Is there a path from the Walden Tempo General Psych masters to a licensable degree?

[bjcheung77]

I would still recommend Walden MS Psychology degree as an entry into a bridging program mentioned earlier. It'll save you energy/money/time in the long run if you can finish quickly with a competency based education. Even if you go with other MS Psychology programs, you'll run into this issue, as most if not all will NOT conform to certification or licensing requirements unless it's geared towards counselling. There usually are extra requirements, so you must check with your state as these all vary... it's best getting the info first before you start on the program.

[sanantone]

The other option is to complete a Tempo Masters in Psychology, and then do a Psy.D. or a Ph.D. You could choose a concentration that enables licensure.

Just as this Walden degree will not qualify you for licensure, it also may not qualify you for admission into a competitive Clinical Doctoral degree program.  These often require a Clinical Masters degree plus some relevant work experience.

Many people go straight from a bachelor's degree to a doctorate in clinical or counseling psychology.

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It is very difficult to get licensed, let alone prepare for licensed practice with a general psychology degree. The curriculum is not adequate to prepare you for the NCE let alone the real world. If you want to be a licensed mental health professional do yourself a favor and enroll in an appropriate professional counseling (CACREP accredited preferably) or clinical social work program designed for licensure in your state. The other option would be to enroll in an APA accredited psychology doctoral program.

I kind of figured as much.  What I was hoping was that I could find a program that would accept a bunch of the credits from the Walden General Psych toward a licensable degree (say MFT or LPC).  The Walden Tempo General program is so inexpensive that it seems like one would save a bundle if this were possible. Alas, it appears it's not to be.

Most master's programs that allow transfer credits only allow 6 to 9 transfer credits. If programmatic accreditation is involved, there could be a requirement that the transfer credits come from a program that also has programmatic accreditation.

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There are master's in psychology programs that are designed for licensure.

http://mpcacaccreditation.org/mpac/mpac-...-programs/

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States have master's level licenses for psychology specialists under various names. In some states, they may have to work under a psychologist similar to how a physician assistant has to work under a physician. In other states, they can practice independently.

Alabama – Psychological Technician
Alaska – Licensed Psychological Associate
Arkansas – Psychological Examiner
California – Registered Psychological Assistant
Kentucky – Licensed Psychological Practitioner or Licensed Psychological Associate
Maine – Psychological Examiner
Michigan – Masters Limited License
Nebraska – Psychological Assistant
New Mexico – Psychologist Associate – Supervised
Ohio – School Psychologist
Oregon – Psychologist Associate – Supervised or Independent
Texas – Licensed Specialist in School Psychology or Licensed Psychological Associate
Vermont – Psychologist- Master
Virginia – School Psychologist
West Virginia – Psychologist, School Psychologist or School Psychologist Independent Practice

https://www.online-psychology-degrees.or...rs-degree/

[DeanLewis]

It is very difficult to get licensed, let alone prepare for licensed practice with a general psychology degree. The curriculum is not adequate to prepare you for the NCE let alone the real world. If you want to be a licensed mental health professional do yourself a favor and enroll in an appropriate professional counseling (CACREP accredited preferably) or clinical social work program designed for licensure in your state. The other option would be to enroll in an APA accredited psychology doctoral program.

I kind of figured as much.  What I was hoping was that I could find a program that would accept a bunch of the credits from the Walden General Psych toward a licensable degree (say MFT or LPC).  The Walden Tempo General program is so inexpensive that it seems like one would save a bundle if this were possible. Alas, it appears it's not to be.

It could still work using Walden, but you'll need a bridge. Just check schools in your area that offer bridge programs like the ones I and Sanantone referenced and that's your way in to licensed counseling. However, you're more likely to find one in Clinical Mental Health Counseling than one specifically in Marriage and Family Counseling or Licensed Pastoral Counseling.

