吃瓜达人, NM
Graduate Students in Counseling or Psychology almost always feel like they did not learn everything they needed to learn to either take licensing exams or to start their first jobs.
There鈥檚 a reason for that. 听The reason is this: 听Your graduate program did not teach you every single thing you need to learn to take the licensing exam or start your first job. They can鈥檛. They have more important stuff to teach you during those precious few years of grad school.
When I graduated from Ohio State University with 7 years of grad school under my belt, I totally felt like 鈥淭here鈥檚 still stuff I don鈥檛 know! I鈥檓 studying for the national exam and I have never heard of a lot of this stuff on the test!! I don鈥檛 know everything I should know about DSM for my first job!!鈥
Blah, blah, blah. It鈥檚 anxiety, it鈥檚 feeling a little bit like an impostor. It鈥檚 all the usual stuff.
But eventually I got it. Grad school gets you started. It鈥檚 not MEANT to teach you 鈥渆verything you need to know鈥 to take some crummy test or start your new job.
I鈥檝e been in the field 34 years, and there is still a TON I do not know. Seriously.
Here鈥檚 what you do need to know:
- In our most recent survey of Southwestern College alumni, 99% of the respondents passed their exams on the first try.
- Did they have to do additional study to take the exam? Absolutely.
- Did they study stuff they had never heard of? Absolutely.
- Will your first job teach you what you need to know to be successful at that specific job, in that specific agency? Absolutely.听
That鈥檚 how it is.
I could not pass the Counseling Exam this morning if you paid me. Not without studying the materials that are in the Quimby Memorial Library. And I have been in the field forever.听
Passing the exam is critical for getting a license, but not relevant to your job or being a good therapist.
It鈥檚 just not.
听You鈥檒l be fine. Seriously.
And after 34 years in the field, if I walked into your workplace (Presbyterian, or Las Cumbres, or the Recovery Center, or wherever), I would have ZERO idea how to do ANYTHING—they would have to teach me how to do all the intake paperwork their way, how to do Psychosocial Assessments their way, and so on. I would be in no better shape than our most recent graduate in knowing how any given agency wants things done.听
That鈥檚 how it goes. Licensing exams are made up by who knows who, but they are almost never a good reflection of what you actually learned or REALLY need to know on any job. Weird? Yes.
But it is what it is.
Carry on. Don鈥檛 worry about it. You will learn what you need to learn when you need to learn it. That is what your career is for. That is also why you will have to get 40 Continuing Education Credits every two years for the rest of your career, and probably听you will get more than that, just because you want to learn more new, cool stuff.
Remember–99%. Not bad. Breathe. It’s all good.听
