PhD/PsyD Clinical Health PhD in medical setting?

[annasova]

Hi! I am looking for grad programs that involve research and practice within a medical setting like a training hospital or health clinic?

I am posting here just in case anyone knows a couple programs off the top of their head that would be interesting for me to look into - I am fairly flexible geographically, and I want to make sure this decision is made with me considering all my possible options

My ideal program would involve training alongside other disciplines and potentially collaborating between departments? Like physical therapists, music therapists, physicians...

My interests revolve around weight management, body image, and eating disorders

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[Pragma]

One thought is to look at programs that have rehabilitation psychology or health psychology emphasis. Unless the program is housed within a place affiliated with a hospital, you most likely get to look for your own practicum experiences. So you'd want to be sure those are available in the locale. So a program within an academic medical center or with a VA nearby might be one place to start looking. Sorry I haven't got specifics for you.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

One thought is to look at programs that have rehabilitation psychology or health psychology emphasis. Unless the program is housed within a place affiliated with a hospital, you most likely get to look for your own practicum experiences. So you'd want to be sure those are available in the locale. So a program within an academic medical center or with a VA nearby might be one place to start looking. Sorry I haven't got specifics for you.

This. A few that immediately spring to mind for me, given that I'm more familiar with the southeast/southwest than most other geographic areas, would be UAB, Univ. of Southern Mississippi, UF, Univ. of North Texas, and UT Southwestern. Not sure if all of those programs have weight management and/or eating disorder-related experiences, but I know folks who've gone through UAB who specialize in treating ED, so I'd imagine they have faculty working in that area.

Also, if you search the forum, there have been a few other threads recently asking about health/medical psychology and eating disorders, with numerous programs and faculty named therein.

 

[DynamicDidactic]

One thought is to look at programs that have rehabilitation psychology or health psychology emphasis.

Aside from a good deal of programs like that only 2 accredited program (as far as I know) are housed with in an academic medical center:

UT Southwestern.

and
Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine

 

[annasova]

Thanks for the advice!!
UF and Northwestern were programs I have been really looking into.
I'll look up the others for potential research fit!

 

[deleted343839]

Try this list: http://health-psych.org/Clinicalprograms.cfm. Look for programs that have practicum opportunities in health care settings where you can gain some experience interacting with other types of health care professionals.

The likelihood of getting a lot of didactic training alongside other health profession trainees is lower because the essential skills you need to acquire as a psychologist don't always translate well to other disciplines. However, it might be feasible to take an elective course outside a psychology department (for instance, I took an elective course in my university's nursing school). If you are near a medical school or other health professions school you might also be able to attend grand rounds presentations and special lectures in areas that interest you. Workshops offered through the Society of Behavioral Medicine (www.sbm.org) and similar organizations can also give you some interdisciplinary training opportunities.

Not to dissuade you from seeking experience in medical care settings, but you might also look into university counseling center practica to develop your clinical skills in eating disorders and weight management.

Keeping all of the above in mind, remember that finding a mentor who does solid work in your content area is more important than any of the above. You can get more intensive training in clinical health psych as an intern and/or postdoc, but you have to have excellent fundamentals in order to be competitive for those positions. For now, focus on getting the best doctoral training you can get in your emphasis area and then seek out further training opportunities as needed to generalize your research and clinical work to medical settings.

 

[annasova]

Wow, thank you! That is great advice!
I really like that UF has their clinical psych program within the public health department and they even offer a dual program with a masters in public health degree tied into the doctoral program in clinical health psych for one more year of study.
I have definitely been on the lookout for the best fit for research training - with every possible mentor I have gone directly to ScienceDirect/PsycInfo to find recent articles and look up their grants.
I may be thinking way too far ahead, but I already have sites in mind for post doc training that I would absolutely love to be involved in to further specialize and gain experience.


Thank you so much to everyone who responded! I appreciate the advice!