Can one become a therapist without a degree?

[Pilgrim]

@peanutspathtotruth

just be sure that you researched this in depth. Germany has still a rather scientifically oriented common mentality and the people are rather cautious and cost-efficient. There are many people who look for alternative treatment that is true, but also many who - like you and me - are interested in offering it. From what I researched it is pretty difficult to establish a private practice and it takes years until it is profitable. Again, I really understand why you want to go this path and I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer. But I researched this intensively and tried to be as objective as possible and came to the conclusion that theory and practice were too far apart and it would be a massive investment with quite some risk involved. And you got a place at a university, which is really something to treasure since it's so difficult to get in. So yeah, I don't want to provoke fear.. listen to your heart but make the choice as consciously and all-informed as possible. Okay and now I stop hijacking this thread. 

[VioletFlame]

@kieranperez Oh my goodness, I've been in the exact same boat bro.  ❤️ Thank you for this post.

I currently am blessed to work in a couple of places in which allow me to pursue one of my deepest passions, which is a traditional spiritual/mystical method for personal development & spiritual healing. I am reluctant to even share what I do on this forum because as significant and respected as it is in the mystical community, there are still many people to this day who do not understand what it is or what it's used for. They only make wild assumptions as to what it is even though they've never actually tried it out for themselves.

I discovered this past 2 years that what I'm doing is actually helping people and people are coming to me for spiritual and psychological guidance. This makes my soul shine so it has been inspiring me to continue doing it and perhaps make it into an actual career. But I am also in the same pickle of whether or not I should acquire a "certificate" or "badge" or degree in spiritual counseling/alternative therapy if it means validation of its legitimacy and avoidance of underestimation. What I do is totally common and ubiquitous in the spiritual community however to the masses it is still controversial and misunderstood. So I am wondering if acquiring a certificate or whatever would be of a good advantage or not if it means general respect and courtesy and generally being taken more seriously.

I've been studying psychology, mostly Jungian, on my own since I was a kid just out of pure curiosity, but that doesn't necessarily mean everyone is going to listen to what I have to say about it or believe in my knowledge if I don't have it fucking written down or something with my signature on it. So I'm not even sure if one requires a basic psychology degree before being approved for spiritual therapy. But that would take an awfully long time and amount of money to study pretty much most things I've already studied on my own and hopefully not a waste of time when I am already on the path of healing others spiritually without a degree. So it is quite the dilemma indeed. I'm glad you created this post dude because it's been running through my mind a lot lately and honestly could use some advice myself!

Edited December 20, 2018 by VioletFlame

[peanutspathtotruth]

@Pilgrim Thank you man. I really appreciate this input. That makes me think. It's always the same, different things pulling from different angles. One side tells me I'm just lazy and I should put in the time and energy to get at least a bachelor and go on from there. The other side is that I'm not an academic or scientific person at all (at least how I see it practiced) and hear many people say degrees are not that important and that I should rather create something myself. Some other thing tells me I'm an artistic person and I should just get my ass up and pursue that (writing and/or music). I know I have to work to decide. And I see myself whining which doesn't help. It's just confusing you know. Thanks so much already

[Joseph Maynor]

Beware of the "How am I to do it?" fear. 

Edited December 20, 2018 by Joseph Maynor

[peanutspathtotruth]

14 minutes ago, Winter said:

IMHO, identity is just a construction and you should get rid of it. The idea that you are good at X but not at Y just slows you down into getting better at Y. Don't be what you think you are, be what you want to be.

That is so true but what exactly do you mean? I mean which point do you tackle with your answer? That I say I'm not an academic person?

2 minutes ago, Joseph Maynor said:

Beware of the "how am I to do it?" fear. 

To be honest, that's what I'm struggling with for a long time already. I got long phases where I don't think about it and just go on but it comes back. Just now for example.

Do you have any recommendations how to deal with that fear? 

Edited December 20, 2018 by peanutspathtotruth

[peanutspathtotruth]

2 minutes ago, Winter said:

Yes but it should apply for everything else in life. As you mentionned there's other way in life than using academia to make a living but the idea that academy is for you or not is a mental construction that shouldn't be part of the equation when deciding if you want to go to school or not. I can't tell for you if it's better for you to go to school or not.

But if I were, I'd say go to school hahaha

Definitely, the way I put it is for sure a label. I still can say I don't enjoy the process of studying in the academic world cause I see the big big limitations of their method and the stuff I learn is very superficial or not at all relevant to what I need for what I want to do. So if it were about learning, I would be off way better if I learned the specific stuff I need to learn. My University doesn't even include the clinical modules which are the only ones connected to therapy. I won't be able to study at other universities, it's sadly not possible. 

You see what I mean? The question is - degree or not? If not, I know what to learn. But will I find a job? Sorry if this is the classical guy who doesn't know where to go but I have to be honest that this wave of confusion just comes in again.

[Joseph Maynor]

5 hours ago, peanutspathtotruth said:

That is so true but what exactly do you mean? I mean which point do you tackle with your answer? That I say I'm not an academic person?

