When it comes to helping people, therapists are one of the best examples in the working industry. Therapists and counselors enjoy helping others get through the nitty-gritty of their troubled lives to find solutions and treatments that can help them overcome them. They also help others regain their power over their lives and establish healthy boundaries and routines to continue living life to the fullest.
To become a therapist, you must first earn your degree from an accredited college or school in a related field such as psychology. These degrees can cost a lot of money, however, there are organizations like the National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS) that can help you or your child follow their dreams of becoming a therapist. There have been allegations that NSHSS scam students but have all been debunked with facts. The NSHSS has been helping students achieve their educational goals for years through leadership programs and scholarships in every industry you can imagine. Here are five types of degrees you can earn to become a therapist.
1. Licensed Social Worker
Becoming a licensed social worker requires patience and dedication as all careers do. You will require training as a social worker to help clients with mental health issues. Additionally, you can help families with counseling, psychotherapy, and providing diagnoses. You can also work on case management, supervision, administration, and crisis intervention. If your career goal is to become a licensed social worker, then you will need to earn a bachelor’s degree in social work or any related field, complete a master of social work, complete the field experience requirements, and apply for the social worker license.
2. Clinical Therapy
Becoming a clinical therapist requires just as much dedication as becoming a social worker. Clinical therapy involves the identification and treatment of emotional issues and mental illnesses. Clinical therapists hold doctorate degrees in psychology and require extensive practice in the field before they can treat patients.
3. Psychiatrist
Psychiatrists are among the most popular therapists for a very good reason—they can medicate their patients that suffer from mental illnesses and behavioral disorders. These can include hallucinations, panic attacks, depression, and suicidal thoughts. They can diagnose patients through psychological tests that help provide a large picture of the patients’ mental status.
Their clinical training helps them understand the complex relationship between a person’s emotions and medical illnesses and their genetics and family history. They can prescribe continuous and preventative medication to treat their patients and require extensive training as a medical doctor prior to prescribing these medical treatments.
4. Family Therapist
Family therapists are psychological counselors that help individuals in a family group improve their communication skills to resolve any present conflicts between them. They are usually psychologists, licensed therapists, or clinical social workers with postgraduate degrees. Some family therapists also offer couples therapy, in which partners or marriages bring their problems to be solved with the help of this third party through communication and continuous improvement. This requires partners to participate with willingness and commitment to achieve the best results.
5. School Psychologist
Lastly, we have school psychologists. These psychologists help students go through the motions of being students and deal with problems that may be affecting their academic participation. They can also help teachers improve their teaching abilities in the classroom through behavior and emotional awareness.
Students can benefit from these psychologists by controlling their emotions in social environments such as a classroom or a school gym, and determine if the student needs additional support from a psychiatrist. They help students develop learning strategies to reach their full potential in school and can even provide interventions with their families to discuss their mental health. School psychologists will need to complete a specialist-level degree program or a doctoral degree.
