So I have an interest in both subjects, and I want to have at least part of my career be therapy based, with a solid education to make that possible. Initially I was going to get a psych degree from a local UC or Cal State and decide at that point if I wanted to try to get into a MSW program or a clinical psychology masters program. I feel like as a psych major I am limited to the kind of work I would be able to do in the long term, but also that job opportunities with a regular bachelors seem to be minimal. I want to spend a good hunk of my career in substance abuse treatment, and or working in mental health. Those are the two areas I care most about working in, also work with veterans and kids. So I was reading up on this for a while, but it’s hard to find good info. Now I need to decide if I get my bachelors in sociology or psychology. Currently it’s psych, and I’m at a CC, only taken a few psych classes so changing now wouldn’t be too big of a deal. I hear that job opportunities for sociology majors with bachelors are pretty good, working in mental health facilities and such, while then going on to finish with the MSW. I do find the idea of ultimately pursuing a PsyD very intriguing, and I would be giving up on that if I switch to pure sociology I think… So has anyone else been in this boat ? Can I really still work as a therapist with an MSW ? I like the idea that if I get burned out on something I can transition to another realm of social work, whereas with psychology I’m pretty limited on changing roles without serious license changes and a lot of additional work. So please just share anything at all that you think might be pertinent, especially if you are a sociology or psych major a few steps ahead of me with some advice.
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Can I really still work as a therapist with an MSW ?
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Do you want to become a LCSW? My sister is a clinical therapist. She got her MSW from USC and is a LCSW.
Are you confusing sociology with social work? Sociology doesn’t have a clear career path into mental health facilities and such. You can do either undergrad degree and go into either type of graduate program.
mom2collegekids, happy mothers day ! Yes I think I am most likely going to go down the LCSW route, so long as a focus of my work can be therapy.
Hanna, I am confusing the two big time I think lol. I read something about it being harder for people to get into graduate programs for social work if they don’t have an undergrad in sociology … I’m going to double check on that. What would be ideal for me would be to stay in psychology throughout the undergrad and then go into an MSW program. I guess what I was looking for was a social work undergrad.
Thank you both for your replies, this was a pleasant surprise !