Advice for someone looking to get back into Psych

[iDed]

Please forgive me if this has been covered before in previous threads. I'm brand new and did a few quick searches, but wanted more information pertaining to my situation.

I graduated in 2012 with a BA in Psych with an emphasis in Law and Society. I originally chose psychology as my major with the intention of going into forensic psychology, but abandoned that idea when a future in law enforcement presented itself (it's been a childhood dream). As a result, I never took advantage of the opportunities to be a research assistant and form bonds with my professors.

Fast forward to now and the law enforcement thing isn't going to work out. I've recently thought about revisiting my original plan of forensic psychology and getting a PhD. However, after reading a few threads here about acceptance rates and whatnot, I feel like my chances of getting into a PhD program are nonexistent. I'm currently working a part time job unrelated to psychology and I have no experience in the psych field outside of class aside from some volunteering I did throughout college. I wouldn't even know how to approach letters of recommendation since it's been a few years since graduation and I never made any effort to stand out in class.

It seems like a big part of getting into a PhD program is experience working as an RA. Is working as an RA limited to undergraduates or can a person like me volunteer at a lab at a local school? If it is only for undergrads, I would think volunteering somewhere else, such as a hospital or shelter, would be ideal?

Another thing I noticed while reading threads is the idea of getting a masters before going on to get a PhD. Would this be a better route for me rather than doing some volunteer work and jumping straight into the PhD admissions process? Is experience as an RA as important for getting a masters as it is for a PhD?

I'm completely new to the whole graduate school process, so thank you in advance for any information you can share.

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[erg923]

Is it absolutely necessary to get a phd in order to do the work you want to do? If not, then all this is moot. So, What do you want to do on a daily basis?

 

[iDed]

What really interests me are personality disorders. Eventually I'd like to be able to work with people who are incarcerated and see why criminals do the things they do, and hopefully be able to diagnose people.

 

[erg923]

none of that requires that you be a psychologist...

Yes, is is often difficult to get RA positions with no experience and not being erolled in school. But its certainly possible.

A masters can help phd program admission if there is a signicant research componet to it. Do an empirical thesis, work with an active professor, do posters, abstracts, etc.

 

[iDed]

Thanks for the reply! I'm nowhere close to making a decision on what I'm going to do, but this will certainly help me get pointed in the right direction.

 

[LPPSYD]

What really interests me are personality disorders. Eventually I'd like to be able to work with people who are incarcerated and see why criminals do the things they do, and hopefully be able to diagnose people.

I think it's important to point out correctional psychologists don't do a whole lot of examining why inmates did what they did. It's really a lot of typical psychologist duties that are just occurring in a prison setting (and with all the security issues that go along with that setting). Even forensic evaluators aren't examining motives, but instead are asked to determine things like competency to stand trial or responsibility at the time of the crime. Some of what you're describing is most likely only happening in two areas: 1) research on criminal behavior, or 2) when assessing what factors led to the offense to target in treatment programs in order to prevent future risk of recidivism.

 

[iDed]

Thanks for the clarification! Determining competency to stand trial is definitely something I'm interested in, but so is research on criminal behavior. I guess I'll have to refine my focus a little bit.

 

[erg923]

Thanks for the clarification! Determining competency to stand trial is definitely something I'm interested in, but so is research on criminal behavior. I guess I'll have to refine my focus a little bit.

Individuals that do the first thing you mentioned really dont do much of the second thing you mentioned. One is a pure psychiatric question, the other much more academic. Is it possible to do both? Sure. But its not a common outcome...and you better have CV as long as my arm to have steady work doing both.

 

[iDed]

Thanks for pointing that out. I didn't realize there was such a big difference regarding the two. As far as I know, the former would require going to medical school to become a psychiatrist while the latter would involve going the PhD route?

And also, CV?

 

[erg923]

No. psychologists do forensic evals such a competency/diminshed capacity, state of mind at time of offense as well.

CV= Curriculum Vitea=lengthy resume.

