Is Therapy Continuing Education Right for You?

Now that you've made the decision that you what to be a therapist, you can start going to school so you can begin practicing. First, you need to go to college or a university and major in psychology. Once you have received your bachelor's in psychology, you can now start to look at all of the career paths in front of you and choose which way you would like to go. You will need to gain some experience no matter which aspect of psychology you want to work in. In order to gain experience, you can go back to school for you master's degree in psychology and work with fellow graduate students and professors. You can complete some therapy continuing education classes and you can also use this time to further explore the other disciplines of psychology. You may be thinking that is a long time to be going to school, however, if you make and think what you are learning is fun and interesting, and then all of those years of schooling will fly by.

If you can, try to complete your education in as little time as possible. Of course, with the way things are financially for a lot of students, it is understandable if you have to go the nontraditional student route and go to school part time while working. If you decide that you want to teach and be a practicing therapist, by all means go for it. When it comes to choosing a college to go too, make sure you select a school that holds a personal interest for you and that it is also inexpensive. The goal while you are in school is to avoid taking on any unnecessary expenses, so if you can, keep your student loans down to a minimum.

If you decide that you want to obtain the highest degree possible in the field of psychology, then you want to obtain a Psy.D. or a Ph.D. You can practice and get any therapist job with either degree, however if you don't want to commit much more time to educational requirements, then the Psy.D has less schooling requirements and is considered to be a bit simpler to get. Don't forget that no matter what field of psychology or therapy you decide to practice, there are therapy continuing education requirements that have to be completed each year.

In order to increase your earning potential, the amount of education and experience you have both play a major factor. If you want to make the most money possible as a therapist, you need to have the highest degree possible for your position and to be current on the status of your therapy continuing education courses.

When you first start working in the field, you can expect a starting salary of at least $48, 000 to $59,000. Of course this figure can vary accordingly depending on where you are located. After you gain first year experience, you are eligible to apply for your license and your earning potential becomes limitless.