The Peanut Chronicles

I was looking at different areas to get my continuing education that I need for my licensing and I found that the small, private university in Outskirts, the one RIGHT NEXT TO MY HOUSE, has a doctorate program in psychology with concentrations in spirituality and somatic features. How cool. So I decided to look to see how much the classes cost just because I was curious on how much a PhD would cost.

Five hundred. A UNIT. A FUCKING UNIT. FIVE HUNDREND FUCKING DOLLRS! Let me put this in perspective for you: the whole degree? 68 units. 34,000 dollars for a fucking degree. Wait, I think that is how much I spent on my BA. But I don’t have 34 grand to spend. 500 a fucking unit!!! University of Metropolis offers a doctorate for about 40 grand (and only offered me a stipend of 10). Fuuuuck.

However, first thing is first. There is offered continuing education for the license. Woohoo!! Guess I won’t be flying to the Concrete Jungle anytime soon for those classes. Second, I can also add a certification for art therapist onto my master’s with a few classes there as well. I think this would be a great idea, since I did write a book about art therapy (which sold a few more copies according to my tally sheet on line.)

Then I met today with Colleen. She listened to what my friend thought and totally disagreed. Guess what? I am stressed. Didn’t need to pay money to be told that. She thought that Pig hit the nail on the head. Thank you Pig.

I also got paid today. Yes! Since I haven’t been paid in about two years, the paycheck was well appreciated and needed in all honesty. It was great to actually be able to deposit money into the account instead of just taking it out.

By the way, if anyone can explain this, then you are a hell of a lot smarter then me. Here is what I need for my license:

A minimum of 2,000 hours in clinical psychosocial diagnosis, assessment, and treatment, including psychotherapy and counseling.
A maximum of 1,200 hours in client-centered advocacy, consultation, evaluation, and research.
Of the 2,000 clinical hours required, no less than 750 hours shall be face-to-face individual or group psychotherapy provided to clients in the context of clinical social work services.

Supervised experience shall include at least one hour of direct supervisor contact for each week of experience claimed. An associate shall receive an average of at least one hour of direct supervisor contact for every week in which m ore than 10 ours of face-to-face psychotherapy is performed in each setting experience is gained. Experience must be obtained over a period of not less than 104 weeks and shall have been gained within the six years immediately preceding the date on which the application for licensure was filed.

I am sure it seems simple but in reality, it’s not. Yesterday’s meeting at the licensing group we went around and around on this for 2 hours, causing more headaches then headway. In fact, my head swims already trying to think about all the difference and what qualifies as clinical psychosocial diagnosis assessment and treatment as well as what qualifies as client-centered advocacy, consultation, evaluation, and research. And then decided how many hours of supervision you get and by who and what their degrees have to be in…. yeah, it was confusing.

So that’s where everything has landed. So far.

And I still LOVE my job. LOVE IT.

1 Comments:

Suzanne said...: If you want to go for a PhD, I'd talk to the school a bit more about it. Most PhD programs are paid for through fellowships, not by the student. You can find out what fellowships they offer and see if you might fit any of those. Also, PhD students usually receive a stipend in exchange for helping with research or teaching a class. It probably won't be as good as the job you have now, though. So glad that you love it!; 12:35 PM

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