Are there any LPC's or MSW's out there to address internship info? (school, counseling)

[deenie1]

Hi - I just got accepted into a 60 credit MS program for Professional Counseling and my hope is to sit for the NCE exam in a few years. In NJ, you must file for an LAC license and then do the 3,000 supervised hours to obtain the LPC designation. I will accrue 900 hours during 3 semesters of internship in school but then I'll have a balance to go from LAC to LPC.

As it is, I'm going to really be in the hole with student loans (47 y/o mom with two young kids going back to grad school). My DH works but grad school will be quite an investment - other than our two kids! I've been looking at internships and it seems like there are several people who call themselves LPC supervisors and they charge to supervise. I didn't expect to make a ton of money during an internship but some stipend would be necessary if I have to pay for child care while DH is at work. We don't want to tap into our 401Ks or anything so money will be tight. My kids are in K & 1st so they're still young. If I have to pay OOP for counseling supervision, this is going to be REALLY tough! Are these ever paid or is paying the supervisor the norm?

My goal is to go into P/T private practice with a flexible schedule while my kids are in school. I am going for my LPC because I like the curriculum and it's somewhat similar to the MA in Clinical Psych I got in 1987. Unfortunately I can't be licensed with that in NJ and have to start over. I
know the MSW is more versatile but the LPC should give me what I need to do the kind of work I want. I just wonder how I will do a few thousand hours, work for free and PAY someone! Oh, and my student loans...
TIA!

Also, we're toying with the idea of moving south someday. Maybe around Atlanta or Dallas but NJ is very stringent so I'm sure I'll be qualified to apply for other licenses in other states as long as I keep up with CEUs.