3 answers
gianna
Student
Elk River, Minnesota
2
Questions
Asked
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What steps do you have to take to become a therapist?
What types of classes, what steps do you have to take to become a therapist? What should you study in college to help you learn and understand more about therapy?
3 answers
Debbie Yoro LCSW
Behavioral Health focuses on health and well being
25
Answers
Beaverton, Oregon
Updated
Debbie Yoro’s Answer
There are different routes to becoming a mental health therapist. The route I took gave me flexibility in my employment. I went the route of getting an MSW. I first got a bachelors degree in social work, then a masters degree. Find a masters program that waives one year of the two years of the program when you have your undergrad in social work (BSW). Therefore my master program was only one year, but I went part time for two years so I can work and do my internships/practicum. This saves time and money.
After getting the masters degree, I didn't go into therapy right away. I started working in healthcare as a social worker for several years while getting supervision hours for licensure (the amount of hours depends on the state you want to be credentialed in). You will need to renew your license every year or every two years and continue to take classes (30 - 40 hours for every renewal period). Learning is ongoing so be expected to not know how to be a therapist after graduation. Most of the learning come from experience in practicum and through trainings including books after college.
This path enables one to work in healthcare and mental health in addition to schools, family programs, prison, large corporations, online, at community centers, private practice. You can choose jobs that are part time, as needed, on call and full time. Good luck to you! Glad you are doing the research.
Find out about the different types of credentials for therapy. (LCSW, PsyD, LMFT, LPC, etc.)
Learn about about what's requrired for the different degrees
Look on indeed or Monstor Jobs to see what jobs are available and what their requirements are.
Talk to people with those positions to learn more about what they like and dislike about their work or agency.
After getting the masters degree, I didn't go into therapy right away. I started working in healthcare as a social worker for several years while getting supervision hours for licensure (the amount of hours depends on the state you want to be credentialed in). You will need to renew your license every year or every two years and continue to take classes (30 - 40 hours for every renewal period). Learning is ongoing so be expected to not know how to be a therapist after graduation. Most of the learning come from experience in practicum and through trainings including books after college.
This path enables one to work in healthcare and mental health in addition to schools, family programs, prison, large corporations, online, at community centers, private practice. You can choose jobs that are part time, as needed, on call and full time. Good luck to you! Glad you are doing the research.
Debbie Yoro recommends the following next steps:
Thank you so much!
gianna
Noah Godwin
Student
55
Answers
Kirtland, OH
Updated
Noah’s Answer
I already answered a similar question like this so imma copy it here. Hope it helps <3
I'm also working on becoming a therapist (a sophomore too) and i've spend A LOT of time researching this stuff. To become licensed you will need to obtain a masters degree and have supervised experience, usually something like clinical mental health counseling or some other relevant masters program. You will want to make sure that the program is CACREP accredited. Before obtaining your masters you will need to get a bachelors. They prefer a psych-related major but really it can be anything as long as you take one or two psych courses (I suggest psych stats as it is often a prerequisite). Since you're in high school there isn't tooooo much that you can do atm but if your school has it, then taking ap classes or dual enrolling at a local community college would be amazing. CLEP and Sophia are also frickin great resources for earning college credit but they are less formalized and are virtually never handled by the highschool so you'd have to seek them out yourself. I can provide some info for that if you'd like too.
You could also go the doctoral route with either a PhD (if you prefer research) or a PsyD (if you just want to do clinical stuff/just therapy). This can cost more and often take a few more years but you'll be able to be a clinical psychologist and probably command a higher salary, research opportunities and possibly other experiences that the masters program may not afford. I suggest going with a masters if you are at all interested in private practice counseling or just want to get into doing therapy-work as soon as possible. Private practice can be intimidating as it can be kinda like running your own business but there's a ton of tools and resources online that can help you with that. There's one youtube channel with a bunch of good info that I can link if you'd like.
