Online Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology

Online masters degree in counseling psychology: You want to acquire a degree in counseling psychology? There are a hundred and one ways to achieve your dream if you are really determined. I shall talk on how to acquire a master’s degree in counseling psychology, but before I proceed, will need to define and explain the meaning of counseling and psychology. We need to understand what we want before going for it. This is the truth about any institution. You must, first of all, know and understand a subject matter thoroughly before you are convinced to apply for it.

To cut a long story short, what is counseling and psychology stand for? What can we do with the knowledge of these two powerful schools of taught? Are they just mere subjects or they are useful for both human and his environments? We shall understand shortly when I begin to break them down a step after another.

Online masters degree in counseling psychology: What is counseling?

We must first understand what counseling means before thinking of applying in the work of life. Does it mean terrorism? No one knows yet until it is defined and explained.

Getting an online master’s degree in this field is a great step towards building a successful career. This involves providing guidance, support and advice to individuals, couples, or groups who may be facing personal, social, or psychological challenges.

Counseling is defined as a “professional relationship, according to the American Counseling Association that empowers diverse individuals, family, and groups to accomplish mental health, wellness, education, and career goals.”

From the definition above, we are meant to understand that counseling is like a therapy since it includes the solution to a mental health problem. It does not end there, it is also characterized to mean a kind of psychological approach to treating the human mind both individual and a group of people. The empowerment of though, self-esteem, self-confidence, and mental capacity is not left out of the benefit of Counseling.

Online masters degree in counseling psychology: What is Psychology?

Now, let me quickly discuss the meaning of Psychology before proceeding to the main topic I have for you. You can also use this opportunity to take some chilled yogurt and popcorn if you so wish.

Anyway, what is Psychology on a nutshell? According to many books of psychology, it is always described as a word that comes from the Greek word psyche, which means the vital breath or human soul.  However, recently, it is defined by the America Psychology Association (APA) as the study of human mind and behavior.  This means that psychology covers all aspect of human activities both in speech and action. Psychology has to do with the understanding of the reason why humans behave the way he does.  This is exactly what you need to have in mind before going further to learn any course under counseling and psychology.

I will rather combine the two words together and explain:

Online masters degree in counseling psychology: What is Counseling Psychology?

This is a psychological specialty which covers research, and applied work, in several broad domains: counseling process and the result: supervision and training, career enhancement and counseling; and prevention and health. This is referenced from Wikipedia.

As a ‘would be’ Counseling Psychologist, you must prepare your mind to go through the excerpt of the elements that made up the course of your study as mentioned above. This signifies that I have not actually mentioned the requirement to study counseling psychology.

Online masters degree in counseling psychology: What are the Requirements to Study or Practice Counseling Psychology

So far, you must have been wondering, what are the requirements for me to study Counseling Psychology whether online or offline? Whichever means you chose to study it, none of them can be taken for granted because the course involves human life just like the entire course of studies ever known to man.

If I may chip in my opinion, unofficially speaking, the first requirement to study this course above is that you should be mentally sound.  Now, let’s proceed with other requirements in proper as stated officially.

Every course ever taught by man has his requirements which you must meet, in fact, both the basic school subjects have their own requirement. Just as you already know, a two-year-old boy cannot be allowed in basic 5. The brain capacity may not be able to carry the subjects that may be taught. The same thing applied in most of our professional courses. You must meet some certain requirement before you will be allowed to study them. Otherwise, you will be tag a sorry man.

READ MORE: How To Become A Counselor Online

Online masters degree in counseling psychology: Requirements to Practice Counseling Psychology

I will be separating the two major types of requirements to practice Counseling Psychology and then explain. They shall be explained under two type namely; Practical Requirements and Educational Requirements.

Doctorate Degree

Counseling Psychology, just like as said earlier, is a professional course so you will have to earn a professional degree as a password to study it. Remember, this course or this career involves the human mind, and his mental ability. So it must be handled by a professional rightly grounded in knowledge of the subject matter, this is the reason why counseling psychology cannot be for everyone, it is for the selected few who determined to study and apply it properly.

Licensure is Required

What about licensure’ is it required? Of course, licensure is mandatory, it is highly recommended to provide your licensure before you can be allowed to practice Counseling Psychology. This requires that you must have been recommended by your state government that you are capable and qualified to be counsel both individual and group as a Counseling Psychologist.

Educational Requirements

If you notice, you will realize that I included doctorate degree as part of practical requirements for counseling Psychology, don’t misunderstand the context.  If you want to apply for a job, definitely, you will need to provide the required certificates for you to be employed for such a job.  However, the Educational Requirement has to do with both the basic and advanced education you must have acquired to study counseling psychology.

