PhD in Psychology

[TMW2010]

TMW2010 thank you so much for this information. I actually want to counsel so I guess I will be good with a Masters then. I plan on getting my BS from Liberty online. They offer Christian Counseling BS and MS but their MS is not CACREP accredited. So my plan was to get my BS from them then go to Capella and get my MS from there. I would love to work for the Government but with 8 kids (7 at home) I really don't have the time.:willynilly:

With a CACREP accredited MS in Psych will I be able to have my own practice?

It depends on the laws of the state you're in. As I've said, for Christian counseling, I'm not sure if you need to be licensed. If you do, you'll likely have to meet the licensing requirements for the LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor) which includes an internship prior to being eligible to take the exam supervised by a LPC with a current license, and then three years of supervision (again by another LPC with a current license) during the time of the provisional license. (At least that's how my state operates for LPCs, your mileage may vary)

Another option is a Masters of Social Work which you can get a LSW certification and do counseling with that as well. (And hospitals and such like LSWs because they can do Medicare charges).

But from what I've seen CACREP programs are pretty much the perfect portal to the LPC because (for the ones I've looked at) they fulfill the educational requirements and often the pre-certification intership requirements as that is part of the degree. The only thing I don't like about the CACREP programs that I've found via distance learning is that most of them seem to be on quarter hours which means lots of $ for the program.