Have you ever wondered how your therapist got to be where they are today? Here is the process of how someone can become a licensed therapist.
I am a Clinical Intern at CityReach Family Therapy, on a journey to become a licensed therapist. For anyone hoping to become a licensed therapist or counselor, this journey begins in graduate school. To become a licensed therapist in Iowa, a person must first get a Master’s degree from an accredited institution. The degree must be at least 60 credit hours and focus on either Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Marriage & Family Therapy, or Social Work. Towards the tail end of their Master’s program, students must engage in a certain number of hours of Field Work, also known as Practicum and Internship. Practicum and Internship are where therapists begin to put their educational training to work by seeing clients.
The Internship Process
As a Clinical Intern at CityReach, this is where I am at in the process of becoming a licensed therapist. A large part of the mission of CityReach is to train up future therapists by having a robust Internship program, and as such, at any given time there are at least 2-3 intern therapists on staff in various stages of their training.
While I am in my Internship, I am closely monitored. I am required to attend a weekly 2-hour class meeting with a professor from my university. I am also required to attend a weekly one-hour supervision meeting with my supervisor at CityReach, Dr. David Kaptain. During the class and supervision meetings we discuss client cases, share about challenges, and receive advice from experienced therapists. Class requirements may vary slightly, but you can expect any Clinical Intern to have similar requirements and oversight.
Practicum and Internship typically last 3 to 4 semesters. After a person completes the required number of Field Work hours, passes all required courses, and earns enough course credits, he or she is granted a therapy degree from their institution.
But that is not the end of the training process for a therapist.
Once a person graduates with their Master’s degree, they must pass a state licensing exam to receive their counseling license. After passing the state licensing exam, a therapist is granted a temporary license. You may have noticed some of the therapists at CityReach have a “T” next to their credentials, for example, “T-LMHC.” The “T” stands for Temporary, followed by the type of licensure the person has, which in this example is Licensed Mental Health Counselor. All temporary licensed therapists and counselors must continue to engage in supervision under a more experienced clinician, similar to a Clinical Intern. After working a specified number of hours over 2 to 3 years of full-time practice with a temporary license, a person can be granted full licensure.
So what?
Why do I share all the details about how someone becomes a therapist? First, because I hope you can understand how CityReach is working to build up and train future therapists. Second, I hope you feel confident knowing that your therapist is highly trained and has been closely monitored to ensure they are practicing ethically and with excellence. People seeking help for mental health deserve high-quality therapy on their journey toward hope, healing, and restoration. The therapist training process helps ensure we are serving you, our clients, as best as we can.
Read more about CityReach’s passion for developing therapists here.
