Getting a
masters degree in counseling is one way a person can give back to society in a positive and productive manner. Counselors can have dramatic effects on those that sit under their guidance and millions of people are living proof that the right words at the right time can be life-altering. From prisons and hospitals to schools and churches, those who have a masters degree in counseling provide hope, courage and wisdom for those who need advice and guidance for many of life's dilemmas. But because the role of the counselor is so important, the attainment of a masters degree in counseling is not easy. Those laden with the responsibility of training future counselors are slow to recommend candidates for that very reason. Someone wishing to attain the role of an advisor must have the right motives and character, for permanent damage can be done to a client that is exposed to the self- aggrandizing actions of a misguided or debauched counselor.
The requirements for a masters degree in counseling or advising will vary from school to school and from discipline to discipline. For example, a person may choose a direction in which to go such as industrial, public school, hospital, marriage and family, faith based, mental health and grief counseling. Each of these areas requires specific course training and many are licensed specifically for these areas of service. The hours required for a masters will depend on the school. Typically, the program requirements will consist of about sixty credit hours with as many as six hundred hours or more required for an internship. Oftentimes a thesis is not required as mandated in other postgraduate programs.
Core courses will include theory, research methods, addictive behaviors, legal and ethical issues, psychopathology and lifespan development. No matter the interest of any future counselor, these courses and others will be covered. The internship of a future counseling candidate will be an intensive program in the field using the knowledge gained in the classroom. Supervisors from both the internship site as well as the academic department of the school will participate in the fitness evaluation of the candidate for fulltime service. Close supervision will be maintained to monitor proper counselor/client relationships and behavior.
Every masters
online degree in counseling earned by a student is not the same, because each learning institute issuing such a degree comes at the issue of counseling from a different perspective. A counseling degree from a humanistic bent may encourage a particular view of dealing positively with a problem without the influence of judgment, while a faith-based bent may look at the same problem as one caused by the resident sin present in all men. One approach to a problem may call for a person to understand why they do a certain thing or think a certain way and then accept that way of thinking as simply human and of no moral consequence. Another approach may call for a person to recognize a way of thinking as morally and perhaps spiritually destructive and of eternal consequence. And while all counseling should be a positive experience, not calling a person to moral and spiritual responsibility for actions and attitudes may be the supreme difference between a humanistic approach to counseling and an approach that is nouthetic or confrontational. "There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God; they are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is no one that doeth good, no, not one." (Romans 3:11-12)
Those with a masters degree in counseling can work in some pretty exciting places. For example, an industrial counselor has the opportunity to help workers in large corporate or industrial settings to work through problems and issues they are facing. School counselors can help young kids in the same manner. Grief counselors can do wonderful work in hospices and counselors in hospitals can aid families going through difficult periods. There are few vocations where a professional can make such a positive difference in someone's life, if the one being counseled is willing to open up and allow change to occur.
In order to get a masters degree in counseling, a person must first get into graduate school. There are online schools that offer a masters degree in counseling but the school accreditation may be suspect in terms of it being accepted by many employers. Online schools may offer an accredited degree by some governing body, however the six regional major accrediting agencies in the country are the agencies most widely recognized for flagship sanctioning. These same agencies accredit the majority of brick and mortar universities and colleges across the country. If the goal is to receive a post graduate diploma that can be the basis for employment, much care should be taken before using an online educational provider. Ascertain the validity of its accreditation and acceptance in the desired field of service.
If a person has been out of college for a while, he will probably be asked to take the GMAT entrance exam for graduate school. If the score is low, the student may have to go back and do some more undergraduate work before being admitted into grad school. Those who attain a masters in counseling can look forward to making an average of between forty and seventy thousand dollars for most positions. Those receiving a PhD will often see a higher income level. The person who is placed in the position as a counselor has one of the most trusted and honored positions in all employment. People who are hurting, broken and often dysfunctional look to an advisor for help and direction. The responsibility of the counselor is to keep that trust and maintain a professional relationship with the client at all times.
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