From what I know, going through the masters program then the PHD program will allow me to gain a couple more years experience with counseling and research before delving into the PHD world, sorry if this is incorrect. I don't have much knowledge concerning this and am just relaying what I've heard from my professors.
Well, you can take off as much time as you want, but it's not
necessarily the best idea. I'd say time off between undergrad and grad schools is helpful to make money, get experience, mature, and various other benefits, but it's less beneficial to do a terminal master's program first if you don't actually
need it (e.g., low undergrad GPA). Terminal master's programs are typically unfunded or underfunded, so you'll be unnecessarily taking on debt, especially when most PhD programs are going to require you to complete a master' thesis along the way.
If you want to get more experience with research before starting a doctoral program, a paid research assistant or coordinator position would allow you to get it while earning money and not spending any of your own. As far as clinical experience (e.g., counseling) goes, it's difficult to get this experience with just a bachelor's degree. You just don't have the education or training to licensed and do the kind of clinical work that is comparable with doctoral training. There are some positions out there that allow you to get experience at this level (e.g., psychometrist), but these can be few and far between depending on where you live.
if you still decide that you want to do a terminal master's, be warned that not every master's program is equally amenable to doing research or clinical work. Counseling master's programs involve relatively little research, because they are geared towards training mid-level providers, not researchers. Thus, while you will get to do clinical work, you'll get relatively little of the research experience that doctoral programs actually care about. Conversely, clinical psychology and experimental psychology master's programs involve substantial research experience and focus on training people to go to doctoral programs, but these programs do not generally involve counseling or other clinical work beyond potentially working with people with mental illness as research participants. These programs are generally not accredited CACREP and other organizations that would lead to licensure.