Strategy On How To Become A Child Therapist

If you like working with children and helping others, being a child therapist might be a good fit for you. Child therapists work with children and adolescents in ways that standard adult psychologists and counselors cannot.

They strive to figure out how ordinary environmental influences affect the mental health of children and adolescents. In this post, we’ll go over the processes necessary to earn a career in this area and address some frequently asked questions about becoming a child counselor.

Why become a child therapist?

Children, like adults, face behavioral and emotional issues, thus working as a child therapist allows you to have a beneficial influence on the life of a young person. With the assistance of a child therapist, children and adolescents may sort through tough internal and external concerns and overcome complex difficulties on a daily basis. As a child therapist, you will have the opportunity to work with children who are dealing with developmental difficulties and mental diseases, as well as those who are struggling to cope with bullying, parental divorce, or grief.

How to become a child therapist

1. Get a related bachelor’s degree

To begin your career as a child therapist, earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology, behavioral science, or social science. A Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts degree will need coursework in fundamental psychology, developmental psychology, child psychology, statistics, and other child therapy-related subjects. These upper-division courses may include early development, behavioral and emotional children difficulties, adolescent development, disabilities, perceptual development, play therapy, development and interpersonal relationships, cognitive development, art therapy, or language therapy.

Not all universities provide child therapy as an undergraduate curriculum. However, at the bachelor’s level, the majority of them offer a focus in counseling or psychology. Your bachelor’s degree can be used as a step toward obtaining your graduate child therapy degree.

2. Earn a master’s degree

Next, earn a master’s degree in counseling or a similar discipline, which is the minimal prerequisite for becoming a child therapist. Graduate courses will improve your child counseling skills, child development theories, educational and psychological testing and assessment, an examination of emotional, behavioral, and mental issues, and family, group, and individual treatment.

Certain master’s programs may require you to undertake research and write a thesis. Some of the courses you could take in graduate school include child abuse prevention, toddler development, crisis intervention, social ecology, grief and loss, play therapy, family theory, and child life, among others.

If you wish to pursue a doctorate, you will need to develop and conduct unique research for your dissertation. You will enlist faculty members from your institution to serve as advisers and assist you in submitting research ideas. Graduate committees will also monitor your studies and administer exams.

When your homework and assessments are completed, you will write a full dissertation about the work, including any conclusions taken from the tests and observations. You will have to defend your research in front of the graduate committee before receiving your Ph.D.

3. Complete graduate and postgraduate internships

As part of your graduate courses, you must have supervised counseling experience through an internship. It is a realistic approach to begin your future career as a professional child therapist.

Combining graduation and postgraduate internship hours will provide you with valuable insights into your work with children. Internships are not only included into graduate degree programs, but they are also required to complete license and certification criteria in certain jurisdictions.

The amount of time required to acquire enough internship credits to meet program requirements or get enough pre-professional experience to obtain a certification or be recruited for a job is determined by the employer’s needs, the expectations of the graduate program, and the degree level. Internships can span six months to two years.

4. Get licensed or certified

The regulations for licensure or certification differ by state. Qualifications are determined by state boards of health care and counseling. You should check with your state government to see what is necessary to obtain permission to practice. A license verifies that you have completed the necessary training to assist families. In addition to demonstrating coursework and supervised experience, you will likely need a passing score on an exam such as the National Counselor Examination, National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination, Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology, or National Board for Certified Counselors.

What does a child therapist do?

Child therapists or child counselors may provide service to children and adolescents in these ways:

• Work to get young clients to an emotionally and mentally stable frame of mind
• Provide specialized help in areas such as ADHD, abuse or depression
• Treat a wide range of mental and emotional illnesses or disorders
• Use play therapy with games and toys to reveal the feelings and emotions of children
• Offer individual counseling that encourages talk therapy to explore how children are coping with past issues and work through current distressful challenges
• Facilitate family counseling with parents or guardians of a child client and communicate ways the caregivers or other significant relatives can better help with the child’s recovery process

What is the average salary of a child therapist?

A family therapist earns an average yearly pay of $54,296; while not the same as a child therapist, it is the closest job title available.

FAQS

Here are the answers to some common questions about the child therapy profession:

1. How many years does it take to become a child therapist?

Although you determine how much time you want to spend getting your degree, in general, you can complete a master’s program in child therapy in two years. A doctoral program could take five years or longer.

2. What qualifications must you have to be a child therapist?

If you want a start at child counseling, you want to at least have a Bachelor’s Degree in Counseling, Child Psychology or Social Work to start. Most professional child therapists need to have earned a graduate degree, as well. Many colleges and universities offer child or youth counseling as a master’s degree program.

3. What makes a good child therapist?

To be a good child therapist, you must be able to address issues like bullying, trauma, psychological disorder, abuse, special needs and learning disabilities. A successful child counselor also has strong communication skills, enthusiasm, specialized knowledge and trustworthiness.

4. What do children do in therapy?

In therapy, children talk out their feelings and work through problems. As the kids learn, a therapist offers support and praise. Child therapists help children find their strengths and help them believe in themselves. With therapy, children build healthy behavioral habits and helpful thinking patterns.

Where do child therapists work?

Child therapists might work in private clinics, providing therapy in offices or traveling to children’s schools or homes. Child therapists also serve in settings that require mental health services, such as social service agencies, schools, homeless or domestic violence shelters, children’s homes, hospitals, and juvenile prison facilities.