I earned a M.S degree in counseling in USA, but...

Would a student who has graduated in the USA as an American Counselor be able to do a training internship there in Ireland and what else would be needed to become a licensed Irish Counselor? I have relatives there in  New Market,Cork. Also, my daddy told me that I am a "Dual Citizen of the USA and Ireland, Would that help me obtain a career there in Ireland in the career field which I studied for 8 yrs? I would hate to just waste an entire career if I relocated and Never went back to work,  if I ever did move back there.

Hi Just my advice for what its worth . I am sure you would be able to take up c ounselling in Ireland as no licence yet here. Anyone can say they are a counsellor.  Look up IACP  website . and you will get the details. for  accreditation here at the moment. But there are a lot of  counsellors who are trying to make a living at this profession and cant , Thats  because there are  more counsellors than clients who can afford to pay.  The Health services has an embargo on  recruitment  and they were the best place to get a position . Whatever you decide to do really research any courses before you take it on . Most of them are useless money makers . And very expensive . Good luck .

If the rules are similar in Eire as they may be to the UK I know that in the UK you can have a degree evaluated for the equivalent if obtained overseas. This is done by contacting one of the Boards of Education. I believe there are three in the UK. Oxford, Cambridge, and Joint Matriculation Board (at least there used to be). These bodies evaluate your existing qualifications and would declare its value when compared to similar obtained locally. Depending on the ranking of the university you may have to do some additional course work to get a local degree. If they accept your qualifications in full you will qualify to go for a PhD

As for counseling in the UK, the arena is not the same as the USA or Canada for that matter. I can say that most people in the UK due to social medicine do not pay for health or at least pay a very minimum amount.For that reason private Doctors etc including therapists do not earn lots of cash as it is in the USA.Most doctors are employed by the government and are occupied in the State run hospitals etc. Even most doctors in the areas are governed and paid by National Health.

As National Health has priorities, last I remember mental health was not on that list. Consequently most therapies that I was aware back in 1999/2000 were even conducted in the local hospitals as an out patient. 

All in all not a good idea to go if you are planning to make a living out of that. My trupence




Mutley