You're sweet for saying that, thank you! 💕

That’s a lot!

@@samanthav1028 Thanks so much for watching! I'm cheering you on and wishing you the best of luck with your move & college :)

@@DarrianCorey Thank you so much!

Thanks so much for watching :) Cooking therapy sounds like a really neat idea. Also, I'm not sure if you have any interest in working with clients who suffer with eating disorders, but having a degree in nutrition can often be a nice complement to that type of work. Best of luck throughout your career transition!

Hi! Sorry for any confusion - The 60 hours mentioned is in terms of credit hours/the credits you earn for courses taken during your Master's program, rather than clinical hours. For most programs, you earn both course credit & clinical hours during your program. Just as an example - In the program I attended, we'd earn 3.00 course credits for completing 100 clinical hours in our practicum (We completed 2 total) and then would earn 12.00 course credits for completing 600 clinical hours for our internship. So just that alone gave us 18.00 course credits toward the 60.00 credit hours needed for graduation, and we all graduated with at least 800 clinical hours completed. In a typical program, you are able to apply for/earn your associate-level license (LAC) right after graduation. However, the 800 clinical hours you earned during your Master's program unfortunately do not count toward the hours you need to accrue to apply for your independent level license/LPC. This is because the hours you count toward your independent licensure must be completed post-Master's degree. The hours needed for an independent license can differ by state, but is usually around 3,200 hours you need to accrue while under supervision as an associate-level counselor. I hope this helps!

Hello! Yes, the APA only accredits doctorate programs, so you don't have to worry about that with Master's programs - Just CACREP. Best of luck!

@@DarrianCorey I appreciate your response, Thank you!

Best of luck!!

Thanks so much 😊 So happy to hear it was helpful, and thank you for watching!

Absolutely - This was a big struggle for me as well and could be so frustrating at times. Thank you for watching & best of luck!!

Hi Nia! I sadly am not working at the moment due to some ongoing health issues I've been having (will likely be posting a video about this at some point!) But at the time of this video, I had just begun working remotely as a mental health therapist specializing in treating trauma. Prior to that, I worked in a school as a high school counselor.

This breaks my heart to read, I'm so sorry that you're experiencing that feeling of dreading going to work - That's such an awful feeling. Unfortunately, you're right in that I think many in the education system feel undervalued right now. Especially since the pandemic, it seems that the treatment of school staff by parents, students, and sometimes even admin has taken a nosedive. You're totally right that you have to make yourself a priority too, and having a plan B never hurts. I hope and pray that you find a great fit for you, one where you know and feel you are valued!

20 years, same. I speak very openly and honestly about how abusive and odd this role can be. Definitely get your therapy license so you have an out.

Sorry to hear that.

I found it more difficult to practice self-care as a mental health counselor. For me personally, it's mostly due to the later work hours, and a much higher percentage of cases involving trauma. But both types of counseling have their own individual challenges for sure!

Great question! It is very rare to have summers off as a mental health counselor. As for weekly work schedule/hours as a mental health counselor, it entirely depends on your workplace and the average age of your clientele at the practice. For me personally, I prefer to work with children and adolescents. However this often leads to a later work schedule, like holding sessions until 7:00 PM, in order to accommodate afterschool sessions for kids. Then when you add in finishing up notes/documentation, and sometimes having to make additional calls or reports in emergency situations, I could be in my office up to 8/8:30 PM. However in my experience, most companies understand that later hours can make maintaining a good work/life balance difficult, and will only require you to offer late sessions 2-3 days out of the week.

Thanks for watching 🙂

So happy to hear it was helpful! Thanks for watching 😊

Thank you for watching 🙂

So happy to hear that, and thank you for watching! Best of luck on deciding which path is for you.

Yes, as long as the person has the necessary qualifications to provide clinical supervision, then that counts! Just be sure to be aware of your particular state's supervision rules, as some have important caveats to be aware of when it comes to supervision. (For example, here in Arizona, as an LAC, I cannot get supervision from a substance abuse counselor - It must be an LPC, LCSW, LMFT, or a licensed psychologist.) Another thing to keep in mind is that agencies that you are employed by often provide supervision for you for free. However if you choose to pursue supervision from a professional outside of the agency, the individual often charges per hour for their supervision. Just something to keep in mind!

@@DarrianCorey Do any online schools offer teletherapy nowadays?

Thanks for watching, and for sharing your experience! It is unfortunate how accreditation and accreditation databases aren't talked about more often and more directly, but sadly, many of the programs that are not accredited prey on others not knowing about it. I totally agree with you that a gap year can be much needed and so helpful! Congratulations and best of luck on your application journey!

@@DarrianCorey Thank you! 😊 And certainly I really think there are people that can be certainly vulnerable to not knowing about the importance of accreditation. But thankfully there are people like you willing to share and help others. 💕

Hi Stephen, thank you so much for sharing your experience. It's definitely just as important, if not more important, to share the positive experiences that people have had in the field too. You're right that having the support of administrators makes a HUGE difference!! I'm happy to hear that you have that where you are. Wishing you much success for years to come!

Awesome! I attended The University of Arizona's Master of Arts in Counseling program. 🙂

@@DarrianCorey thank you so much!! Would you recommend it??

@@galactalgeneral7420 I would! I will say that I didn't get the full "traditional" experience of the program, because the pandemic happened when my cohort was about halfway through the program. But even with the latter half being virtual/taught over Zoom, there were lots of opportunities to learn and practice counseling skills!

