Originally Posted by buzzworm

Lab-bench work (e.g. doing Western blots and never seeing a patient) and clinic volunteer work are not your only options. There are plenty of jobs out there in psychology/psychiatry/neurology research labs, which allow you contact with clinical populations while also getting research experience similar to what you'll be doing as a grad student. From what I've heard from people in the field, this kind of experience is valued much more highly by admissions committees than non-research clinical experience. Try checking out the job listings for local universities, and I can almost guarantee you'll come up with some psychology research assistant positions.