supervised training hours are supported. This reduces the financial burden on student and associate clinicians during required training.

Future clinicians stay on track toward licensure. With financial pressure reduced, clinicians can complete training and continue serving individuals and families.

Access to care grows over time. A stronger, more stable workforce means shorter waitlists, increased continuity of care, and greater trust in mental health services.

Why Your Donation Matters

Mental health care doesn’t improve overnight — it improves when people are supported consistently.

Research shows that continuity of care is essential for trust, progress, and meaningful outcomes. That’s why this fund focuses on sustained support, not one-time fixes.

It Affects All of Us

Mental health care rarely fails all at once. It fails gradually — and by the time the impact is visible, it’s often too late to intervene easily.

Choose How You’d Like to Support

There is no “right” amount. What matters is participation.

$1 · $5 · $10 · $25 · $50 · $100 +

Each contribution — small or large — helps strengthen the mental health workforce and keep future clinicians moving forward. Every contribution helps ensure that future healers can stay in the field and that communities don’t lose access before care ever begins.

This Is How Access Grows

You’re not just donating to a session. You’re investing in the people who will carry mental health care forward.

You’re helping:

- Future clinicians stay in training

- Communities gain long-term access to care

- The mental health system grow stronger from the inside

Be Part of Building the Future of Care

The gap in mental health care is real. The solution starts earlier than most people realize. SAVE Healers in the Making Fund exists because supporting future healers today means better care for communities tomorrow.

Donate today. Support the future of mental health care.

About Your Donation

We use Zeffy to process donations because it allows nonprofits like ours to receive 100% of your donation with no platform fees. Zeffy may offer an optional tip to support their free service. This tip is completely optional.

What happens after you donate?

1. Donations Are Collected and Designated

Community donations are pooled through the Healers in the SAVE Making Fund and designated specifically for supervised clinical training support.

Students are not relying solely on unpaid or underpaid training

Partners are not forced to absorb training costs alone

SAVE tracks total funds raised

Funds allocated for training support

2. Funds Are Directed to Licensed Partners

SAVE works with trusted, licensed clinics and supervisors who oversee clinical training and meet all professional and ethical standards. Funds are directed to these partners to support required supervision.

Clinics can continue training future clinicians without stretching already limited budgets

Supervisors are supported in providing consistent oversight

SAVE tracks partners

SAVE tracks type of training and supervision support

3. Student Clinicians Are Supported During Training

Funds help reduce financial pressure for student and associate clinicians so they can continue training without interruption.

Less financial strain during an already demanding phase

Lower risk of burnout, delay, or leaving the field

SAVE tracks number of clinicians supported

Number of supervised hours funded

4. Pressure Is Reduced for Partners and Students

With support in place, partners are not forced to absorb training costs, and clinicians are less likely to delay or leave training.

SAVE tracks Training continuity (hours completed vs. delayed)

SAVE tracks Retention of clinicians in training

5. Progress Toward Licensure Is Monitored

SAVE tracks training milestones in partnership with licensed supervisors — without accessing therapy records or personal health information.

SAVE tracks completion of required training hours

SAVE tracks ongoing participation in licensure pathways

6. Impact Is Reported Back to the Community

SAVE shares aggregated, non-identifying updates so donors can see how their support is making a difference.

SAVE reports:

Total supervised sessions supported

Number of clinicians retained in training

Partner participation

Growth in long-term workforce capacity

Resources

What is the Healers in the Making Fund?

Why focus on clinicians in training?

Does SAVE Family Foundation provide therapy or supervision?

Yes — SAVE offers therapy through licensed clinicians and supervised associates who contract with us. SAVE coordinates access, funds care, and ensures services are delivered responsibly, while clinicians provide treatment independently and maintain their own clinical records.

Why support the Healers in the Making Fund instead of donating directly to a clinic or provider?

Clinics and providers are essential, and many people choose to support them directly. The SAVE Healers in the Making Fund focuses on a different part of the system that is often overlooked.

Before therapists can become licensed, they must complete required supervised training hours. This stage is critical — and it’s also when many future clinicians struggle the most. Without support, some are forced to pause or leave training altogether.