How did you choose Clinical Psych?

[tomfooleries]

I can't figure out what I want to do with my life.

I'm 25. I graduated from a pretty good liberal arts school with a bachelor's in psychology (3.9 cum., 3.9 psych). I did aba therapy with autistic children and helped with social groups for about a year-and-a-half. I'm now 4 months into an RA position that has me half in the clinic with pediatricians and all sorts of sub-specialty doctors, and half with psychologists. I relocated 1,000 miles for this position; it's at a large school with a lot of research being done on autism (and everything else) and very competitive medical and clinical psych programs.

I am more interested in seeing patients long-term, rather than meeting them once or twice for a diagnosis that 20 year-olds are routinely performing for research purposes. I also like the satisfaction I imagine you get from providing treatment rather than just diagnosis. And I understand both are confined to the power of insurance companies. I am knocking on the door of a solid GRE program with my undergrad gpa, confidence I can get my GRE up a bit more (750 on math, verbal needs work), and this research experience. I'm not sure just how well I'll do in the pre-req courses (good student, but no experience here), and med. school would likely cost me a lot of money (another 200k in loans, on top of my 100k from undergrad) while a clinical psych program would most likely be funded through TA, clinic hours, and just general funding more readily available than for medical schools. But I can't decide if it's what I really want.

So why do you want to go to grad. school for Clinical Psych? I'm interested in hearing your thoughts about what you expect from school and the profession to follow.

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[cara susanna]

This will be less then eloquent unless you want me to directly C&P from my statement of purpose, but...

I love research and the fact that one can apply it to actually help improve the quality of someone's life. As for clinical psychology, I am fascinated by psychopathology and the various factors involving it. I am interested in the theories in psychotherapy, especially cognitive-behavioral therapies, and the idea of balance between change and validation. I could go further into why I love my particular area of interest, but I'll spare you all.

The number one thing to consider in the decision of whether or not to enter clinical psych, IMO, is how darn competitive it is. Also, the whole problem with lower practitioners and scope creep, which you might have seen discussed on this forum. So, those are two things that you might want to consider.

 

[Cigolon]

Only thing I've ever loved and there was no question about going into it. From the time I was 7 I knew I was going to go into clinical psyc. I don't care about much of anything as much as I care about this field. I like the analytical side, determining how relevant cases and tests are, determining intervention effectiveness, and trying to discover meaningful ways to intervene. I like the curious side- its the great unknown in the realm of the sciences. I like the idea of figuring out ways to help people that need it.

 

[tomfooleries]

This will be less then eloquent unless you want me to directly C&P from my statement of purpose, but...

I love research and the fact that one can apply it to actually help improve the quality of someone's life. As for clinical psychology, I am fascinated by psychopathology and the various factors involving it. I am interested in the theories in psychotherapy, especially cognitive-behavioral therapies, and the idea of balance between change and validation. I could go further into why I love my particular area of interest, but I'll spare you all.

The number one thing to consider in the decision of whether or not to enter clinical psych, IMO, is how darn competitive it is. Also, the whole problem with lower practitioners and scope creep, which you might have seen discussed on this forum. So, those are two things that you might want to consider.

Only thing I've ever loved and there was no question about going into it. From the time I was 7 I knew I was going to go into clinical psyc. I don't care about much of anything as much as I care about this field. I like the analytical side, determining how relevant cases and tests are, determining intervention effectiveness, and trying to discover meaningful ways to intervene. I like the curious side- its the great unknown in the realm of the sciences. I like the idea of figuring out ways to help people that need it.

I don't mean to sound so cynical, but my perspective has changed over the past 2 years. I too become excited, cara, when I think about research as an opportunity to explore questions you have about a specific population, or the individual himself, through careful study and analysis. I don't see this, however, as a reality. Whether or not I'll get in isn't really a concern; I've paid my dues to be a good candidate, but I just don't know if I truly want it.

I work at a high-reputable--though not terribly large--school, and the psychologists here that are involved in research essentially perform assessments; one after another, for a handful of studies, whenever they are scheduled by RAs or grad. students. They are responsible for directing/coordinating clinics also--they see a lot of children with developmental delays and/or MR--and occassionally act as a "PI" on a larger project that has 5 other PIs on it. They make 125k/year doing it, but it's not terribly alluring. And when scheduling conflicts occur, other RAs (who receive some training to do assessments) cover for them. Not much peace of mind there; my job can be done by someone with no formal training? Maybe not as well, but geez...

