How long would it take for school to give me a a good job? what are some good colleges (if you know) in the Indiana area? is it worth it? any answers on the subject on becoming a therapist or psychologist will be much apreciated!!!! =] -rydns
Well if you're going to want to be a therapist or psychologist your going to have to go to school if that makes it "worth it"
you'll need to get your bachelor's first, preferably in psychology although not necessarily. after that, it depends on what you want to do. the quickest would be to continue on to get your 2 year social work degree. but to be an actual therapist you need a master's which is basically another 3 years. just don't be a psychiatrist because then you need med school on top of all that and then your whole job is to prescribe drugs to people who don't need them
To become a psychiatrist your best bet is to major in Behavoiral Science which is what i'm doing for I want to become a Social Worker for teens. The college I am going to attend says that it will cover all needed subjects including : Soc,Psyc, and law. Hope you find what your looking for. Peace and good luck!!!
It depends on if you want a PHD or a masters in counseling. A PHD in psychology take between 4 and 6 years then then get certified (just a state test) A masters in counseling takes 2-3 years. After that you have to get certified and work under a a senior counselor for 2 years before you can practice on your own. Check the APA website for schools in your area. To get into a PHd program you need experience as a under-grad doing research. You will need between 2-4 letters of recommendation from professors that you have worked with, a writing sample and letter of intent. You also need to take the GRE if you find schools you need to check and see if they need you to take the psychology portion of the exam (some schools require it some don't). IF you have any more questions let me know. I know all this from experience.
I know in Canada you need either a BA or BSC in Psych, then a masters, then either a PHD or a PsiD (but I think this is only available at U of Ottawa). Therapist isn't a licensed sort of term, so I don't think you need anything to advertise as a therapist.
I know a lot of people who got bachelors in psych and got nowhere-at least not in Mass. Schools around here tell people majoring in Behavioral areas to get their Masters, Ph.D. or go to med school.
i have a masters in counseling, so ask me what you would like to know. To be credible, and get the jobs you prefer, you need the masters, to be very very credible and have the option of opening up your own agency, which could be anything from equine assisted therapy (verrry cool) to wilderness therapy (even cooler) you need to get a license which is another 2-3 years past the masters, and a very workable kindof thing to do, not as difficult as it sounds. Let me know if you have any questions.
In general, to get a decent job as a psychologist you need to get a doctorate. This takes about 4-7 years of graduate school post bachelor's degree. If you only want a Masters but still want to be a "psychologist" you can go into either school or industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology (the only master's level fields that can legitimately call themselves "psychologists" based on APA regulations if memory serves). School psychologists typically work in education settings (duh). I-O typically work for corporations. I don't know much about requirements for Social Workers and Mental Health Counselors except that they require a Masters. To determine whether it's worth it is entirely up to you.
