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I am in a mental health masters program which will give the educational skills to take the LPC exam. I have taken the substance abuse counselor exam and past with the highest credential. My question is does the LPC credential mean that one is a psychotherapist? If not does that mean that one would have to pursue an MSW degree in order to become an LCSW? If so is the LSCW and better credential than the LPC? If so please explain why.
Rhonda, Milwaukee, WI
Dear Rhonda,
This is indeed a tough question because no matter what I say somebody might be a little miffed at my response. Moreover, even though my books appeal mainly to counselors, I have readers, testimonials, and in some cases, contributions from social workers so I'm bound to step on a few toes.
Nevertheless, where angels fear to tread, here's my best shot at an honest answer! First, the good news is that in many cases the Licensed Professional Counselor or LPC credential will allow you to practice psychotherapy. The only way you (or any other reader for that matter) will know for sure is to contact your state licensing bureau. Some states do require a clinical credential for the practice of psychotherapy or mental health counseling such as a licensed clinical professional counselor.
To secure the Licensed Clinical Social Work credential or LCSW you would need a master's in social work (MSW) degree. This could only be accomplished by attending a graduate social work program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). A counseling or mental health counseling master's degree won't cut the mustard here. Ugh, the alphabet soup in this field is a killer!
Truth be told, the MSW degree is the most marketable degree in the social science/mental health arena. I humorously tell my undergraduate students that the only stupid question in class is the question you don't ask. The exception to this rule is, "What can you do with the MSW degree?" Why? Because the question should be: "What can't you do with the MSW degree?"
My students are often shocked when I explain that the most common person next door to me when I was in private practice wasn't a psychologist, a psychiatrist, a licensed professional counselor, or a cigar smoking psychoanalyst, but rather a practitioner with MSW, LCSW after his or her name. The difference in reimbursement rates when you compare LPCs to LCSWs is nominal, and in some cases doesn't exist at all.
The other side of the coin is that counseling programs are super hot right now and promising to give social work schools a good run for their money. Simply put, more and more grad students are taking a serious look at counseling.
Here another serious consideration. Since social work is a very broad profession you might find lengthy discussions about social programs during the New Deal years, the history of social security, or the intricacies of the 1601 Elizabethan Poor Law … well to put it bluntly … irrelevant or just plain boring!
Paradoxically, the best response to the question of whether to go the counseling or social work route comes from my wife Patti, who is Director of Field Education and an Associate Clinical Professor of Social Work at the University of Missouri, at St. Louis. "If you want to do counseling or therapy, then get your graduate degree in counseling."
There you have it. I didn't make the social workers or the counselors too angry and I might have even spawned a new column: Ask Mrs. Rosenthal.
When is your Encyclopedia of Counseling 3rd edition being released? The date was set as first week of December 2007, but its still in the pre-order stage. Any update? I hope to purchase it with ample time to study for the April 2008 NCE.
Franklin, Tempe, AZ
Frank,
You must be telepathic. As I was reading your e-mail on December 18, 2007 the FedEx truck pulled up to the door to deliver the first-ever copy of my new Special 15th Anniversary Edition of the Encyclopedia of Counseling. The book is bigger, better, and easier-to-understand than any previous version in print. This edition includes an innovative 35 page "Final Overview and Last Minute Super Review Boot Camp". Several pre-publication readers admitted they would pay the price of the entire book just to get their hands on this hot little chapter. Yeah, it's really that good!
In most cases our national warehouse will begin distributing the book within two weeks after I receive an advanced copy. The verdict: You'll have plenty of time to study for your exam in April. For optimal results (geez that sounded a little like a prescription drug ad) don't forget to combine the text with my audio preparation program and my innovative book the Human Services Dictionary packed with definitions intentionally worded to help you tackle typical exam questions. Best wishes on the exam and have a happy holiday season.
I'm confused. When I was in grad school in the late 1980s I was taught that a New York clinical psychologist named Albert Ellis created a system of psychotherapy called RET or rational emotive therapy. In your materials you refer to the model as REBT. Was I given misinformation?
Kevin
Kevin,
Thanks for writing! In the early 1980s a world famous psychologist Raymond Corsini, who resides in Hawaii, began urging Albert Ellis to change the name of his theory from RET to REBT or rational emotive behavior therapy. According to an interview I conducted with Ellis in 2002, he told me that he resisted the idea for nearly twenty years because the RET badge was already in his words "fairly famous". In 2003, nevertheless, threw in the towel and made the name change and as they say, the rest is history. Ellis noted that he received minimal flak for changing the name as he pointed out that his approach was, as Corsini (who penned some of the seminal works in our field) had suggested, indeed "exceptionally behavioral".
Since Freud is the father of psychoanalysis, one of the original talking cures, is he also considered the father of vocational guidance?
Amanda
Amanda,
In a word: no. That distinction is generally accredited to a multi-talented individual by the name of Frank Parsons (1854–1908). Parsons graduated from Cornell at the tender age of 18 with a degree in civil engineering. He later become a lawyer, but was not moved by the profession. In 1909 his landmark work titled Choosing a Vocation hit the streets. Since the book was published posthumously it is doubtful that Parsons ever realized the tremendous impact he had on the vocational guidance movement. There are still antiquated copies of this text floating around the Internet in cyberspace but it will set you back nearly a C-Note to add a copy to your in-home library.
Dr. Rosenthal, please excuse this elementary question, but as you will note in a moment I am severely math challenged. In your purple book you point out that there are three averages in the social sciences, the mean, the median, and the mode. Then you go on to say that the mean is most sensitive to extreme scores. I still don't get it. Can you share an example that even I can understand?
Erica
Erica,
Chances are there are hundreds, if not thousands of counselors who don't understand this concept either so let's try this rather dramatic example on for size. You are sitting in statistics class one day and the professor asks you to compute the mean salary for the students taking the class. First, you add up everybody's salary and secure a total. Next you divide that total by the number of students in your class. Let's arbitrarily say that the mean salary you computed came to $40,000. But wait, things are getting really interesting. As you are bringing the paper with the answer up to the professor's desk, Oprah (as in Winfrey) struts into the class boldly announces that she is a new student in your class. After you catch your breath and have the student next to you verify that you are not experiencing a psychotic delusion, you add Oprah's $250 million salary to the total. Oprah's mega-buck salary would classify as an extreme score or what statisticians call an outlier.
Since I didn't specify the precise number of students in the class and since my calculator balked at the idea of holding all the zeros I can't give you the exact figure, but I can promise you that the new mean salary will be a heck of a lot more than forty-grand a year. My best guess would be that the revised statistic would be breaking into Dr. Phil's income territory.