Should I Consider Becoming a Therapist?
Have you been asking yourself, ''how do I become a therapist?'' There are a number of steps that you can take in order to pursue this career. Therapists work in a variety of settings and with many different populations. They may work with families, couples, groups, or individuals. These professionals may work in private practice, at a health clinic, in a school, or at an in-patient mental health facility. This career can be emotionally stressful and, depending on the type of patient with whom a therapist works, occasionally carries a minor risk of personal harm. Therapists help their patients and clients to work through emotional problems, trauma, substance abuse, mental health conditions, and more with a combination of talk therapy, activities, mindfulness techniques, and more based on a particular client's needs.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) and O*Net Online, there are various requirements for this career. Therapists are required to have a master's degree in marriage and family therapy, clinical social work, mental health counseling, or school counseling. Licensure is required in every state, and supervised clinical practice is required before a counselor or social worker can become fully licensed. Key skills for this career include good listening and communication skills, the ability to develop relationships with many different types of people, and organizational skills for keeping detailed client records. In May of 2019, the BLS reported that the annual median salary for a mental health counselor was $46,240. In the same time period, marriage and family therapists made a median annual salary of $49,610.
How to Become a Therapist: Step-by-Step Guide
- Earn a Bachelor's degree
- Earn a Master's degree
- Acquire Provisional licensure
- Obtain Work experience
- Achieve Licensure
Step 1: Obtain a Bachelor's Degree
Before entering a master's degree program, all individuals must earn a bachelor's degree. Undergraduates interested in counseling can major in a related field, such as psychology, social work, or education, as these majors may better qualify individuals for master's programs. Students may choose to study a different field, but they need to supplement their required courses with courses in psychology. Introduction to psychology, psychology of personality, adolescent psychology, and abnormal psychology may prove to be particularly useful courses in preparing students for graduate school.
Here's a success tip: look for opportunities to gain experience in a therapy-related setting. Master's programs like to see that students have some knowledge of what the work of a therapist entails and are prepared to commit to the profession. Work experience also allows undergraduates to narrow down their interests within the field of therapy and to develop relationships with professionals in the field. Furthermore, supervisors may be able to supply letters of recommendation for a candidate's graduate school applications.
Step 2: Get a Master's Degree
The second step towards becoming a licensed therapist is to obtain a master's degree. Aspiring therapists have several master's degree options. They each have differences in curriculum and lead to different professional titles. Master's degree programs in social work tend to take a systems approach, looking at the various social structures affecting mental health. Typical coursework topics include social justice, human behavior in the social environment, data analysis, and clinical practice techniques. Graduates can become Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW).
Master's degree programs focused on counseling or marriage and family therapy are often more person-centered, teaching students how to treat individual patients, family members, and couples. Depending on the program focus, graduates may be prepared to earn one or more of the following titles: Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT). Coursework for counseling as well as marriage and family therapy programs may include human growth and development, family theories, statistics, evaluation of practice, and counseling theories.
All programs integrate fieldwork experience into the curriculum. Fieldwork may be conducted alongside coursework, or it may be done as a full-time, year-long commitment after a year of coursework. The experience is supervised by a licensed therapist and prepares students for working as provisionally licensed therapists.
Possible Concentrations
At the master's level, and even sometimes at the bachelor's level, you will have the opportunity to specialize to some extent in your therapy education. Some possible specializations or concentrations include the following:
- Child psychology
- Substance abuse recovery
- PTSD and trauma recovery
- Mental health
- Family therapy
- Dialectical behavioral therapy
- Cognitive behavioral therapy
Step 3: Provisional Licensure
The third step towards becoming a licensed therapist is to obtain provisional licensure. Full licensure is not available immediately upon graduation from a therapy program, as graduates must first complete approximately two years of supervised clinical experience. Some states require therapists doing supervised clinical work to have a provisional license. State requirements vary, but most applicants need to be graduates of an approved program with adequate fieldwork experience and have a contract agreement to practice therapy under the supervision of a qualified therapist. Provisional licenses may have a time limit, after which therapists must apply for full licensure.
Step 4: Work Experience
The fourth step towards becoming a licensed therapist is to complete the required work experience training. Work experience training may require 1,500-4,000 hours, depending on the specific profession and state therapist certification requirements. An approved therapist must directly supervise a certain percentage of those hours. Reports on the specific activities and the progress of the provisionally licensed therapist may also be required. Therapists-in-training should check state licensing requirements to make sure that their work experiences are structured correctly. Failure to complete certain tasks or documentation could result in a delay in earning licensure.
Step 5: Licensure
The fifth and final step towards becoming a therapist is to earn licensure. Make sure to research how to get a therapist license in your state. To use titles such as Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Licensed Professional Counselor, and Licensed Clinical Social Worker, professionals must hold a current state license. States usually require applicants to have completed an approved education program and clinical work experience and to have passed an approved licensure examination.
Most states require licensure candidates to pass an appropriate examination before earning licensure. Some states oversee their own exam, while others accept scores from the Association of Social Work Boards Clinical Examination, the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination, or the Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards Exam.
States typically require licensees to complete continuing education requirements and renew licenses every two years. Specific state requirements vary, and states usually stipulate what types of courses must be completed and what types of continuing education units meet the requirements. One major benefit of this requirement is that the new knowledge and experience you learn in the continuing education courses may help boost your career as well.
FAQs
What Is the Difference Between a Therapist and a Psychiatrist?
There are a number of different careers that are related to being a therapist. Therapists differ from psychiatrists in that they cannot prescribe medication; psychiatrists can. ''Therapist'' is its own job title, but it is often used interchangeably with or considered closely related to the titles of counselor and psychologist. As you learn how to be a therapist, consider looking into these other career paths as alternative options.
What Skills Do Therapists Need?
What does it take to be a therapist? There are a number of personal skills that can benefit those wishing to work as therapists, including the following:
- Compassion
- Patience
- Active listening skills
- Open-mindedness
- Awareness of how best to approach various issues while always putting the patient and their wishes first
- Strong understanding of social justice issues
- Ability to create an inclusive environment for all
- Ability to treat patients without inducing shame
- Flexibility in approaches used for various patients
How Long Does It Take to Become a Therapist?
When calculating how long to become a therapist, there are different factors to consider. Most bachelor's degrees take four years to complete, and most master's degrees take two years. Some students will complete these degrees slower or faster, however. Finding licensed therapist programs may also result in programs that take more or less time to complete. Taking into account both degrees and the work experience required for licensure, becoming a therapist will take a minimum of seven years, and quite often longer.
The steps towards becoming a licensed therapist include obtaining a bachelor's degree, obtaining a master's degree, obtaining provisional licensure, completing the required work experience, passing the licensure exam, earning licensure, and completing continuing education requirements in order to maintain licensure.
