Pathways to becoming a therapist

My Path to Becoming a Therapist: From Researcher to Coach to Counselor Category: Personal Story Reading time: 7 min Author: Jonathan Forney I did not set out to become a therapist. For most of my adult life, I thought my calling was understanding conflict — specifically, the kind of conflict that pulls men into militias, gangs, and wars. I trained as a political scientist. I wanted to contribute to solving the perennial human problem of violence. What I did not anticipate was that the path toward understanding conflict among people would eventually lead me to the question of conflict within them — and toward a career that feels like my true calling. Sierra Leone and the Accidental Therapist In 2010, I traveled to Sierra Leone to conduct doctoral fieldwork about civilians who had joined community-defense militias during the war that had raged there from 1991 to 2002. Over the course of a year, I learned the local lingua franca, Krio, and s...

Which Path Is Right for Me? A Quiz for Aspiring Therapists and Counselors Category: Career Planning Format: Interactive Quiz Audience: Prospective Students & Career Changers If you have been researching careers in clinical mental health, you have probably noticed that there are many different degree programs and licensure pathways, and that the differences among them are not always obvious. This quiz is designed to help you think through which path might be the best fit for you, based on your interests, goals, and circumstances. The quiz has 10 questions organized into three blocks: your career goals, who you want to work with, and practical considerations. At the end, you will receive a primary recommendation and a secondary recommendation, along with an explanation of why each one may be a good fit. These results are meant as a starting point for further research, not a definitive answer. An important caveat before you begin: this quiz is t...

So You Want to Become a Therapist: A Guide for Career Changers and Prospective Students Category: Getting Started Reading time: 6 min Audience: Prospective Students & Career Changers I have started to notice a pattern. Over the past year, a growing number of friends and acquaintances have been asking me the same question: how do I become a therapist? Many of them are considering the same kind of career shift that I made — leaving one professional life behind to build another, one centered on supporting other people's mental health and wellbeing. As I write this, I am nearly done with my MEd program and internship. I have been genuinely happy with the path I chose — both the learning process along the way and the results, in terms of the clients I now get to work with. But I remember how difficult it was, in the early stages, to find clear and honest information about how to make an informed choice among a number of pathways that all seemed t...

How to Become a Therapist: Comparing Degree Programs and Licensure Pathways (LPC, LCSW, LMFT, PsyD) Degrees vs Coursework Licensure vs Coursework Program Overview State Spotlight: California Degree Programs vs. Required Coursework This table shows how five degree programs cover each curriculum area: the MS/MEd in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, the MSW (clinical track), the MS/MA in Marriage and Family Therapy, the PsyD in Clinical Psychology, and the PhD in Clinical Psychology. Requirements are based on CACREP, CSWE, COAMFTE, and APA accreditation standards. Click any row to expand detailed notes. Required Partial / Elective Not Required Licensure Pathways vs. Required Coursework This table shows what each of the five major license types requires in terms of academic coursework: the LPC/LPCC, LCSW, LMFT, Licensed Psychologist, and CSAC/CADC. Req...