In our field, our therapists have completed their Masters degrees in Counseling, Marriage and Family Therapy or Social Work. In school, all graduate students complete a practicum in which they provide at lease 300 hours of counseling and they are supported by both a practicum Professor in school and a site supervisor. They are highly educated, experienced and qualified to provide treatment upon graduation from school.
The next step in California and the process to licensure is to registration with the Board of Behavioral Sciences in California and to continue clinical supervision with licensed therapists for the next 3000 hours of experience providing care! This typically takes 2-5 years after graduate school to do. Clinical Supervisors who are eligible to sign hours have been licensed for 2+ years. They also take supervision specific training and must continue to do so every two years with their license renewal to remain a clinical supervisor.
We are proud of our 15+ associates who have become fully licensed while working at GTLC as this fits our core values of growth and continuous learning!
Should you be worried about seeing an associate? There is sometimes a biased against working with an associate and we think this is unfair. Associates may have less years of direct care experience, but keep in mind, are the most educated on current trainings and methods in our field. Many therapists are joining our team at the end of their hours, in the their second careers in life, as veterans and/or after many years of valuable life experience too! They are also some of the best supported clinicians in our field and do not work in isolation, as a solo practitioner would. They participate in supportive and ongoing training and case consultation with their supervisors every single week. In a way, it is like getting two therapists in one as their supervisor will help to ensure they are providing you or your family member best care possible. The advantages of working with an associate include: more availability for immediate care, lower fee for service rates and lower missed appointment rates, coverage by (some) insurance plans and working with a talented person who really cares about people to join the mental health field and dedicate their life to healing others. We have great team and if, for any reason at all, you meet someone at an intake assessment and do not feel it's not a fit for any reason, we are happy to place with you with another team member as well. We want you to have a clinician you feel great about working with!
Please call us at 619-549-0329 ext 0 to book today. We are confident all of our team members, both associate and licensed therapists, bring great treatment options and we can't wait for you to meet them too! We do have immediate openings for in person care with some back to school and weekend openings for busy families. We look forward to "growing" with you!
Commentaires