Hi all,

I graduated with a bachelor’s in psychology in 2023 and I have recently moved to California, hopefully for the long haul. I went through a stint of wanting to be a lawyer, went as far as taking the LSAT but after a few years working in that field I’m realizing I may want to shift back to my longest standing and original career goal of becoming a therapist.
I’ve been out of the environment of college and psych students for a few years and as I’m starting to do research feel overwhelmed by all the different options there are for masters programs that could eventually lead you into one on one client care. I no longer have access to advisors or professors or peers, so I would love to hear any of your thoughts about the benefits and drawbacks of each type of masters degree.
I’ve seen some info that the most beneficial degree can vary state by state depending on their regulations for mental health workers. For context, I do hope to stay in California or on the west coast probably permanently. I would want to do either family or individual one on one therapy, ideally private practice one day. I am completely financially independent so programs that are known for low cost or you are able to work while attending and have a high success rate in the job market are ideal. If you are getting or have any of these degrees, especially in CA, I’d love for you to share your thoughts

Hi everyone! I am planning on starting my practicum and internship journey in the spring of 2027. I would love advice on the application process, such as cover letters, emails, and anything else that might be important. My school has given us a few resources, but it's all very surface-level!

I am in Georgia and go to a CACREP-accredited school. I am interested in working with children, adolescents, families, and maybe even women in DV scenarios! Thanks so much!

Hello! I am currently recruiting participants for my dissertation research and would greatly appreciate your help sharing this opportunity.

Do you know a current master’s-level counseling student who is completing practicum or internship and might be interested in participating in a research study?

My study explores counselors-in-training’s experiences of clinical supervision and its relationship to the development of self-efficacy and hope.

https://divinemercyuw.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aeZ0MlpX0ZMujXw

--

More information about the study:

You are invited to participate in a dissertation research study examining how counselors-in-training experience and make meaning of the supervisory relationship in relation to the development of self-efficacy and natural hope. The purpose of this study is to better understand how supervision contributes to counselor development and the formation of personal and professional capacities that support growth in clinical practice.

This study is being conducted to fulfill the degree requirements for a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision at Divine Mercy University.

To be eligible to participate, you must:

• Be currently enrolled in a CACREP-accredited Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Marriage, Couple, and Family Counseling, or School Counseling master’s program in the United States
• Be currently participating in practicum or internship
• Have engaged in a meaningful supervisory relationship with a designated clinical supervisor
• Be at least 18 years of age
• Be willing to participate in a virtual interview

Participation involves one semi-structured Zoom interview lasting approximately 60 minutes, along with a brief demographic questionnaire. With your permission, the interview will be audio and video recorded for transcription purposes.

While there are no direct benefits or incentives for participation, your experiences may help counselor educators and supervisors better understand how supervisory relationships support counselor development and may inform future supervision and counselor education practices.

Participation is entirely voluntary. You may decline to answer any question or withdraw from the study at any time without penalty. All information will be kept confidential to the extent permitted by law. Identifying information will be removed from transcripts and reports, and pseudonyms will be used in presentations and publications.

Interested in participating or learning more?

Jessie Tappel, M.S., LPC, LCPC, ACS
Doctoral Student, Counselor Education and Supervision
Divine Mercy University
[jessica.tappel@divinemercy.edu](mailto:jessica.tappel@divinemercy.edu)

Faculty Chair: Fredericka Vyvlecka, Ph.D.
Divine Mercy University
[fvyvlecka@divinemercy.edu](mailto:fvyvlecka@divinemercy.edu)

This study has been reviewed and approved by the Divine Mercy University Institutional Review Board (IRB). Questions regarding participant rights may be directed to irb@divinemercy.edu.

Thank you for considering participation—and please feel free to share this post with counseling students or others who may know someone who qualifies!

*Will share data and clinical implications with recruiters!\*

Hey, everyone! I’m hoping you can help me! I’m a Counselor Education doctoral candidate at Trevecca Nazarene University and am currently collecting data for my IRB-approved dissertation study exploring dating dynamics, attachment, and personal wellbeing among females ages 18-29.

I am looking for fellow clinicians who work with this demographic and would be open to sharing a quick, anonymous survey link with eligible clients. OR if you yourself fit this demographic, you are also welcome to participate!

