How to Become a Therapist: Degree & Requirements

So you think you might like to become a therapist? Therapists may be referred to as mental health counselors or mental health therapists. These types of therapists help people understand and cope with mental and emotional afflictions. They may work with individuals or groups who suffer from stress, addiction, depression, anxiety disorders, or other conditions.

Mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists usually work in office settings within mental health centers, substance abuse treatment centers, hospitals, and colleges. Many choose to operate private practices. Therapists may work full- or part-time; those employed by an organization or business will generally do so full-time, while private practice therapists have more control over their schedules. Some therapists choose to offer evening or weekend sessions to clients.

Step 1: Earn a Bachelor's Degree

You may be wondering, what degree do you need to be a therapist? Having an undergraduate degree won't qualify students for careers as a mental health therapist. However, a bachelor's degree is necessary to be admitted into a graduate degree program. While generally no specific therapist major is required at the undergraduate level, prospective mental health professionals may benefit from majoring in related areas, such as psychology or human services.

Step 2: Earn a Graduate Therapist Degree

Getting into a master's program requires a bachelor's degree, transcripts, and sometimes letters of recommendation or GRE/GMAT scores. Look into any specific requirements of any program that interests you.

Mental health counselors are typically required to have a master's degree in counseling; therapist education really gets going at the graduate level. Students have a variety of counseling program options, such as the Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling program or Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, which can prepare them for clinical practice in the mental health profession. Courses in these graduate programs may include family and group therapy, treatment techniques, research, evaluation, substance abuse, and legal issues. Master's degree programs in mental health counseling usually require students to gain practical experience through internship programs and clinical practicums. So, how many years of college to be a therapist? In total, at least six in most cases, as a bachelor's degree usually takes four years and a master's is usually two years.

Common Courses

Courses that you may encounter at the graduate level when pursuing your degree include:

• Human development
• Psychology
• Counseling theory and history
• Diversity in counseling
• Individual and group therapy techniques
• Trauma rehabilitation
• Crisis intervention
• Substance abuse
• Mental health diagnosis and assessment

Within this degree, it may be possible to form one of several concentrations. For instance, you might specialize in substance abuse rehabilitation, family therapy, mental health counseling, or trauma responses. You might also specialize in a particular kind of therapy like cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy, or mindfulness therapy.

Step 3: Gain Clinical Experience

Before becoming a licensed practitioner, prospective therapists are required to obtain at least two years of supervised, clinical experience. This experience must be at the postgraduate level and supervised by a licensed mental health counselor. Specific conditions to the clinical experience requirement vary by state. For example, to be eligible for licensure in Florida, mental health counselors must fulfill 1,500 hours of experience spread over at least 100 weeks in which they provide clients with one-on-one psychotherapy.

Step 4: Become a Licensed Therapist

Licensure requirements for mental health counselors vary significantly by state. Aside from a master's degree and clinical experience, most states require candidates to pass a licensing exam. Many states use the National Counselor Examination for Licensure and Certification, which is administered by the National Board for Certified Counselors. This examination evaluates comprehension of and skills in general counseling.

Success Tip

• Take continuing education courses. Mental health counselors will need to maintain licensure annually by earning continuing education credits. Professional organizations or academic institutions may offer these continuing education opportunities.

Step 5: Begin Working in a Practice as a Therapist

Mental health counselors may find employment in private practices, community health centers, and other healthcare facilities. An increasing number of counselors work in private or group practices as self-employed practitioners. This is due in part to legislation that permits individual counselors to collect payment from insurance groups, as well as increasing respect for counselors as skilled mental health professionals.

If you decide to embark on a therapist career, you can expect to make a median annual salary of $46,240 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The job outlook for this career is excellent, with a projected 25% increase in available jobs between 2019 and 2029. This is much faster job growth than is average in the U.S.

There are many different kinds of therapists, including substance abuse therapists, marriage and family therapists, clinical sexologists, child psychologists, and more. There are also several careers similar to becoming a therapist. These include:

• Psychiatrists
• Guidance and career counselors
• Life coaches
• Psychologists
• Social workers

There are a number of skills and traits that you will need to develop in order to become a successful therapist. Good therapists are compassionate, patient, good at active listening, highly organized, and excellent at interpersonal interaction and conflict mediation. They are open minded and are able to approach patients' problems from a variety of perspectives in order to find the most effective solution.

To recap how to become a counselor, earning a bachelor's degree and master's degree, gaining clinical experience, becoming licensed, and working in a practice are great steps to follow to make the most of this career.