What do I need to do to open up a MENTAL COUNSELING SERVICE?

If I were to open a general mental counseling services, what are the steps should I follow? I appreciate for your expert advices on this health counseling services when the office has to work with many private and government health providers. This is very urgent and important, especially dealing with the state and the government.

(Lowell, MA)

First of all, don't call it a MENTAL counseling service.

You just violated your clients confidentiality.

If you have no knowledge of issues of confidentiality, you are trying to get into the wrong business.

You need first of all to BE a licensed/certified person who can dispense counseling services. You get that in college.

Once you get that, you have to INTERN (usually for a year, varies by state) in someone else's office under THEIR license.

So nothing in this field is urgent. It's a long slow path.

Jay starts you out with some good advice. Certainly you need to find out what is necessary in YOUR locality: town and state.

You will need at least four years of undergrad schooling and two of graduate work (Master of Arts in a related field such as marital or family counseling or psychology; Master of Social Work if you want to go in that direction).

And then, yes, working under or with an already-licensed professional in the field(s) you want to work in, including at least several hundred hours of individual and several more hundred of group supervision of your counseling.

You speak of "general" counseling services. I'm not sure what you mean by that. You will not only need to specialize in something (marital, family, group, etc.) but be trained for the specialty and have your supervision in it as well.

Chances are you will not be able to seek third party (insurance) reimbursement for your work unless you are a Licensed Clinical Social Worker or get a PhD/PsyD in clinical psychology or counseling psychology.

It's a long road but, once you make it happen, very rewarding. Good luck. --Dr. Bob

PS -- You live in Lowell? Nice town. We held our Northeast District Barbershop contest there last Fall (my chorus came in second!) and then we wandered around and saw all kinds of things. Lowell has changed since I was there last, in the late 1950s, when I was a minister in Andover.