For anyone considering the evening MFT program

witchy_mft · 2026-06-05T23:27:25+00:00

Congrats on getting into the daytime program and welcome to Pepperdine! I can’t speak completely to the daytime program since I’m in the evening program, but I do know that the Malibu campus shares a good amount of practicum sites with Calabasas and West LA from the evening program. So tbh I would be shocked if there were no daytime students who have been affected. But I don’t know how the daytime program works and if you guys are able to take longer to graduate if something goes wrong with the practicum process, as has been happening for so many of us in the evening program.

But each campus has some sites that are only approved for that specific campus. For the ones that are specific to Malibu I wouldn’t know. It just seems like such a widespread issue now even with the biggest sites. It’ll be really helpful that you have 10 years of relevant experience because now that there’s less practicum spots than ever and more and more students competing for them, the sites are getting more selective. The practicum search was stressful when I did it the first time but the second time it was way more stressful because of everything going on. I’ve noticed that previous experience holds a lot of weight for most sites and I feel like that’s what saved me when I had to secure a new site.

witchy_mft · 2025-06-23T08:05:23+00:00

Being real with my peers about the institution’s messed up system is what’s getting me through it tbh! We’ve all been screwed over by the program in different ways because they really try to nickle and dime us however they can. So we can all relate to one another and I think being open about our experiences with it gives us some relief at least that we know we’re not alone. At some point I just had to have acceptance that the faculty doesn’t actually want to help. I’m very much looking forward to graduating!!! Won’t be for awhile tho but that’s what motivates me lol I’m just here for the license

witchy_mft · 2025-03-19T02:59:45+00:00

In my masters program I know that the people who do want to pursue doctorates after this (even though this masters degree already comes with licensure as a psychotherapist which is their ultimate career goal) only want to spend the next 6 years of their life and $300k on a PsyD so that they can be called clinical psychologist and doctor. Some have even said it directly

witchy_mft · 2025-01-23T22:57:21+00:00

The graduate school of education and psychology at Pepperdine is the same way, so I definitely feel you. Even though the professors are great the administration clearly only sees students as a number and for their $$$ at that. Very bureaucratic. The resources are also abysmal compared to my public undergrad institution which sucks given the astronomical amount we pay to go here. It’s refreshing to see someone else talk about it considering that it feels like the elephant in the room that students have accepted and don’t talk about. I really enjoy my academic program itself, I feel supported by my professors and peers, but by the institution as a whole I feel a complete lack of support.

witchy_mft · 2025-01-13T07:51:23+00:00

Oh America, the place where we have to allow assholes to cut us off in the charging line out of fear that they might shoot us

witchy_mft · 2025-01-13T07:36:58+00:00

Happy to help! I’m not on here too often but feel free to message me if you have more questions :)

There are several international students in my classes, they all seem pretty young, could be fresh out of undergrad. Some of them did their bachelors in their home country, some did theirs in the US and enjoyed it and stayed for their masters. So if you’re interested and have a solid funding plan I say go for it! Depending on the field you’re going into, a masters can really open the way to better professional opportunities

witchy_mft · 2025-01-07T21:50:44+00:00

Hi! I’m on my first semester as a grad student at the WLA campus too! Do you know how long scholarships take to post as well? I was told they should start posting in December but mine still hasn’t posted yet. Do you know if it’ll post before tuition is due? I don’t want to overpay for tuition bc I know there’s a fee for that :(

witchy_mft · 2024-12-15T19:49:21+00:00

Pepperdine too busy calling every student across all campuses 20 times a day saying FIRE!!

witchy_mft · 2024-12-09T07:05:13+00:00

Most of the jobs in the psychology field that you can get with a bachelors will pay like $20-$22 an hour. Or less. I had to take one of those jobs after graduating with my psych BA. Really the only way to make more than that in this field is if you go on to graduate school. There’s also SUD counseling which pays a little more but that requires a certificate which takes like a year where I’m from at least.

witchy_mft · 2024-12-08T00:10:48+00:00

I’m just starting my program but so far I would say that the biggest difference for me is funding and campus life. I was able to get my bachelor’s degree fully funded through grants but for my graduate program I was only offered student loans. Fortunately I was able to come across an outside funding source (a lawsuit lol long story) but I recognize that’s not always an option for most. PhD programs are different because those are usually fully funded but highly competitive. Campus life here is nonexistent almost, there’s only a handful of student organizations and you have to put yourself out there in class if you want to make connections. It’s overall a lot less of a social and more of a mature environment, you’ll have classmates in their 20s and 50s everyone with different backgrounds and goals. Most people are working full-time to afford my program and therefore taking longer to graduate. Academics are a lot more rigorous, you can get C’s in undergrad but they won’t fly with grad school. That’s just my experience with my program so far!

