Dr. Jameca CooperForensic Psychology Consultant, Emergence Psychological Services · Board Certified Counseling Psychologist and Forensic Psychology Consultant

Which route are you considering? #forensicpsychology #psychology #careeradvice #criminalpsychology

10 Jul 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:59

In this career‑advice segment, Dr. Jameca Cooper responds to a viewer’s question about whether to pursue a Master of Family Therapy (MFT) or a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPCC) track for a future in forensic psychology. She explains that the choice depends on the individual’s plans for generating income while working toward forensic goals. Cooper emphasizes that obtaining a clinical license—whether as an LPC, MFT, MSW, LCSW, or similar—enables one to provide therapy in organizations or private practice, creating a revenue stream that can support forensic pursuits. While licensure is not a strict prerequisite for forensic psychology work, it can be highly beneficial for financial stability and professional flexibility.

Chapters

Person says they're intrigued by forensics, wanted to know if I would recommend that they get an MFT or a LPCC, a master's, um, family therapy, or LPCC licensed professional counselor, depending on which state you're in. My answer is it really depends on you and how you plan to bring in income or revenue while you work toward whatever it is you want to do in forensics. And I would suggest for anyone, whether that is LPC, MFT, MSW, LCSW, whatever whatever it is, those degrees, if you become licensed, will allow you to then treat people either in some organization or work in private practice or independently seeing people for therapy, and that will allow you to bring revenue in. Not a bad idea, it's— but also it's not a necessary step if you're interested in forensic psychology. But like I said before, it will help you if you need an avenue to make money, and I think it can be very beneficial in that respect.