These bridge programs are not for non-licensable degrees to become license eligible, rather they fulfill two purposes, preparing a candidate to move from initial licensure to what some states call "clinical" licensure, in other words from supervised to independent practice. In other cases they are "top up" credentials for folks trained in schools that offer 48-hour programs to meet the newer 60-hour requirement that most states now require. 

Also, in most jurisdictions, all graduate work toward licensure is required to be synchronously delivered, and therefore competency-based programs are generally ineligible. 

P.S. LPC = Licensed Professional Counselor. Only six states regulate the practice of pastoral counselig.

[eLearner]

These bridge programs are not for non-licensable degrees to become license eligible, rather they fulfill two purposes, preparing a candidate to move from initial licensure to what some states call "clinical" licensure, in other words from supervised to independent practice. In other cases they are "top up" credentials for folks trained in schools that offer 48-hour programs to meet the newer 60-hour requirement that most states now require. 

Also, in most jurisdictions, all graduate work toward licensure is required to be synchronously delivered, and therefore competency-based programs are generally ineligible. 

P.S. LPC = Licensed Professional Counselor. Only six states regulate the practice of pastoral counselig.

I can't speak for all other programs across the country, but that's not at all the information I got from the school I posted (Niagara University) both by email and over the phone. They were clear in stating that the program is specifically meant to help those who have a degree in a mental health field that isn't license-eligible become licensed as Clinical Mental Health Counselor's, and that the courses a student takes is dependent on what their unlicensed degree program lacked. They did say that the transition is easier for people who took a program that is counseling focused because those courses tend to transfer at the highest rate, but a non-counseling focused Psychology degree could be eligible.

LPC also does = Licensed Pastoral Counselor. 

Since I don't know what state the OP is in, and because usually when people mention an MFT and LPC in the same post they tend to (at least based on the posts I've read of over the years, YMMV) be referring to Pastoral Counseling, so that's what my reply was based on.

[sanantone]

It is very difficult to get licensed, let alone prepare for licensed practice with a general psychology degree. The curriculum is not adequate to prepare you for the NCE let alone the real world. If you want to be a licensed mental health professional do yourself a favor and enroll in an appropriate professional counseling (CACREP accredited preferably) or clinical social work program designed for licensure in your state. The other option would be to enroll in an APA accredited psychology doctoral program.

I kind of figured as much.  What I was hoping was that I could find a program that would accept a bunch of the credits from the Walden General Psych toward a licensable degree (say MFT or LPC).  The Walden Tempo General program is so inexpensive that it seems like one would save a bundle if this were possible. Alas, it appears it's not to be.

It could still work using Walden, but you'll need a bridge. Just check schools in your area that offer bridge programs like the ones I and Sanantone referenced and that's your way in to licensed counseling. However, you're more likely to find one in Clinical Mental Health Counseling than one specifically in Marriage and Family Counseling or Licensed Pastoral Counseling.

These bridge programs are not for non-licensable degrees to become license eligible, rather they fulfill two purposes, preparing a candidate to move from initial licensure to what some states call "clinical" licensure, in other words from supervised to independent practice. In other cases they are "top up" credentials for folks trained in schools that offer 48-hour programs to meet the newer 60-hour requirement that most states now require. 

Also, in most jurisdictions, all graduate work toward licensure is required to be synchronously delivered, and therefore competency-based programs are generally ineligible. 

P.S. LPC = Licensed Professional Counselor. Only six states regulate the practice of pastoral counselig.

I see. The Lamar State College program requires that those with a master's in psychology have completed a 300-hour practicum. Texas changed its Licensed Psychological Associate license not too long ago. Previously, one needed a master's degree in psychology (any sub-field) and 42 graduate credits in psychology. The extra credits could be earned after the degree. There was also a 400-hour practicum requirement, which most completed under the supervision of a psychologist after graduating since a licensure program was not required.

Because LPAs lobbied to practice independently, they increased the requirements to 60 credit hours and 3,000 hours of post-graduate internship work. If you were licensed under the old rules and wanted to practice independently, you had to earn more credits and complete the internship hours.

