Anyone else think Counseling is horrible?

[Madison1]

I'm going to be graduation next May finishing a 60 credit program in Mental Health Counseling (CCREP). These credits were hard-earned but I don't understand why so many (including over 1000 hours of internship) are neccessary. It seems like such an intensive program that includes paying to work (practicum, fields, etc) should yield a very good job outlook but the more internships I do and the more I look at the salary range (50k max?) - the more dissapointed and frustrated I become given the poor funding and generally challenging work environment (suicida/homicidal kids/adults etc.).

I realize not all agencies involve inpatient or intensive care but it's definitely a very challenging field and I just can't wrap my head around the investment that is neccessary for the MS in MHC degree. I am not blaming anyone but myself, I researched poorly upon admission. Thankfully I have not lost much money since I have been a GA. I'd like to hear some opinions here. Thanks everyone.

[Arcadian]

Unfortunately, our society (on the whole) has very skewed values. Professions that really matter the most, like the one you're going into, are low on the priority list of the "one percent." Therefore, the job outlook is poor. It's stupid, but it's not your fault.

I say if you love your work, just stay with it. Show your contempt for this sick society by doing what you love and not chasing the dollar bills. And in the process, you're helping lots of people. That's great.

Edited June 1, 2012 by Arcadian

[tocs1]

Wait, so you have 2 issues with the internships. 1. Salaries. 2. Population. I have no comments about 1, but how can someone who wanted to do counseling say that the don't want to work with "difficult" populations? For the record, I'd find such work difficult myself, but I'm not in counseling psych.

[Eigen]

Depending on what part of the country you're living in, a 50k salary is quite nice. It's not going to make you rich, but it's certainly a comfortable income to live on.

[Green bean]

You feel overworked and underpaid, which is not uncommon in your field. Counselling has it's rewarding moments, but it's not for everyone. It may be beneficial for you to take a breather upon graduation to re-evaluate your motivations and goals. Perhaps something along the lines of positive psychology will be more suitable for your taste? Try not to despair. Good luck with everything.

[randompsychologist]

You feel overworked and underpaid, which is not uncommon in your field. Counselling has it's rewarding moments, but it's not for everyone. It may be beneficial for you to take a breather upon graduation to re-evaluate your motivations and goals. Perhaps something along the lines of positive psychology will be more suitable for your taste? Try not to despair. Good luck with everything.

I agree with the above poster. As an undergrad I interned at a day treatment center where many of the students from our MHC program interned for their licensing hours. Everyone I met there was burned out within six months but, that might just be the nature of the places where one must intern. It is hard. Is there any way you will be able to go into private practice after you've established yourself? The population is so different and the populations you work with make all the difference! I sort of agree with the poster above who said something like it is wrong to not want to work with difficult patients... however, I can understand why you would want to and even need to-- it is hard to work with the most difficult patients and, see that you are not getting through to them, see how s*itty and broken the mental health system is, see how the living conditions that result from poor eduction and poverty will cancel out almost any good you try to do in the lives of your patients, see that those who need the care the most (e.g. the patient with schizophrenia who ends up homeless because he/she can no longer work due to their illness and cannot advocate for him/herself because he/she is ill) is also the least likely to get care, see how screwed up administration in such places are because no one is being paid well enough to stick around and spend all their time making sure that things get done, see such high turnover among the staff that the just at the moment clients begin to find themselves attached to a staff member that member leaves, etc. I can go on and on and on.

This internship is one of the other reasons I am not in counceling psych/clinical psych. The inequalities in the system were just too much for me to handle, the level of burn out is something I cannot deal with, and the fact that the thing that separated my bipolar self from the clients I worked with was the fact that I came from a middle class background, I lived in a safe neighborhood, and I had a chance at a great education.

Sorry... didn't mean to rant, but I think you should definately check out other options if you are feeling burnt out. You do not have to work in such places for the rest of your career. Look into private practice or see if there is any way you can work with a rich/more privilaged group. I feel wrong saying this and it is against my values and it may be against yours. However, you should know that working in a place where things actually seem to work... and patients have more going for them...will help you retain your sanity. Just as you should never try to put an oxygen mask on someone before you fit your own on a rapidly depressurizing plane, you can't work to the point of burn out and expect to help anyone.

And as someone else said, yes, $50,000 is a good salary in some parts of the country. But in those parts of the country, you will probably not make 50k.

Good luck.... just take time to think things through.

Edited June 23, 2012 by randompsychologist