Psychologists or Counselors out there (question about career

tkcasta
tkcasta Posts: 405 Member
in Chit-Chat
Hey,
Are there any counselors or psychologists out there? I'm just wondering how you chose your graduate program and what your experience was like. I'm interested in Clinical Psych (possibly counseling psych) for my grad program and am just exploring what other people have done.

I'm interested mostly in practice but it seems like almost all programs are completely research based, some are integrated (which I think would be ideal) or they're completely practice based which I worry would make it impossible to get an academic job if I so choose.

Thank you in advance! I'm excited to see what people have to say!

Replies

  • MrsGoHard
    MrsGoHard Posts: 150 Member
    Bump
  • catfish9
    catfish9 Posts: 138
    I'm not a counselor (BA in Psychology, with occasional daydreams about getting my Masters....:P) but I would suggest talking to some of your undergrad professors. I always found them to be super helpful. If you ask around the psych department, odds are that someone may be or may have been at one point a practicing clinician. :)
  • shazzannon
    shazzannon Posts: 117 Member
    Depending on the state you're in, you can go for an Ed.S. (education specialist) degree if you want to be a therapist. It's basically between a masters and a Ph.D, and in some states (like Indiana) you can have a private counseling practice without pursuing a full Ph.D. You can also use your Ed.S. degree to get teaching gig, though I'm not sure if it would be enough for a collegiate level job.

    If you're wanting your doctorate, you can always pursue a PsyD, which focuses much more on counseling than research.

    I'm in the same boat-I'm much more interested in the counseling aspect of psych than research. One tip I've learned is that if you're having trouble finding the degree you want to pursue in the psych department, try the education department instead, especially if you want to pursue counseling. I dismissed a LOT of schools before I figured out that one :smile:

    ETA links-hope these help!

    IU's Ed.S. degree information (this is the one I'm looking into)
    http://education.indiana.edu/EdSProgram/tabid/5551/Default.aspx

    More info on Ed.S.
    http://cel.cmich.edu/eds-edd/faq.aspx

    More info on PsyD
    http://psychology.about.com/od/education/a/psyd.htm
  • mznisaelaine
    mznisaelaine Posts: 2,262 Member
    I'm a current undergrad majoring in psychology and will go for Applied Behavior Analysis graduate programs. Bcba.com is good or behavior.org are good websites to look at if you want to know more about ABA.
  • tkcasta
    tkcasta Posts: 405 Member
    I'm not a counselor (BA in Psychology, with occasional daydreams about getting my Masters....:P) but I would suggest talking to some of your undergrad professors. I always found them to be super helpful. If you ask around the psych department, odds are that someone may be or may have been at one point a practicing clinician. :)
    All my department peeps are the same they all graduated from the U of M (its a closed circuit at this school) and I'm just looking for other perspectives.
  • tkcasta
    tkcasta Posts: 405 Member
    Depending on the state you're in, you can go for an Ed.S. (education specialist) degree if you want to be a therapist. It's basically between a masters and a Ph.D, and in some states (like Indiana) you can have a private counseling practice without pursuing a full Ph.D. You can also use your Ed.S. degree to get teaching gig, though I'm not sure if it would be enough for a collegiate level job.

    If you're wanting your doctorate, you can always pursue a PsyD, which focuses much more on counseling than research.

    I'm in the same boat-I'm much more interested in the counseling aspect of psych than research. One tip I've learned is that if you're having trouble finding the degree you want to pursue in the psych department, try the education department instead, especially if you want to pursue counseling. I dismissed a LOT of schools before I figured out that one :smile:

    ETA links-hope these help!

    IU's Ed.S. degree information (this is the one I'm looking into)
    http://education.indiana.edu/EdSProgram/tabid/5551/Default.aspx

    More info on Ed.S.
    http://cel.cmich.edu/eds-edd/faq.aspx

    More info on PsyD
    http://psychology.about.com/od/education/a/psyd.htm
    I'm iffy on PsyDs. I've looked at the programs but I'm not thrilled with a lot of the curriculum. I'm definitely planning to get my doctorate though!
  • tkcasta
    tkcasta Posts: 405 Member
    I'm a current undergrad majoring in psychology and will go for Applied Behavior Analysis graduate programs. Bcba.com is good or behavior.org are good websites to look at if you want to know more about ABA.
    That's cool! I'm definitely not ready to specialize, and I lean away from behavior therapies, I think they are amazing for a lot of things but it's definitely not my forte.
  • fitby38
    fitby38 Posts: 307 Member
    i have a masters in counseling but i took the route of school counseling ... i guess if i could do it over again i wouldve gone another track ... all you can do with a masters in school counseling is well ... school counseling :o)
  • inside_lap
    inside_lap Posts: 728 Member
    Clinical Psychologist. Feel free to send me a message with questions about grad school and beyond. :)
  • ohpiper
    ohpiper Posts: 697 Member
    Background in School Psych. (M.A. Developmental Psy., Psy.S School Psy). I now work in a different field. The school psych is more along the lines of testing and often developing recommendations that end up lost in a file somewhere. The graduate degrees are helpful, though, if you want to teach at a university level. What I was teaching was actually not directly related with my graduate work. You never know sometimes, where the road will take you.
  • cenedra777
    cenedra777 Posts: 21
    My masters is in counseling, and while I still see individual clients on a very part time basis, my full time work is in the adoption field. I absolutely LOVE what I do, and am very thankful to be doing it! :love:

    I have found, however, that folks with social work degrees have more career opportunities than those with counseling degrees. Some of my professors said it's because they just have better lobbyists. LOL. Who knows. I love it when I can partner with a social worker, so we can combine our educational backgrounds to give the best possible service to those we encounter.

    It really depends on what your heart wants to do. Whatever your passion is - follow it - and the doors will open!
  • davyrockhit214
    davyrockhit214 Posts: 71
    LMSW mental health counselor. I love my job, minus the paperwork heeeheee
  • eatathome
    eatathome Posts: 81 Member
    I have my MA but if I had it to do over again I would've skipped the masters and gone straight to a PhD. I do a lot of part time, fee-for-service work that basically only pays what I can bill for (I do a lot of work outside of work that I can't bill for). I understand your dilemma. . .I'd honestly rather work in research/academia, but it's a tough field right now, so I'm probably going to end up getting a PhD in School Psychology so I can be licensed as a psychologist (at least in this state), but still have the PhD and be qualified to work in academia/research (not so easy to do with a PsyD or EdD).

    I'd honestly rather just get my PhD in Social Psychology. But I'm too afraid it will leave me with no options.
  • neverstray
    neverstray Posts: 3,845 Member
    Is it possible you are mixing things up, which is why you aren't getting the answers you want? A Masters in clinical psych means research. If you do counsel, it's for research. A masters in family counseling (MFC) will get you what you want. We have those programs in CA. Don't know if they are available in your state.

    Additionally, over and over again, all of my profs told me to skip the masters. It's a waste of tme. Just get the phd. You don't need a masters to get a phd. With a phd, you can do a lot more with it.
  • laserturkey
    laserturkey Posts: 1,680 Member
    I got my Ed.S. in School Psychology from the University of Kansas, which has a fine reputation in that area of study.

    My general advice about graduate school:
    If you don't get it in writing, it never happened.
    A good portion of graduate school is learning to jump through administrative hoops. You will likely learn more in your first year on the job after you get your degree.
  • barbaramitchell101
    barbaramitchell101 Posts: 360 Member
    LMSW mental health counselor. I love my job, minus the paperwork heeeheee


    LOL, I know how you feel....I am a biller...

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