Tired of comparing $ for Masters in Psychology

In nearly every state I've seen (like New York for instance), the term "Psychologist" is a protected title for Doctors of Psychology who have passed the state Psychologist's licensing exam. Also, in New York the degree has to be regionally accredited in order to be eligible, although that language may be changed or challenged at some point given the USDE's new position on accreditation designations.

I have seen DL programs that include the in-person hours component but I doubt there are many of them, so there is a good chance you'd have to relocate.

 

Just wanted to add the since COVID hit, many insurance providers who previously only covered counseling through psychologists, have added registered counselors/psychotherapists. Most provinces have regulatory bodies for counseling, but there is also the CCPA, which is the gold-standard for counselors. For US based programs, ensure they are CACREP accredited to allow registration. I checked in my province and the programs I ran past them were all recognized (regionally accredited universities and the programs were CACREP accredited). That being said, I am pursuing the MS in Clin Psy at Capella. Alberta allows registration as a psychologist with that degree and is one of the few provinces that only require a masters, rather than a doctorate.

 

Thanks for sharing. Just to clarify, CCPA is not a regulatory body. CCC certification might be recognized by insurance purposes but it is not regulated by law. Psychologist is the only regulated term in most provinces. Most provinces also do not recognize DL degrees for psychologist professions, Alberta might be the exception but make sure that your DL degree would be recognized by the province where you want to practice.
Thanks for sharing.

 

To add to this, Alberta has Psychologist II and Psychologist I - with Psychologist II being the traditional doctoral-level clinician and Psychologist I being the Masters-level: https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/careers/Page11722.aspx

In Ontario there used to be the Psychological Associate title for those Masters-level clinicians, but this might have changed. CRPO (Registered Psychotherapist) is the new psychotherapy body in Ontario, which does have title protection but I have no idea what the insurance acceptance is like. The health plans I dealt with all required either a Licensed Psychologist, or Registered Social Worker (RSW) for reimbursement.

 

Hi All,

Amazingly, I'm still trying to solve this MS in Psychology issue... There are a few broken links in the early years of this thread. What degrees are people pursuing these days...? The MS Psychology has a lot of utility for teaching and consulting. All suggestions are welcome.

 

Thanks for sharing. A psychotherapist license is normally required to work in clinics but the main difference between a psychotherapist and a pyschologist is that the latter can diagnose and also is able to issue insurance receipts. Some insurance companies recognize pyschotherapy but most don't.

I also believe psychotherapy requires specific training so a Master's degree might not be enough, you might need to take some extra training.

The certified canadian counsellor designation works sometimes for people interested in working at schools, social centres, crisis phone lines, etc.

 

I guess that you mean the necessary credits to teach at a University level. Since you have already a PhD and a DBA, you might want to explore ENEBs programs in coaching that is not psychology but might relate to business. You get ECTS credits that might translate into US credits although the master's degree might not translate because it is a propio degree. There are also a number of Spanish schools that offer low cost psychology degree like Alcala and others. The issue here is that nobody knows for sure if they will be recognized at least for graduate credits in the US but they are cheap and you get an European degree that might have more credibility than some of the other cheaper options from Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Mexico, etc.