Many people believe that if you want to work in the mental health field, you need a degree in psychology. Many people are surprised to find out that there are many alternative careers for therapists with a degree in psychology (or no degree at all).
Find out more about alternative careers for therapists, unique careers for therapists, alternative careers, alternative jobs for therapists, what to do after becoming a therapist, what to do with a counseling degree, alternative job opportunities for counselors, alternative career ideas for counselors, What Do Counselors Do After Graduation on careerkeg.com
Therapists are trained to help people, and they can do this in many different ways.
When considering alternative careers for therapists, keep in mind that therapists are trained to help people with their mental health, so they can apply this training in a variety of situations. The following are just some examples of jobs that therapists can find rewarding, fulfilling, and financially rewarding:
1) Child psychologist (child psychologists work with children who have developmental delays or learning disabilities)
2) School psychologist (school psychologists work with students to identify learning disabilities and provide support for students with special needs)
3) Health psychologist (health psychologists study how stress affects physical health and how to manage stress)
4) Forensic psychologist (forensic psychologists study criminal behavior and how criminals think)
Alternative careers for therapists
Mental health and wellness consultant
As a mental health and wellness consultant, you would work with companies and organizations to identify issues, evaluate the effectiveness of current practices, and recommend solutions. To prepare for this career path, you may want to consider getting training in psychology or social work/counseling.
If you’re interested in becoming a consultant but aren’t sure what you’d like to consult on yet (or if it’s not quite clear that consulting is the right next step for your career), keep reading!
Entrepreneur
- Start a private practice
- Start a consulting business
- Start a company that helps other therapists as they transition from their current careers to entrepreneurship. Your expertise and experience could be invaluable for those who are just starting out or going through the process of setting up a private practice.
- Start a company that helps other businesses and organizations find qualified therapists for their employees, customers, or clients. This can be done in-person workshops and seminars, online educational programs (that you create), or even by creating an app where people can browse through hundreds of therapist profiles at their leisure.
Life coach
The most important thing to understand about coaching is that it’s not therapy. Coaches help people with practical, real-world problems, whereas therapists are trained to focus on the psychological issues underlying a patient’s problems. But while they differ in their focus and training, both coaches and therapists have a strong interest in helping people lead happier, more fulfilling lives.
A coach can help you develop new skills or strategies that will enable you to reach your goals; they don’t have any kind of professional training as psychologists or psychiatrists do—their job is simply to support clients’ efforts even when those efforts aren’t easy or enjoyable. You might hire a life coach because:
- You’re looking for someone who has expertise in dealing with specific aspects of your life (for example: setting up an online business)
- You want someone who can give you advice based on their experience in similar situations (for example: finding work after graduating from college)
Substance abuse counselor
You will work with a team of other counselors to help people recover from addiction. You may need to obtain a special certification in addition to your degree in order to become a substance abuse counselor.
You can expect to spend most of your time speaking with clients, but you might also be required to coordinate treatment plans and complete paperwork.
Executive coach
If you have a background in therapy, you may have noticed that many of the complaints you hear from your clients are similar to those of executives. In fact, many executives seek out executive coaches for help with similar issues.
As an executive coach, you will work one-on-one with high-level managers and business owners who are experiencing professional challenges. Your goal is to help them overcome these challenges so they can improve their productivity and performance within their companies and careers.
One way in which you can assist these executives is by increasing their emotional intelligence (EQ). EQ refers to how well someone understands his or her own emotions as well as how others interact with him or her emotionally. People who have low EQ may seem cold or unsympathetic because they don’t always know how others perceive them; people who have high EQ are more likely to be sensitive and empathetic towards others’ needs while also maintaining composure during stressful situations themselves
Professional dog trainer or behaviorist
A professional dog trainer or behaviorist is someone who teaches dogs how to be good citizens. They have a special understanding of the importance of socialization, establishing structure and boundaries, anticipating and preventing problem behavior, being consistent, and using positive reinforcement.
If you’re interested in becoming a professional dog trainer or behaviorist:
- Your best option may be to become certified through an accredited program like the Pet Professional Guild (PPG). The PPG offers two levels of certification: Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) and Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist – Knowledge Assessed (CAAB-KA). The CAAB-KA designation requires specialized knowledge in animal behavior science; therefore it takes longer to earn this credential than the CPDT-KA certification does.
Relationship therapist or educator
If you’re a therapist who enjoys helping people, this is a great option to explore. You can work with couples or individuals, and your role as an educator will be to help people develop healthy relationships. This is a growing field, so there are lots of opportunities for therapists who want to get involved in it. There are many ways you can go about relationship therapy; the most common way is through private practice, but other options include working at schools or hospitals as well as teaching classes and workshops on the subject matter.
There are lots of places for therapists to have meaningful careers.
If you’re a therapist, there are many options for you to use your training. Your experience with clients can help you in lots of different fields:
- You can work with animals and pets.
- You can work in school settings, helping children learn social skills or overcome trauma.
- You can help people manage their mental health conditions at home or work by setting up programs that are tailored to their needs.
As a therapist, your transferable skills will be very valuable—and make it easy for you to find a job outside of the field of therapy.
