Dear SM:

No one should become a therapist thinking it is an extremely "lucrative" career. Yes, the per hour fees are high compared to many jobs, but not compared to other professionals with comparable education and training like lawyers, physicians and MBA's. Furthermore, medical insurance/managed care issues have been squeezing psychotherapists in many ways. Psychotherapists who are not part of managed care are finding their practices shrinking because companies are cutting out "freedom of choice" insurance plans, so they no longer reimburse employees seeing a therapist who is not part of managed care.

Many psychotherapists left the managed care system, as I did, because they did not want to be encumbered by the paperwork, limited sessions and hassles of the managed systems for greatly reduced fees. Colleagues of mine who are actively part of the managed care system often have to hire assistants simply to deal with all the paperwork.

So, if you are in it for the money, pick another profession. If you are in it for the love of helping people live happier and more productive lives, then you have to decide whether you want to try for a two year program (that will lead to a Masters, to charge/collect lower fees and to be limited to marriage and family therapy), or whether to try to gain entry into a doctoral program which will take 4-5 years and allow you to charge higher fees and deal with a wider array of problems.

Your age is not a problem. The issues will be whether you do well on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) and whether your educational/work/volunteer background supports your interest in getting a Ph.D. or a Masters.

The Career Doctor