Greetings, all. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
I am currently exploring the different routes to becoming a psychotherapist. While it's something I've thought about at various points in my journey, I have primarily had a career in organizational leadership over the past twelve years. A variety of causes and conditions have led me to this place of being ready to make the leap. I resonate deeply with the work and teachings of Jung, James Hillman, and Thomas Moore and am inspired to, at the very least, base my approach in the depth tradition, and perhaps train as an analyst.
I am curious what your recommendations might be in terms of the path to becoming a psychotherapist. I'm familiar with the different traditional degree programs and the general pros and cons that come along with them. However, in some way I don't feel particularly inclined toward a traditional program. That said, it does seem important to have some grounding in methodology and view at a basic level, and I also recognize that a traditional degree can carry weight and also can be important for logistics like insurance.
I do have a M.Ed, from a program I did through Lesley University, where I studied holistic approaches to education. There do seem to be certain Jungian analyst training programs that accept students who have a master's degree in non-psychology fields, so doing that training without doing a MA, MSW, or PsyD (pretty sure I don't want to pursue a traditional PhD) is an option.
I would be so appreciative to hear any of your experience and recommendations about how to approach this. I'm about to turn 34, so I'm young but not that young, and that does come into play when I think about, for example, a route like doing a PsyD followed by analyst training, which seems like could then total 8-10 years.
Other assorted information/background: I love writing and hope to do that more as I continue in my career.....I live in Boston and my girlfriend is in a doctoral program here for another three years or so, so I'm most inclined to find a program in the New England area, a hybrid program like Pacifica offers, or an online/distance learning program.....I studied Human Development and Education as an undergrad.....and I'm a practicing Shambhala Buddhist and have done some deep training in that tradition.
Thank you for any insights or reflections you may have!
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