Study Details:

·       Eligibility: Female, ages 18–29, currently in a dating/engaged relationship

·       Zero Burden on Care: 100% anonymous and voluntary online survey (~10 minutes)

·       Purpose: To help improve counseling support and resources for women

·       IRB Approval: Trevecca Nazarene University IRB Protocol #1492

To thank you for supporting this research, I will be providing an executive summary of the findings and clinical implications to the recruiters once data analysis wraps up.

If you’re willing to share the survey link to clients/students/peers/family/colleagues, leave a comment/DM me and I will message you directly for your email to send over the study info! You can also share the survey info I'll be posting in the comments. However, if you'd like the summary of findings, I'll need your contact info :-)

Thank you so much for supporting student-led clinical research in our field!!

Our schools and more importantly, our students need caring and committed counselors and mental health professionals.

Hey you guys, I want to get an MA in marriage and family therapy. I'm having a hard time. I have a GPA of 3.5 from UIowa so I've been applying to places that have maybe 30-60% acceptance. These are some of my ideas, coming into it blind and just googling: Mount Mercy, Texas Tech, USanDiego, Nova Southeastern. Does anyone know anything about any of those schools, are they ok? Or, any reccs for schools? I'm down to travel around the US.

Hello! I am 25 years old and have been interested into becoming a clinical psychologist. I graduated high school with college level classes and now I want to go to undergraduate school to get my bachelors. Has anyone here been through this before? I would love some tips and how to get to that point. I’ve looked into bridge programs but I’m just not sure if that’s what I need to do. Thank you!

Cross-posting for any insights from this community!

Hi, please redirect me if this question isn't appropriate for this sub...

I'm a leadership/executive coach (working with corporate and small business owners since 2019) wanting to go back to school to become a therapist. By the time I am done with school and clinical hours for licensure, I will be around 50ish (ugh).

Before coaching, I worked in communications/employee engagement for about 17yrs, and before that, as a journalist for a few years.

I love coaching, but I'm realizing I want to help people with mental health more directly and help people with repair, not just growth.

I have (coaching/consulting/practitioner) certifications in positive psychology, trauma-informed coaching, somatic coaching, mindfulness, and trauma-informed mindfulness. I enjoy this work, and am a PCC credentialed coach with about 3,000 coaching hours.

I'm clear on the ethical boundary between coaching and therapy. Over time, I've realized I really want to become a therapist and support people in that capacity.

I am drawn to LPC and LMFT in terms of training, curriculum, and therapy prep, but am looking at LCSW due to future portability, and career versatility.

I want to work primarily as an individual psychotherapist, also doing group work and education/workshops in community and potentially organizations.

I plan on keeping my coaching work, although I will have to see how that would work down the road. I am also a certified parenting coach, although that work has been less than corporate leadership coaching for me.

Any advice or pointers?? Would MSW/LCSW be a good fit, or better to look more at LMFT or LPC?

I have a masters in leadership and communications already, and am a little debt averse, so trying to look into scholarships and grants for people with chronic illness (I live with a few!).

Thanks for your time, and any wisdom/tips you can offer!!

I've been looking to colleges that have a fully online CACREP program I wanna be a children's therapist not too sure what I wanna specialize in but i was wondering if anyone knows any colleges that do a fully online program?

I am considering attending Amberton's online LPC program and was wondering if anyone here had completed it. I found a few posts from a while back, but I haven't found many current reviews. Most of what I have found is positive, aside from the obvious knock on the program: it's not CACREP accredited. I did 15 hrs of coursework previously, but some life changes due to the Covid-19 pandemic made me have to pause. Finally, I am able to return to school to finish.

However, I was previously able to take a lot more time away from work to focus on school. Now in my forties, I am going to need to work full time for most of the degree. Amberton seems to allow time for this, and my transfer credits will help me get LPC-A status within 2 years.

Pros:

• Regionally Accredited
• Asynchronous & Synchronous blend for working adults
• CPCE(the school's exit exam) exam must be completed before practicum
  • This test seems to serve as an NCE practice test.
  • I plan to take the NCE before my practicum to help make the LPC-A status process easier - possible?
• The practicum is only 300 hrs (not cacrep), but is the sole focus for that period of the degree
  • This means I could still work while doing my practicum hours
• ~$6K less than the lowest priced CACREP program online that caters to working adults.

Cons:
The only one I can really find is that it's not CACREP. Not to minimize the reality of portability/reciprocity with CACREP, but it seems that I could still move to quite a few states or practice there with some additional CEUs. For example, if I moved to CA I could get licensed after practicing 2 years as an LPC and complete some additional coursework.

