I’m considering going back to school and studying psychology. This will require me to take some further undergrad courses before I can go to grad school, but that’s ok. I was wondering if we had anyone on the board with a Masters or Doctorate in psychology, and what they could tell me about the process and what they did with their degree. How easy is it to establish yourself as a therapist or a psychologist? Is the money worth the length of the education?
My best friend has her Masters, and my sister-in-law has her Doctorate in Psychology.
They both seem pretty happy about what they’re doing.
The Doctor (SIL) works as a therapist for abused children, and went in with the intention to help children rather than make loads of money. However, she is doing pretty well financially speaking now, to compensate for having so many student loans and being broke for so long.
My best friend just got her Masters working with autistic children and young adults, and she had originally planned for her Doctorate as well. However, she decided she’d rather work with kids and do smaller research projects with institutions and private practices rather than teaching/researching at a university or larger center. She also wasn’t a very good fit with her department, so that helped her decide to cut her time shorter also.
I will say that both of them chose that profession because they were passionate about their areas of study, and not from any idea that they were going to be making potloads of money.
Any specific questions about the process I can pass on to them for you?
I have a “doctoraal” which I got after six years of study in Utrecht, Netherlands. I don’t do anything with it. IN the Netherlands, becoming a threapist takes at least 6 more years of study, but only if you want your fees to be covered by health insurance. If you just want to be a therapist, you can slpa a sign on your door and wait for people to come in.
This has been some time back, but the one person I know well who’s a therapist got a Psych bachelor’s and a Master’s of Social Work.
You could be licensed as a therapist with an MSW, but with Psych degrees you needed a PhD to practice.
So check your local requirements for licensing before you make any decisions.
She makes decent money but isn’t going to be rich any time soon.
I don’t need to be rich, I just don’t want to be not even covering loans or whatever. I’m interested in being a therapist for adults, not so much kids.
Hello Opal! I’ve got an advanced degree in Environmental Psychology so I am not a clinical man, but I have quite a bit of knowledge about that side, as 90% of my colleagues went into clinical.
I’ll be a pithy as possible -
Schooling - undergrad in psych today is run of the mill. Many undergrad psych students go off to advanced degrees in other things. Once you hit the masters level you can specialize, once you do that your path becomes much more clear.
Knowing a little about you from the boards [I can’t believe I’ve been here a decade] I think if you are looking to become a therapist there are faster ways to do that than getting your Phd.
I would recommend becoming an LCSW [Licensed Clinical Social Worker] You can become one with a masters and get licensed within 2 years if you are working for an organization that tracks your hours. Many of my psych major friends took this route and are well established therapists today. Most states require 2000 hours of supervised counseling [working for an organization will pay you for these hours] and you will still be able to feel impactful in peoples lives. Once you are licensed you can hang a shingle [OpalCat Counseling, LLC] 
If you want to prescribe medicine then you would have to become a Psychologist [in some states] or a Psychiatrist [requires med school, I’d steer away from that one].
But if you just want to be a kickass therapist the fastest way to that is most likely clinical social work. So you’d have to get a masters in Clinical Psychology or go the straight clinical social work path which many schools offer.
The only issue is when you are finished with school, finding a job that will track your hours for licensure. Otherwise you have to work full-time AND get your hours. Both LCSW and Clinical Psychology make you do internships and get your hours.
Anything else more specific? You can PM me as well.
I am technically an Environmental Psychologist, and so most of what I do is study the human\Nature connection and look for ways [sustainability, intentional communities, ecological awareness] to reconnect humans with nature.
The requirements for private practice will vary state by state, and degree by degree, so be sure to check your state’s licensing/practice restrictions. Not all states require counselors to be state-licensed.
Kolga, M.A., Clinical Psychology
I was amazed when I moved to CO that they did not require licensure to practice.
Everywhere I have known of, prescribing meds requires being a psychiatrist, which route I don’t want to go. I basically want to help people who are going through a hard time or who have problems (such as depression) to talk and get through the rough stuff. I had a psychologist growing up until I was 17 who helped me a great deal, and to this day I credit surviving my own childhood largely to being able to talk to her.
You cannot prescribe medications without going to medical school - psychiatrists are medical doctors. A Ph.D. in psychology does not grant prescription privileges anywhere. So, yes, a Ph.D., M.A., M.S.W./L.C.S.W., L.P.C. route is what you probably are going to need to look into, and again, regulations vary state to state. It isn’t true, as redtail states, that in order to practice you’ll need a Ph.D. - that’ll depend on your location.
There are different M.A./Ph.D. programs to consider as well. A clinical psychology program, roughly, tends to train graduates to identify and work with somewhat more severe mental illnesses than a counseling psychology program, although that will vary from program to program.
And Phlosphr, CO is a weird state in that way. I have mixed feelings about that particular regulation (or lack thereof).
Admissions for clinical PhD programs are extremely competitive, with acceptance rates generally below 10% and occasionally under 5%. If you want a reasonable shot at getting into a good program, you’re going to need more than a few extra classes. Remember, you’re competing against people who’ve tailored their entire undergraduate career to prepare themselves for these programs, and even they’re not guaranteed to get in anywhere.
PhD in psychology here. I love it. I don’t know anyone who is happier with their work than I am.
Like ultrafilter said, PhD programs are a bitch to get into. MSW programs are much easier to get into, and quicker to get out of. Depending on your state, you can practice independently with an LCSW or master’s in psychology. You will make less, but not too much less.
MSW=?
MSW= Masters in Social Work?
Yep, MSW=Masters in Social work. LCSW=Licensed Clinical Social Worker, which is a license, not a degree. They like to confuse people.
I just read in the Chicago Tribune, a problem with MSW and other similar degrees is state programs, Illinois and Indiana in particular, have cut a huge amount of positions for people with such degrees. This is throwing those people back into the job market making it harder for new people.
In some states psychologists can prescribe certain meds. (Alaska, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Tennessee, and Texas) (source: Here)
Nurse practitioners (including those dedicated to psychiatric) can prescribe certain meds too.
Masters in Behavior Modification (Skinnerian). The counseling I do is volunteer so establishing and money are easy. I don’t get any money really (a small stipend from the Synod) and the church I belong to had a sort of “group practice” I just dropped into. Even so I would highly recommend it. What I learned has helped me in my other professions and in my daily life to an extent as to have “paid for itself”.