My main goal is to work with people who suffer from personality/mood disorders, or with people going through specifically benzodiazepine withdrawal. My dream would be to open up my own clinic that helps people through benzodiazepine withdrawal.
I have no idea where to start to get myself to those goals. Once I compelete a BA or BS in psychology, what type of masters should I go for? And do I need a PhD?
I’d really appreciate any help from anyone who has worked in the fields I mentioned or from someone who’s working their way to them. One of the main reasons I havent starting college is simply because I’m too overwhelmed by what I should do to get myself where I want to be.
Though you might be able to work as a master’s level therapist in an agency that serves persons with these disorders, independent practice would require a doctorate in clinical psychology. You could get a master’s degree in a relevant area of psychology prior to, or on your way to a doctorate, but it’s better to just go straight for the doctorate. This could be obtained either through a PsyD or a PhD program, either in a psychology department or in a professional school of psychology.
After a bachelor’s degree in psychology, you also could go for an MSW, but that wouldn’t be as useful for helping people addicted to benzodiazepines. You also could apply to a MSN program in mental health nursing, which might be useful for that. If you had the pre-requisites, you could apply to medical school, after which you could apply for a residency in psychiatry.
I’m trying to imagine a clinic that helps benzo withdrawal specifically - I would imagine that you would have more success opening or working in a clinic that helps people going through drug withdrawal more generally, or perhaps with a larger class of drugs (like a focus on people recovering from prescription drug abuse) or a single drug that has a higher prevalence rate (like cocaine or heroin, although I think most rehab centers take people with lots kinds of drug problems).
In some states, master’s level programs allow you to get certified as a licensed professional/practical counselor (LPC). Those programs are usually called something like “mental health counseling.” An MSW would allow you to get licensed as a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW). LCSWs do, indeed, help people who have substance abuse/dependence problems. There’s actually a special [url=<a href=“https://www.socialworkers.org/credentials/specialty/c-catodsw.asp%5Dcredential%5B/url”>https://www.socialworkers.org/credentials/specialty/c-catodsw.asp]credential[/url] for it, although I don’t know if you need it to work with people with substance abuse/dependence disorders. A lot of non-clinical social workers also provide social services and case management for families affected by substance abuse and dependence.
You know what else you can do, though, is get an MSN and become a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner. You could either get a BSN in a regular four-year program and then an MSN; or you can get an accelerated BSN after you get a four-year degree in something else, and then do an MSN; or you could get a four-year degree in something else and then go to an entry-to-practice program that rolls the BSN and the MSN into one program. Those programs usually take 2-3 years to finish. A PMHNP would be able to do direct service provision to substance use patients, prescribe medication if necessary.
If you want to open a clinic, though, you’ll get more traction if you have a doctoral degree. The obvious choice would be a PhD in clinical psychology (at an APA-accredited program, with licensure). You could also get a PhD in counseling psychology (also from an APA-accredited program). Another option is a PhD in social work or a DSW - usually after earning an MSW, although there are probably some programs during which you can get the MSW along the way to the PhD. PhD-level social workers provide therapy, too.
Other options would be to get the MSN and then a PhD in nursing, or to get an MD and focus on psychiatry.