05-25-2024, 04:11 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-25-2024, 04:13 PM by IHateEducation.
Edit Reason: Grammar
)
Hey everyone,
To keep this as brief as possible, I am a seminary graduate with a dual degree, one in Theology and one in Counseling. I'm currently getting licensed in CA as a therapist and am about halfway through my 3000 required hours for full licensure.
Here's my dilemma: The hospital I work for pays for continued education. This has got me thinking about a doctoral degree that would 1) help with marketing myself with the "Dr." title in the future. 2) Will obviously give me extra education and 3) It'll be free or extremely close to that, so why not?
The problem is there are various options out there... too many to even begin to list. I can say that I don't care too much about the "traditional" route of going to an APA accredited school and getting a PhD or a PsyD in Clinical Psychology so I am looking for an alternative path that doesn't require a doctoral thesis and everything that comes with that (years of work and sleepless nights, an oral defense before a board, etc.) I'm looking for something quick and relatively painless. 5 years in Grad school + 2 residency programs at two major hospitals has already kicked my butt. I'm still recovering from that.
Since my budget is around $5,500 a year, what are my options? I've done a lot of research and I know schools like Kairos University and Mississippi College have a DPC program which looks tempting, but no one has heard of these degrees. I guess you can say I want my cake and I want to eat it too, but I wouldn't want to get a degree that would "limit" me where I go to apply to teaching positions 10 years from now and they look at me strange, wondering what a "Doctor of Professional Counseling" degree is from a small school in the middle of nowhere.
An alternative I have thought of is getting something like a DMin which is a practical degree for ministers where I can focus on "Biblical or Pastoral" Counseling. The limitation here I feel like is non-religious people might see this and get turned off by it, and not want to see me as their therapist.
Thoughts? I can expand further if needed.
To keep this as brief as possible, I am a seminary graduate with a dual degree, one in Theology and one in Counseling. I'm currently getting licensed in CA as a therapist and am about halfway through my 3000 required hours for full licensure.
Here's my dilemma: The hospital I work for pays for continued education. This has got me thinking about a doctoral degree that would 1) help with marketing myself with the "Dr." title in the future. 2) Will obviously give me extra education and 3) It'll be free or extremely close to that, so why not?
The problem is there are various options out there... too many to even begin to list. I can say that I don't care too much about the "traditional" route of going to an APA accredited school and getting a PhD or a PsyD in Clinical Psychology so I am looking for an alternative path that doesn't require a doctoral thesis and everything that comes with that (years of work and sleepless nights, an oral defense before a board, etc.) I'm looking for something quick and relatively painless. 5 years in Grad school + 2 residency programs at two major hospitals has already kicked my butt. I'm still recovering from that.
Since my budget is around $5,500 a year, what are my options? I've done a lot of research and I know schools like Kairos University and Mississippi College have a DPC program which looks tempting, but no one has heard of these degrees. I guess you can say I want my cake and I want to eat it too, but I wouldn't want to get a degree that would "limit" me where I go to apply to teaching positions 10 years from now and they look at me strange, wondering what a "Doctor of Professional Counseling" degree is from a small school in the middle of nowhere.
An alternative I have thought of is getting something like a DMin which is a practical degree for ministers where I can focus on "Biblical or Pastoral" Counseling. The limitation here I feel like is non-religious people might see this and get turned off by it, and not want to see me as their therapist.
Thoughts? I can expand further if needed.
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