2 answers
Jeanne’s Answer
Hi Anastasia,
I'm not 100% sure what you mean by your question but I'll do my best to answer. A family counselor would get a bachelor's degree with a major in psychology and then a master's degree in either marriage and family therapy or mental health counseling (I have both) depending on what licenses are available in your state. During the school part of the master's degree, you'd get real-life experience at "practicum sites" which means you'd begin working as a counselor/marriage and family therapist under the supervision of both your school and a supervisor at the sites. Practica are typically not paid positions. Once you graduate with your master's degree, you would do an internship or post-graduate supervised work probably at a clinic for one-two years. This would be a paid job. At the end of the supervised hours (sometimes at the beginning, it depends on your state), you would take an exam and then you would have a license to practice on your own. You'd then get a job either working for a counseling agency, seeing families for therapy, or you could work for yourself in private practice.
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