Careers in the Helping Professions

There are many paths to a career as a helper.  Some require graduate degrees and some do not.  Some are in psychology, but most are not.  Some involve talking therapies, but many do not. The common thread that links helping professionals is work with people in a service capacity.

Basic information to get you started can be found in a booklet I wrote, A Student's Guide to the Helping Professions, originally aimed at UNCA psychology majors.  Though now out-of-date (and many of the websites listed within it have changed, but unfortunately cannot be updated), this resource contains overviews of 16 helping professions.  It is available online at the Office of Teaching Resources in Psychology (OTRP).

Clinical/Counseling Psychology (www.wcupa.edu/_ACADEMICS/sch_cas.psy/Career_Paths/Clinical/Career03.htm#top). Informative web page designed by a senior psychology major at West Chester University.

College Student Personnel (www.acpa.nche.edu). College Student Educators International.

Counseling (www.counseling.org). American Counseling Association.

Creative Arts Therapy

• Art Therapy (www.arttherapy.org). American Art Therapy Association.
• Dance Therapy (www.adta.org). American Dance Therapy Association.
• Drama Therapy (www.nadt.org). National Association for Drama Therapy.
• Music Therapy (www.musictherapy.org/index.html). American Music Therapy Association. 

Health Education (www.aahperd.org). American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance.

Human Resource Development (www.ahrd.org). Academy of Human Resource Development.

Industrial/Organizational Psychology (www.siop.org). Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

Occupational Therapy (www.aota.org). American Occupational Therapy Association.

Psychology Careers (General) (www.apa.org/students/careers/homepage.html). Includes links and brochures published by the American Psychological Association.

Psy.D. (Doctor of Psychology) Programs (www.apadiv2.org/otrp/resources/brynolf07psyd.pdf). Reference guide (2007) for prospective Psy.D. students, including detailed list of all programs.

Rehabilitation Counseling/Psychology (nrca-net.org). National Rehabilitation Counseling Association.

School Counseling (www.schoolcounselor.org). American School Counselor Association.

School Psychology (www.nasponline.org). National Association of School Psychologists.

Social Work

• Association (www.naswdc.org). National Association of Social Workers.
• Program Directory (portal.cswe.org/Membership/MemberDirectorySearch.aspx). Council on Social Work Education's directory of M.S.W. programs.

Special Education (www.cec.sped.org). The Council for Exceptional Children.

Speech Pathology (www.asha.org). American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

Sport Psychology (www.apadiv2.org/otrp/resources/finley03.pdf). An introduction to the field of sport psychology, information about programs in the field, and career advice.

Therapeutic Recreation (atra-online.com/cms/). American Therapeutic Recreation Association.

Graduate School Information

• College Journal Search for graduate schools by discipline, state, and degree type.
   
• Peterson's Guide to Graduate Schools Guide to graduate and professional programs in all disciplines, updated annually.

• Getting into Graduate School in Psychology APA's site for prospective graduate students in psychology.

• Letters of Recommendation Advice about etiquette in regard to seeking out faculty letters of recommendation.
   
• Writing a Statement of Purpose How to write essays for graduate school applications.

• Rankings of Ph.D. Programs in Psychology Ranking of 185 Ph.D. programs by the National Research Council.
   
• General Resources for Pursuing Graduate School in Psychology Up-to-date site by Dr. Linda Walsh, University of Northern Iowa Department of Psychology, with links to helpful information about all aspects of graduate school preparation and application.
   
• More Graduate Study Resources Links to sites with advice on getting in, getting through, and getting out of graduate school in all disciplines.

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last modified 05/20/08