The following is an extremely specialized question. It’ll probably go unanswered.
Background: In May, my girlfriend will be getting her graduate degree in clinical counseling from a university in Ohio. She’ll also be getting Ohio state certification to practice as a counselor. Supposedly, the Ohio certification is one of the most stringent in the country, and supposedly one of the most portable.
Last April, I was laid off from my job in the Cleveland area. Last month, I relocated to Austin, Texas. I’m not leaving Austin; the job I have now pays far more than what I made in Ohio, the city “clicks” better with me, my job and the chemistry in the workplace is phenomenal, my position is pretty much recession-proof, and I’m really tired of hopping from city to city to city every five years.
Right now, I’m in a LDR with my girlfriend back in Cleveland. She’s visiting in a couple of weeks, but she’s VERY reluctant to move to Austin. Among the other things tying her to Cleveland – family, connections, and … her chosen profession. She feels that she won’t be able to practice counseling. She cites the potential difficulty in getting licensed in a different state, and finding a job (Austin is still growing and hasn’t been affected much by the recession, unlike Cleveland where the economy is close to depression-like.) In Texas, counselors cannot make formal diagnoses; it’s a big turn-off to her, because she feels her skills won’t be fully utilized.
The thing is … despite her reluctance to leave Cleveland, she really wants to continue the relationship. It’s going to be impossible if we’re going to be permanently separated; I’m NOT moving back to Cleveland. The only option if bringing her down here.
I’d just like to know how easy it wold be for her to become a licensed counselor in Texas, with an accredited degree from a school in Ohio, and Ohio state certification. Is there hope for her career in the Austin area? (I’m not asking for advice on how to deal with the LDR. Thanks in advance for thinking about it, but I’m trying to stay on-topic, and there’s already an active LDR thread in IMHO.)
