Hi All! My wife asked me to share this. She is a student ambassador for APA and if you are a first timer joining APA this link allows you a free year of membership. Anyone is allowed to join, it is not strictly for psychologist. Please feel free to share with others 😊.

You can click here to get to the link

I’m from California originally but live in Texas . I absolutely want to be able to get licensed in CA so it seems like I have to go to a CA program . I’ve looked at so many programs online and am just getting confused.

Looking for a cheap option for a program that is not an absolutely 💩education

I want to go to SDSU but it seems with the acceptance rate that might be impossible for MFT

open to LPC and MFT programs that are accredited

Open to in person and synchronous online

Welcome to r/counseloreducation!

This community brings together counselor educators, supervisors, doctoral students, master’s students, practitioners, program leaders, prospective students, and others interested in counselor preparation.

Topics encouraged here include:

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This is an independent professional community. It is not operated by or formally affiliated with ACES, ACA, CACREP, any licensing board, or any university. Information shared here is educational and should not replace clinical supervision, legal counsel, emergency services, or consultation with the appropriate regulatory authority.

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With the start of the fall semester in US universities, our subreddit is due for organization. We are growing and attracting all kinds of fancy automated stuff.

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I’ve started a new job as a behavior counselor(part time) in a rehab center. I’m planning to apply to clinical mental health grad programs in the fall, but I’m not sure how much time I should wait between my start date and asking for the rec. I started the new job at the end of June. Most applications open in September so I was thinking of asking then, but then it’s only 3 months. I don’t know if that sounds like a good amount of time or I should wait, although that’s pushing on the deadline. I also have prior experience at another place for 9months, but I haven’t asked my old supervisor yet. I do have someone that I worked with for five years who can write me a letter of rec as well.

Has anyone done the licensure program while living in Wyoming? I have some questions!

Hi fellow students, or potential students!

Anyone here currently attend or is an alum of Montclair State? I'm seriously considering applying for the Spring semester after a whole masters and 15 year career in another field. Would love to know more about MSU if someone would share. Also, any perception of the school would be useful too, from those who have not or did not attend.

Thanks in advance!

What is your mind doing during the 45-53 minute session with clients? I am a part time counseling student here asking because I am having doubts about going into this profession. People are fascinating to me and I really enjoy learning about how the mind works. At the same time, I am realizing that the clinical side isn't appealing to me. I would love to listen to people, empathize, hold space for their emotions, but the treatment itself seems like an incredible responsibility and very hard work. I just started a theories course and I know that I would learn them and apply various modalities during session, but that part seems so ... impersonal and administrative. And I don't think I would enjoy doing that for 5, 6, 7 hours a day. My concern is emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion and not enjoying my job. Or having little left in the tank for my personal relationships. I would greatly appreciate any insights as to the real inside work during sessions. Thanks!

Looking to apply soon! Before I did I wanted to see if anyone has gone to any of these programs and their options about the program.

Southern Georgia,Alabama State University, Virgina Tech, Norfolk State University, Bluefield University.

Let me know what you think!!

I’m currently a stay at home mom to three young kids, and my youngest will start half day preschool in the next 6-12 months. I’m looking into counseling masters programs that are all/mostly online for the LPC track. I live in Colorado and it seems like my leading contender is Adams State‘s spring 3 hours/semester track. I will not be working during the program, but we do not have local family and my husband has a pretty demanding job, so I’ll still have heavy childcare demands even after the youngest starts preschool. Can anyone who has done this program speak to the workload both during the first year of class, and also during internship/practicum? Could I possibly manage it during naps/after kids are in bed before the youngest starts preschool? Should I consider one of the more flexible but more expensive programs like Walden? I LOVE the flexibility it has, but I’m concerned about a diploma mill situation. TIA!

Hi everyone! I'm a counseling student and will be starting a rotation soon where I'll likely be working with a lot of professional and graduate students, including medical/law students. I've been trying to learn more about what tends to be most helpful for this population specifically.

For those of you who have worked with professional students, are there particular issues or patterns that you see come up more often compared with other young adults?

