How Many Years of College Does It Take to Become a Child Psychologist?
Question by bored…: how many years of college does it take to become a child psychologist?
i would like to one day have a career as a child psychologist. i am not aware of courses n college i should take. or what the recommended/required years of college are. and stuff like that. i am in 9th grade and im being pushed at school to decide on a career path. could you just help me out a little. it would be much appreciated. i live in Tn (any good colleges you know of?). what classes should i really focus in?
are there different types of child psychology?
anything you could tell me about this subject in general would be great help!
thanks
Best answer:
Answer by Gregg DesElms
First of all, SHAME ON WHOMEVER IS PUSHING A MERE 9th GRADER TO KNOW WHAT HIS/HER CAREER IS GOING TO BE!!!! (And, yes, I meant to YELL that!) Tell whomever is so doing that they should, in the opinion of this 52-year-old, who counsels students every week, that he/she should be horse-whipped (figuratively, of course).
If you’re being encouraged… asked… to just begin to think about it… to prepare for the day when you must take it seriously… that’s something else. But “pushed?” Yes, horse whipped (again, only figuratively) would be appropriate.
If you really want to show some courage, and challenge the status quo, you should go right back and wait until you’re in front of all the other students, and have a little tape recorder running, and tell the teacher or whomever it is that they should be ashamed of themselves for pushing 9th grades to decide on a career path; and tell them that you refuse to participate in such misguided adult thinking; that if they’re going to be stupid, you’re not going to play.
Point out that one of the very reasons why every college student, in his/her first two years, is required to take from 30 to 45 semester credit hours of “general education” courses which cover the gamut of subject areas, and which cannot count toward any major, is so they can begin to see what kinds of areas might and might not interest them. And that doesn’t happen until someone is 17 or 18 (or older).
NO CHILD (and you are a child) SHOULD HAVE TO GRAPPLE WITH SUCH DECISIONS SO YOUNG! Instead, these idiot adults in your school should be concentrating, solely, on ensuring that you are on a “college bound” track; that you’re getting the best possible grades in it; and that you kick the SAT’s butt.
That, and not getting arrested, not abusing substances, and BEING A 9th GRADER is all you should be worried about.
Man! When is this insanity going to end? Or do the idiot adults at GUNN HIGH SCHOOL in California (where students, under exactly this kind of pressure, are intentionally stepping in front of trains), just to give one example, think that those dead students were just having a bad day?
[sigh]
Sorry. I needed that little rant. You’re being abused, as far as I’m concerned; and I needed to vent about it.
Now, all that having been said…
Psychology is a REGULATED and LICENSED profession in most states. As such, it is the state agency which would license you that must provide you with your answers. Anything you get here would be speculation, at best.
Hunt down the web site of the entity in your state which licenses psychologists and read every word on it. You’ll have no questions after you get done with that. And ONLY that licensing entity should be your guide. Only what IT says matters. Only it.
In most states, psychologists — regardless whether they’re for adults or children — must have a MASTERS degree in psychology; and must have completed many thousands of hours of training. They must also take a licensing exam, which likely includes an ethics and legal component; and they must pay for very expensive malpractice insurance. They must also get a certain minimum number of continuing education credits each year or perhaps two.
In most states, there are three levels of psychologist: First there’s the marriage and family therapist (MFT); and then there’s the licensed clinical social worker (LCSW). Both of these categories usually require the aforementioned masters degree.
At a higher level is a licensed psychologist, who must usually have a PhD in Psychology… and also many thousands of hours of training, and all the other things I’ve already mentioned.
When you get out of high school, you would need to get a four-year bachelors degree. In some states, it can be in almost any subject, but, obviously, psychology would be best. Such a degree would be 120 semester hours of credit.
Then the masters will take a minimum of two more years, full time… sometimes longer if the type of masters required by your state is of the 40- to 45-semester credit hour variety. If not, then the masters would likely be 32 to 36 semester hours of credit.
Specializing in child psychology, in most states, is merely a matter of declaring one’s interest therein, and then ensuring that those earlier-mentioned many thousands of hours of training included work with children. In other states, additional study, or certification coursework may be required.
Again — and I cannot stress this enough — the LICENSING AUTHORITY is who you should be asking these questions.
Its web site will also, likely, list either the colleges/universities whose degrees it will accept as requisite for licensure; or it will set forth the type of accreditation such colleges and/or universities must have.
Again — and I cannot stress this enough — the LICENSING AUTHORITY is who you should be asking these questions.
Find the web site of the licensing authority, and go from there.
Good luck.
Hope that helps.
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