Question by Cel M: Careers: Mental Health Counseling or Occupational Therapy?
Right now I am at a cross roads in terms of career paths. I have been accepted to a graduate program in Mental Health Counseling and another program in Occupational Therapy. I am not sure which program I should choose. I REALLY enjoy counseling. I would really love to help individuals with mental illnesses (depression/anxiety disorders), issues with self-esteem and relationship issues. For this reason, I applied to a graduate program in Mental Health Counseling. I have been accepted to the program and am very excited!

A year ago I started having doubts about whether counseling was a good profession to pursue because I was hearing a little too many negative remarks from people within this field saying that “you will not get paid that well considering you had to work for a Masters”, “I had to leave the profession because I was having a hard time paying back my loans” “I wasn’t making enough money to live so I had to choose another career”. These remarks planted the seed of doubt in me. I began looking for another profession that I would probably like, that has good job prospects/in demand,that pays well, and that takes less time to become licensed. I did my research and found occupational therapy to be a good fit. I picked occupational therapy because of the mental health component that is involved in this field. I am very much interested in mental health and for this reason I applied to an occupational therapy program. Now that I have the option of pursuing a career in occupational therapy, I am scared to go down that path because I am scared that I will realize too late that I pursued a career because of security (good job prospects/well paid jobs) and not because of my passion and vision. Who knows, maybe I can still accomplish my visions using an occupational therapy approach. However, I don’t know this for obvious reasons. Perhaps you can give me some guidance based on your experiences as an OT AND an MHC.

Any information, tips, advice, ANYTHING you can do to help me would be GREATLY APPRECIATED.

Best answer:

Answer by bearsma90
Its really good to know someone else is going through exactly what I am, seriously, word for word, we are in the same boat. I have heard both positive and negative about both careers, and I do believe there are positives and negatives about all careers. If there were a perfect career, I think the world would know. So you have to keep that in mind about both.

Anyways, I am in school, so I do not have much advice about working either career, but i believe i can still help you. I have been to a counselor for my own needs, and after going, I completely changed my mind about becoming one. Maybe it was this particular man and how he worked, but I decided I wanted a job that lets me be a little more creative. He too admitted having to work another job to get by, and he still wasnt making enough even after having his own practice! It may be the economy, but I do not feel this job as secure either.
Now, let me tell you the negatives I have heard about OT before the good stuff. I have heard about how exhausting the job can be, mentally (but so is counseling, so) and sometimes physically. I have heard that sometimes people make you feel unneeded (PT’s look down on the profession because you are less educated), depending on the specific job, it can be mundane, if you dont like touching people… dont consider the job.
As for the positives, it is obvious. The satisfaction you get from helping someone is great. When you get that connection with certain patients, i can imagine it being awesome. I have heard the job is very rewarding and makes you feel like you are making a difference. What I love about the job is that it is SO flexible. You can work with kids, adults, the elderly, in hospitals, in schools, homecare, and the list goes on. If you dont like one setting, just move on to a different one! If you have a passion for kids, there you go! If you watch videos of OT with children, it is just play therapy for the most part. who wouldnt love getting paid to play all day 🙂 And the job is growing, so you have much more security. And after getting your masters, the pay beats MHC by far.

I also wanted to mention that you can almost be a MHC in the OT world. In hospitals and other settings, there are the psych wards where many OT’s work alongside of MHC’s. There is substance abuse, addictions, and a whole array of situations that OT’s deal with there. So, what I would recommend is job shadowing and OT, and going to a MHC even if you dont have an issue. either make one up 🙂 or just go in and ask about the job. When i went to a counselor, i told him I might want to be a MHC and he said if you have any questions or need references, or just job advice let me know. so you can get a lot of first hand info just by going.

You cannot know if you are making the right choice unless you actually experience an aspect of each career. But personally, I am leaning much more towards OT just because of the versatility, pay, security, and creativity. Good Luck!

Now, these are opinions of certain people that I read about, so you really should see for yourself. Consider doing job shadowing sessions. Get some connections if you can, otherwise, check into some rehab or senior living or school atmospheres and ask if you can watch. Places usually are great at this and are used to students coming in.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

 

Freedom Institute Reaches In House and Names Rachel Russell as Chief …

Filed under: addiction counseling career

“She has worked with youth and families throughout her career and brings to this role a combined skill set of operations, development and clinical work. She is the right choice to help lead our clinical staff as Freedom Institute … A leader in the …
Read more on PR Web (press release)

 

A Chat With ASCAP President Paul Williams, Plus Exclusives from Modern …

Filed under: addiction counseling career

I think, in a lot of ways, it's reflective of where they are in their careers right now and the fact that twenty years ago, they essentially started EDM–electronic dance music. There are 250 tracks on "Touch" with real musicians and tape. …. For the …
Read more on Huffington Post