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Re: Which direction to become BOTH a school counselor and LC
Posted by Musicmae on 5/07/08
I think it really depends on the type of counseling you
would like to do. In a school setting you do not really get
in to the nitty gritty counseling, we refer out for those
kinds of services. We basically deal with your typical
school problems or home issues. If a student has an eating
disorder or serious psychiatric issues we do not do therapy
in a school setting. Also we spend a lot of time teaching
classroom lessons, and any other position the school
requires you to do. A lot of us are School testing
coordinators or some other position that requires us to
attend tons of meetings. We wear lot of hats and must be
willing to drop everything at a seconds notice and attend to
something we were not scheduled to do. If you love doing
all these things than school counseling is for you, if you
want to do in-depth counseling than being a clinical
psychologist of for you. On 5/06/08, Jeff wrote:
> I am interested in becoming a counselor. I used to work
in
> a psychiatric hospital and loved it. I enjoy being a
> teacher. I would be happy as either a therapist or an
> educator. I would like to do things in a way that
> qualifies me for both. I live in MD and do know what I
> need to become a school counselor and an LCPC (Licensed
> Clinical Professional Counselor). However, I don't know
> the job market that well.
>
> My original thought was a 48credit MA program in school
> counseling. Then, to get the additional 12 credits I'd
> need for my LCPC I'd take a 15 credit Clinical Counseling
> certificate at Hopkins. That way, I'd be qualified for
> school counseling (most school counseling jobs actually
pay
> better than mental health counseling jobs) AND for mental
> health work. I'd work as a school counselor during the
day
> and do mental health work part-time in the evening. Once
I
> had the experience to get my license I'd consider either
> staying with that combination, or getting a private
> practice started.
>
> However, my concern is that when I worked at the psych
> hospital they looked down on any degree with "school" in
> front of it. For instance, a school psychologist with a
> Ph.D. and their state license is a fully qualified
> psychologist who is qualified to work in any setting any
> other psychologist may work (school, counseling and
> clinical psychology are considered the three fields
> within "professional psychology"). However, the reaction
> to the hospital staff about any school psychologists
> working there was "this is a hospital, not a school".
>
> So, I am concerned that I may be at a disadvantage for non-
> school counseling jobs if the degree is in school
> counseling no matter what certificates and licenses I pick
> up later.
>
> I've started considering going for a clinical counseling
or
> mental health counseling degree and then take a CAGS/Ed.S.
> in school counseling to enable me to be qualified for
> either type of position. It may take a bit more
> coursework, but if it was the best way to get where I
> wanted to go, it may be worth it. However, I read that in
> many states there is already many more school counselors
> applying than there are positions. My concern is that
they
> may use the degree outside school counseling as a way to
> weed me out of the running just to pare things down a bit.
>
> So, has anyone out there used their school counseling
> degree and additional coursework to obtain therapist
> positions? Has the degree been a hinderance when applying
> for positions? Also, has anyone used a mental
> health/community/clinical counseling degree and additional
> coursework to obtain a school counseling position? Has
> that degree been a hinderance when applying for positions?
>
> I thank you in advance for your help.
Posts on this thread, including this one
- Which direction to become BOTH a school counselor and LCPC, 5/06/08, by Jeff.
- Re: Which direction to become BOTH a school counselor and LC, 5/06/08, by lacey.
- Re: Which direction to become BOTH a school counselor and LC, 5/07/08, by Musicmae.
- Re: Which direction to become BOTH a school counselor and LC, 5/07/08, by Jeff.
- Re: Which direction to become BOTH a school counselor and LC, 5/08/08, by Counselor.
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