If you want a career in helping others, you may have considered various paths. From home decoration and redesigning to becoming a fitness trainer, these are all noble paths. One you may consider is becoming a therapist. In this post, we will look at what becoming a therapist entails, and if it’s right for you.
Is it a Good Fit For You?
Not everyone is cut out to be a therapist. A therapist is not someone who is good at giving advice or someone who is in it just to make money.
It’s for people who can show empathy, observe, communicate, and work with people from all different walks of life. It’s for people who can provide real solutions to people’s problems, and work with them to find new solutions should those fail.
It’s not a good fit if you want to use a career in therapy as a way for you to make friends, as a therapist and client relationship tends to be one-sided. It’s also not the best for you if you are looking at therapy as a way for you to cope with your own trauma. Seek a therapist of your own for that.
There Are Many Ways to Practice
What makes therapy a good career choice in the 2020s is that there are so many paths you can take. You can work has a general therapist, a family therapist, school therapist, addiction therapist, the list goes on.
Also, it’s easier than ever to be your own boss. Some therapists may join a firm, but others may build their own business. Thanks to online therapy, it’s much easier to talk to your clients through the comfort of your own home.
However, It Takes a Good While
If you want someone to help treat your depression or anxiety, you want someone with experience. Luckily, therapists have to have a lot of experience in order to be in the field.
There are different requirements depending on where you live, but in general, it goes something like this.
Get Educated
The first major step is to go to college and get a bachelor’s. Get yourself a bachelor’s in psychology, or a similar field. This should take around four years to finish. Then, you have to get a master’s degree, or a doctorate. There may be different requirements for those degrees depending on where you are. You may need so many hours of training. With all that said, a master’s takes another couple of years.
Education can be difficult. Besides costing a lot, it is stressful. While you can be educated at any age, it’s especially challenging if you have a family and a job. There are ways for you to get assistance when you are getting your education, and you should seek them whenever possible. After all, therapy is about getting help, and there is no shame in getting help on your own.
Internship and Practicing
Some states may require you to be an intern for a while in order for you to prove your worth. Interns may need to complete a certain amount of hours in order to move on. In some cases, it may be 3,000.
That’s quite a lot, and it may take a couple years for you to do so. Over 8 years may be required for you to be able to become a therapist. While some people may not like that, it’s needed in order to ensure that clients get the best care possible.
You may also need to take an exam as well. This exam offers little room for failure, and you may only be able to take it once every year. However, once you pass, you’re on your way to getting your license.
License
A therapist needs to have a license if they want to practice. At this point, you should have everything that proves that you are a competent therapist who can help others.
Applying for a license and paying for it is the final step, and it isn’t as difficult as the others. Think of it as a reward for all your hard work.
Depending on your region, you may need to get a license in another area if you ant to practice there. However, you may not need to take the exam again, which means you will not have to spend quite a bit of time doing so.
It’s a Lot of Time and Money
As you can see, becoming a therapist requires time, and you need to have money in order to do so. It’s not something you can do overnight, and it is something you should think about for a while.
However, for many, becoming a therapist is a career move that was well worth it. You can click here to learn more about it: https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/therapy/interested-in-becoming-a-therapist-career-training-and-educational-requirements/
We hope it is worth it for you as well.
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