Requirements for applying for psychological counseling qualification certificate

In 2017, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has officially canceled the national professional qualification accreditation for psychological counselors. There is no nationally unified application for the "Psychological Counseling Qualification Certificate" with professional admission effect. All relevant applications that you can come into contact with are training certificates issued by industry associations and leading psychological service platform organizations. They do not have professional qualifications and can only be used as proof of skills learning experience.

Last year, I met my friend Xiao Xu, who works as an administrator. She came across an advertisement for "Highly paid part-time job as a psychological counselor" while browsing short videos. She came over and asked me if I could get off work and take orders after taking the certificate. The first thing I told her was the Basic Psychological Counseling Certificate issued by the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which is currently the most recognized on the market. Requirements for applying for a training qualification certificate: either have a college degree or above, or hold a junior professional title or above in psychology, medicine, or education. If you have not graduated yet, students who are in school one year before graduating from college or undergraduate degree can also apply with a student ID card or a certificate of enrollment issued by the school. She happened to have graduated from bachelor's degree three years ago and met the requirements. I also gave her a vaccination: this certificate is not a "passport to practice". At most, it can prove that you have systematically studied basic psychology and counseling ethics. There is still a long way to go before you can really take on cases.

Of course, not all training certificates meet this threshold. A while ago, a niche organization asked me to be their training instructor. They said that they could apply for the certificate with a high school diploma and paid 3980 and it was guaranteed. I refused directly. Once you get this kind of certificate, let alone being recognized in the industry, you will be afraid of being laughed at. If you really want to take the exam with the purpose of entering the industry, you still have to find a project sponsored by a leading organization or a formal industry association. A high threshold can screen out many unscrupulous people who want to cut leeks.

Speaking of which, we must also mention the differences in the industry. Nowadays, many consultants with professional backgrounds particularly look down on these training certificates. They feel that dozens of hours of training are not as good as three or four years of systematic professional learning. It is neither right nor wrong to say that these certificates are IQ taxes. I once met the mother of a client whose child was prone to depression. She had a high school diploma herself. She wanted to learn how to help her child adjust, and she didn’t want to give random advice to her child. She asked me if she could sign up for a relevant course and get a certificate. I told her that if she just wanted to learn knowledge, there was no need to sign up for a high-priced class that said it “guaranteed employment.” She could just find a reliable introductory course and follow it, and the exam was not important. ； But if you are not from a professional background and want to find out whether you are really suitable for this industry, spending thousands of dollars to follow the system to learn the basic content and get a highly recognized training certificate can at least help you avoid many common sense pitfalls and is much more efficient than reading psychology monographs on your own. Whether it counts as an IQ tax depends entirely on the purpose of your application.

If you really plan to practice psychological counseling for a long time, you don’t have to worry too much about the application conditions for these training certificates. When I helped the studio recruit assistants in the past two years, I received dozens of resumes with various certificates of "senior psychological counselor" and "international registered counselor". I basically passed them at a glance. It still depends on whether you have serious long-term training experience and whether you have case experience in supervision. The certificate is really not that important. At present, the most recognized qualifications in the industry are the registered psychologist and registered supervisor qualifications of the Chinese Psychological Society registration system. However, these qualifications are not exam-based but are application-based. They require a master's degree or above in psychology, medicine, and education-related majors, as well as specified length of case experience, supervision length, and systematic training experience. The threshold is much higher than ordinary training certificates, and it is also currently recognized as proof of professional ability in the industry. By the way, there is also the professional title examination for psychotherapists in the health system. It is a health professional technical qualification examination. You are required to have relevant work experience in the medical system before you can apply. After passing the exam, you will be entitled to a professional title. If you have a medical background and want to pursue a medical career, you can pay attention.

One last word, I have recently seen a lot of organizations advertising that "there is no academic qualification requirement, and you can earn over 10,000 yuan a month if you pass the exam." I really don't believe it. I have seen too many people think that they can become counselors after taking the exam. As a result, they even failed to do a good job at the initial consultation, and they couldn't even figure out the emotional boundaries of the visitors. If you really want to enter this industry, taking exams is the least valuable first step. Thousands of hours of studying, supervising, and being supervised are the real threshold. If you are just curious about psychology and want to learn to deal with your emotions and improve your relationship with your family, then there is no need to do research. It is enough to read a few reliable popular science books and listen to open classes.