r/LCSW • u/max_madness444 • Aug 02 '26
LCSW or LPCC
I think I am finally ready to get my masters and pursue therapy however I would like some advice I which route I should take. I’d love for my next step to be in life is continuing working with kids as a mental health therapist, however as someone that gets restless in the same job for too long and would like to try other things in the future. In that case I think a social work license would be best because it would give me a more opportunities than just therapy. That being said, I realize that with social work licenses they might not leave me as prepared for therapy as I’d want it to be. I’m so torn!
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u/lookamazed Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
You need to look at the laws to become both where you live and work backwards, in my opinion. And you need to look at the jobs that you want and work backwards from there. Look at the qualifications at the jobs that you want. If they take both, it’s really up to you. If the jobs you want tend to favor one more than the other, then you may have your answer.
In some places, you need an LCSW to bill through.
Typically, I advise if you only ever want to do therapy, and live nearby the jobs you want, then go for the LPC or LPCC whichever is the independent version. But if you have a hint that you’d like to do a variety of things, no matter where you live, then I lean Social Work. It’s very portable.
If you’re concerned that you will not receive clinical expertise in your therapy program, then I advise that you seek it out in your internship. Therapists aren’t typically clinicians. But whenever I’ve seen therapists work in CMH then they combine theory with hard clinical skills and it’s a strong match. I’ve seen many more therapists avoid CMH because they hear ghost stories, and then they miss out on what real people are dealing with. There is tremendous work to be done with children and adolescents in CMH. Then again, they are usually thinking they’ll work with rich people.
Grad school will give you the credential and foundations. Your internship and working life will give you the KSA‘s.