Is there any work in the mental health field that...

[hum1]

does not require a licensure?

 

I have a bachelor's degree in psychology, an MSc in clinical psychology and an MA in psychoanalysis (from Portugal and the UK).

 

I am realising that one cannot do any kind of work in California related with mental health area without having a licensure (psychologist, LMFT, LCSW, LEP, LPCC). Since I only hold a master in clinical psychology and not a PhD, I cannot apply to become a psychologist. My question is.... Then why do a major, a bachelor’s degree or even a master in psychology if this does not lead you to any licensure and thus you cannot do any work in the area of psychology?

 

Thank you for your replies!

[Suraj_S]

See this: http://www.apa.org/gradpsych/2004/01/get-licensed.aspx

 

Accredited graduate programs for aspiring clinical psychologists, counselors, and social workers incorporate two-year supervised internships as an experimental component for students. These hours are required in order to become licensed, though licensing procedures and regulations vary from state to state. (See the link above and do some more research on this variance--though it's irrelevant if you're limiting your scope to California licensure, which will require the aforementioned internship experience.)

[hum1]

Suraj-X, thank you for your reply.

 

My question is also: Are there any jobs in the mental health area which do not require a licensure, or anyone who has contact and works in this field has to have necessarily a licensure?

 

I am just wondering why do people take majour, bachelor's and masters in pscyhology in California if they cannot work in the mental health area and have to pursue a doctorate degree which has the odds of 550:20 in order to get in just before they are able to do any work with mental health service users...

[spunky]

My question is also: Are there any jobs in the mental health area which do not require a licensure, or anyone who has contact and works in this field has to have necessarily a licensure?

 

getting licensed is a VERY big deal in North America (Canada/U.S.). so aside from very menial and not-very-well-paid positions, there isn't much you can do without a licence. you'd probably be aiming to become more of a 'care-taker' of sorts.

 

you *could* potentially aim to become something like a 'life coach' which is the term i know people now use to do something that looks like therapy but  aren't really licensed. there are various issues with this, though.. as you can imagine. not being regulated means someone like myself (who has never had supervised training) can claim to be a 'life coach' and would be in the same standing as you.

 

what about having your credentials validated? you know, doing the necessary exams, filling out the forms and getting licensed? would that be a possibility?

 

 

 

I am just wondering why do people take majour, bachelor's and masters in pscyhology in California if they cannot work in the mental health area and have to pursue a doctorate degree which has the odds of 550:20 in order to get in just before they are able to do any work with mental health service users...

 

from years of dealing with undergraduates, i honestly don't believe most people take bachelor's degrees in psychology because they want to end up working in the area of mental health. as you probably know, a college degree has now become the new "high school diploma" in terms of potential employers expecting you to have a degree just to even be considered as a potential hire for something as basic as, i dunno, an executive assistant or a secretary? psychology just happens to be very popular... so a lot of students simply take it because its popular/interesting but are really focused on getting a job when they graduate (and any job will do). 

 

there is also the possibility of you becoming a research psychologist. you'll never work in mental health but you still need a degree in psychology to get into graduate school and do this. my graduate program, for instance, is geared towards Psychometrics/Data Analysis in the social sciences and most people have a Bachelor's or a Master's degree in Psychology. but we will never work on anything directly related to mental health. we're research-only people. 

 

so yeah... Psych has a very broad scope here and you may end up doing stuff that has absolutely nothing to do with people. 

Edited October 5, 2014 by spunky

[Generis]

California is a license-state for sure. You could probably find a job in a supportive role with clients, but it would be hard to find a job where you are directly working with clients without some sort of license.

[hum1]

Spunky, the problem is that the California board of psychology does not recognize out-of-country master degrees... I was told they don't even accept out-of-state degrees. So, I would have to take another master degree in psychology in California in order to get a license as a "psychological assistant" which the board says it is not really a career because it can only be renewed for 6 years, so it is only suitable for someone who wants to get a doctoral degree in psychology and is aiming to get a licensure and some clinical experience.

 

But can you get a research job without a PhD? I was told that is virtually impossible since most employers expect for the candidate to have a PhD. Perhaps I need to explore some more this option because this would be my first choice.

Edited October 6, 2014 by hum1

[spunky]

 

But can you get a research job without a PhD? I was told that is virtually impossible since most employers expect for the candidate to have a PhD. Perhaps I need to explore some more this option because this would be my first choice.

 

sorry, it wasn't until i re-read your thread that i realized my initial suggestion wasn't gonna work (but i couldn't edit it). theoretically you could get a research position only with a Master's, but the competition is tough (among people who will more likely than not have PhDs, so that places you at a disadvantage) so.... uhmmm...

 

ok, the way i see it you have two choices: (a) go back to school and enroll in a more lenient program (like Counseling Psychology or Social Work)  and just soldier on, get your degree (and those coveted supervised-hour internships) and work on that OR ( b ) just put the "career in mental health" thing in the back burner to get a job that pays the bills and then go back to option (a) when you feel you're ready for it.

 

this may not be your case but here're my 2 cents. i've done some volunteer work with NGOs targeted to helping educated immigrants navigate the process of getting their credentials validated (in Canada) to see whether they can land a profession similar to what they had in their original country. i'd say that close to 90% newcomers don't get a position like what they had before (which can be very frustrating but that's life), so the focus is on getting them employed doing something...anything that pays the bills and then  start thinking about career planning. if your end goal is to work in mental health you will have to get some sort of licence or certification somehow but if you can't get it right now (or go back to school to get it) then you just need to open up to a few other possibilities. you may be surprised at what other talents you have hidden that have nothing to do with your area of study

Edited October 6, 2014 by spunky

[hum1]

Just a quick update, I found a very informative book about careers in psychology in the US in a book called "Careers in Psychology: Opportunities in a changing world", by Tara Kuther and Robert Morgan (2012).

 

This book is a good starting point to anyone who wants to pursue a career in psychology, to anyone who practised psychology in another country and wants to know the specificities of psychology in the US or to anyone who wants to change a career. The information is divided by area (clinical, developmental, social, health, sports, etc. psychologies) and degree (major, bachelor, masters, doctorate) as well as information of some job titles and descriptions, further readings, websites and salaries.

[juilletmercredi]

It depends on what you mean by a career in mental health.  If you want to work with people who may have mental health disorders or problems - you might be able to get work at a clinic or center that helps folks and addresses mental health issues in a non-service-provision role.  These positions generally are not well-paid, as was pointed out.  With an MA in psychology you could also potentially get work as a research assistant/associate at a think tank, nonprofit, or NGO that does research on mental health.  They do hire MA-level researchers, who work under the direction of a PhD-level scientist.

 

But no, you cannot provide mental health services in the U.S. without a license.  You will need to get a U.S. degree to get licensed, or perhaps investigate states that might allow you to get licensed with your int'l degree - but I doubt that there are many.  Even U.S. clinical psychology MAs won't allow you to practice; the only master's level degrees that allow practice are school psych, social work, marriage and family therapy, and mental health counseling (sometimes goes by different names, but not clinical psych).  Clinical psychologists exclusively have PhDs here in the states.  I guess you could also count guidance counseling within schools, although sometimes that's more administrative.

 

Psychology is the study of human behavior, and thus is widely useful and applicable in a variety of other fields.  Psychology majors can go on to do law, medical, and business school - or they can do a variety of corporate, nonprofit, and public sector roles with their bachelor's degree.  And like I said, there are SOME master's programs that allow you to practice with licensure - you just have to go to the right kind.  Some people do an MA in psych as a stepping stone to the PhD.