When planning a career in counseling, there are areas of specialties to consider. Since there is a wide range of fields to go into, it is very important to know and understand the differences in categories and job descriptions. It is also important to understand the educational background needed to obtain a license and certification in a particular field.
Clinical Psychologists
When someone has difficulties dealing with life’s complexities, or are having a hard time coping with the unexpected such as a physical illness, that person will usually see a clinical psychologist. Clinical psychologists are trained professionals in the medical field who counsel people going through mental or emotional crisis. They deal with mental disorders such as depression and Schizophrenia. Not only do they give advice and listen to their patient, they also give assessment, diagnostic testing and set up a treatment plan for them.
A clinical psychologist can find employment in clinics, hospitals, and mental institutions. It takes years of college preparation, and a doctoral degree to get your foot in the door. A PH.D allows the opportunity to teach, do research, and give clinical counseling. A PSY.D allows you work in a clinical and counseling setting.
Along with the doctoral degree, a license and certification are required. You can obtain these items from the state in which you live, for each state has different rules and regulations to abide by. The degree, license and certification go hand in hand when becoming a clinical psychologist. For someone thinking about going into this field, the salary is typically between $50,000 to $82,000 dollars a year.
Psychiatrist
Unlike the clinical psychologist, a psychiatrist has more areas of concern to specialize in. They will work with patients who are bothered with anxiety, depression, developmental disabilities, psychosis, substance abuse and sexual dysfunction. Their duties involve writing prescriptions and ordering diagnostic testing. They also practice psychotherapy, and work beside physicians, psychologists and social workers.
To become a psychiatrist, you must have either a M.D or a D.O. degree. The doctorial must come from an accredited school of medicine. Getting qualified is serious, meaning that you will do 4 years in residency training and do at least 3 years in psychiatry education. After completing at least 7 years at a university, you will be required to take a written and oral exam. Even after passing all the exams and receiving your degree. You are not a psychiatrist. The last step is certification through the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, which also means more written and oral exams to pass. More training is required if you want to go into a specific field, specialties such as geriatric psychiatry, pain management or forensic psychiatry.
The pay range of a psychiatrist depends on the number of experience years. For instance, 1 year of experience can bring you a $120,000 dollar wage, while those with 3 and 4 years of experience can earn $130,000 dollars a year.
Psychoanalyst
Being trained in the field of a psychoanalyst, means that by the time you receive your degree, you will know how to recognize and treat someone with a mental illness. The training for this specialty involves doing course work on psychoanalytic theory and technique. You will be required to conduct analysis while being supervised. Getting your credentials also means that part of your testing will be that of having a psychoanalysis conducted on yourself. It will take 4 years of training before you reach the point of being able to conduct psychoanalysis. In New York, the fee for license and registration is $371.00 dollars. As of November 19, 2010, the average salary of a psychoanalyst is $47,000 dollars a year.
Licensed Social Worker
Becoming a social worker is a fascinating and rewarding career if you enjoy giving professional support to children and adults in compromising situations. As a social worker helping adults, one of your roles would be helping adults with mental health or learning disabilities. If you choose to work with children and young adults, you can find yourself doing such things as managing adoptions and working with the foster care system. As a licensed social worker, you will give assistance to at risk kids and those in trouble with the law. Besides doing a lot of paper work, a skilled social worker will be in the position to be an advisor, an advocate, a counselor and above all a listener as you work with people in the community.
To become a licensed social worker, you will need a degree in social work. The degree options are Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and Master of Social Work (MSW). Each of these degrees comes with their own regulations as to what position you can hold as a social worker. Choosing a career as a social worker means that you are going to have to check with the State Regulatory Board to find out the requirements for the state in which you live, for each state is different in their rules and regulations dealing with licensing, certifications and registering. The average licensed social worker in the United States earns between $29,347-$40,897 dollars yearly. However, the salary depends upon the type of work and the experience that a social worker has in a particular field.
School Psychologist
When it comes to helping school-aged children who are struggling with social, emotional and behavioral issues in school and at home, the person to come to their rescue is the school psychologist. This trained professional helps children cope with their situation. They not only work with troubled children, they work with teachers and parents, providing support to those who are in connection with the trouble kids on a daily basis. It is mandatory that a school psychologist must have training in both education and psychology. They have to obtain licensing and certification too. With these credentials, the school psychologist can find employment in the public or private school systems. They can work at universities and juvenile justice centers or they can go into private practice. When it comes to the salary of these professional workers, they can earn between $53,700-$80,100 dollars, depending upon the years of experience that they have achieved.
Marriage, Family and Child Counselor
In today’s problematic world, every now and then couples, families and individuals need help in resolving emotional conflict that has gotten out of hand. When turmoil is busting at the seams, the marriage and family counselors come to the rescue when called upon. These professionals have an educational background on how to deal with crises that involve communication and behavior issues. They also deal with people’s perception of what is actually happening. It is up to the counselor to change the thinking of those in conflict so that they can stand on a solid foundation.
It is a fascinating career, but it does not come without proper education and training, which includes obtaining a Master’s degree in counseling. A counselor in this field will also have two years of supervised clinical experience before they are qualified. Before working in such places as clinics, hospitals or social service agencies, the counselor will have to pass state exams before receiving license and certification.
When working as a counselor in this field, those in private practice make the highest pay scale. However, someone just starting out can look at a salary of $25,000-$30,000 dollars per year, but that all depends on their educational background. In 2004, the median salary was that of $38,980 per year; considering that it is now 2010, the pay is even higher now.