It would be best to go to graduate school for most counseling jobs. Licensed counselors require a master’s degree plus thousands of hours of supervised clinical experience, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The career path will depend on what area of counseling you intend to practice, where you work, and your state’s requirements. Many aspiring counselors could spend at least seven years in school beyond earning their high school diploma. Training doesn’t end with a formal college education for this profession, as they must accrue thousands of hours of post-master’s clinical work experience. Furthermore, counselors must complete one or more professional exams before acquiring a state license.
What is Counseling?
Before embarking on the educational journey towards the qualifications to become a counselor, you should understand what the job entails and what specialty areas exist.
Some of the areas are individual, couples, family, and group counseling, each with its own challenges as clients struggle with numerous problems and issues that require a sympathetic listener. The counselor may deal with intensive grief, various addictions, rebellious children, anxiety, substance abuse, spousal and partner transgressions, racial tensions, societal pressures, and many more within these categories.
The American Counseling Association (ACA) defines the counselor’s role as a professional relationship with the mission to help people reach a satisfying state of mental health, education, career goals, and wellness. In other words, help others attain a comfortable level of contentment in life. A difficult task to accomplish for many.
An assortment of skills is imperative to be an effective counselor; listening, impartiality, responsiveness, empathy, probing, non-judgmental, and coaching are paramount. The professional strives to guide the client without dictating what they should do but address avenues to overcome the respective problems or issues.
Therefore, counseling taps into psychology, sociology, social work, psychiatry, and cognitive science. The occupation doesn’t require a medical or doctorate, although some are with the latter. However, it is not mandatory to hold a Ph.D. to become a professional counselor.
Undergraduate Work for Prospective Counselors
Before you can embark on the graduate-level education needed to become a licensed counselor, you must fulfill your undergraduate requirements. Most bachelor’s degree programs require around 120 college credits, allowing most full-time students to complete them in four years.
Although students may already have an inkling that they’re interested in a career in counseling by the time they begin college, most don’t major in counseling. Undergraduate degree programs in counseling are far less prevalent than those in related subjects, such as psychology and sociology.
Some colleges offer bachelor’s degree programs with a counseling element. These programs range from Bachelor of Science in Behavioral Health Counseling and Bachelor of Science in Counseling and Human Services programs to psychology programs focusing on Counseling, such as Bachelor of Science in Psychology – Crisis Counseling and Bachelor of Science in Counseling Psychology degrees.
Individuals who realize this is a future career would benefit from earning an undergraduate degree in one of the above programs. Drexel University offers a B.S. in Behavioral Health Counseling (link above), which provides a foundation by studying the social sciences, biological sciences, addictions counseling skills, cognitive behavior, treatment planning, abnormal psychology, and psychiatric rehabilitation practices.
The University of Scranton offers a Counseling and Human Services undergraduate degree that teaches case management, counseling theories, research methods, human services, and crisis intervention. The program also requires two internships of 150 hours and 200 hours (Advanced) that involves supervised clinical experience at an agency or designated organization. The former occurs in the junior year, and the Advanced is during the students’ senior year.
The Scranton human services program prepares graduates to work as a caseworker, child abuse counselor, mental health aide, behavioral management assistant, probation officer, child advocate, crisis intervention worker, and more.
The Department of Psychology and Counseling at Washington Adventist University (WAU) in Takoma, Maryland, offers Counseling Psychology, per the above link. This program takes the standard four years to complete, with practicums, internships, and training opportunities at various facilities. Examples are the National Institute of Mental Health, Adventist Behavioral Health Hospital System, Children’s National Medical Center, and Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Psychiatric Hospital.
One exception to the requirement is that counselors hold a master’s degree in substance abuse counseling. Although addiction counselors in private practice must have a master’s degree and a license, those working in other settings don’t always need advanced education. According to the BLS, there are some jobs for substance abuse counselors with just a high school diploma and certification. If you know you want to be a substance abuse counselor but you don’t have your heart set on running your own private practice, then a Bachelor of Science in Addiction Counseling degree could be all the formal education you need.
As mentioned, some states do not mandate a college degree to become a counselor; instead, there could be training hours, supervised experience hours, and a state exam before being eligible to counsel addiction and substance abuse clients. In California, individuals performing alcohol and drug counseling need a minimum of 36 hours per the Guidelines for Alcohol and Drug Studies in Higher Education. The California Association for Drug/Alcohol Educators (CAADE) provides a directory of approved schools. A program of this type would reduce the four-year time span; however, it confines you to this counseling niche.
States allowing an associate degree for counseling would save students valuable time and money as you could complete it within two years for the standard 60 credit hours. In addition to addiction and substance abuse, you may qualify to counsel clients with behavioral disorders.
Liberty University offers an Associate of Arts in Psychology-Christian Counseling that you can finish in 1.5 years. As the title suggests, the emphasis is on ministry to those who prefer a Christ-centered approach to deal with emotional issues. Graduates could practice as aides or assistants in a counseling setting.
Besides uncommon undergraduate counseling degree options, the best majors for aspiring counselors include all social and behavioral sciences and human services programs. Many counseling programs accept students with any undergraduate background.
Master’s Degrees in Counseling Studies
To become licensed as a mental health counselor or a marriage and family therapist, you need a master’s degree, the BLS reported. Although not required for all positions, master’s degrees can also expand your scope of practice in fields like mental health counseling and behavioral disorder counseling. With this advanced degree, you can provide a more extensive range of services and find work in employment settings that may not be available to you otherwise, such as private practice.
