What courses should I take to become a social worker?

How do you become a social worker or therapist?

• I want to be a social worker or therapist . Also, what courses should i try to take during high school to become a social worker or therapist.

• Answer:

  Well, first there are a few pathways you can take to become a therapist. Depending on what state you're in, you can generally get a few different degrees to become a therapist. With a Master's Degree, usually in Counseling Psychology, you can become a Licensed Professional Counselor in many states. With a doctoral degree (PsyD or PhD in psychology; PsyD is focused more on clinical practice, and PhD is focused more on academia and research), you can become a licensed psychologist. There's also a Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT), Master's Degree that you can get to become a Marriage and Family Therapist. (Should be pretty self-explanatory what that type of therapy focuses on!) and that's a pretty popular option, as well. To become a social worker, you'll most likely want to get your MSW (Master's in Social Work). Usually, Master's Degree programs are two years long and require you to have a Bachelor's degree. Doctoral programs can be as long as five years (or potentially more), and also require a Bachelor's degree. Some doctoral programs require you to have a Master's Degree before entering the program. During high school, there's not too much specialized on social work or therapy, but if you have something like an AP Psychology or other psychology course available, I'd definitely recommend taking it, so you can see what exactly where your interests in the field are. During college, you'll probably want to focus on psychology, as well, so you get a good grounding in the theory, have the potential to conduct research, and get a lot of courses out of the way that are required for admission into Master's and Doctoral programs. Hope this helped!