Difficulty of 2 year Masters Clinical Mental Health Counseling

[darksun48]

Does anyone have experience completing a CACREP masters in clinical mental health counseling in two years? There's a two year track at the school I'm starting at which has some semesters with 12 credits. I want to do this in two years instead of 3 so I can start making an income sooner...right now I'm a stay at home dad after leaving my last career while my wife works, and I will be taking care of the kiddo while I'm in school.

Wondering if anyone could chime in on how hard things were week to week... If they were able to work part time or be a stay at home parent simultaneously, what that course load was like. I completed my undergrad 11 years ago so it's been a while since I've been in school and I'm concerned I might be biting off more than I can chew. How much time per week did you spend studying/doing homework etc? I know every program is different, just would like some different experiences. Thanks!

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[foreverbull]

I did a two year track masters program program prior to my doctorate in which all classes were offered at 4:30 pm or later in the day (once/week classes) but in the second year, practicum class (clinical experience) took up a lot of time in addition to the other courses. I had a part time job throughout my program (but only worked on weekends, usually doing about 16 hours of work on top of classes/classwork and 10 hours/week of practicum).
I didn’t find the classes to be that difficult, but my program was not CACREP accredited and below their standards, so it was probably easier than it should have been. I managed to juggle practicum, part-time work, and classes without issue. CACREP programs specifically require practicum (100 hours) and internship, which is 600 hours of practice-related activities usually done in a year or so. For some perspective, my doctoral internship required 1500 hours in one year, which was achieved in 40 hour workweeks, so internship with a 600 hour requirement could be done in 16-20 hours per week in a year (depends on the internship contract in terms of hours per week and length, I believe). If you’re generally solid at academics, willing to work hard, and good at juggling different tasks and activities, it is doable.

 

[jtpesek]

With planning, and paying attention to available practicum and internship sites earlier in your program than is probably suggested or anticipated, so that you can aptly navigate that issue, you should be fine. It will be much harder academically to do this though. I would try and consider the economy of exchange - earlier income vs potential stress and/or academic issues. Just something to consider. I did go through a CACREP program and went full-time even through every summer course and decided to just make graduate school my “job” with student loans and some part-time work to supplement needs; however, I did have the luxury if being single and with no children. I am happy to answer any other questions you may have.