Also, honestly, college isn't really a place for ideal learning anymore. If you want to learn and understand therapy, you can learn pretty much anything you want online. If you're looking for something more guided then search for therapist/clinical psychology/counselor curriculum or required classes and literally search those keywords into your search bar. I firmly believe you can learn the exact information if not more outside of college and at a faster pace. Other than that, just take whatever interests you and is required for your major. Anything in psychology will be helpful probably but just remember, you'll learn like 99.9% of what you need to know in your internship/practicum or first few jobs as well as other learning experiences outside of school.
Hopefully I didn't confuse you too much and feel free to ask any more questions, i'd be happy to answer :)
Take a look at your states requirements for professional counselors (essentially therapists) LPC as well as licensed psychologists LP and see which one you prefer.
Consider your other interests and what bachelor's major you might be interested in.
Explore masters in clinical counseling programs
I'm also working on becoming a therapist (a sophomore too) and i've spend A LOT of time researching this stuff. To become licensed you will need to obtain a masters degree and have supervised experience, usually something like clinical mental health counseling or some other relevant masters program. You will want to make sure that the program is CACREP accredited. Before obtaining your masters you will need to get a bachelors. They prefer a psych-related major but really it can be anything as long as you take one or two psych courses (I suggest psych stats as it is often a prerequisite). Since you're in high school there isn't tooooo much that you can do atm but if your school has it, then taking ap classes or dual enrolling at a local community college would be amazing. CLEP and Sophia are also frickin great resources for earning college credit but they are less formalized and are virtually never handled by the highschool so you'd have to seek them out yourself. I can provide some info for that if you'd like too.
You could also go the doctoral route with either a PhD (if you prefer research) or a PsyD (if you just want to do clinical stuff/just therapy). This can cost more and often take a few more years but you'll be able to be a clinical psychologist and probably command a higher salary, research opportunities and possibly other experiences that the masters program may not afford. I suggest going with a masters if you are at all interested in private practice counseling or just want to get into doing therapy-work as soon as possible. Private practice can be intimidating as it can be kinda like running your own business but there's a ton of tools and resources online that can help you with that. There's one youtube channel with a bunch of good info that I can link if you'd like.
Also, honestly, college isn't really a place for ideal learning anymore. If you want to learn and understand therapy, you can learn pretty much anything you want online. If you're looking for something more guided then search for therapist/clinical psychology/counselor curriculum or required classes and literally search those keywords into your search bar. I firmly believe you can learn the exact information if not more outside of college and at a faster pace. Other than that, just take whatever interests you and is required for your major. Anything in psychology will be helpful probably but just remember, you'll learn like 99.9% of what you need to know in your internship/practicum or first few jobs as well as other learning experiences outside of school.
Hopefully I didn't confuse you too much and feel free to ask any more questions, i'd be happy to answer :)
Noah recommends the following next steps:
this was so helpful, thank you!
gianna
Janette Heath
Consultant &Trainer in Holistic Nutrition, Health Classes and Psychology-food, mindfulness
2
Answers
Casa Grande, Arizona
Updated
Janette’s Answer
Hello Gianna!
To become a therapist-Psychology you have to study a lot to start practicing. You cannot work as a Psychologist just having a Bachelors degree like other careers.
You have two finish at least a master degree in psychology to practice but if you want to do a
Clinical Psychologist you have to have a Doctor Degree.
I forgot we a bachelors in psychology you can work in a business related career as a Human Resources, headhunter but that’s no fun.
I do hope , I answered your question.
To become a therapist-Psychology you have to study a lot to start practicing. You cannot work as a Psychologist just having a Bachelors degree like other careers.
You have two finish at least a master degree in psychology to practice but if you want to do a
Clinical Psychologist you have to have a Doctor Degree.
I forgot we a bachelors in psychology you can work in a business related career as a Human Resources, headhunter but that’s no fun.
I do hope , I answered your question.
Thank you so much, Janette!
gianna
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