Cigolon, I am curious to know where you envision working. The novelty of seeing "new patients" with "obscure issues" doesn't seem too relevant either; most psychologists specialize in diagnosing within specific areas, and the tools they use were developed through research years ago--interview scales, diagnostic scales, etc. They like to act like their attention to detail is relevant and, I'm sure when breaking news to a parent that their child has autism, it is... but realistically, through research, they're commonly just confirming a prior diagnosis in an hour-and-a-half's time.

 

[cara susanna]

Haha, I totally knew that if I posted my reasons, someone would shoot them down.

 

[deleted176373]

How did I pick clin psych... much the way I picked Psych as an undergrad. I threw a dart at the dart board and it landed on Clinical Psychology, and away I went.

Mark

 

[psychmama]

For me, it's the Clinical in Clinical Psych that's so compelling. I enjoy working directly with patients. I thought about social work instead, but the greater emphasis on research and intellectual rigor pushed me into psychology. I enjoy reading the research and thinking about it, although I'd much rather work with patients than work in a lab!

 

[numbereight]

straight from my SOP!

My Father had a cocaine addiction. Even as an eight year old I could tell something was wrong. He became increasingly lethargic, irritable, and unreliable, making promises that he rarely kept. Understanding only that something was "off", I was puzzled and determined to figure out what was wrong. I tried to examine his behavior, believing this would allow me to understand why he was acting strangely and relieve my discomfort about our changing relationship. This failed attempt to understand my father ignited my interest in analyzing the connection between thoughts and behavior, marking the beginning of my interest in psychology. This interest remained dormant until I matured enough as a scientist to recognize that the research questions I was most interested in were based in psychology...I feel fortunate to have coped with, and grown from, my early stressor and through my efforts as a psychologist I aspire to help future generations do the same.

to those waiting it out.

 

[shumshum81]

Number8 this may have worked for you in your POS but I just want to warn others who will read this that excessive self disclosure is a kiss of death in a POS. Google "Kiss of Death Clinical Psychology Application" to read a very useful published study on what admissions officers hate to see. With that said, self disclosure is essential to an application to show personal insight but be very careful about telling a story vs telling what you know about yourself. The impact is more important than the story.

 

[hereandnow]

I have not yet gotten into graduate school in clinical psychology but I am considering it heavily.

However the following "she-likes-you-because" test has been helpful to me.

When I imagined a woman liking me because I was a doctor -- I felt uneasy.
When I imagined a woman liking me because I was a lawyer -- I felt uneasy.
When I imagined a woman liking me because I was a computer programmer -- I felt uneasy.
When I imagined a woman liking me because I was a psychiatrist -- I felt uneasy.
When I imagined a woman liking me because I was a Marriage Family Therapist (MFT) -- I felt uneasy.
When I imagined a woman liking me because I was an artist -- I felt uneasy.
When I imagined a woman liking me because I was a Theatre Arts Professor -- I felt uneasy.
When I imagined a woman liking me because I was a dishwasher -- I felt uneasy.

(These are all careers and I have contemplated or participated in. Some quite seriously. )

However, when I imagined a woman liking me because I was a clinical psychologist -- I felt okay with that.

I think this is because it felt like if she liked me because I was a clinical psychologist -- well she was liking me simply for being me. And that was okay.

 

[numbereight]

what about you? what parts of your experience have you enjoyed and what didn't you like?

I can't figure out what I want to do with my life.

I'm 25. I graduated from a pretty good liberal arts school with a bachelor's in psychology (3.9 cum., 3.9 psych). I did aba therapy with autistic children and helped with social groups for about a year-and-a-half. I'm now 4 months into an RA position that has me half in the clinic with pediatricians and all sorts of sub-specialty doctors, and half with psychologists. I relocated 1,000 miles for this position; it's at a large school with a lot of research being done on autism (and everything else) and very competitive medical and clinical psych programs.