 

[erg923]

And FYI....why people committ criminal acts at the individual level is really a motive question that is best left to law enforcement. Moreover, motive is faily easily established in about 99% of violent crimes (love/passion, money, betrayl). It's a pretty short and well established list. If you are talking about serial killers and stuff, that research is rapidly moving towards neuroscienctific paradigms of investigation/research (imaging, PET, etc.), so thats the field I would run to if you are interested in research in that area.

 

[iDed]

Ah ok, thanks for the info!

 

[CKAW]

Well, I'm doing exactly what you're talking about, so I definitely hope it is a viable path to grad school! In response to your first question, no, it's not necessary at all to be an undergrad to volunteer in labs. As with anything else, though, there is a definite foot-in-the-door effect. I graduated from college about 5 years ago, and began taking classes at another school last year as a "continuing studies" student, paying out of pocket to raise my GPA. This put me in class learning about the things I was interested in, and got me face time with professors who were doing research in these areas.

From there, it really comes down to networking, and the best advice I can offer is to get good at this as early as possible. I am still learning, but in my case, I spoke with a professor from one of my classes and asked him if he knew how I could get involved in research around the school. He actually asked if I'd like to sit in on his lab meetings, but if that doesn't seem like a good fit in your case, it's just as valuable to ask, "Do you know anyone who could use an RA" or, "Do you know anyone doing research in this area?" Then rinse and repeat. Seems like it's common to have undergrads sit in on lab, and once you're there, you want to start making noise about getting involved. Being proactive and independent are VERY important traits to have, so say something like "I've really enjoyed sitting in on lab meetings - if anyone could use help on a project doing grunt work, I'd love to get more involved." This actually continued for me until I asked my PI "What is the single best thing I can do to get into grad school" and he started working with me on a publication, which I'm still thrilled about. I've since started volunteering in a few more labs and enjoyed it all.

After that it seems like more of the same. Climbing a ladder of greater responsibility and experience. I've heard people say getting a master's is the best decision they could have made, but I think it depends on your age and financial status. I'm personally banking on being able to get the same research experience out of a couple years of RA and RC work and saving the money, but there are a lot of benefits to a master's that you can't get this way. Hope this helps.

 

[iDed]

Thanks CKAW, that helped a lot! I knew there had to be some people in a similar position as me so it's really helpful to get your input.

 

[sockit]

RA positions are kind of competitive at my school (must be enrolled FT and have a certain GPA), but I've seen a few pop up here and there in hospitals and their satellite clinics. Some of those look like they want prior research experience, others seem more open to people with relevant BAs and some admin experience. If you apply to those, I think it would help if you listed your overall GPA, as well as research and content-relevant courses you took and your specific grades in those, and, wrote a highly targeted cover letter.

Definitely take a psych class - at least that way, you'd have some kind of interface with the university; maybe someone would be willing to take you on if you made a strong case for your interest and convinced them you wouldn't flake out. (I understand this is the worry about volunteer RAs.)

 

[PsyDSoccerMom]

Hi iDed - I have been working in juvenile corrections for the last 6 years. Although I have a Psy.D., we also have people on our team with LPCs and LCSWs. They do not do intake or pre-release psychological evaluations but provide individual, group tx and crisis intervention. You will definitely get your fill of working with individuals with Conduct/Antisocial as well as Borderline P.D. Don't let your absence from the field discourage you from applying to at least a Master's program. I knew a guy in my Psy.D. program who was an engineer for 20 years. He got bored and decided to switch gears (got a terminal master's first in a counseling/clinical psych, then went to APA accredited Psy.D. program). Your background in Law Enforcement is not that far of a cry compared to someone majoring in East Asian Studies (no offense to anyone out there)! Plus, graduate programs often welcome people with diverse but slightly related work backgrounds to add color to commentary in class discussions.

 

[CKAW]

). Your background in Law Enforcement is not that far of a cry compared to someone majoring in East Asian Studies (no offense to anyone out there)! .

Yep, I made the jump from International Political Economy, you should be all right iDed.