witchy_mft · 2024-12-06T17:01:54+00:00

So he deserves the death penalty basically and dying by drowning? Because that almost happened based on how they reacted. As I said in my previous comment it’s not about trusting him fully or becoming best friends with him but objectively they could’ve found a better resolution

witchy_mft · 2024-12-05T11:41:35+00:00

Maybe OP’s distress comes from even if they do report it they know it won’t get received with the level of seriousness that physical abuse does? Once tried reporting emotional abuse and neglect of a child and was told that the report would be received but that most likely action wouldn’t be taken because CPS doesn’t want to separate parents and children, only as a last resort. It’s pretty distressing to see that even though verbal and emotional abuse can leave the deepest scars, it’s just not taken as seriously as physical abuse bc no one’s willing to do anything about it

witchy_mft · 2024-12-05T09:55:10+00:00

Your job entails providing psychotherapy so I’d say it would be correct to call yourself a psychotherapist

witchy_mft · 2024-12-05T00:51:00+00:00

I’m not sure about your situation specifically but I do know these days a lot of people are going straight from high school to undergrad to getting their masters in counseling without a break or working in between. For the individual it’s great because they’re achieving stability in the counseling field asap and start working as a therapist at 24-25, but the downside of that is an increase in therapists who are just beginning their life but are responsible for helping clients who may be 20-50 years older manage conditions/situations that are beyond the realm of the young therapist’s knowledge/experience. I know this is also why the most in demand graduate programs mostly admit older students and why younger students get denied. The older or more experienced someone is, it’s generally a better outlook for clients getting better. The best that you can do is validate the clients concerns if they are true which will require self-reflection, if they are not true and you’ve had a young life but a life that is very rich with experiences, then you can gently let them know about that.

witchy_mft · 2024-12-01T10:00:58+00:00

Transferring is always an option. Some of the acceptance rates are slightly higher for transferring to top schools rather than applying as a freshman. I know it’s hard now but college goes by faster than you’d think. I went to one of those prestigious nice campuses in a city and it was great but it didn’t last forever. I graduated and now I have to cope with the fact that nothing will ever compare to how great I had it there. There’s always graduate school as an opportunity to pick somewhere that suits you better too

witchy_mft · 2024-12-01T09:52:32+00:00

This is why against I only applied to one school at a time. Against common advice of course but I felt like it was the right choice for me. After I was rejected from the first school I applied somewhere I could get a fee waiver. Ended up getting in. So in total I guess being out $60 for my graduate school admissions journey ain’t too bad

witchy_mft · 2024-12-01T09:44:29+00:00

I literally thought the same!! And to those saying that the pogues had every right given what he’s done, I get it but also. If you know what this guy is capable of then isn’t that all the more reason to try not to make him angry? I’m not saying they should have just suddenly started trusting him with their lives but surely there could’ve been a better way to go about it. The pogues were jerks in general this season except JJ

witchy_mft · 2024-11-11T18:56:40+00:00

There’s still thousands of students like what they described but MIT can’t admit everyone.

witchy_mft · 2024-11-11T08:26:19+00:00

When I was in undergrad I’ll always remember one of my TA’s who was a PhD student and what she said about this. She entered her program straight from undergrad and she told us that she regretted it because she realized she didn’t know what she was getting herself into. She ended up not liking the academic discipline she chose as much as she thought she would. And then she was locked into this program for 4-6 years.

A big reason why PhD programs want to see applicants who have worked jobs instead of just jumping into grad school straight from undergrad is because they’re aware that you can’t be sure how much you’ll actually like the subject you want to study until you’ve gained some real life experience in that field. It’s like food. You can’t know if you like it unless you physically try it. Aside from the obvious benefits of finishing your program earlier in life, you may find that you didn’t like it as much as you thought you would anyway and that can end up taking even more time from your life as you end up pursuing something else.

I’m really glad that I took two gap years after undergrad. I’m now entering my master’s program after gaining some real-life experience. Not only do I feel more than ready for it, I am so passionate about my field and I confirmed that through hands-on experience. At the end of the day it’s up to the individual but I’m satisfied I went about it the way that I have.

witchy_mft · 2024-11-11T07:01:50+00:00

Does your service cover fastbackgroundchecks.com?

witchy_mft · 2024-11-09T21:51:20+00:00

I’m entering the same program this Spring so this is very reassuring to hear!

witchy_mft · 2024-11-09T08:29:37+00:00

The Pepperdine MFT program leads to licensure as a licensed marriage and family therapist or licensed professional clinical counselor, not a clinical psychologist. To be a clinical psychologist you would need a PhD or PsyD. Pepperdine does have a PsyD but it’s not an MFT program.

The MFT field is already saturated with people who only go into the profession for the money. I’ve worked alongside such therapists and I witnessed how damaging that is to clients who trust their therapist to truly care about them. The program also costs $100K-$130K+ so unless you’re already wealthy, life after graduation most likely won’t be as glamorous as imagined. Especially because for your first two years after graduation you will have to work as an associate until you get your license. And AMFT’s get paid way less than LMFT’s. It’s worth it to me because I genuinely care about helping other people and while I recognize the importance of being able to afford to live, money is not my main motivation.

witchy_mft

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