MA/MS MS program advice

[PsychPop]

Hello all!

So, I am an undergrad working towards a BS in psychology; I was originally majoring in Marketing but after talking with my family psychologist whom I've known for years, as well as two therapists who recommended I look into therapy as a career I chose to switch majors and I never looked back!

Last summer I started working for an MFT who I have learned a lot from, from his work I began to realize that I could be very interested in becoming an LMFT, so I have begun looking at schools that are accredited and I have found a couple so far (SDSU,UCSD,USD, Bethel Seminary, & Chicago Professional). I was wondering how employers view these schools in general.
I do have connections to faculty at SDSU and Bethel seminary for letters of rec. if I play my cards right

Before I ask my questions, here are my interests for a career and my dream scenario so far:

1. Working with people
2. eventually making >$100kyr.
3. becoming a therapist/counsler
4. Helping people heal

Dream Scenario:
Get my masters in MFT, then practice for a couple years in general, then maybe pursue Med school for psychiatry. (I am not pursuing Med school now because I feel more interested in therapy than the medical aspect and because my GPA is quite low in undergrad and will be even with improvement, I am a third year with a 2.75 and hope to graduate with a 3.0-3.2).

That being said,

Should I pursue a masters in MFT or just clinical psych? (I do not wish to get a PsyD)
If I want to be a therapist for couples and families can I do so without an MFT?
I stumbled across another possible route for me, a masters in Health Admin MHA it seems to have a positive outlook and great growth rate plus strong salary; are they needed and respected in the field?
Is the transition from therapist to psychiatrist a logical and reasonable goal?

Thanks so much for reading, any advice is welcome!

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[singasongofjoy]

You'll have a really hard time making 100k+ with a masters in psych/LMFT. And there isn't actually a whole lot of oerlap between LMFT and psychiatry in actual practice. If you did decide to go the med school route then by the time you got through 4 years of med school and finally started residency your master's program would feel worlds away because you won't be doing therapy in med school. I mean certainly it helps to have some counseling skills to help build rapport and have good interactions with your patients as an MD but that's different. I do NOT think the transition from therapist to psychiatrist is loical/reasonable due to accumulated time, cost. It would be like a decade before you'd be practicing as a psychiatrist if you went that route. If you want to do couples and families you'll need some sort of licensable degree (LCSW, LMFT, LPA) but it does not necessarily have to be MFT. If you think you could be happy in health admin, I'd go that route. Good pay, different type of stressors, good job growth.

 

[PsychPop]

You'll have a really hard time making 100k+ with a masters in psych/LMFT. And there isn't actually a whole lot of oerlap between LMFT and psychiatry in actual practice. If you did decide to go the med school route then by the time you got through 4 years of med school and finally started residency your master's program would feel worlds away because you won't be doing therapy in med school. I mean certainly it helps to have some counseling skills to help build rapport and have good interactions with your patients as an MD but that's different. I do NOT think the transition from therapist to psychiatrist is loical/reasonable due to accumulated time, cost. It would be like a decade before you'd be practicing as a psychiatrist if you went that route. If you want to do couples and families you'll need some sort of licensable degree (LCSW, LMFT, LPA) but it does not necessarily have to be MFT. If you think you could be happy in health admin, I'd go that route. Good pay, different type of stressors, good job growth.

Thanks so much for your advice I really appreciate it! I have been thinking a lot about health administration for the past few weeks and I think that it would be a better choice for my goals; now that is settled I have begun looking for intern opportunities for this summer in that field but don't know where to begin searching, I would guess reaching out to local clinics and hospitals would be a good start.
As an undergrad what opportunities could I hope to find at this point?

 

[futureapppsy2]

WRT the BCBA credential, note the requirements are changing in coming years: https://www.bacb.com/wp-content/uploads/BACB_October2018_Newsletter.pdf

 

[NeuroPsychosis]

Have you considered doctoral level clinical Psych as a career? since you hinted passion for therapy and psychiatry...

 

[PsychPop]

Have you considered doctoral level clinical Psych as a career? since you hinted passion for therapy and psychiatry...

Hi Neruo,

I have but I think getting my PsyD in Psychology will just be a heavy emphasis in therapy which is what I could already be doing. I'm not much of an academic to begin with so Grad school is as far as I want to go.
Thanks for the input though!

 

[foreverbull]

Hi Neruo,

I have but I think getting my PsyD in Psychology will just be a heavy emphasis in therapy which is what I could already be doing. I'm not much of an academic to begin with so Grad school is as far as I want to go.
Thanks for the input though!

Clinical and counseling psychology PhDs and PsyDs exist and all lead to clinical practice and slightly higher income, but take longer and could be much more expensive, depending on a program’s funding.

Master’s level practice isn’t going to get you $100K or more, at least not generally speaking. More like $40-60k range, I think and if you get into administration, maybe higher.
Doctoral level practice may earn $100k, particularly with a well-built up private practice with a specialty (can take several years and the right connections/reputation, or conducting assessment and neuropsych assessments can be more lucrative, and/or VAs pay decently well for psychologists). So it depends on what you go into. Community mental health jobs usually don’t pay as well for full time practice, etc.

You might want to consider your goals and how necessary that $100k is to you.