Online Counseling Program

[Bimono]

So I realize attending school in person is more beneficial than online simply because you'll have more interaction with peers and instructors, however, I am 35 and I work my job amongst other things.

Online would be ideal in terms of flexibility to get my Master's in counseling, but are these degrees as credible? I was looking at St. Bonaventure's Counseling program as NYU and Northwestern are way too expensive.

Would this be a good path to take for someone who wants to make a career transition and is a degree from an online program less credible in terms of the value and training it provides?

Thanks in advance for the replies.

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[ExploringOptions]

No. Would you want a therapist who only trained online? I wouldn’t.

 

[foreverbull]

This question gets asked from time to time, and what I’ve seen is that standards for acceptance to these programs are horrifyingly low, meaning just about anyone with a bachelor’s degree can get in (someone I was in class with who could not grasp basic statistics and did an unethical research project in research methods told me “I’ve already been accepted to an online master’s program as long as I graduate”). That is not the purpose of graduate training, in my opinion. Not everyone should be able to get specialized and advanced training , because those who aren’t professional, intellectually capable, interpersonally-skilled or as self-aware will be terrible therapists who practice unethically, and ultimately do harm to the entire profession. Online programs usually don’t have practicum experiences built in the way brick and mortar programs do, which also leads to problems with finding sites to train at, and most are not CACREP-accredited.

Another major issue is that in a highly saturated market with a TON of in-person training programs already to choose from (and many masters level therapists and psychologists and social workers sometimes competing for the same jobs), there is absolutely no reason to take a risk picking an applicant with an online degree over a more respectable program. You will have a major uphill battle to fight career-wise because of the “convenience” of the program.

I would strongly advise against this path for all of those reasons. It is not a respected degree path in the field.

 

[R. Matey]

I second much of what @foreverbull said. You might want to consider attending a program part time as an alternative to an online program. In a city I lived in a while ago, I knew of some part time MSW programs that were designed for people working full time. They took longer to complete, but were more respected than an online program. These were accredited programs that provided some better practicum opportunities and provided live feedback and supervision.


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[Bimono]

@foreverbull @R. Matey Thank you both for your feedback.

I agree that the industry is saturated and that there are many unqualified individuals providing care when they should not be addressing mental health issues to others. I am not trying to contribute to that statistic, hence my question on this topic. Your insight certainly has enabled me to make a more informed decision as the quality of education is something I hold with great value, as every professional should.

With that said, after I requested more information about the online programs, they have been contacting me as if I owe them money and they are a collections department. That in itself solidified my decision that this is not the best route and that they obviously do not have a selective process.

I will wait for the next application cycle and start studying for the GRE in the meantime. I intend to apply to ASU which I am certain is a significantly better alternative to any online program. I hope this post helps anyone else considering the online programs for counseling and is dissuaded from doing so.

Again, I appreciate the replies and providing a different perspective on this topic!

 

[Laradd]

There are Online courses that also offers physical interactions like 50% especially when you do your trainings and meet some requirements.