Now, Texas has three masters-level licenses that do basically the same thing. They expanded the scope of practice of LMFTs, so they're not much different from LPCs. If you complete a non-licensure doctorate in psychology, they advise people to either complete an APA-accredited respecialization program or become an LPA since LPAs don't need pre-graduation internship hours like psychologists do.

[studyingfortests]

I'm in CA.

And as far as LPC, I had never seen Licensed Pastoral Counselor until this thread. I frequently hear a lot of folks getting dual licensed as an MFT and a Licensed Professional Counselor (sometimes also called a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor). Ya learn something new every day.

[DeanLewis]

I'm in CA.

And as far as LPC, I had never seen Licensed Pastoral Counselor until this thread.  I frequently hear a lot of folks getting dual licensed as an MFT and a Licensed Professional Counselor (sometimes also called a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor). Ya learn something new every day.

California is unique in many facets with certain licensed professions, and uniquely they dont require an APA accredited doctorate. You may in face be able in that case to earn a Walden psych masters there (presuming you have another masters degree to qualify for admission) and transfer several courses, if not most of them, into CalSouthern's licensure eligible PsyD and straight up become a licensed psychologist.

[sanantone]

I'm in CA.

And as far as LPC, I had never seen Licensed Pastoral Counselor until this thread.  I frequently hear a lot of folks getting dual licensed as an MFT and a Licensed Professional Counselor (sometimes also called a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor). Ya learn something new every day.

California is unique in many facets with certain licensed professions, and uniquely they dont require an APA accredited doctorate. You may in face be able in that case to earn a Walden psych masters there (presuming you have another masters degree to qualify for admission) and transfer several courses, if not most of them, into CalSouthern's licensure eligible PsyD and straight up become a licensed psychologist.

Most states don't require APA accreditation. They require APA alignment.

[jsd]

You may in face be able in that case to earn a Walden psych masters there (presuming you have another masters degree to qualify for admission) and transfer several courses, if not most of them, into CalSouthern's licensure eligible PsyD and straight up become a licensed psychologist.

CalSouthern requires you to have a psych masters to enter their PsyD program, so it will help you there. But they won't accept your Masters level courses for transfer into that program, they will only accept doctorate level courses for transfer, done on top of the required psy masters for eligibility.

[DeanLewis]

You may in face be able in that case to earn a Walden psych masters there (presuming you have another masters degree to qualify for admission) and transfer several courses, if not most of them, into CalSouthern's licensure eligible PsyD and straight up become a licensed psychologist.

CalSouthern requires you to have a psych masters to enter their PsyD program, so it will help you there. But they won't accept your Masters level courses for transfer into that program, they will only accept doctorate level courses for transfer, done on top of the required psy masters for eligibility.

That's not true. I was able to transfer 30 credits into their program because I had a 60 credit hour MA in counseling AND another master's degree which was used as the qualifying degree for entrance into doctoral study. They used a couple of my 60 hours plus my MA in religion to satisfy that, and still transferred 30 hours.

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I'm in CA.

And as far as LPC, I had never seen Licensed Pastoral Counselor until this thread.  I frequently hear a lot of folks getting dual licensed as an MFT and a Licensed Professional Counselor (sometimes also called a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor). Ya learn something new every day.

California is unique in many facets with certain licensed professions, and uniquely they dont require an APA accredited doctorate. You may in face be able in that case to earn a Walden psych masters there (presuming you have another masters degree to qualify for admission) and transfer several courses, if not most of them, into CalSouthern's licensure eligible PsyD and straight up become a licensed psychologist.

Most states don't require APA accreditation. They require APA alignment.

That is increasingly untrue (but relatively true form MA counselors with CACREP accreditation). There are only a handful of states that CalSouthern students (for instance) seek licensure in, California, Texas, and Illinois (I believe), and even then outside of California its very difficult to find clinical internship placements that accept students from non-APA accredited programs. Its functionally only possible in a handful of states.