Treatment Outcomes Research + Grad School Questions

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Hello all,

This forum has provided a wealth of knowledge; perhaps some of you have some perspective on my research interest. I'm an undergraduate with aspirations of a career in clinical psychology. Specifically, I am interested in treatment outcomes for dysthymic and depressed youth. As an example, I am interested in studies such as TADS (Treatment of Adolescents with Depression) and TORDIA (Treatment of Resistant Depression in Adolescents), though my interest is not necessarily limited to large cohort trials. Overall, I would classify my research interest as one involving 'evidence based' practice.

My research interest is greatly informed by my undergraduate research experiences, and I am now looking towards graduate school. Though I feel settled in my research interest, I have a few questions about selecting a program:

1. Given my interest in treatment outcome research, I am keen on gaining a diverse range of clinical skills and practice opportunities. My ideal career in clinical psychology would involve clinical practice and research. My cursory search has focused on 'balanced' and 'practice-oriented' programs, such as Texas Tech, Feinberg at Northwestern, Western Michigan University, etc. Am I looking in the right place? Are there any schools or POIs you would specifically recommend?

2. I realize that 'youth depression and dysthymia treatment outcomes' is a broad interest. Should I try to narrow my interests before applying?

3. Though I am interested in practice, I want to glean strong research skills (such as advanced statistical techniques). In general, will practice-oriented programs limit my research credentials?

I am very interested to hear your thoughts/comments. I would be especially excited to hear from current doctoral students with interest in treatment outcomes research.

Given the lack of responses, perhaps my initial post was somewhat narrow. I'll add that I am not exclusively interested in treatment outcome research (perhaps a better phrasing would be psychotherapy process and change research), but I do want to make it a component of my graduate study. In other words, I am interested in working with theories of youth depression while conducting process/outcome research during graduate school.

I've seen some discussion of outcomes/process research on this forum, though mostly from psychiatry-oriented members. I am much more interested in clinical psychology (research focusing on the role of therapist and adolescent factors in predicting change; discrepancies between self-report, parent-report, and clinician-reported improvement; "sudden gains" during the course of treatment, etc).

Am I limiting myself by focusing mostly on practice-oriented programs? I genuinely enjoy research, but I don't want to commit to a solely academic career.

Thanks!