MSW vs. MA in Psychology

Sun, Jul 09 2017, 6:02 am

This post is the same as the one in the miscellaneous forum, only swithched to enable amother posting.

What's the difference in having a MA in social work vs. having a MA in psychology? Is the learning different? Are the job opportunities different? I assumed they were in the same category and one name can go for the other, but when I had my interview with the college, they specifically told me these are 2 different degrees, and if I will want to take my Doctorate in Psychology, the MA in social work will not be good enough. Anyone with experience in the area?
Also, are the colleges all the same in terms of intensity? Why does it take for some colleges 18 months and for others 2,3, or 4 years? Does it pay to spend more for a 18 month program, and then make more money earlier?
TIA for the time and concentration it takes to answer.

miami85

Sun, Jul 09 2017, 6:25 am

tf wrote:

I think it depends on what you want to do with it. To be a Social Worker, you only need a Masters and you can get licensed. But you have to enjoy the nature of the work. Its' mostly helping individuals navigate social services, but they also do counseling--it comes from a different philosophy than psychological counseling, and you can get licensed to practice counseling.

A plain Master's in psychology is kind of worthless, you can't really do anything unless its targeted like in School Psychology--which is mostly testing and writing reports--but its a 60 credit masters, or Industrial/Organizational psychology which contracts to companies to improve morale and efficiency. Personally, the second one sounded cool and I have a friend who pursued it, but I dont know if she's working in that capacity.

If you want to ultimately get your doctorate, it makes sense to stay in the psychology realm, I believe PhDs and PsyDs do earn more than LMSWs.

Mothers

Sun, Jul 09 2017, 7:58 am

If your goal is to do counseling and/or play therapy, I'd go for Social Work. As mentioned above, a Masters in psychology is not worth much. You have to be prepared to go for a doctorate in order to sit for the psychologist licensing exam. Mental Health Counseling is a relatively new field. It is not as well accepted as Social Work, and I've heard that it can be very hard to get the Internship hours required to get licensed.

cnc

Sun, Jul 09 2017, 8:03 am

Mothers wrote:

Why is harder to get the internship hours than it is for SW? The mental health cpunselors that I know did their internships at the same clinics as the social workers .

Mothers

Sun, Jul 09 2017, 8:42 am

cnc wrote:

Why is harder to get the internship hours than it is for SW? The mental health cpunselors that I know did their internships at the same clinics as the social workers .

I know more than one person, who finished the mental health counseling program and never completed the hours required for licensing. One told me that it is very hard to get hours, because mental health counseling is a newer and less respected field, so agencies and clinics, etc. prefer social workers (or psychologists).

cnc

Sun, Jul 09 2017, 9:46 am

Mothers wrote:

Interesting- I can only speak for my city... perhaps it differs depending on where you are located.