Deb Legge

I often get that question from my masters-level Mental Health Counseling students who know that the M.A. along with their LMHC (in NYS) can be the terminal degree for their counseling careers. After all, even though I have my PhD, I’ve been running my private practice for almost 20 years based on my master-level training and my CRC and LMHC. This week, however, I realized a potential niche for my students. We’ve got two full time faculty positions to fill for one of our Mental Health Counseling programs (at Medaille College), and because of NYS requirements, we need candidates who have BOTH the doctorate AND the LMHC and boy, are they hard to find!

Whether you are building a Private Practice for the first time, or you are looking to “build” your existing Private Practice, it is important to know the opportunities and risks that exist today. As with almost everything in life, building a Private Practice carries both risks and benefits. A huge focus of my work as a Private Practice Mentor is helping my clients reduce their risk and reap every benefit possible.

I promised you that my next blog would be on the third item on my list of exciting opportunities for counselors working in our “brave new world”: Online Training & Education Options. Well… here it is! My guess is that at least several times each month you get emails, postcards, flyers, and brochures that outline continuing education opportunities. Do you read them? Do you delete them or toss them into the trash without even opening them? Perhaps you glance at them and decide which ones might be helpful or worthwhile.

Last time my blog was quite a DOWNER! Most of us are very aware of the changes in employment opportunities for counselors and counselor-educators. Many of us have been affected directly by these changes. I guess it is just in my nature to always be looking for the opportunities that exist in any situation (good or not so good). Perhaps that is what has carried me through in this field for over 17 years. Here are a few options that exist in our “brave new world”; options that might give way to opportunities for you to broaden your horizons and make a better than decent living in 2010. Many of these things did not exist even five years ago, and more are being developed and introduced to us every day.

Perhaps you are old enough to remember when the goal for most of us was to graduate and get a “real job”. You know, the whole enchilada: secure (and decent) salary; health, disability, and life insurance; holidays and sick days; and a retirement package that included benefits for life. Wow… are those days long gone! Colleges and universities are hiring more adjunct faculty and decreasing their tenure-track lines. Agencies are hiring counseling interns and recent grads for less money, and with new benefit plans that are “bare-bones” or highly employee funded.