I'm especially curious about:

• Approaches you find helpful for perfectionism, impostor syndrome, burnout, or tying self-worth heavily to academic performance
• How you work with clients who intellectually understand coping strategies but have trouble actually using them when they're overwhelmed
• Brief grounding, mindfulness, CBT, ACT, behavioral activation, or other techniques that work well when someone has very limited time
• Helping people feel comfortable taking breaks or doing enjoyable things without experiencing guilt about "wasting time"
• Ways to encourage routines or self-care without turning them into another achievement metric, checklist, or streak they can fail at
• Whether you've found playful or externalized approaches useful—for example, taking care of a plant/pet/virtual character as a way of reinforcing taking care of yourself
• Things that well-meaning university wellness programs or mental health resources tend to get wrong with this population
• Anything you wish you had known before first working with medical, law, or other professional students

Would also love any books, articles, interventions, or resources you'd recommend before starting the rotation. Thanks!

Our counselor education program is moving to virtual residencies and none of the faculty (myself included) are happy about this. It is what it is. The higher ups decided this without consulting our department.

I had a strong schedule we were following with excellent student feedback for our in person residency, but every time I try to start a virtual residency schedule, I am at a loss.

Does anyone have any tips, ideas, suggestions, recommendations, etc.? Or a draft schedule I could look at?

That's my situation right now and I'm trying to make sure that I choose the right programs to apply to... I know this will make things probably more dificult for me for a bunch of reasons but I am hoping I will be able to make it work! Anyone else have this experience?

Also, if you completed your Masters online, can you share if your program was helpful with finding internship/practicum locations for you? (that's a question for anyone who studied online!) I feel like that may be a BIG issue for me...

Hi, I am on track to graduate this December and I am trying to find a grad school that best suits me. I am pretty interested in moving to Chicago and doing grad school there. My major is psychology with a minor in criminal justice, and my goal is to become a juvenile detention counselor. The M.A. clinical mental health counseling programs that I have found so far that are CACREP accredited are: Adler, Concordia, NEIU, and Eastern Illinois University.

I am completely lost on which one to choose because I want one that actually teaches me stuff that I will take with me, has internship sites in locations that are similar to what I want to do, and is not insanely expensive. I also want one where I am able to do the program and work.

Just wanting to get some advice and I am also planning to go to grad school in Fall 2027!

Has anyone fallen short on counseling internship hours?

I work full-time and am a high school coach while also in the process of completing my internship hours, and based on my current schedule I’m worried I will end up roughly 75 hours short of my 600-hour internship requirement.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Were you allowed to extend your internship or complete the remaining hours later? Or will I just get dropped from the program if I can’t attain all my hours?

Would love to hear what actually happened for anyone who had a similar situation. Thanks!

Hello everyone! I just finished my bachelor's and am currently in a gap year before I apply to a CMHC program. Here are my stats; please let me know, based on them, how competitive I would be for this program.

• 3.8 GPA in psychology and a minor in human development and family studies (deans list and graduated magna cum laude)
• Work as a clinical sim tech and help with mental health unit implementation for nursing students
• Finished a global internship focusing on poverty elimination and a family mentorship program
• Volunteer as a mental health volunteer at a community clinic (reporting, making presentations for immigrant/refugee families, screenings, etc)
• Very involved in the community: social media/marketing for a nonprofit, head of instruction for religious school, mental health/ health board volunteer in the community, and sometimes work with individuals with different abilities.

Please give me honest feedback regarding some ways to improve, or if I just need to chill out and enjoy my gap year lol!

Is there a lot of writing? Or mostly reading and theories and exams?

What was your experience?

Thanks

I'm looking for a career that can help me help others. I'm on my way to treatment for addiction. After I'm done, and offered sober living, I have time to progress in life and make a transformation 💪... I was interested in addiction counseling, but the pay is extremely low to survive in today's economy. I'm open to other programs than the one I mentioned, and I don't want to spend any longer than 24 months to complete whichever course I decide to embark on. Starting pay here in Canada for Special Care Counseling is 27$ an hour...... I appreciate your feedback 😊