To be honest, that's what I'm struggling with for a long time already. I got long phases where I don't think about it and just go on but it comes back. Just now for example.

Do you have any recommendations how to deal with that fear? 

In the first instance it's important to narrow the issues here so we can get clear what we're talking about.  We're talking about career development, big picture life purpose work, and career change.  Now, all the other personal development issues and skills are obviously relevant to this, but it's important to draw a fence around our problem.  Regarding career work, you can look at it through two different lenses.  The first lens is, "What kind of box do I need to put myself in to get what I want?"  The other way of looking at things is this way -- "I want to make money doing what I am already doing, how do I steer my mouth up to the chute of where the money is coming from?"  So, really, the first person is trying to fit into society's boxes.  And that's great for certain people, God bless them.  But then you have these renegade people, and I'm one of them.  4 out of the 5 of my strengths are Wisdom and and the 5th one is Courage.  There is no conventional job for me.  I really had to accept that.  There is no stock job for me.  So, here's what I decided to do.  I decided to get paid for what I already actually do, see.  So, that's my Vision.  My project is to get paid doing what I already actually do which is teach personal development and write about personal development and help people with personal development.  So, from where I'm standing, what's the relevance of "How do I do it?"  Ok. it's very simple.  I need to figure out how to get paid for the kind of work that I'm already doing.  This is a research issue, see.  This is not rocket science.  There's nothing mystical about this.  There's nothing vague about this.  This is a problem-solving issue that has a clear starting-point and a clear ending-point.  But of course look at all the personal development work I had to do to get to where I'm at.  But if you're like -- I wanna be a therapist.  Everybody is a therapist!  You don't need a license to be a therapist.  There are people that hang a shingle and promise all kinds of things that don't have a psychology degree.  Hell, even Leo is a therapist on some level.  The downside is you're not going to be able to take the easy, conventional path, you're gonna have to create your own path with a machete.  And if that's the case for you, forget about taking the easy road to being a therapist.  You're not gonna have that easy, conventional road.  You're gonna have to create your own road to your own therapy and solicit your own clients.  You're gonna have to move your ass to make this stuff happen in a very on-point, systematic way.  I shit you not there's a psychic in my neighborhood that has her own business and she drives a Mercedes that looks like it costs a pretty penny.  If you think about it, a psychic is basically a therapist.  The first question is, do you have the balls to make it happen?  And then question number two is, do you have a detailed plan to make it happen?  Nobody can stop you to do something that you really want to do, you'll find a way.  The key is teeing-up career development, big picture life purpose work, and career change as something that you really want to do.

Edited December 21, 2018 by Joseph Maynor

[peanutspathtotruth]

@Winter Thank you, I appreciate your opinion

To be honest I think it's both. Yes, it's my ego big time and I always had this problem of not wanting to do the work and finding arguments not to do it. But well yeah, if I'm honest, I really have to laugh about the superficial stuff I learn there. My instinct often tells me "Wow, this gets you nowhere." Then again, I think about just pulling through it. Yeah you're right, it's my decision. Thanks for your input.

@Joseph Maynor That's really inspiring. I also have the feeling I get more sensitive to what is the way to go the more I develop myself. I also see myself pulled by my family who want me to "get something done already" and my inner criticism telling me I'm just not strong enough and finding ways out. But am I really or do I fuck up my healthy intuition which tells me to get out of my safety-comfort zone and do it the way I want although no one thinks it's right. Am I blocking that by overthinking? 

Thanks for sharing your personal situation and thoughts, I appreciate it.

Edited December 20, 2018 by peanutspathtotruth

[Emerald]

No, becoming a therapist requires at least a masters degree in psychology and a license to practice. 

But with life-coaching, you can just be one even though it's best to get trained and certified. As you know, I'm currently a life-coach but I plan to start my training in March to become certified.

And you can facilitate people's growth toward particular goals, which requires high degrees of self-exploration on their part so that they can see where they have unconscious blocks. 

With life-coaching, it's a lot more about asking questions to facilitate personal growth. Then if you mix that with being a consciousness work facilitator, you can provide your insights that you believe would spark new connections.

So, life-coaching definitely crosses over the psychological in many ways as you're helping people self-explore. But it is not the same thing as being a therapist. So, I always recommend trained psychologists for anyone who's dealing with a serious issue that would require a trained professional. But for all the goal-oriented stuff and basic anxieties that keep people from reaching particular goals (spiritually, financially, etc.), I feel comfortable helping them discover where those blocks occur.

So, if you're in a position where you need a steady and fulfilling way to make money now and you believe that you can facilitate self-exploration, I recommend looking into life coaching. Then, if you enjoy it, you can study to become a therapist/psychoanalyst. This is something that I'm considering in the future, as I'd like to eventually become a Jungian Analyst somewhere down the line.

But for now, life-coaching is giving me a way that I can assist people by providing my own insights, intuitions, self-observations relative to my motivations, and a lot of other things to help people see things from new angles. Sort of as an extension of my channel.

So, I highly recommend this to see if it's for you. Because if you do well as a life-coach, then it can be a sign that you would be a good therapist once you get the training.