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Hi,
I have been reading many of the threads on this board and have found it extremely helpful, especially in honing in on what degree would be the best fit for me given my ambitions.
As a little background, I have a master in public health and have been working in the public health field for the past 6 years. While there are many things I enjoy about my work, I am realizing that I think work in counseling would be more fulfilling and more in line with my skills. My undergraduate degree is in psychology, but I have no related clinical experience.
I live in the Bay area and am not interested in moving so am looking for MA counseling programs in the area. Many of the professional schools in the area are really expensive and in an effort to not accumulate a huge amount of debt I am hoping to still be able to work at least part-time.
Ideally I would like to get an MFT and go into private practice, though I am under no illusion that this is a long road in a saturated market. I also have an interest in the integration of spiritual/somatic/mindfulness aspects that I know are more central to a program that might be found at CIIS. I am also fairly academic and like to be challenged intellectually so want to be in a place where I feel surrounded by likeminded people in that regard and feel I can get some of this integrated piece later on.
So a few of questions:
Will my lack of clinical experience be a major issue in gaining admission to a counseling MA program? I am not concerned about grades or any of the other admissions criteria.
I have seen a lot of feedback on many of the professional schools in the area, but little about the programs at San Francisco State, San Jose State and Cal State East Bay. Has anyone attended/have thoughts on their MA counseling programs? (they are much more affordable, but seem geared to a full-time commitment where working concurrently might not be possible?)
If anyone has attended any of the following schools (Wright, CIIS, JFK, SFSU, CSUEB) and is currently working in private practice or through an agency I would be interested in hearing how you felt your training prepared you for the work that you are doing and if you have any suggestions for someone to get the most out of their experience.
Have any of you attended the programs I mentioned above while working? I know some are geared a bit more to the working professional. How much were you able to work while not totally burned out between work and school?
Thanks in advance.
I have been reading many of the threads on this board and have found it extremely helpful, especially in honing in on what degree would be the best fit for me given my ambitions.
As a little background, I have a master in public health and have been working in the public health field for the past 6 years. While there are many things I enjoy about my work, I am realizing that I think work in counseling would be more fulfilling and more in line with my skills. My undergraduate degree is in psychology, but I have no related clinical experience.
I live in the Bay area and am not interested in moving so am looking for MA counseling programs in the area. Many of the professional schools in the area are really expensive and in an effort to not accumulate a huge amount of debt I am hoping to still be able to work at least part-time.
Ideally I would like to get an MFT and go into private practice, though I am under no illusion that this is a long road in a saturated market. I also have an interest in the integration of spiritual/somatic/mindfulness aspects that I know are more central to a program that might be found at CIIS. I am also fairly academic and like to be challenged intellectually so want to be in a place where I feel surrounded by likeminded people in that regard and feel I can get some of this integrated piece later on.
So a few of questions:
Will my lack of clinical experience be a major issue in gaining admission to a counseling MA program? I am not concerned about grades or any of the other admissions criteria.
I have seen a lot of feedback on many of the professional schools in the area, but little about the programs at San Francisco State, San Jose State and Cal State East Bay. Has anyone attended/have thoughts on their MA counseling programs? (they are much more affordable, but seem geared to a full-time commitment where working concurrently might not be possible?)
If anyone has attended any of the following schools (Wright, CIIS, JFK, SFSU, CSUEB) and is currently working in private practice or through an agency I would be interested in hearing how you felt your training prepared you for the work that you are doing and if you have any suggestions for someone to get the most out of their experience.
Have any of you attended the programs I mentioned above while working? I know some are geared a bit more to the working professional. How much were you able to work while not totally burned out between work and school?
Thanks in advance.
If you have any specific questions about becoming a psychologist I'm sure folks here can help with that. If you are considering an MFT or other degree, there is another forum for that.
