Social work or counseling for where I want to end up? I want to eventually do therapy.?

I want to do individual, couples and family therapy in my own, small home office eventually. I have a bachelor's degee in psychology, but have no desire to pursue that any further. I hate statistics and testing. I want to get a master's degree, but I can't seem to get any real direction. People in psychology tell me to go that route, counseling people tell me to go the counseling route, and social work people swear that it's easiest to become licensed with a social work degree. I am so confused. I know that after get my master's, I have to work for a couple of years under supervision in order to become licensed. I just don't know how to get started.Social work or counseling for where I want to end up? I want to eventually do therapy.?
If you know that you only want to do therapy then you are best to go and get a degree in counseling, counseling psych, marriage and family therapy and/or any degree that is eligible for licensure in your state. The MSW is a much more versatile degree and is generally a bit more respected than degree's in other fields. However, if you are only interested in doing therapy, you would probably not appreciate all that social work has to offer (and the variety of courses you will have to take).



The most important piece you will need to be sure of is what degree's are eligible for licensure. Each state has a different licensure requirements.



DASocial work or counseling for where I want to end up? I want to eventually do therapy.?
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well it mostly depends on your state. in california, it is more beneficial to get an MSW and then your LCSW because it allows you more flexibility, whereas an MFT (marriage and family therapist degree) is pretty much only for therapy.

the bottom line is, you have to decide how much of your schooling you would like to be counseling/therapy based. the reason that I say this (i have my master's of social work and am preparing for my licensing exam) is because the MSW curriculum is very broad. that is, counseling/psychotherapy is only a very teeny tiny bit of the curriculum. since social workers work in so many settings with so many populations, the curriculum is very broad and you may be spending time studying things that you aren't very interested in (ie social action/social justice/world and global political social issues). alot of msw students in my class who wanted to become therapists were very bored with that part of the curriculum, especially the psych majors (and the majority of the class was psych majors)

if you want to do private practice counseling, i would stick with the marriage and family (mft formerly mfcc degree). at least in california, the msw curriculum does not adequately prepare you for private practice as there are alot of things to consider (billing, confidentiality, dealing with insurance companies, hmo's, office space etc). most of the social workers i know who are therapists had to go to outside courses to learn about that. i believe with the mft program, you go on for your master's of psychology and then you do supervised hours. finally you take a test for your license. for social work, you get an msw and then do two years of supervised hours. i just finished my hours which is easy because you are working full time anyway. then i have to take a licensing exam.

the bottom line is, if counseling is where you want to be, go with the mft. and i am saying this as a social worker because i saw so many people who want private practice and are not prepared with our curriculum. good luck and i hope that helps!
Counseling, and I don't say that because I'm biased. With a degree in counseling, you lose a lot of the statistics/testing elements from psychology and also a lot of the case management stuff from a social work degree; however, you are still qualified to do private practice.



In most states, it is equally as rigorous to get a LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) and a LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor) with a few differences in hours and testing here and there. For both you can do the sort of work you desire and also get licensed in a couple of years if you are consistent with getting your supervision.



Good luck!
Find the school nearest you that offers an MA in counseling psych and apply. There should be no thesis requirement and the program should only take about one and a half to 2 years to complete.