What You Can Do With Mental Health Continuing Education

What You Can Do With Mental Health Continuing Education
by Andrew Stratton
in Education (submitted 2011-01-31)

Mental health continuing education opens lots of doors for people who want a career helping others. This article looks at some of the things you can do with these courses under your belt.

For most of us who want to work in the field of psychology, mental health continuing education is required. While a BA gets you the foundation that you need to work in the helping professions, you need more than that to really open up opportunities. Here are some of the things that you can become with mental health continuing education.

Psychiatrist

Psychiatrists are people who help those with various illnesses. Many people confuse psychiatrists with therapists. The difference is that psychiatrists are actually medical doctors, who specialize in the field of psychology. This means that they've got a medical background and also they have the ability to prescribe medications. Mental health continuing education is necessary after you've completed medical school. It usually requires a set number of credits taken over a period of 3 or 4 years.

Psychologist

There are a number of different tasks that psychologists do. A big part of the job is conducting experiments and analyzing data. You will also be in the field conducting surveys and assisting schools or institutions. Unlike psychiatrists, who work one-on-one with patients, psychologists cast a broader net, studying many people at a time to learn fundamental truths about the working of the human mind.

This is a field that you can major in as an undergraduate, but it helps to have a post-graduate degree as well. There are also many branches of psychology, like clinical psychology, child psychology, neurology and others.

Alcohol And Drug Abuse Professionals

These are professionals who work usually at treatment centers helping people break the cycle of addiction and recover from substance abuse problems. This is actually a specialized field in psychology. Your mental health continuing education will focus specifically on this area of study, since this is a much more hands-on experience than others. While this is a wonderful job that gives you the chance to really make a difference in people's lives, it can be stressful as well and requires lots of patience.

Marriage And Family Therapists

This is one of the most in-demand fields of psychology and the demand is only growing. It specializes in treating family problems including marriage problems, and MFTs work at a variety of places. In order to become an MFT, you can actually complete post-graduate work in any field, and then take an accredited course that specializes in marriage and family therapy; or, you can choose it as your post-graduate major. This is another career choice that gives you a real opportunity to help people out.

Each of these specialties requires its own accreditation, and it depends on which state you're living in. All require some form of mental health continuing education after you complete your undergraduate. Contact your state's psychiatric association or search online for more information about what qualifications you need in your state. All of these career choices give you a great opportunity to use your skills in helping other people deal with problems in your life. It's a tough job for sure, but it has major rewards for those who decide to do it.