I am a ten-year veteran of high school teaching living in the DC area. From the beginning of my undergrad schooling, I considered a career as a therapist and am very excited about working toward a career change in that direction. I believe I'd like to pursue an MA/MS in Counseling in the hopes of becoming an LPC and eventually working in private practice in either Maryland or DC. Both George Washington Univ. (GW) and Johns Hopkins (JHU) offer such MS/MA programs locally. However, I find myself unable to easily compare the merits of the two programs. I am contacting advisors in both programs and hope that conversations with them may shed some light. However, if anyone has any insights on either program, I'd love to hear it (or on the path to licensure as an LPC in either DC or Maryland).
Moreover, I am attempting to make this career change with my eyes open. While I will not be the primary breadwinner for our family and, in fact, hope to only work part-time, I would like to get a feeling for how easily I will be able to find clients. My guess is that DC probably has a large number of people willing to seek the services of private practice therapists, but the market may be pretty saturated with practitioners. Finally, I am curious about local reimbursement rates by managed care and also the hourly rates charged by DC-area LPCs who do not accept insurance. I realize there are so many factors that play into rates, but would like to have some ballpark notion of what I might expect to earn 5 years out, 10 years out.
I have been lurking in this forum for a while and appreciate all the candid and insightful comments.
Thanks!
Moreover, I am attempting to make this career change with my eyes open. While I will not be the primary breadwinner for our family and, in fact, hope to only work part-time, I would like to get a feeling for how easily I will be able to find clients. My guess is that DC probably has a large number of people willing to seek the services of private practice therapists, but the market may be pretty saturated with practitioners. Finally, I am curious about local reimbursement rates by managed care and also the hourly rates charged by DC-area LPCs who do not accept insurance. I realize there are so many factors that play into rates, but would like to have some ballpark notion of what I might expect to earn 5 years out, 10 years out.
I have been lurking in this forum for a while and appreciate all the candid and insightful comments.
Thanks!
