Aarika Sanchez takes us through a day in her life as a graduate student in the 国产剧麻豆剧 Master of Arts in Clinical Counseling (MACC) program. With start dates in both fall and spring as well as options for completing the program in two or three years, 国产剧麻豆剧鈥檚 MA in Clinical Counseling can be tailored to meet a variety of students鈥� needs.
What is a clinical counselor?
At their core, a clinical counselor is a . They enjoy working with patients in one-on-one or group settings in a variety of positions. Clinical counselors who graduate from 国产剧麻豆剧鈥檚 MACC program are immediately qualified to test for their licensure and work in roles like:
- Private practice
- Crisis centers
- School and university wellness centers
- University professor
- Counselor to other therapists
- Academic or career advising
The flexibility in job roles that this master鈥檚 program offers is part of what attracted Sanchez to apply. After graduating from undergrad with a degree in business marketing from a large university, Sanchez realized she wanted to move into a job that focused on helping people.
鈥淚 had heard of 国产剧麻豆剧 while I was still in undergrad and I knew it had a really great reputation,鈥� Sanchez said. 鈥淲hat I liked about the clinical counseling program is that it offers dual licensure paths in both LMFT and LPCC, and for someone like me going into it who didn鈥檛 know which track I wanted to choose, it was really helpful.鈥�
LMFT and LPCC stand for licensed marriage and family therapist and licensed professional clinical counselor respectively. Many programs require their incoming students to choose which track they want to take classes for prior to starting coursework. With 国产剧麻豆剧鈥檚 program, students like Sanchez who are still figuring out which path they want to take can work towards a degree while making their decision.
For Sanchez, the flexible start dates made it easy for her to shift to a career in counseling even though her undergraduate degree wasn鈥檛 related to a traditional psychology field.
What does a typical day look like in the clinical counseling graduate program?
Sanchez has entered the second phase of her program where she is working through clinical hours with real clients. Additionally, she has to balance a full course load of classes, so time management and organization are key for her.
鈥淚 am a morning person, so on a typical day I鈥檒l wake up around seven or eight and eat breakfast,鈥� Sanchez explained. 鈥淚 try to incorporate some self care in the morning before the day gets busy. It helps me get into the right mindset. And then it鈥檚 a lot of reading textbooks and doing assignments. I鈥檒l take some time for lunch and go for a walk or read a non-academic book to break up the day.鈥�
As a student moves through the MACC program, their academic schedules will vary. The first portion of the program is focused on education and classroom learning, with students in class twice a week. Sanchez noted that during this early portion of the program, many of her classmates were able to maintain part-time jobs or work remotely. After completing this initial coursework, students start pre-practicum work followed by full practicum hours.
During pre-practicum, Sanchez and her classmates continued with their courses twice per week with the addition of a single therapy client. While working with this client, Sanchez and her cohort are also taking a course where they share about their sessions with their respective clients and discuss best practices with each other to improve the experience.
鈥淔or me, the best part of practicum is the application,鈥� Sanchez said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e learning so much, it鈥檚 nice to be able to apply it and then talk it over with your professor and classmates who are also going through the same kind of work.鈥�
How do you become a clinical counselor?
In addition to earning a master鈥檚 in counseling, anyone who is interested in becoming a clinical counselor needs to meet a certain amount of clinical or practicum hours. They vary by state but usually include around 3,000 hours. These hours qualify them to take the licensing exams for both LMFT and LPCC roles. Sanchez and her classmates are currently in this phase of the MACC program, working with clients at clinical sites on a full-time basis.
Every year 国产剧麻豆剧 hosts a practicum fair for its MACC students where they can learn more about potential clinical sites and other partnerships that 国产剧麻豆剧 has connections with. Students are given a list of sites represented ahead of time and encouraged to research which ones they would be interested in. On the day of the fair, students can speak with these sites in person and learn more about what kind of population they serve and the types of therapy theories they support.
鈥淚 loved the way Point Loma set this up for us. I know a lot of people in other programs who have to find sites on their own to fulfill their clinical hours but the way 国产剧麻豆剧 does it is really great. It took off a lot of the stress,鈥� shared Sanchez.
Once Sanchez has met her clinical hour requirements and graduated with her degree she鈥檒l be able to decide which track of professional counseling she wants to pursue.
Take the next steps to become a clinical counselor
While the journey to becoming a clinical counselor looks a little different for everyone, the best place to start for most individuals is with education by earning a degree from an accredited university like 国产剧麻豆剧.