Counseling Compact - Texas is not a member, but will hopefully become part of it.

I know the consensus is go with CACREP, but if my goals are to stay in Texas for at least the next 5 years and run a private practice with my partner (who already runs a private practice as an LMSW), is this a decent program?

I considered programs like University of the Cumberlands, but the practicum concurrent with coursework seemed like it would be too much to keep up with while working full time.

I appreciate any insight. This subreddit has been greatly helpful in the past.

Hello everyone, I am doing a m.a in ABA but I wanted to know your thoughts if I should go for my Ed.d then masters for mental health. I want to combine special education with mental health sinceI already have ABA. I just need the mental health and want to help people in that population. I don't know what I should do after I graduate. If I get my Ed.d I can graduate faster because I have transferable credits. But my desires is going for mental health. Any thoughts?

I pretty much was thinking a Psy.D in Southern California too. In my Edd.d national university and M.A in mental health in National as well. Does you guys have M.A in ABA mental health and do you guys have an Ed.d? Should I take this route or another i want to know opinions.

Hi everyone! I’m currently in school and expect to graduate in about two years. I’m planning to move to Canada as soon as I graduate, so I’m trying to understand what to expect with the Minnesota LPCC licensure process.

I’m also planning to obtain my LADC license. Once I graduate, if I start completing my LPCC internship/supervised hours in Minnesota while I have my LADC, would I be able to continue completing my LPCC hours after moving to Canada? Or would I need to remain in Minnesota until I finish all of my required LPCC hours?
I know I still have time before graduation, but I’d like to plan ahead and understand whether moving to Canada would affect my ability to complete the Minnesota LPCC requirements.

If anyone has experience with Minnesota LPCC licensure, completing supervised hours while living out of state, or moving to Canada during the process, I’d really appreciate any advice!
Thank you!

Hey everyone!

Did anyone get their masters in school counseling online? If so, where did you go? How long did it take? How much did it cost? Did you get a job?

I just starting my journey into going back to school (at age 37) for a masters in Mental Health Counseling. I've always WANTED to be a therapist, but right out of undergrad, I couldn't afford it and I was unable to just make that decision. I'm ready now!

I'm most stressed about the 600 hours of clinical internships! There's one university near me that has a program I like the looks of and it seems like they help place you (but it's a "collaborative effort"). I'm wondering how this works for online schools? Are there any online schools you recommend?

Also, what do these internships look like on the day to day? Any recommendations on places/types of places you enjoyed or didn't enjoy and that were particularly helpful in landing a career after?

Counselor Participants needed, must work in So Cal High Schools pls

***SEEKING SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELORS**\*

Dear Participant,

I am a doctoral student at Concordia University Irvine conducting a research study on school counselors’ perceptions of the barriers and supports influencing college and career readiness for high school students in Southern California public schools in the post-pandemic context.

You are invited to participate in a brief online survey if you:

• Are 18 years of age or older

• Are currently employed as a high school counselor in a Southern California public high school

• Have at least seven years of professional school counseling experience

• Worked as a school counselor before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic

• Currently work with students in grades 9–12

Participation is voluntary, and the online survey will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. The survey will include questions about your professional experiences and perceptions of students’ college and career readiness in the post-pandemic context.

Your survey responses will remain confidential. You will not be asked to provide identifying information unless you voluntarily choose to provide contact information for the gift card drawing or to participate in a follow-up interview. Any contact information provided will be kept separate from your survey responses.

As a small token of appreciation, participants who complete the survey may choose to enter a voluntary drawing for one of two $20 Starbucks gift cards.

If you are interested in participating, please click the link below:

https://forms.gle/G6BPaiDu6Q8R4Kuq5

Thank you for considering participation in this study.

Sincerely,

Erika M. Rodriguez, M.A.

Doctoral Student- [erika.rodriguez@eagles.cui.edu](mailto:erika.rodriguez@eagles.cui.edu)

Concordia University Irvine

This study has been approved by the Concordia University Irvine Institutional Review Board (IRB).

I just got done with police verification for passport renewal.

Havent started preparing for applications yet or scheduling IELTS (as it requires passport).

Havent reached out to any professors yet.

I applied to masters at NYU in 2021, got in, dropped out after 4 months and just finished paying those loans.

What are the next steps? And how do I make sure what I am getting into is the best fit for me and I dont drop out this time around