Hi! When I meet a new family for therapy, sometimes I mistakenly get called Dr. Desarae or Dr. B. Caregivers innocently assume that is what I am but those are not my credentials. I am a LCSW which stands for Licensed Clinical Social Worker. This means I went through the training to provide therapy to people, but do not have a PHD or Psy D. 

There are many credentials a person may have who provides therapy. Each has their own educational path with different theories and methods of implementing therapy. In this post, I will go through three different credentials and explain how they are similar as well as how they are different. 

Disclaimer: The statements made in this blog are not medical advice. If you need medical help please reach out to a physician or other medical provider. You may also contact the U.S. national crisis line by dialing 988.

The Different Credentials

Licensed Clinical Social Worker 

I received my LCSW credentials in May of 2021. At that time, I had been doing therapy for about 4 years as a CSW–which is a person who has graduated school, but has not collected the necessary hours to become a full-fledged, fully licensed clinician. How did I get to that point? Well, it starts with 4 years of undergraduate work at an accredited university studying social work. In my case, it was 5 years since I transferred to another university before finishing my degree. 

After graduating with my BSW (Bachelor of Social Work) I took a year off and then began my one year of graduate school to get my MSSW (Master of Science in Social). Some universities may just call this a MSW. Upon graduation I had to take an exam to get licensed as a clinical social worker which would allow me to provide therapy to individuals while under the supervision of a fully licensed clinician. 

Each state has their own rules and regulations for what a person needs to become licensed. For my state of Kentucky, I would need 2 years of post-master’s experience working with clients, plus 200 supervision hours before I could take another test to become a fully licensed LCSW. 

Once fully licensed, a clinician must continually renew their license throughout their career by completing continuing education units or credits. How often this has to be renewed depends on the type of license. 

A LCSW can be a therapist, but can also be many other things. They can be a school social worker, hospital social worker, Director of an agency and more.  

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

Becoming a LMFT is a lot like becoming a LCSW. You need to attend graduate school and then do a predetermined amount of clinical hours before you become fully licensed.

According to the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), clinicians trained in this field provide short-term therapy. These clinicians focus more on couples or family work, instead of the individual. Click the link below if you are interested in learning more about marriage and family therapy. https://www.aamft.org/About_AAMFT/About_Marriage_and_Family_Therapists.aspx

Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor

LPCC students must complete an internship or practicum where they complete at least 600–240 of those must be client contact–hours of supervision prior to graduating with their degree. 

Once graduated, they become an LPCA where they then must complete 4,000 hours of post-graduate supervision work under a LPCC. Just like with the LCSW and LMFT license, once hours are completed, the LPCA then takes an exam. There are two choices for the exam. The National Counselor Examination for Licensure and Certification (NCE) or the National Clinical Mental Health Counselor Exam (NCMHCE).

After becoming fully licensed, a LPCC must renew their license every year. At least in Kentucky that is.

There are a few more different credentials a person who provides therapy can have.

• Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC)
• Psychologists (PhDs or Psy Ds)
• Psychiatrists (MDs or DOs)

Conclusion

If you decide to try therapy, you have many options on the type of therapist you can see. Each therapist will usually have certain therapies they are trained in or use a variety depending on need. I have another post about different therapies that could be used. Click on the link at the bottom of the page to read. 

At the end of the day, you should choose a therapist you are most comfortable with. It is okay to “shop” around until you find the right fit. A good therapist will understand if you choose to go with someone else. Remember, therapy is about what YOU need. 

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