Requirements for application for psychological counselor certificate

At present, there is no unified national-level application channel for the "Psychological Counselor Professional Qualification Certificate". In 2017, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has canceled the unified recognition of this professional qualification. Currently, all the training certificates circulating on the market are training certificates issued by industry associations and authoritative psychological service institutions. The application requirements of different certification entities vary greatly. The basic threshold for mainstream certificates is generally stuck at two points: "college degree or above, no relevant bad employment records."

A while ago, a young girl who was studying Chinese language in her junior year came to me for consultation. She said that she planned to take the postgraduate entrance examination for psychology. She wanted to take a certificate first as an extra point for the re-examination. She had not studied the relevant courses systematically and was not sure whether she could apply. In fact, this is also the first question that most people who want to take the certificate will ask. I usually ask them to think clearly about the purpose of taking the certificate first, and then look at the requirements of different issuing agencies. After all, the recognition and applicable scenarios of different certificates are not even the same.

Currently, the most recognized one in the industry is the Basic Training Certificate for Psychological Counselors issued by the Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The application requirements are relatively loose: as long as you have a college degree or above, you can apply no matter what your major is.； If you have an intermediate or above professional title in psychology, education, or medicine, you can apply even if you have less than a college degree. ； If you are a college student, you have to wait until you are in your junior year or above, and you only need to be able to issue a certificate of enrollment issued by the school. Oh, by the way, you don’t just sign up and you can take the exam directly. You must first take 164 hours of basic courses at a designated training institution, including core content such as general psychology, social psychology, and counseling ethics. Only after completing the courses and getting a course certificate can you be eligible to apply. Many admissions agencies will deliberately hide this when promoting, and they will only tell you that you need to make up classes after you pay the money. Be careful.

If you want to take the relevant training certificate issued by the Standards Committee of the Chinese Psychological Society, the requirements will be higher. In addition to the basic college degree or above, if you are not majoring in psychology, education, or medicine, you must also provide at least 30 hours of systematic psychological training certificates, or have relevant auxiliary work experience - such as working as a psychological science volunteer in the community, working as an assistant in a school psychology room, and answering the psychological assistance hotline. Otherwise, you will not pass the review even if you register. Many people in the industry now recognize the value of this certificate and feel that if it is stricter, it can filter out some people who just want to get a certificate to cut leeks.

Speaking of this, I have to mention the controversy that has been quarreling in the industry for a long time: some people think that the current application threshold is too low. People in any major can take the exam as long as they have enough academic qualifications. Many people dare to take on cases without even knowing the basic crisis intervention process after getting the certificate. It is easy to cause problems. It is best to raise the threshold to above the undergraduate degree in psychology-related majors, and also add internship time requirements.； The other group believes that there is currently a huge gap in domestic psychological services. What many communities, schools, and enterprises need are auxiliary personnel who can do science popularization, preliminary screening, and hotline connection. It is not necessary to have a professional background. As long as they have received systematic training and passed relevant assessments, people with non-related majors are fully qualified to do these jobs. If the threshold is blocked, it is a waste of human resources. Both sides are reasonable, and there is no unified conclusion yet. You can decide which certificate to choose based on your own career plan.

I have encountered a very unfortunate example before: There was an aunt in her fifties who retired at home and wanted to learn more knowledge and help her adolescent grandson adjust her emotions. She was deceived by the admissions agency and said that "you can take the exam with a junior high school diploma, and you can become a psychological counselor after passing the exam." She paid more than 8,000 yuan, and finally got a certificate issued by a local small association that I had never heard of. Not to mention that the industry did not recognize it, and did not even teach much serious training content. She simply paid an IQ tax. I would also like to remind everyone that if you come across an institution that advertises "no academic qualifications required, guaranteed qualifications, and accredited annual income of 100,000 yuan", just block it. There is no such thing as an accredited psychological counselor certificate. Anyone who says that you can take the exam without academic qualifications is either false advertising, or the issuing unit has no recognition, and it is useless to take the exam.

There is also an implicit requirement that many people don’t know: no matter which certificate you apply for, it is best to have no history of serious mental illness, and no bad records of infringement of minors, fraud, or violence. Although these are not explicitly stated in the application requirements, if you really want to enter the industry, they are the default threshold. After all, consultants have to deal with the negative emotions of visitors. The stability of their own mental state is the foundation, and good conduct is the bottom line.

In fact, if you are taking the certificate just out of interest and want to learn more psychological knowledge to adjust your own status and handle intimate relationships and parent-child relationships, then you don’t have to worry about the application requirements at all. You can just find a reliable course and follow it. You don’t have to take an exam to get a certificate. If you really plan to develop in this industry, choosing a highly recognized certificate and preparing for the exam as required are only the first step. You will also have to spend several years doing personal experience, taking on cases, and finding supervisors. There is still a long way to go. Don’t take a certificate too seriously.