Field counselors are professionals who help people of all ages to deal with emotional or psychological issues. An individual who wants to become a field counselor should complete four years of undergraduate school followed by two years of an advanced degree program. He or she then must gain hands-on industry experience and be prepared to pursue licensure in this field.
A person who seeks to become a field counselor needs to first complete a four-year bachelor’s degree in the industry. To enroll in a college-level program, you need to turn in your high school transcript and recent standardized exam results. The post-secondary institution of your choice also will demand that you submit your high school diploma or the equivalent certification and complete the school’s admissions form by the deadline.
You must choose a field specialty area in which you are interested, which will dictate the types of courses you take. For instance, if you are interested in working with troubled married people and families, you should take courses on how to counsel couples, family dynamics, and sexual issues in marriage. Courses will cover human development and personality theories as well as how to perform therapy in individual and group settings if you choose to focus on mental health counseling. Family and child services along with social welfare principles are important topics in a training program that concentrate on social work if you seek to become a field counselor who works with children.
In addition to completing undergraduate school, you also have to go to graduate school to be successful in this career area. Employers usually demand that you complete a two-year master’s degree in your specialty industry area before you can become a field counselor. Admission into this type of program requires that you provide a copy of your bachelor’s degree program transcript and fill out the school’s enrollment application in addition to submitting scores from graduate school entrance exams. Your master’s degree program will allow you to study aspects of this complex field in a more in-depth and research-focused way.
Advanced degree programs require that you complete an internship prior to graduation, and you also need to be willing to become licensed. You should use your supervised clinical opportunity to sharpen your skills with providing help to people who suffer from a wide range of mental and emotional disorders. Some regions require that you also take and pass a board examination to be licensed in this field before you can become a field counselor. Meeting continuing education requirements is necessary to maintain this credential as well.