Hi Daniel! Congratulations, that's exciting! That's a great question. When I was about to make the switch, I was initially worried about that too. Luckily, I didn't run into any issues. It was often one of the first questions I was asked in interviews once they saw my resume, but as long as you are honest in your explanation of why you are interested in making the switch, everyone I interviewed with was very understanding. In fact, I ran into quite a few interviewers who had initially started in a school setting and had made the switch themselves too. Best of luck!

Thank you for watching! 😊

Sorry about that! Hopefully the link is back working now. :)

So happy to hear that! Thanks for watching and best of luck finding the right program for you!

I'm glad it was helpful! 🙂 Thanks for watching!

Hi Kristen! I earned both my Bachelor's and my Master's degrees from The University of Arizona in Tucson. 😊 I always suggest going with whichever grad program is accredited by CACREP, and will allow you to pursue licensure after graduating if you choose to go down that path. Here's where you can search all of the CACREP-accredited programs: www.cacrep.org/directory/ Hope this helps!

Hi Jordan, I think the path you are on sounds like a great fit (I also minored in Sociology)! Your past school counselors are correct - Of course it never hurts to take the traditional routes, but you can major in just about anything in undergrad and still pursue a Master's in Counseling in the future. I will say however that some graduate programs are more strict than others in which pre-requisites/general psychology classes they require an applicant to complete prior to admission, so I would recommend looking up each program's requirements as soon as you have an idea of where you would like to attend for graduate school. With your description of what you've been studying, I don't think you will have any issues relating that to counseling in your essay. I've met fantastic counselors who majored in things as seemingly unrelated as Accounting, though honestly, you could even argue that that is related, especially if you're looking into running your own business/private practice. Best of luck with everything!

I don't, I'm sorry!

Honestly, that may not be a bad idea! I'm located in Arizona, and agree with you that a lot of other areas will likely start adopting that same point of view. Especially with events such as school shootings becoming more and more prevalent unfortunately, having more clinical mental health training definitely would not hurt.

Congrats on graduating with your BA! Thanks for watching, and I'm glad it might have helped you to feel more validated in your feelings toward school counseling. You are right that some states do require certain teacher certifications for school counseling positions, while others don't. I also agree with you that it can be difficult navigating job opportunities at times when others step in, but don't fully know all of the different aspects of each role. I will say though, in my opinion, even if you have to temporarily take a job that you know is not the one you want forever, it can still be a great learning experience! I worked a couple of jobs in between my BA and grad school - A Case Manager position, and a Behavioral Health Tech position working with kids in the foster care system. I knew that neither of those were what I planned to do long-term, but I learned things in both roles that served me well in my role as a Clinical Therapist after grad school. I actually found myself missing the kids I had worked with in the Behavioral Health Tech position! Even if you're in those roles a relatively short time, you can still have the potential to make a big impact. :) Best of luck finding the right job or internship for you!

Ah so glad you checked! I hope your interview went well!

@@DarrianCorey It did! I got accepted!

@@ExtraD0G Yay! Congratulations! :)

Yay I'm so happy to hear that! Thanks for watching & best of luck :)

How is capella? How long is it? I’m thinking of NU

Hi Geoff! The graduate program I attended (University of Arizona's M.A. in Counseling program) was very up front from the start that students who chose the School Counseling specialty would be eligible to pursue licensure if they chose to after graduation. This is because they required School Counseling students to take the minimum Clinical Mental Health/Rehabilitation Counseling courses required for licensure (classes like Diagnosis and Assessment, for example) and also required us School Counseling students to complete Mental Health clinical hours in addition to our School Counseling hours. Because of this, I'm fortunate that my transition was very smooth - I did not have to do anything extra aside from apply for my LAC (associate licensure since I am not qualified to be independently licensed yet!). I in fact could have applied for my LAC when I was a school counselor too, but didn't see the need to at the time. It may not hurt to talk with your state's licensure board and/or your advisor in your graduate program to let them know how you're feeling. It's likely the case that this is not the first time they have heard this, and they may be able to give you clear steps to get you where you want to be. Best of luck!!

@@remmycaste2352thank you for getting back with me. I graduated and am currently finishing my onboarding with Centerstone as a school based therapist. Thank you for the information! I will definitely follow your instructions. Capella was 72 credits. Took me about 2 1/2 years with 2 classes full time.

Don't be afraid to ask - That's what they're there for! Every school seems to be different. Some counseling departments have a counseling secretary you can talk to for scheduling an appointment with your counselor, while others just prefer that you email your counselor directly for setting up an appointment. Some counseling departments have calendar links that you can schedule an appointment in as well. At a minimum, it doesn't hurt to email your counselor and ask! You can usually find their email address on your school's website if you are not sure of it. Of course, if it's an emergency of some sort, just walk to the counseling office (and ask your teacher first, depending on if you're in class or not. ☺)

@@DarrianCorey oh okay!! thank u so much, i’ll try to do it :)❤️

​@@xoqyis What sounds harder to your ears? 1. Certified Public Accountant or 2. Masters Degree in Statistics?

Thank you for watching! 🙂

You make some amazing points for sure!! Thank you for watching and for your support 😊

Same here…. Summer vacation is just just under 2 months long in California (you’ll have to get used to people trying to say it’s three months long when it isn’t lol.) but it’s still a HUGE blessing and worth the reduced $$$ especially if you have a family or prioritize free time :)