They are:

Bachelors Degree

There is no professional course that will not pass through this requirement, it is either you must have acquired it in a university or a college of Education. Either of the two means, it is highly recommended. Generally, the topic in this level of education covers the biological basis of behavior, child psychology, and personality theories.  Sometimes, it is recommended that student at this level should study courses such as group dynamics, counseling, statistic and social psychology.

As a future professional, you can start building your focus by attending internship, assist in consultations and then get feedback from colleagues. You may be allowed to perform research, which will aid a better understanding.

Masters Degree is also a Requirement

A two-year master’s program on psychology will expose a student to more advanced courses that deals with psychological evaluations, and testing. The course may also touch some aspect of psychopharmacology, behavioral modification, and as a student, you would have completed a practical work in actual counseling experiences.

Ph.D. Degree is Required

Doctorate degree unlike the master’s degree in which you spend only two years to finish your course of study preparing towards becoming a professional counseling psychologist, you will have to spend five years studying. In some programs, a student is allowed to further his study either through the provision of a master’s degree certificate or with relevant experience in the field.

The second requirement to study doctorate degree is necessarily possible if you are practically exposed to human psychological therapy on the field and a supervised internship. The programs under the doctorate degree offer courses in quantitative analysis, and research that is designed to help the applicants complete research projects and papers.  You should also have it in mind that after this five years program, you may be required to study one year of supervised postdoctoral work.

Since our aim of this article is includes how distance learning can be a convenience for students of knowledge, I am not going to limit the scope of the article to the requirements to study counseling psychology. Remember, as a distance learner, most of your works may involve the internet, therefore, I have to touch the aspect of how you can make the internet a convenient platform to study at home or wherever it is that you are.

Let me start with the on-site aspect of the program.  The requirement shall be listed and explained below. This will aid you in understanding how to go about being an online student; not only as a counseling psychologist but also as other professions you may probably delve into in the future.

Online masters degree in counseling psychology: On-Site requirements

The Internet is a great discovery in the history of humanity as it has made both learning and fun easy. It is amazing that you can complete your theoretical aspect of counseling psychology online at your convenience time. The only aspect of the course that cannot be offered online is the practical and internship, but this is not an issue since it is permissible to arrange the internship and the field practices in your local area or anywhere such as campuses in nearby institutions you wish to offer them.

READ MORE: Online Masters In Mental Health Counseling

Online masters degree in counseling psychology: What about a Conducive Learning Environment

Just like it is necessary or compulsory in the offline aspect of the study, it is also required online. One thing I can assure you about the online feature is that there will be smooth peer communication, decisive dialogue and partaking. You know what? Scheme of work is not an absentee studying online which allow an instructor to present their lectures, assignment and other materials that are needed to take distance learning.

An online library for more research may be available for the student, depending on the platform that offers them the course of study.  Which means if the collection of material is available, a student can generally access them for further understanding of their programs; series of forums may be opened for the student to interact with their orators and other students. There could be a channel for quiz and price winning to enhance the zeal of the students to study harder.

As if the above benefits are not enough, students also have the benefit of web conferences and webinars that will add to their experience in the field of study.

Online masters degree in counseling psychology: The Main course of Study Work

We must understand that the main course of study which is counseling psychology in the master’s degree level as I once mentioned above may include the followings: a theoretical aspect of counseling, psychological assessments, and research methods.  As you can see, methods for implementing individual and group therapies may actually be offered too.

There is what is called an online option. This means that the programs focus on allowing students to take elective courses that focus on the students’ interest.  There are numerous options online which include the following

• Career counseling
• Marriage and couple therapy
• Family System
• Psychotherapy
• Adolescent and Child Psychological

There used to be informed about everything no matter what it is, it requires that you have some basic or full information about it in order to be at the safer side. For this reason, I shall be discussing the career information too.

Online masters degree in counseling psychology: Career Information

After the completion of your course of study online, there is nothing bad about furthering your education.  This is an amazing step forward because it is not everybody that can do it.  If you understand my intention very well, I am already advising you to apply for a doctorate degree program for a further understanding of human psychology.

However depending on your contentment also, if you chose to seek for a job opportunity after the completion, there is nothing wrong with it as it is also an added advantage for you to gain more experience in your career before furthering.  Being an online student there are some special positions that you will be trained for which include:

• Professional counselor
• Marriage and family therapist
• Social service researcher
• Clinical counselor
• Instructor in Psychology

With this knowledge as listed above on online masters degree in counseling psychology, you can handle the position you are trained for. You should rest assured that studying online at the recommended platform will go a long way grooming you into any kind of profession you aspire to apply for.