Full Careers

Counseling Physchology !?!?

I want to pursue a career in Psychology, but I dont know what career path I want to take. I'm thinking about counseling. I think I want to major in childpsychology. What type of counseling paths do they have dealing with children? Is it a popular career? What type of degree do you have to have to become this? How long do you have to go to college? What are the working conditions? Is it an office type of job? BY this I mean, having your own office with a desk and computer, clients come to you, and also what are the average hours that you have to work. Any other information you can give me would be great. Thank You Much !!!!!!!

Public Comments

1. its a very involved process and not as black and white as you are making it seem...so i cant answer all your questions, as many of them depend on your personal preference. but generally to be respected in the field of psychology and to have your own practice, or to even counsel people as a profession you'll need a masters in psychology at the very least, if not a PhD, which takes anywhere from 6-8 years depending on if you do internships or take breaks in between coursework. Child psychology isn't as popular as adult psychology, but thats a good thing for you because it means less competition, and therefore more clients. Child psychologists are more hands-on with their clients, because since children cant articulate their inner feelings very well, the psychologist has them do "play-therapy" such as playing with dolls, and drawing pictures to explain their emotions/situation. So if you were a child psychologist, you would probably be sitting in a lounge type chair taking notes while the child draws or plays with toys and talks to you. If you have your own practice, you can choose your own hours....if you need any more info, dont hesitate to email me and ill try to help
2. There are both Counseling Psychology and Clinical Psychology programs and with each you can specialize in child work. Clinical psychologists tend to be more involved with mental health problems or health psychology problems and are more likely to work in clinics or hospitals. Counselling psychologists are more likely to deal with family problems, couples problems, or adjustment problems. But there is a great deal of overlap between the two. Psychology is a popular career. It is quite competitive to get into a graduate program in psychology. You will need to get a bachelors degree, which will usually be four years and then a PhD or PsyD after that. Some people work with just a Master's degree, but in most places you can't work independently unless you have the doctorate (you would have to work under the supervision of a psychologist and you would be called something else - a psychological associate, for example.) The PhD or PsyD will usually take 4-6 years. And then you will need to complete a one year internship, so in total you are looking at 9-12 years of training after high school. That's a lot of school, but the work can be very rewarding. As I mentioned, some psychologists work in hospitals or clinics. They are usually doing 9-5 kind of hours, but if you choose to work with children, there will more likely be evening work, so you can see them after school and so you can also meet with the families. In child psychology, a lot of the work is with the parents. Some psychologists set up their own offices. That means they get to choose their own hours, but they have to pay for rent, admin support, etc., which you wouldn't have to do if you worked in a clinic. Good luck!
3. My daughter's psychologist sees her in the hospital that the doctor is affiliated with but she met her while my daughter was in school. My daughter's psychologist has her PH. D in psychology and she got her masters in conjunction with doing her PH. D work. Which means that she did not have to do a separate Master's degree before going for her doctorate. A lot of Ph.D programs are doing more of that figuring that if you have your PH. D you've completed the work for a master's also. I know that my daughter's doctor would spend about 4 to 5 hours in the school 4 days a week and than in the afternoon she would spend at the hospital to see the clients that had graduated and still saw her like my daughter. There is on day a week that she stays at the hospital until nine at night so that some of her clients who have to wait for parents can see her. On another day she leaves straight from school to go to her private practice. But her main job is at the school and hospital.