Sometimes we so much emphasis on the holiday season that the rest of the year can seem a bit boring, or even include oppressive thoughts. Although there are lots of studies about mental health issues during November/December, often people don’t take into account the effects of the Christmas Obsessed and how difficult the period right after the Holidays can be (ie: January – June). This could be considered a form of Seasonal Affective Disorder, but I’m not an expert.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness reports that 43.8 million adults in the United States—approximately 18.5 percent of the population—experiences mental illness in a given year. Of those, nearly 10 million experience a serious mental illness that interferes with or limits one or more major life activities. Mental health counselors provide crucial services and support to anyone suffering from mental, behavioral and emotional problems and disorders.

Almost 20% of the population suffer from a form of mental illness every year. That number is stagger, considering that there are over 40 million adults in the United States, and some of them are suffering in silence. Some even have to go through debilitating mental illness that prevents them for living a normal life, holding regular jobs, or limits major life activities.

This is where mental health counseling comes in. Counselors provide service and support to those suffering from mental health problems so that they can understand, cope, and live with their condition. If you are passionate in helping people with mental health issues, you might want to consider a career in the field.

A master’s degree would definitely give you the knowledge and understanding of the issue, so that you can help change the lives of these people and their families. Consequently, a master’s degree is the minimum requirement to hold an actual license for a professional counselor in most states. You may not know it, but you can also push forward further and actually get a doctorate degree in the field! If you want to take a course somewhere, then the Marymount University is always a fantastic choice.

If you’re interested in making a career in this field, your first step should be getting a graduate-level counseling degree. You may have problems with the prospect of going to school again, or you may be juggling a day job or your family duties. Thankfully, with the advent of the Internet, getting a mental health counseling masters online is not a problem.

How does it work?

You can definitely earn your master’s degree in mental health counseling online, thanks to competent graduate programs put forth by respectable academic institutions. These programs are very flexible, and you could have yours tailored to the needs of your current lifestyle.

If you’re working during the day, you can structure courses so that you’ll have time for school work after regular office hours. You can manage your courses so that they can fit your activities, like caring for your family as a stay-at-home parent.

Getting your mental health counseling masters online still grants the same opportunities as a regular master’s degree. You don’t have to worry about travel and other logistical issues of going to school. Your online program is accessible across many devices, from computers to mobile devices, so you can work towards your master’s degree anytime and anywhere you like.

It’s all up to you and the efforts you put in to study. All the materials are available online, so if you find time to work on them, you can. Your success will all depend on your willingness to learn.

If you are passionate about mental health counseling, don’t hesitate to get a master’s degree online immediately. It will open you to more opportunities to help others, as well as better opportunities for your career.

If you feel like you need someone to talk to about Christmas, or the post-holiday season blues, feel free to join us on Facebook Group or Forum, we are a supportive and loving community of Christmas lovers, so you’ll never feel left out or alone!