If you’re thinking of becoming a counsellor, but just don’t have a clue on how to go about it, then fear not! You are at the right place.
Being a practising counsellor myself, I have been through the same stage where I was interested in the thought of a career in counselling, but wasn’t sure if it was meant for me or not.
I was very passionate about helping people and encouraging them to find paths to make positive changes in their lives. With time I realised that this is something that aligns with my expectations from life. I then took a decision of pursuing it further as my career, and I am happy to say that I am continuously growing in this field.
That’s why today I want to help you find a similar clarity too.
To start off, here are a few questions that may help you understand if you are heading in the right direction or not:
Do you enjoy helping people?
Do you want to have a positive impact on people’s lives?
Do you enjoy spending time with people and helping them talk about their feelings?
If you answered ‘yes’ to all three questions, then counselling may just be your true calling. However, there is a lot to consider before you take that plunge.
Who is a Counsellor?
A counsellor is someone who helps people in need by providing them with support when they experience emotional difficulties and guides people on personal, career, lifestyle, and relationship issues.
A counsellor:
- Works with individuals and groups to improve their mental health and well-being.
- Helps clients define goals, plan actions and gain insights.
- Develops pathways to the goal with different alternatives.
- Acts as a facilitator to reach goals.
- Takes care of holistic (mind and body) health.
Recommended Read: Exhaustive Guide to Becoming a Psychologist and its Scope in India
Different Types of Counsellors
A counsellor supports and guides clients with issues, which can arise in any sphere of their lives. As a result, a counsellor can don many hats and work in many different domains. Here are the 4 most common types of counsellors.
1. School Counsellor
School counsellors work at the school level (usually as an in-house counsellor) and help students to deal with social, behavioural, personal and academic problems that arise at this crucial stage of their lives.
2. Rehabilitation Counsellor
Rehabilitation counsellors help people deal with the personal, social, and vocational effects of disabilities. They help people with both physical and emotional disabilities caused by birth defects, illness or disease, accidents, and other causes.
3. Mental Health Counsellor
Mental health counsellors address and treat mental and emotional disorders. They use therapeutic techniques to deal with issues such as depression, anxiety, addiction, suicidal impulses, stress, trauma, low self-esteem, grief, etc.
4. Career Counsellor
Career counsellors (like me) help high school students, college students and working professionals to find direction in their career and resolve career-related issues. They help people to know and understand themselves to make career, educational, and life decisions.
How to Become a Counsellor in India
Now that you are clearer on what counselling actually is, let’s get to the main point: how do you become one?
Step 1: Opt for any Stream with Psychology in Class 12th
You can hail from any stream in class 12th, however, you should keep Psychology in your list of subjects (not mandatory). The PCB stream may also give you some advantage when dealing with the physiological and neurological aspects of Psychology.
Step 2: Pursue B.A/B.Sc in Psychology or Applied Psychology for 3 years
The next step in your journey is to take up Psychology for your undergraduation.
Knowledge of areas like general psychology, abnormal psychology, counselling psychology, personality psychology and statistics is useful for a career in counselling. You should also aim to do as many internships in the domain of counselling to get hands-on experience while witnessing the daily job roles of a counsellor.
It will additionally demonstrate dedication to the profession and potentially put you in contact with professionals who can help you in gaining skills.
Some leading colleges to pursue B.A /B.Sc. in Psychology/Applied psychology in India:
- Delhi University, New Delhi
- Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi
- Ambedkar University, New Delhi
- Panjab University, Chandigarh
- Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
- Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh
- Fergusson College, Pune
- Christ University, Bangalore
Step 3: Pursue M.A/M.Sc in Counselling Psychology/Psychology/Applied Psychology for 2 years
To gain the practical knowledge of your field, and to specialise in counselling, you’ll need a master’s degree. You will study about counselling theories, social and cultural diversity issues in counselling, career development and counselling, research methods and much more. You’ll also complete internships and dissertation work to meet the criteria to receive the degree.
Admission to the various colleges will be through entrance exams or your marks in graduation along with the interview. Many institutes let you take up psychology for your master’s even if you have not studied it at the undergraduate level.
Some leading colleges to pursue M.A / M.Sc. in Psychology/Counselling Psychology in India:
- Delhi University, New Delhi
- Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
- Ambedkar University, New Delhi
- Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi
- Christ University, Bengaluru
- Ashoka University, Sonepat
- Panjab University, Chandigarh
- Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
- Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh
- Fergusson College, Pune
4. Pursue a PG Diploma in Guidance and Counselling for 1 year (Optional Step)
An additional step you can take to actually double down on your counselling skills is to do a 1-year diploma in guidance and counselling. Numerous institutes offer this course, to help you hone your counselling skills and gain practical knowledge and certification in counselling.
Such diploma courses are particularly relevant for people who do not hold a master’s in psychology, yet want to build their career in counselling. Try to ensure that the course you pursue is recognised by the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI).
A few institutes offering PG Diploma in Guidance and Counselling include:
- Delhi University, Delhi
- Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi
- National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), New Delhi
- National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development, New Delhi
- CVM Institute of Human Resource Development, Gujarat
- Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak
- SGT University, Gurgaon
Note – We are discussing the most recommended path to become a counsellor. You may choose not to go this way. For example, many people alternatively pursue a Master’s in Social Work to enter the field of counselling (esp. by following it up with a PG diploma in counselling).
