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Therapist Career Requirements
Therapists keep their patients healthy, in mind, body, and soul. They may work as psychotherapists, offering mental health counseling. Or they may work in healthcare, as respiratory or physical therapists. Speech and occupational therapists help people learn specific life skills. Career requirements for these fields are as diverse as the jobs themselves.
Therapists of all stripes must obtain a special license from the state or national agency applicable to their field. Licensure requirements vary, but typically involve some combination of college education, work experience or clinical practice hours, and an exam.
Counselors
Psychotherapists, substance abuse counselors, licensed social workers, and marriage and family therapists all need some level of graduate psychology education. Clinical psychotherapists face the steepest requirements: a five to seven-year Ph.D. or Psy.D. plus a one-year clinical internship. LSWs, marriage and family therapists, substance abuse counselors, rehabilitation counselors, and career counselors all qualify for the field with a master degree, either in Psychology or in their specialized area. A period of counseling practice is also required for licensure.
Speech Therapists
Speech therapists begin their career path with a master degree in speech-language pathology, where they learn about speech-related anatomy, acoustics, the nature of speech disorders, and psychological aspects of speech pathology. After a certain period of supervised clinical practice, speech therapists qualify to take the national license exam.
Occupational and Physical Therapists
Occupational and physical therapists must have a master degree in their respective fields. Occupational therapists must also complete six months of supervised fieldwork before qualifying for state and national licensing exams.
Respiratory and other Healthcare Therapists
Therapists in health care roles such as respiratory therapy typically qualify for licensure with a two-year associate degree in the field.
Educational requirements vary widely among therapists, but personal requirements are more or less the same: compassion and a genuine desire to help people overcome physical and mental challenges.
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