Choose the best psychotherapy courses according to which ones offer training in the specialty you plan to eventually practice. If you hope to earn a degree in psychotherapy, choose a course that will give you credits toward that degree. Be sure to choose psychotherapy courses taught by instructors who have psychotherapy certification and adequate experience working in psychotherapy.
When selecting your psychotherapy courses, you will discover that you can concentrate on a variety of sub-specialties. For example, you may choose to work primarily with abused children, depressed teens or incarcerated adults. While you will still need to take general psychotherapy classes that may apply to any of these groups, some classes will focus on treating patients with particular issues. Choose the courses that will best apply to the population you directly intend to one day work with.
The use of your psychotherapy skills will be somewhat influenced by the instructors you choose. Different practitioners employ different methodologies and, though you will be exposed to several during the overall course of your study, it is important to assess the professionalism, experience and reputation of each instructor teaching the psychotherapy courses you are considering. Spend time researching your instructors online and ask other students for their opinions on instructors you are considering. Choose psychotherapy courses taught by instructors with the best professional reputation, who are certified as psychotherapists and who you believe you can benefit the most from as a student.
If you are planning to earn a degree and eventually practice psychotherapy find out which classes count toward a degree first. Only take psychotherapy courses that will give you credit to either directly apply toward a degree or transfer toward a degree if you change schools in the future. Some courses will have prerequisites, meaning you have to have previously taken certain classes to prepare you for a particular course.
As you research psychotherapy courses, select the ones that are the most interesting to you. Subjects you have a natural curiosity about will be more pleasurable for you to study, and you may perform better on assignments and tests because of this. There may be some courses you have less interest in but that you can still learn a lot from if you are careful to select those taught by engaging instructors. Ultimately, select psychotherapy courses that will help you earn a degree, but that will also prepare you to help others as a professional psychotherapist.