I need mentoring . . . any Doper psychologists to answer my questions?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I never had a real chance to go to college. So now that I’m 31 I am going to go for it. The problem is what to major in. I have thought about this for years and while I am interested in many careers, I feel a real need to serve or give back to the community. That leads me to psychology. I have taken psych 101 and loved it, have participated in marriage enrichment seminars and workshops and found myself wanting to learn to facilitate them. Marriage counseling really appeals to me as well as general family relationship counseling. I see a need specifically for divorce couseling and blended family counseling.

My anxienty, however, is that I don’t know any psychologists personally and am not familiar with the actual day-to-day workings of being one. I wanted to be an engineer at one time and while I would have been good at it, I would have hated it. I have seen exactly what their job is like with deadlines, paperwork and long hours.

Also, what does the education involve? I am going to speak with a department head at my local college soon but I have no idea what to ask him about. I mean, is there internship? If so, what is it like? What areas of psychology do I have to choose from? Do I have to get a doctorate before I can practice or is there employment opportunies at a lower level?

Another anxiety I have is how personality plays into it. I am an ENTJ on the Myers/Briggs personality test. Is that conducive to a job in counseling? Or would it hinder me because I am not a sympathetic or emotional person?

I would just like some support and feedback from practicing psychologists to know if it would be something I would like to do before I spend lot of time and energy on it.

Thanks.

2

Maybe you could flip through your local Yellow Pages and schedule a regular appointment a psychologist. It seems to me you want to ask about the job, but also about yourself in relation to the job, and in a talk with a psychologist could answer both questions far better then on this board.

BTW I am a psychologist, (from a Dutch university) but I never worked as one.

3

Ok, Copper_Moon, you ask a lot of questions, but that is good for an apprentice psychologist. :slight_smile:

I have worked in two fields as a psychologist. First, I got my Ph.D. in social psychology and worked as a college professor. Then I went back to graduate school and respecialized as a clinical psychologist. Currently I work as a clinicial psychologist in a physical rehabilitation hospital–I work with people who have recently acquired spinal cord injuries, amputations, etc. Credentials established, here is my take on your questions:

The day to day work is mostly talking with clients/patients, but there is more paperwork than I would like. The paperwork is mostly progress notes (which aren’t too bad) and insurance forms (which are a pain). I do feel the sense you talked about, though, of accomplishing something good, giving back to my fellow humans, and of helping those in need. Hey, I get paid to have interesting conversations. What can be better than that?

In terms of education, I strongly recommend getting a Ph.D. You can practice with a MA, but jobs can be hard to get and you don’t have as much autonomy. Most graduate schools have ways to support their students, so while you won’t get rich as a student, you won’t starve either. I didn’t have to take out any loans to get my Ph.D. and I went to excellent state schools. Do not go to a “professional school.” They are outrageously expensive and their graduates are not highly regarded. On the other hand, if what you really want to do is marriage and family work, there are some good MA programs in that area, both in psychology departments and in schools of social work. You might want to consider an MSW (Masters of Social Work) if you can find a program with a strong marriage and family emphasis.

Areas you may want to consider in psychology are clinical and/or counseling. There are some marriage and family programs out there, too, but I don’t know any specifics, unfortunately.

Don’t worry about the Myers Briggs. Are you the type of person people want to talk to? Can you shut up and listen? If you answered yes, you’ll do fine.

4

Some of your requirements will depend on your state’s licensing practices.

Usually, a Masters with two years worth of supervision is required before you can strike out on your own. Of coures, with a doctorate, you can also practice on your own.

Also, keep in mind how the psychological disciplines are broken down:

Counseling: Anyone can hang out a shingle and say they’re a counselor. The term is unregulated by the state (at least, the state of NJ).

Licensed Counselor: OK, now some agency, whether a good and reputable agency or a fly-by-night sham of an agency has licensed you after giving you some training. People who work crisis hotlines or volunteer at a group home might be licensed counselors.

Pastoral Counselors: Like a licensed counselor, only now the accreditating agency is a faith denomination. Often clerical ministers are called pastoral counselors. Although, be careful, sometimes they have no real training in counseling; they may just presume by virtue of ministerial ordination they can do counseling. On the other hand, some denominations do give their ministers good counseling training. And, some states and clinical psychological organizations are licensing pastoral counselors who are also trained as therapeutic psychologists, which makes them psychotherapists who also address religious and spiritual issues.

Social Workers: May be another type of licensed counselor, only that they’re licensing is quite respectable and professional.
None of the above categories normally do (or, rather, they should not be doing) therapy. Therapy occurs when there is a diagnosis of mental illness. Psychotherapy is the treatment of mental illness. When a person’s problems seem to be related to mental illness, then the counselor refers the client to a psychologist or psychiatrist.

Psychologists: Basically anyone with a degree in psychology and working in the field. The question is what they’re trained to do: experimental research? teach? therapy?

Clinical psychologists: Tend toward diagnosis, but may also provide therapy.

Therapeutic psychologists: They offer therapy.

Psychiatrists: These are medical doctors who can prescribe medication. They can provide a lot to almost no talk-therapy, depending on their backgrounds.

Peace.

You think I’m crazy, but I quack.

5

Copper_moon, would you mind if I borrowed your thread?

I’ve been thinking about possibly going back to school with the intention of going into dance therapy. This is in the very preliminary stages of thinking and researching…but so far, it seems that it would fit me.

Thing is, I’ve never heard of anyone doing this (either as practitioner or client) in real life, I’ve just read about it - and I’m also not in school, so I can’t ask professors. Is this considered legitimate by more traditional counselors and psychotherapists? Or am I kidding myself with some kind of flaky job idea?

6

I actually work as a master’s level clinician. I work for a community based non-profit, and they allow for master’s level to practice. I do work under supervision, in that, everything I do is signed off on by a phd. This is where I am at currently.

I went back for my master’s because I could not find anything in my field with a bachlors. From here I will have to work to get my LPC (Licenced Professional Counselor). An LPC is fairly common through most states although requirements are different by state. This over time would allow me to practice as a counselor without supervision. Some schools plan for this in a master’s program, and unfortunately mine did not.

Copper_Moon, I think that psychology is one of those fields that you have to be ready to be flexible. It is very difficult to determine what it is going to be like, because it is different for everyone. There is so much variety in this field, and each person has to find their own place in it. A big part of my education was determining where I thought I fit best.

As for my average day. I work in a residential setting for adolescent girls. I see each of them once a week, and other than that I work on case notes and funding. I love my job, and I couldn’t see myself doing anything else, but it isn’t for everyone.

Amarinth, I have not done any research into dance therapy, but I did specialize in psychodrama in college and looked into other similar therapies. A place to start may be looking at Leslie College in Cambridge, MA. Last time I looked at it they offered something called Expressive Therapy, which included art, music, drama, etc. I cannot recall if dance was one of them, but it wouldn’t hurt to look into it.

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Well as a psychologist and an instructor in a small liberal arts college, I’ll answer anyones question in this revived thread. I already wrote a very long post to the OP in his first thread that was killed by bibliophage. [grump].

**amarinth]/b] - yes dance therapy does infact exist, however it is usually a part of a more structured therapeutic battery. There is no - to my knowledge - specific program for dance therapy. You would have to specialize once you enter grad school.