How to Become a Child Therapist

Child therapists work with young children to help them work through emotional, mental and physical problems and issues. These therapists generally work with children under the age of 12 and try to get them to express their feelings through art, play and speech. There are a few things you should keep in mind as you work toward your goal of becoming a child therapist.

Things You'll Need

• Appropriate education and degrees
• State license
• Liability insurance

Instructions

1. Focus your undergraduate education on a subject like psychology, child development or nursing. Almost all successful child therapists earn a master's degree in counseling, psychology or psychiatric nursing. Some schools are also beginning to offer certificates in different forms of child therapy, like play therapy.

2. Learn about the different kinds of child therapists. You don't have to work with mental and emotional conditions. Instead, you can do children's physical therapy. You could also work only with autistic children.

3. Volunteer or work at a children's center or day care. As you plan to become a child therapist, it's important that you get as much experience working with children as possible.

4. Talk to child therapists in your area about doing an internship or shadowing them. It may be difficult for you to sit in on private sessions because of patient privacy, but some therapists look for assistants to help them run group lessons.

5. Consider going to school for a doctorate in child psychology. The methods that child therapists use are often developed, tested and refined by doctoral students. Doctoral degrees tend to build more credibility and confidence in patients.

6. Talk to your state's Licensing and Regulative Services about the requirements for a child therapist. You can earn your license once you've completed the educational requirements inside your state. If you got your degree in another state, a university in the state where you're applying for a license will have to approve your transcripts.

7. Ask therapist groups and organizations for help setting up your private practice. Unfortunately, most schools don't give detailed help on the business aspects of being a therapist and being self-employed.

Tips & Warnings

• Most child therapists work out of their own private practices. Some schools or school districts hire a child therapist to work directly with the students or to be on call.

• You may want to specialize your practice in a few specific fields. For example, you could treat divorce, nightmares, illnesses or child anxiety.

• Be sure to get professional liability insurance once you become a child therapist and open your own practice.