However, at least one degree in Psychology is highly recommended, since it helps you understand the intricacies of the human mind, and enables you to better face the challenges of the field.
How to Become a Career Counsellor in India
Career counselling is something other than simply settling on a major and what work you need to get after one graduates. Since career keeps developing over one’s lifetime, career counselling too is a multi-step, deep-rooted process, helping people make career and life choices.
The objective of career counselling is not just to enable one to settle on the choices they have to make presently, but to give them the information and abilities to settle on future career and life choices as well.
To start practising as a career counsellor, you’ll need to follow the same pathway as I mentioned above, and get as much practical exposure to career counselling as possible, through relevant internships. Additionally, you can get certification courses in career counselling to enhance your skills, such as the International Certified Career Coach (ICCC) program by Mindler and Career Development Alliance (CDA).
Recommended Read: 5 Reasons Why Career Counselling Can Steer Your Career in the Right Direction
Scope of Counselling in India
Gone are those days when people used to approach their elders for guidance in each and every phase of life. Due to changes in our lifestyle, society and families, individuals are increasingly facing the need to get guidance and support at different phases in their lives. As a result, the scope of counselling in India is also increasing exponentially.
After completing your post-graduation, a few of the areas you can work in include:
- Schools, colleges, and other educational institutes
- Psychological counselling centres
- Marriage and relationship counselling agencies
- Organisations and workplaces
Summing Up
In addition to the basic degree requirements, you’ll also need to possess certain personal qualities such as empathy, interpersonal skills, patience, resilience, good listening and communication skills, and above all, immense passion to do good for others.
So if you have decided that you want to build your career in this field, step forward and be the person people can turn to in times of trouble. All the best!
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Also referred to as talk therapy, Psychotherapy mainly aims to help those facing mental illnesses and provides necessary guidance to assist them in combating their issues. Applying the science of Psychology to facilitate therapy, Psychotherapy can be offered by varied kinds of professionals such as psychologists, professional counsellors, psychiatrists or those with specialized training in this field. It is an ideal field for those with excellent communication skills and aspiring to follow a career in counselling psychology. This blog will provide you with all the essentials on how to become a psychotherapist including the courses you can pursue as well as the top universities to choose from.
Check Out: How to Become a Psychologist in India?
Who is a Psychotherapist?
A psychotherapist implements talk therapy to help their patients comprehend and modify their feeling as well as behaviour and thus work towards resolving their mental issues. They generally are employed in healthcare facilities, schools, private practices, organizations and clinics. In order to understand how to become a psychotherapist, the most important educational qualification is that of a doctoral degree in Psychology or Psychotherapy. You can begin with getting your bachelor’s in Psychology and then pursue your master’s in Psychotherapy. Further, you can choose between pursuing a PhD or Psy.D since, a PhD is more concentrated on theoretical aspects while a Psy.D is purely clinical degree.
Know All About PhD in Psychology!
Specialisations
Since Psychotherapy is more of an umbrella term, there are varied specialisations you can choose from in this field. To assist you in exploring the question of how to become a psychotherapist, we have listed a few prominent specialised profiles under this field:
- Family Counsellor and Therapist
- Child Therapist
- Educational Counsellor
- Occupational Therapist
- Marriage Counsellor
- Depression Counsellor
Also Read: Occupational Therapy Courses
Difference Between a Psychologist and Psychotherapist
Most of the time people tend to confuse between the career profiles of a psychologist, therapist and a counsellors. The primary difference that divides these professions are educational qualifications. A psychologist is someone who has mainly graduated with a degree in Psychology while a Psychotherapist attains a specialized training in this field. On the other hand, a psychologist can be either trained into the clinical or non-clinical aspects of this field. If you explore the process of how to become a psychotherapist, you will get to know that aspirants need to follow a specific route to gain training on talk therapy and related fields. Moreover, psychotherapy is more of an umbrella term that covers different kinds of psychology professionals, from clinical psychologists to depression counsellor, amongst others.
Check Out: Difference Between Psychologist & Psychiatrist
List of Courses in Psychotherapy
While exploring the process of how to become a psychotherapist, it is important to browse through the different diploma and degree programs available in the field. To help you further in your research, we have listed down some of the major courses in Psychotherapy that you can choose from:
- Diploma in Hypno-psychotherapy
- Graduate Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy
- Bachelors in Psychotherapy and Counselling
- BSc (Hons) in Counselling and Psychotherapy
- Masters in Psychotherapy
- MA in Counselling and Psychotherapy
- Masters in Counselling and Psychotherapy
- Masters in Systemic Psychotherapy
- PhD in Psychotherapy and Counselling
Must Read: Clinical Psychology Courses
Top Universities
Once you have decided upon the course you want to pursue, the next step is to find the prospective university that offers your chosen program. Below mentioned are some of the major universities and institutions that are renowned for the aforementioned programs opted by those wanting to become a psychotherapist.
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Related Read: Career in Depression Counselling
Hence, we hope that this blog has provided you with the necessary details on how to become a psychotherapist. If you are planning to pursue Psychology courses, reach out to our Leverage Edu experts by signing up for an E-meeting and we will help in finding the right program and university that aligns with your interests and aspirations and guides you towards a rewarding career in this field.
