I am not sure. I was moving in that direction for the longest time, but I got sidetracked. Now I am trying to decide whether I need to toss it completely and start over or make a course correction.

According to my research, it is better to get a MSW and then become a LCSW to practice as a therapist. They say that you can do the same thing with an MSW that you can do with a PhD or PsyD to be a Clinical Psychologist.

I started a MSW program that was near me, and it was not tailored to working adults. The undergraduate social work students could skip coursework to complete the program early, but those already in the workforce could not use their undergraduate degrees from other schools to skip coursework or use their work experience as their fieldwork hours. Their structure would also not allow you to break up the semesters so that you could do coursework during the semesters and fieldwork during the summers. I was working 2 jobs and taking the 16 hours of classes that they required and trying to do the required 16 hours of volunteer fieldwork. After one semester, I decided that would not be healthy for me to do for 2 years and removed myself from the program. The second year required 32 hours per semester of volunteer field work along with the 16 hours of graduate coursework per semester. (Normal graduate level courseload is 9 hours,)

Now I am thinking of ways to use my Communication Arts degree.

I still wish that I could help with healthcare reform, but I did not get far enough along in the program to learn the best way to do it. I had a class in Social Welfare Policy and talked with my professor about it. He suggested that I contact Leiberman. I wrote President Bush, but I think I got a form letter response. I don’t think anyone would consider the idea without the numbers to show cost, comparisons, unintended consequences or risks, how it would be implemented, etc. There is a medical clinic providing free services to people in the area, and it might provide a cost figure at a community level. The military structure and costs might provide an example of what a medical corps would cost to be implemented. I think I would need a bit of help figuring out the large scale of things and comparisons.