From Bachelor's in Engineering, to Master's in Counselling Psychology?

[psychotherapist]

Hi guys! 
I have a bachelor's degree in engineering. But throughout my engg, I developed a passion for psychology. I have worked in the field (volunteer and internship), I develop content related to general psychology and self help. I am telling you this just to let you know that I really want to pursue psychology and I desperately need your help.
Firstly, I have average GPA, I scored 313+ on GRE, will be studying for GRE Psychology Subject test and TOEFL. These won't be an issue.
But here's the thing, to do Masters in psychology, most of the universities and courses require me to have bachelor's degree in psychology. Or at best few courses in psychology. 
I have done a lot of research. I know that MSc in psychology, mainly course related to Clinical Psychology are out of options.
I want to purse Counselling Psychology/ Psychotherapy or can go for Forensic Psychology. I know that best option would be to apply for MA in these courses. But I cant seem to find a suitable university that would accept with my qualification. I will be applying for Fall22. I don't wanna spend more on additional courses before applying (I thought GRE Psychology is supposed to bypass this criteria issue). If you have any idea, on how I can pursue, please let me know.

I am looking for universities in US, UK and Canada. At this point, I won't mind the countries like Germany or any European country. I am from India. I'd be looking for placement/further advance degree in the same field. If you  have any idea, suggestions, resources to help me out, I'd be grateful. 

PS: I am new to this forum so Idk how this works. But thankyou in advance.

[SocDevMum]

You are not the first one to make this leap, there is a gentleman (also an international student here to the U.S.) in one of my research labs whose BA is engineering but has made the transition to psych.  So it is totally possible!

You will most likely have to take some courses in addition to the Psych GRE, at least for U.S. schools. Almost all universities require a handful of core psych courses AND the psych GRE for non-psych degree holders. These are the same courses one would have taken if you minored in psychology, generally speaking, to prove that you have a solid foundation of learning from which they can work. I would imagine that any of these courses would be available from a local college, or even online in many places, so that is something to think about.

In the U.S., you could get apply to a Masters that allows you to become a licensed counselor, which is a very entry level position, but also a bit easier program to get into, as there is little to no research element required.  If you want a Masters that could lead to a doctoral program for instance, where you could potentially run a private practice or go to work in a residential setting after graduating, you are going to need to apply to schools that do research AND clinical work. Those programs are going to want to see a year or two of research experience before you apply. A forensic program is absolutely going to want you to have significant research experience. You mentioned working and volunteering in the field, which may make you more attractive to some programs than others, but will not make up for a lack of research in total. 

Most importantly, you are going to have to find a mentor and program that has a very strong connection to the kind of work you want to do in the long run, and you are going to have to articulate in your personal statements how your experiences and education have prepared you for this kind of study. I would highly suggest doing lots of reading of current literature to see who is doing the kind of work you want to do, and then emailing those professors to open lines of communication. You are going to need all the connections you can get to make the leap from one field to another.  Academia is absolutely as much about who you know as what, which is brutally unfair and yet still very true.

[psychotherapist]

@SocDevMum Wow. Thankyou so much replying. I think I have a better idea now. And that advice on opening lines of communication with professors is something I'll definitely work on. It just all so confusing. Different exams, courses, conversion courses, some say get additional bachelor's etc. And with no prior academic knowledge of the field, choosing a right path seems difficult. I know what I want to do professionally, like be an counselor, help people emotionally, but this transition is difficult. And as you said, and also after talking with a few universities, these prerequisites courses and/or prior work in research is required. Have to do something about it too. Anyway, thanks again for helping me out.

[SocDevMum]

5 hours ago, psychotherapist said:

that advice on opening lines of communication with professors

You're welcome.  Definitely start reaching out sooner rather than later.  You don't need to immediately ask if they will take you on.  Read a few of their papers and then email them with a well-crafted question or two about their work. Most researchers love to talk about their work Since you have some courses to take, you have time to form some basic relationship before seeing if they are taking on grad students in the future. 

Good luck friend!