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Member 444335 · 01-11-2012, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PerhapsMaybeOk

Why? Let's say we doubled the internship sites; what good would that do? Either way, the field is over-saturated. Reducing the number of those who pursue doctoral degrees is the only option, and, as long as there is profit from that, it is unlikely to happen until the system implodes.

I lurk these forums because my significant other is applying to Clinical PhD programs. I agree with PerhapsMaybeOk's perspective as quoted above in that there are simply too many psychologists. If people choose to attend a program with historically poor placement performance they are also choosing to accept the risk that comes with finding placement with said institution. A quick google search takes you to the APPIC which prominently displays match data for each school. I am not insensitive to the frustration that many good people/students feel in this regard, but I can tell you my significant other and I have had some tension (and downright fights) over my insistence that she only apply to top tier programs. The aforementioned concern was directly a result of my discovery of those issues addressed in this thread. If I, a lowly lurker on these forums, can find this information and am well aware of the situation why wouldn't the consumers of graduate psychology education be well aware of this risk as well?

I would think the easy thing to do is increase the standards for APA accreditation. This would simultaneously improve the average quality of the admitted student pool by increasing the scarcity (and thus the competition for) psychology doctorates and force institutions to improve the rigor/quality of the education that they offer to meet the new standards. This ultimately benefits the consumer of psychology services by limiting the practicing psychologist pool to more adept, better trained, practitioners. Bottom Line: The availability of internships is a reflection of market demand, and the location of the bottleneck tells you this isn't a supply issue. Subsidizing more internships where there is no real need is not the solution to the problem. Get rid of the diploma mills and the lowest tier of students and the bottleneck should be substantially alleviated.

Just my humble 2 cents.

Good luck to everyone.