If you approach the field of Counseling from a background in social work, you will need a master’s degree: the Master of Social Work (MSW) degree. Only with this degree and a license can you become a clinical social worker authorized to provide counseling services, according to the BLS.
What should you expect from a master’s degree program in counseling? Often, these programs are longer than traditional master’s degree programs, requiring as many as 60 or more graduate-level college credits. Completing these programs can take two and a half to three years of full-time study. Hands-on experience is crucial in master’s degree programs in counseling, which must often include practicum or internship obligations that meet or exceed state requirements.
You may be able to tailor your coursework to your area of interest. Aspiring family and marriage therapists could devote more of their studies to learning about family dynamics. Substance abuse counseling students will focus more on matters specific to addiction, including substance use disorders, addiction and pharmacology, and addiction and co-occurring disorders.
According to the BLS, other counseling roles that typically require a master’s degree include rehabilitation counselor, school counselor, and career counselor. The first link takes you to Grand Canyon University’s Master of Science in Addiction Counseling, which you can earn online in eight-week sessions per course. For Arizona residents, graduates can apply for state licensure or a licensed independent substance abuse counselor.
Regardless of your master’s degree choice, it will add at least two years to your four-year bachelor’s program – therefore, six years before you begin a salaried job. How can you decrease this time? An accelerated B.S./M.S. program is one option.
The Counseling and Human Services major at the University of Scranton has an accelerated dual degree for academically qualified students. Undergraduates may be eligible for early admission into the Clinical Mental Health, Rehabilitation, or School Counseling master’s degree. Applicants need at least a GPA of 3.5 after 64 hours, 3.4 after 80 hours, 3.3 after 96 hours, and 3.2 after 112 semester hours. An interview is also part of the admission process.
The accelerated program allows seniors to take up to 12 credit hours towards graduate study. The Council for Standards in Human Services Education accredits all Scranton’s counseling and human services programs.
Students entering a graduate program might have to complete prerequisites that could add time to their studies. The Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Gwynedd Mercy University in Pennsylvania requires candidates to have three credits of General Psychology, Developmental Psychology, or Theory and three in Research Methods or Statistics.
The exact requirements at Gwynedd Mercy apply to the M.S. in School Counseling and M.S. in Counseling. Their programs take an average of 42 months (3.5 years) to complete.
Doctoral Degrees and Counseling
When do you need a doctoral degree in Counseling? For most counseling jobs that involve direct interaction with clients, earning a master’s degree and a subsequent license is sufficient. You may wish to pursue a Ph.D. or other doctoral degree if you want to work in research, advance to a supervisory role, or become qualified to teach and train aspiring counselors.
On the other hand, students who study counseling psychology, instead of mental health counseling, substance abuse counseling, or marriage and family therapy, typically need a doctoral degree. To use the professional title “psychologist” in most capacities, a Ph.D. or Psy.D. degree is required, according to the BLS.
While counseling psychologists spend more time in school than counselors and therapists, they earn higher wages. The BLS reports a median salary of $82,180 for counseling, clinical, and school psychologists, compared to $47,660 for Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors (based on a bachelor’s degree – 2020). Reported data show the former has a higher expected job growth rate: 23% versus 11% for the latter. The median wage for School and Career Counselors and Advisors was $58,120 (master’s degree-BLS 2020).
As you’ll read below, a master’s degree is sufficient to become state-licensed, making the doctorate less attractive. Unless you aspire to direct and supervise counselors, perform clinical work, or research, as outlined above. Similar to a master’s program, individuals typically specialize in a specific area, for example:
- Marriage and Family Therapy
- Mental Health
- Rehabilitation
- Addiction and Substance Abuse
- School Counseling
A doctoral degree will add an average of four years of full-time study. Again, as a working professional, you could study part-time and earn a living; however, this would protract the years to complete this terminal degree. It takes time to meet the demands of a doctoral dissertation or research project while mentored by a faculty member.
The Path to Counseling Licensure
Licensure is a standard part of the professional practice of Counseling, but requirements vary by state and type of Counseling offered. It’s not unusual for counselors to spend two, three, or even four years acquiring the post-master’s supervised experience they need to become a licensed counselor finally.
Many states require applicants to pass some form of a professional exam, such as the National Counselor Examination (NCE) for Licensure and Certification or the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE). The NCE consists of 200 multiple-choice questions that is one of two exam options for the National Certified Counselor (NCC) certification. This professional certification requires at least 48 semester hours of graduate-level coursework and a minimum of six hours of graduate supervised field experience.
Attaining the stature of a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) boosts your credibility among colleagues and clients. Each state dictates the requirements for the LPC credential; for example, the supervised experience varies from 1,500 hours to 4,500 hours before applying for licensure, and you need a master’s degree. Therefore, additional time is added to the six years or more spent earning your graduate degree in counseling. However, while taking online classes, you might secure a supervised counseling position to gain experience, make a wage, and complete your degree.
Additional Resources
What Can I Do With a Degree in Counseling?
What Is the Salary Potential for Someone With a Counseling Degree?
What Is the Difference Between a Counseling Degree and a Psychology Degree?
How Long Does It Take to Become a Psychologist?