How to Become a Therapist: A Complete Career Guide

But if you’re feeling confident in our post-pandemic tele-friendly world, then you could register to be on platforms such as Amwell, Teledoc, MDLive, Zocdoc, and Headway, to get listed and start working with clients online. In total, it’ll take approximately four years to complete a bachelor’s degree and one to two years to finish a master’s in the US. In other countries, such as the UK, a bachelor’s typically requires three years and a master’s can range from one to two years. You’ll be required to listen to their problems and help them come up with coping strategies. Rather than offering your opinion, you’ll ask them probing questions to enable them to identify ways to overcome their challenges.

1. With your license in hand, you’re ready to start your career as a therapist.
2. In addition, the subjects and situations that may arise in a therapy session can be complex.
3. Many graduate schools require that future therapists complete clinical work while in school to give them experience in the field.
4. If there’s a particular issue you’d like to help people work through and overcome, this can determine the best therapist role for you.
5. Every state establishes requirements for therapists to renew your therapist license.
6. Generally speaking, most states require aspiring therapists to hold either a master’s degree or a PhD in a relevant field, such as psychology.

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As you enter your career as a therapist, it is essential to hone helpful skills. Communication, critical thinking, problem solving, cultural competency and empathy are a few of the top soft skills therapists should have. Your focus area affects your educational path, the types of patients you work with and your work environment. To become a psychiatrist, you’ll need to complete four years of medical school and four years of residency to obtain an MD or DO.

#3: Choose What Graduate Degree You Want and Apply to Schools

We answer all these questions and more in this in-depth guide on how to become a licensed therapist. Preparing for a career as a therapist takes many years and extensive education. On your journey of becoming a therapist, be sure to stay connected with the support of others–family and friends, academic counselors and advisors, your own therapist, and/or others in the mental health profession. The steps involved in becoming a licensed professional are designed to prepare you for a successful future career in which you work ethically to help others improve their well-being and reach their goals. In college, major in a subject related to mental health and therapy, such as psychology, child development, social work, or neuroscience. You do not necessarily have to have a psychology-related degree to get into graduate school for psychology, but it can improve your chances of admission and give you the background you need to do well in school and avoid remedial work.

Online vs. in-person degree programs

With various education programs, training options, specializations, and settings, aspiring mental health professionals have options. Before you begin your education, it is helpful to know what you want to focus on in your therapy practice. Therapy is such a broad career field that it is helpful to choose a specialization or two to pursue. Think through what types of therapy may have been most beneficial for you, or that you could envision excelling at. For example, if you’ve gone through couples therapy, you may want to incorporate family and marriage counseling into your future therapist toolbox.

The path to becoming a psychiatrist starts with obtaining a medical degree (M.D. or D.O.) after completing an undergraduate education. Medical school covers foundational medical knowledge, anatomy, pharmacology, and clinical skills. Next, psychiatrists undergo specialized psychiatric training during their residency. For example, a marriage and family therapist (MFT) may work on a long-term basis with individuals, couples and families. MFTs still focus on mental and emotional health disorders, but they look specifically at roles and dynamics within clients’ familial relationships.

1. Your role could involve assessing clients’ needs, developing treatment plans, conducting therapy sessions, and monitoring progress.
2. With this course, you’ll learn different kinds of mental disorders, what makes up good mental health, and develop positive strategies—including exercise, creativity, psychiatric medications, and the role of loving relationships.
3. Average growth for all careers is about 3-5%, and many of these therapy positions are well above that.
4. A psychology degree is a solid option no matter what type of specific therapist you want to become.
5. So, it’s helpful to start your planning process by considering where your interests lie.
6. An advanced degree can open up a wide variety of career options, with several program choices to consider.

These subjects provide a broad understanding of how people think, feel, and interact with the world around them — knowledge that is vital for anyone aiming to help others navigate their emotional and psychological challenges. To become a licensed therapist, you’ll need to earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree, complete a set amount of supervised clinical experience hours and obtain licensure. It’s important to be aware that different states enforce different requirements for becoming a licensed therapist, including post-graduate requirements to complete supervised clinical hours. With your license in hand, you’re ready to start your career as a therapist. During this phase, you’ll work under supervision to obtain full independent licensure, which can take 2-5 years after initial licensure.

In the fall of your senior year of college (if you decide to attend grad school immediately after college), you’ll begin applying to grad programs. At this point on your path on how to become a therapist, this is where you’ll begin to start thinking more about the specific type of therapist you want to become, although you definitely don’t need to decide right away. What you major in during college partly depends on the type of therapy you want to go into. For any aspiring therapist, the most obvious choice is majoring in psychology. A psychology degree is a solid option no matter what type of specific therapist you want to become. Now that you know the type of therapist you want to become, the next step will be to earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

As a college student, you’ll have many more options than high school students, especially once you’re 18 or how to become a therapist older (many places don’t accept volunteers or workers younger than 18). You might volunteer for an abuse hotline, help recent immigrants settle into their new home, assist senior citizens with errands, etc. A therapy-related internship is especially impressive to have because it shows you have work experience in the field before even beginning your therapy-specific degree.

The APA provides continuing education (CE) programs for psychologists and other mental health professionals on many topics. Many states require therapists to complete a set number of continuing education credits to maintain their licensure. These courses can cover a wide range of topics, from the latest in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to emerging trends in teletherapy.

For mental health counselors, the expected job growth rate between 2021 and 2031 is very promising at 22 percent 2. For psychologists, the job outlook is 6 percent but has a higher median salary of $81,040 4. For licensed therapists, salaries may vary depending on location, education level, licensure, and specializations.

The first step is to research your state’s educational programs and licensure requirements. Once you understand the requirements well, you can start taking the necessary steps to become a therapist. Getting hands-on clinical experience is an important phase for aspiring therapists during and after their education. This practical engagement fosters skill development, enhances understanding, and prepares them to be effective professionals in the field of therapy. BLS reports that 16,920 therapists were practicing in the U.S. in 2022, with a mean average wage of $71,860.

Some programs are a year or a half-year longer than the above times; this is because they include an internship or work placement as part of the degree requirement. This is part of the process of becoming a licensed therapist (see step 5), so it doesn’t actually lengthen the time it takes to become a therapist. Yet another career option is to become a therapist specializing in psychosocial rehabilitation. In this role, you would give clients the skills needed to live and work independently—emotionally, cognitively, and socially. This helps people with mental health disorders get the most out of their lives. People often assume therapists must earn a Ph.D. in psychology to provide therapy to clients.

Her TEDx talk,  “The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong,” is one of the most viewed talks of all time. Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the “Everything Psychology Book.” Glenn Geher, Ph.D., is professor of psychology at the State University of New York at New Paltz. He is founding director of the campus’ Evolutionary Studies (EvoS) program. By submitting my information, I acknowledge that I have read and reviewed the Student Code of Conduct located in the Catalog. By submitting my information, I acknowledge that I have read and reviewed the Accessibility Statement.