Grief, Loss, and Bereavement

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TMS@1987

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I am really interested in getting my license as an LCSW and going into private practice (not immediately of course, but further down the road), and I keep hearing that it really helps to have a niche. I feel that my niche is grief, loss, and bereavement counseling, but when I go online and surf therapist directories, I don't see anybody specializing in grief, which makes me worry. do people not go into gried because it can be depressing, or do they not go into it because their is no money in it?

also, are their any other areas that you can go in with an MSW where you can make money? i'm not that interested in making big bucks now, but further down the road I would definitely like to at least break 80k, hopefully more.

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acidicspecies08

Niche work is a great idea, and if you want to do Grief more power to you. We all chose are areas to work in for various reasons. Grief work can be a great niche, I think the key is getting your name out as a great grief counselor/social worker. I would not worry too much about what you see online in the therapist directories too much as an indication of the state of affairs in the field, many people do not advertise thier practice with those. Good luck and good job for thinking ahead.

Jeff
 
I already provided some suggestions when you asked this question in a different thread:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=5699589&postcount=12

PsyKardinal is correct in that the online directories are a poor representation of market saturation. I know very few people who market their practice that way.

Grief work is very common among all therapists, because it is almost impossible to avoid doing it. It's rare to have a client who has not experienced some sort of loss, whether that be by a death, of a relationship, of a job, of their health, or many other types of loss. Again, I strongly recommend just finding a program that seems to fit your style, get some experience via practica, and take things from there. Plans change as you get more exposed to different areas of practice and find that you do/don't like certain aspects. Also start considering what role inundating yourself with grief work might have on your personal life. It can be very taxing.
 
Grief therapy is called thanantology. I did my undergrad at Hood College. They have a masters degree and a summer certificate program in thanantology. Dr. Cable and Dr. Martin are two of the best grief therapist.
 
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