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I’m want to study therapy for troubled teens in college. What type of social work is this?

Katy asked:


hi I’m wanting to major in social work next year in college but I’m unsure of what type to actually study. I want to get my masters degree & counsel troubled teens specifically who are going through things like substance abuse, divorce, eating disorders, etc. but i dont know what type of counseling/therapy this would be called. If you could help me out it’d be great ! thanks

This entry was posted on Friday, January 22nd, 2010 at 7:07 am and is filed under Psychology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

One Response to “I’m want to study therapy for troubled teens in college. What type of social work is this?”

  1. gsa catalog

    You may not be able to do therapy with a MSW degree–some states allow it and some do not. If so, the exact specialization depends on the school. In fact you should choose the school based on their having a program to your liking. Small schools will have a single program for all students, but you’ll have the opportunity to choose elective classes to suit your interests. Large universities will have a number of programs, e.g., you choose a clinical or community concentration, then within that a specialization for mental health, aging, children, drug abuse, etc. The SSWAA has a good student page with information and links relevant to you (see link below).
    If your state doesn’t allow folks with masters degrees to do therapy, you’ll have to get a PhD in counseling or clinical psychology. Most university psychology departments have programs in one or the other or both. However, you will have to specialize in what your adviser is interested in. So if you really want to work with troubled teens and substance abuse, find an adviser who’s also interested in that. Check out their websites, which usually state the interests of faculty. You may want to start with the schools you’re primarily interested in, and find the faculty members whose interests are closest to yours. Call them and tell them exactly what you want to do. They will let you know if it’s a good match for you. Plus, if they’re not, they’ll know other folks in the field who may be more appropriate. I’ve also appended the link for APA’s excellent student resources page. Good luck!