Path to MSW with no degree and 52!

[studyingfortests]

THANK YOU all for your input - I need to review later this evening to take it all in but some quick notes . I do think MSW is the route because I do want 1) flexibility to work in gov institutions like VA and 2) I am not necessarily tied to NC in the future so it appears from some reading that transferring with licensure at MSW level maybe easier(?) than with Masters FT  for example. My vision is working with EFT, Hypnosis,EMDR etc within all settings including VA, including imagery( Hypnosis) in end of life ( cancer) scenarios . I would work alongside medical teams but licensure will place me in position to bring these options to the table and it would be covered by Insurance for patients. I think weighing all of these the route MSW is my best option.

I did pretty extensive research before deciding on the MSW, and I think you are right on the money.  Interestingly, while in my practicum, I ran across a whole bunch of MFTs who wished they had gone the MSW route, but no one who was an MSW wishing they had gone the MFT route.   I do recommend, since you will be working clinically, that you choose a program that has a bunch of clinically-focused electives.  (Some MSW programs advertise a "trauma track" or "clinical track", but this is really just talking about the 9 credits of elective courses, since CSWE largely locks down the remaining 51 credits.). At WNMU, I was able to choose electives (domestic violence, advanced case formulation, trauma and addiction) that filled those electives and essentially gave me additional cliinical skill. But the generalist curriculum dictated by CSWE has plenty of clinical practice in it.  Also, getting a clinical placemenet for your practicum will be crucial, and thus, choosing a school that will allow you to find your own placement, rather than one that picks a placement for you, will be crucial. If you can find it, your best option is probably a residential high-acuity mental health program. These are the "step down" facilities that clients go to after coming off of mental health holds. You'll be exposed to just about every type of disorder but without the risk of people with homicidal ideation and unmanaged psychosis that you would find in an inpatient setting, and it will give you incredibly strong background

UMPI, from what I have read here, does have some advantages in terms of cost and speed. I've heard folks say that they had no problem getting through the Sophia math, but for me, it's just not something that comes easily to me which is why CSMLearn was such a great option.  Even if UMPI does not accept it as a math credit, they should honor it as an elective, so you pretty much win either way.  I jammed on it and knocked out the whole course in a weekend.

If you decide to to TESU, the TECEP credits might be the fastest and cheapest option for RA credits. though the others that Jonathan mentioned would all be reasonable options.