My daughter wants to become a therapist please help

amother

Sun, Mar 08 2020, 4:08 pm

Hi, any therapist can help me here
My daughter would like to become a therapist.
I believe that is about 6 years of studying

I have some questions
1 what is the difference between lcsw and lmhc
2 can she study in a Cuney school not sure how to spell that 😉 I hear it’s a cheaper school does anyone know about that
3 how many years is it am I correct that it’s 4 BA and another 2 for the masters
4 we live in NY but how does it work with licensing in different states if she moves out one day
Anything else you can tell me?
Thank you so much!!

Dolly1

Sun, Mar 08 2020, 4:46 pm

Hi!
I’m a speech and language pathologist.
Yes, it takes approximately 6 years, depending on what kind of degree she is pursuing.
Licensing- every state has its own requirements and she will have to inquire when the time comes, but it’s not such a big deal. And about the Cuny college u mentioned; im wouldnt know cuz I never heard of this college

amother

Pumpkin

Sun, Mar 08 2020, 5:01 pm

I can't help as far as information about becoming a therapist. But I can address the Cuny schools. That refers to The City University of NY which encompasses many schools. Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Lehman, Hunter, City, Baruch... and the community colleges in the five boroughs. Yes, they are all very reasonably priced especially if you are a NY resident. I think there's a program now that if your family is below a certain income level you can go for free. I have a daughter in City College of NY right now. That is the original college in the system and it's in Manhattan. She's very happy. Queens College has the largest Jewish population at this time of all the Cunys. They're pretty decent reputable schools and graduates from there have no problem finding jobs or getting into graduate schools.

Batsheva1

Sun, Mar 08 2020, 5:06 pm

bsy wrote:

Cuny and suny are city/state universities of new york. They are cheaper but harder to get into.

The Cunys aren't hard to get into. You need a minimum SAT score of 1250 and a B average and you're automatically in. If you don't have that you can go to one of the two-year community colleges in the system (and they are even cheaper than the four-year schools) get an associate degree and you will automatically be accepted into the four-year school to continue on for your bachelors.

amother

Sun, Mar 08 2020, 5:22 pm

Batsheva1 wrote:

So am I reading correctly that if that’s the case it will take her 4 years to get her BA?

Batsheva1

Sun, Mar 08 2020, 5:26 pm

bsy wrote:

I meant for the masters. Then it's hard to get into because there are limited seats with many applicants.

Yes. You are right on that account. The masters programs are very competitive, but that is the situation across the board. People apply to somewhere between 8-12 graduate schools because it's so competitive to get in. But we have to take one step at a time. This girl first has to get through undergrad. She has to start with her BA and CUNY is a great place to start. After that, she'll figure it out. She can try for the CUNY social work program (I know Hunter has one) as well as apply to private schools. Touro and Werzweiler (YU) have graduate social work programs as well. Yes, they are way more expensive. But with the money she saved in undergraduate, maybe she can afford a more expensive graduate school (if the CUNYs don't work out.)

Batsheva1

Sun, Mar 08 2020, 5:31 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

So am I reading correctly that if that’s the case it will take her 4 years to get her BA?

Yes. It takes four years to get a proper BA at a CUNY school. I hear Queens College will give 18 credits for studying in Israel. (I don't think the other schools will) If one is very motivated they can go summers and finish sooner.

amother

Black

Sun, Mar 08 2020, 5:37 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

So am I reading correctly that if that’s the case it will take her 4 years to get her BA?

Four years is standard. I know people do it faster, But those programs seem to be more of a diploma mill than someplace providing any real education.

Each CUNY and SUNY has different admissions standards. Every NYC student is guaranteed admission, but it could be to one of the community colleges.

CUNY is a littlee cheaper than SUNY, and has a lot of commuters. For SUNY, you’re largely limited to Binghamton (the. most competitive, and also the one with the most active Jewish life), Albany or Stonybrook.

amother

Sun, Mar 08 2020, 6:03 pm

Batsheva1 wrote:

Sorry I meant that if she will need to do the 2 Year community college first then her ba will take 6 years?

amother

Black

Sun, Mar 08 2020, 6:07 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Sorry I meant that if she will need to do the 2 Year community college first then her ba will take 6 years?

No, the credits transfer.

amother

Silver

Sun, Mar 08 2020, 6:08 pm

She can look into TTI if she wants to get her degree faster. I don't have any experience with that's school, I just know they provide a faster track.

amother

Sun, Mar 08 2020, 6:12 pm

#BestBubby wrote:

What about the Frum Programs like Sara Schenerir or TTI?

I hear they are quick and cheap. Have you checked them out?

I think CUNY are cheaper and I would rather her do a real BA so to speak if already doing it

thriver

Sun, Mar 08 2020, 6:25 pm

Found this on google:

“LMHCs typically enroll in a psychology or counseling graduate program, while LCSWs pursue a master's degree in social work (MSW). While LCSWs do provide mental health support, they also help clients find and obtain resources that they need to make improvements in their mental health and other areas of their life.”

Social work is a broader field than mental health counseling. If your daughter is interested in more than just counseling, social work is the route to go. Mental health counseling is only for counseling.

Also, it is worth looking into how licensure transfers interstates. When I looked into it a few years ago, the LMHC licensure was very difficult to transfer. Unfortunately, for some reason the licensure requirements evolved individually in every state so it is not simple to have state reciprocity. It seems to be more simple for social work licensure.

Definitely worth doing your research. Hatzlacha to your daughter!

#BestBubby

Sun, Mar 08 2020, 6:41 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I think CUNY are cheaper and I would rather her do a real BA so to speak if already doing it

The BA is very little related therapy classes - it is mostly a repeat of High School:

History, Math, English, Science, Foreign Language.

I think it is silly not to just go to get a BA the fastest way - either TTI or Sara Schenerir.

Then you can go to a "real" college for the Masters if you don't think TTI or Sara Schenerir's
master therapist degree is "real" enough.

For a frum girl, who is probably looking to get married young, to spend four years on a BA - that
is not really related to her specialty, is not wise, in my opinion.

amother

Cerise

Sun, Mar 08 2020, 6:44 pm

#BestBubby wrote:

BB - did you do a 4 year BA at a CUNY college? Its not a repeat of high school.