ok...so i wanna become a therapist?

Question

how long am i gonna have to spend in colllege to become a pshychotherapist....how much money will i make on average and what specific degrees do i need

Answer 1

You can do this via at least two routes.

The first is Social Work. Social Workers can specialize in mental health and interpersonal practice and become psychotherapists. They make anywhere from $30,000 starting out working in certain clinics to potentially over $100,000 if they become licensed and open up a private practice. To take this route requires a MSW (Master's of Social Work), which requires about 2 years of school beyond your bachelor's degree. It is generally not that difficult to get into a MSW program. The best are University of Michigan, UC-Berkeley, University of Washington in St. Louis, University of Chicago, University of Washington and Columbia (in that order, roughly).

The other route is psychology. To perform clinical psychotherapy as a psychologist, you need a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. These programs are much longer (5 years typically), and much more difficult to get into. It requires a lot of research. The base pay for clinical psychologists is higher than the typical social worker. The best schools for this are UCLA, UC-Berkeley and University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Answer 2

you will need at least a Ph D. you should make a min of about 90k. It should take about 8-10 years to be fully qualified to be able to make enough. the college alone will be pretty costly. i would suggest living at home and paying all of your debts right away as they accrue interest and will take forever to pay off. think of it as you really are not making that much money but then after you have all your debts gone then you will be all set. wish i could have had the money to go...

EDIT
if i got a thumbs down from the guy below me it wouldnt suprise me because i already said what he was trying to say and never actually read the question which is to become a pshychotherapist. you need your first at least 4 years to get your masters and then go for the PhD. so there for from 8-10 years is right...