Getting a degree in MHC and then going on for a doctoral

[GradStudent87]

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I have been wondering about the idea of getting a degree in MHC and then going on for a doctoral program. I know that it's not the ideal route to go as the goal of the degree is to prepare for licensure. However I see it as a degree that gives me an oppotunity to get licensed as a practitoner in case I am not admitted to a doctoral program or decide in two years that I don't want to spend the time/money. I was aware that this as I said is not the ideal way to improve your chances of getting into a doctoral program but today somebody said that it could actually hurt your chances of getting into a doctoral program because the program won't like that you have already been trained and prefer to train their own students in their own way. Is this true? Has anyone gone through a MHC program and then gone on to get a doctorate because some people seem to tell me it's a fine idea, and then others say it's not a great idea.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

You time would most likely be better spent working towards improving your application, as an MHC really doesn't "help" your application and you incur more costs paying for it.

 

[zdravo]

I did this and then after practicing for a few years post-master's degree, I entered a PsyD program. I don't think it will help your chances of getting into a PhD program (and could actually hurt your chances for the reasons you named), but it could potentially help your chances of getting into a good PsyD program, where the emphasis is more on clinical experience. But I don't think that you need a master's to get into a good PsyD program.
I chose to the MHC degree first because I wasn't sure about whether I wanted to commit at that time to a doctoral program, however I knew I wanted to be a therapist. If all you want to do is therapy, the MHC degree will allow you to do this.

 

[zdravo]

One more thing... coming into a PsyD program with a Master's degree and clinical experience can really help give you a different perspective, since you will have already had experience seeing clients with various disorders. It is not needed to have had this experience, but it certainly does make the learning more rich.

 

[GradStudent87]

I did this and then after practicing for a few years post-master's degree, I entered a PsyD program. I don't think it will help your chances of getting into a PhD program (and could actually hurt your chances for the reasons you named), but it could potentially help your chances of getting into a good PsyD program, where the emphasis is more on clinical experience. But I don't think that you need a master's to get into a good PsyD program.
I chose to the MHC degree first because I wasn't sure about whether I wanted to commit at that time to a doctoral program, however I knew I wanted to be a therapist. If all you want to do is therapy, the MHC degree will allow you to do this.

Yea it's a moot point now, I turned down one MHC program because it was a lot of money considering I am considering going on for a doctoral degree. The other one which was at a Cuny and I would have probably gone to because but I found out today🙁 I wasn't accepted too. Thanks for the input anyway.

 

[Jon4PsyD]

I received a good amount of interviews/acceptances this year and it was basically all due to my Master's in MHC.

It's an important degree because I don't really buy into the idea that you've found your interests right out of undergrad and if you go to a doctoral program right out of undergrad sometimes it's too late...

It really helped me specify exactly where I wanted to go next and where my interests were. The training was also excellent, something I had very little of just coming out of college.

Jon