I am considering pursuing my masters in mental health counseling because I want a profession that offers direct assistance to people. I am already in healthcare and have a bachelors but I was interested in hearing experiences such as doing the clinicals and internships in counseling and any other information you might wish to share... Thanks!
You may want to take a serious look at an MSW (Masters of Social Work) rather than an MA in psychology or counseling. In most states (double check yours and those where you might want to practice), social workers have a much wider scope of practice than MA psychologists and MFT/MFCC/LPC counselors do. This isn't to say that the MA Counseling is a bad idea, only that you get, assuming you take an MSW program with a clinical stream, a broader perspective on the issues affecting health and welfare, as well as the same counseling and therapy skills you'd get with the other degrees. There are some advantages, in some states, to a Ph.D in psychology or a Psy.D., as some states limit diagnosis and diagnostic testing to those categories of professional, but that is changing as well. The internships at a good program of either type will give you clinical experience in a 1-to-1 therapy setting, overseen by a clinical supervisor. If the school has good connections for internship placements, you generally have a lot of options ranging from low-income at-risk communities to inpatient mental health to LGBT centers to generalist practices. The MSW usually also includes practicums or internships related to the social work field (the foster care system, social services at hospitals for the terminally ill and their families, corrections, etc.) that can be a nice addition to round out your skill set if that interests you.
Thanks for your input, Chip. Originally, I was interested in MSW as I work with many social workers and know some in my personal life and I am aware they generally have more opportunities and options in terms of their practice; however, most all MSW programs I've looked are structured in a manner that are not conducive to my need to work full time and take courses part time because the structure tends to be: take some classes, perform some clinical rotations (intern), take some more classes, then intern again and this repeats several times. I cannot quit my job to do intermittent rotations whereas counseling programs are structured where you do your internship all at once. Unless you're aware of some schools with a different structure... Also, if you wouldn't mind if I PM, for career input, please let me know as I am really trying to sort out what I want to do with the rest of my life.
