Counselors provide clients with social, emotional, and mental support in a variety of ways. The nature of this support varies depending upon a client’s needs. When considering a career in counseling, it is worth thinking about what types of support you are hoping to administer and to which types of clientele.

The requirements for becoming a counselor vary by state and specialization. That said, most counseling positions require graduate-level degrees as well as over a thousand hours of supervised field experience. This means you must plan carefully when choosing a counseling degree program so as not to waste your time and money in the pursuit.

There are many types of degrees in counseling. Some are highly specialized – focused on specific conditions or populations. Others pave the way for broader, more general practice. While counseling degrees are available at all post-secondary levels, the most common are those offered at the graduate level.

There are very few options when it comes to a true counseling associate’s degree. Of the handful that do exist, many focus on addiction and/or substance abuse counseling. For would-be counselors looking to advance in the counseling profession, an Associate of Psychology degree might be a more advantageous choice to help you along your career.

Similar to its associate’s degree counterpart, a Bachelor of Counseling degree is limited in its usefulness. Only certain fields like addiction, human relations, and some youth and family services allow for those with bachelor’s degrees to practice. Most counseling positions require professionals to complete additional education as well as supervised practicum work prior to licensure.

A Master of Counseling degree is the essential credential for most counseling careers. Beyond just the standard counseling master’s degree, there are numerous specializations and additional certifications that are available at the graduate level; these programs are designed to prepare counselors for specific populations, disorders, and/or environments.

A Doctor of Counseling degree is offered as either a Psy.D. or a Ph.D. The Psy.D. path is ideal for students seeking to delve into clinical practice, while the Ph.D. is better suited for psychological researchers. Either way, a doctoral counseling degree is the only pathway to becoming a licensed psychologist. While some counseling careers do not require a doctoral degree, candidates that possess them have a notable competitive advantage over applicants that do not.

There are a wide variety of counseling specialties, all with their own unique qualifications and clientele. Determining which types of counseling degrees are most appropriate for you comes down to the type of counselor you wish to be:

By now, it should be apparent that most counseling disciplines require graduate degrees. However, post baccalaureate credits can be expensive. Add to that the fact that most licenses in the counseling field also require supervised internship experiences and the costs can escalate quickly.

There are multiple options for defraying the expenses associated with a counseling degree. For one, there are scholarships available for graduate students, however they are not as prevalent as undergraduate awards. For this reason, receiving one can be a very competitive challenge. For would-be counselors, some of the most popular options are those offered by major counseling-related organizations like the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Foundation, the American Mental Health Counselors Association, and the U.S. Department of Education. Some states and local counseling organizations may also offer scholarships for master’s degrees in counseling, particularly for high-demand specializations.

Then there are school-based awards. In addition to need-based aid offered based upon the information submitted on a student’s FAFSA application, many schools also offer merit-based awards and grants. In many cases these funds come from specific endowments and scholarship funds established for students on specific career paths and/or with specific backgrounds. When exploring your options for counseling programs, be sure to inquire about the availability of any of these types of grants or scholarships you could apply for.

FInally, there are also student loan repayment grants that counselors can apply for depending upon their field, type of employment, and clientele. For example, some federal student loans are eligible for cancellation if the counselor works for a specified period of time in a high-need school district. Be aware, that many of these types of programs are government-based and therefore subject to change. They can be a nice bonus for those with lingering student loan debt, but counting on them could prove to be risky.