I am more interested in seeing patients long-term, rather than meeting them once or twice for a diagnosis that 20 year-olds are routinely performing for research purposes. I also like the satisfaction I imagine you get from providing treatment rather than just diagnosis. And I understand both are confined to the power of insurance companies. I am knocking on the door of a solid GRE program with my undergrad gpa, confidence I can get my GRE up a bit more (750 on math, verbal needs work), and this research experience. I'm not sure just how well I'll do in the pre-req courses (good student, but no experience here), and med. school would likely cost me a lot of money (another 200k in loans, on top of my 100k from undergrad) while a clinical psych program would most likely be funded through TA, clinic hours, and just general funding more readily available than for medical schools. But I can't decide if it's what I really want.

So why do you want to go to grad. school for Clinical Psych? I'm interested in hearing your thoughts about what you expect from school and the profession to follow.

 

[Ollie123]

For me, it basically boils down to clinical psychology was the way to "avoid" making a decision on what to do with my life. I love just about every subject, and enjoy learning about everything. I truly believe clinical psychology (and academic psychology in general), is more encompassing than just about any other area out there.

Math, genetics, neuroscience, physics, engineering, biology, computer science, history, philosophy, pharmacology, business, politics.

I'll be able to study any one, or any combination of them as a psychology faculty member, and no one would bat an eyelash. If someone in the history department wanted to study neuroscience...I'm not sure that would be widely accepted many places, if anywhere. I've read a philosophical argument of what defines the "mind", worked on writing a computer program, attended a meeting about developing a new corporate policy about a controversial political topic, and then gone back to reading...this time about electrical signals of the human heart. All in the same day. How many fields could that happen in?

It took me awhile to find this path, but I think I'd have felt very limited if I had gone into anything else. I can learn about anything I want and call it work, what's not to like?

 

[HEM0305]

As one of your non-traditional students, I went through a few years (and I'm talking more than three) of figuring out what I didn't want. As soon as it became clear that "this was not for me", I analyzed and moved on. Also, I believe that often opportunities move you in the direction you are supposed to move unless you just remain closed to them. So then how did I end up wanting to go into clinical psych? Once I decided to leave the last career choice - of which I was both successful and pursued for more than 7 years, I thought to myself what do I really want to do with the rest of my life? If not this, then what do I like to do when I'm not working. Helping people through their problems was high on my list - so I went back to school (already having an advanced degree in a different field) and started taking classes. From the courses, I began to focus on the areas of psych I synched with and figured out the areas that came less natural for me. And then a couple of years ago, I did what many people do - applied to clinical psych programs with no idea what i wanted to do and just got thwamped in the application process (a first for me in terms of life successes). So instead of being discouraged, I figured out what I needed to do - which was get some more research experience and plump up that CV. So I continued to take more classes, volunteered for a couple of professors and figured out what I am passionate about. As I work on several very different research projects (different focus, different approaches, different populations etc), I know that some areas just don't float my boat. But there is one project in which I'll lose sense of time while working on it. And the only place to train in that field to do what I want to do is in clinical psych. That is where the people are. That is where the skillsets are built. And that's where I need to go now.

From what it sounds like, you don't seem very excited about the field. 5-7 years is a very long time to pursue something that you are not that into. Also, graduate school - no matter what field - is competitive, stressful, and emotionally demanding. And the money coming out of clinical psych certainly isn't that great of an incentive for all that. So if you aren't in it because something you are passionate about, that's a miserable few years I wouldn't want to look forward to.

But that's just me. Maybe not necessarily the same formula for you.

 

[tomfooleries]

Haha, I totally knew that if I posted my reasons, someone would shoot them down.

Sorry cara, not shooting your reasons down. Just playing devil's advocate. Hoping to learn more about my own reasons for having been involved in psych for the past 6 years.

what about you? what parts of your experience have you enjoyed and what didn't you like?

I have enjoyed being in the clinic. I spend time recruiting families in the Center for Childhood Development of a hospital. The research study I'm working on is clinical-based; the true purpose of the study is to build a treatment network for children with autism spectrum disorders; we collect data along the way, but more as a secondary objective (at least it seems to be at the other locations involved in the study, though ironically, not mine) to uncover the medical factors associated with autism and support the dev. of a standard-of-care evaluation that insurance companies will recognize in the future.

I like the atmosphere of the hospital--fast-paced, bright people, very personal feel. I like being in close contact with the families--I guide each through the network of psychologists, pediatricians, sub-specialists, etc. according to their needs. I like to sit-in on clinic visits, particularly those of a neurogeneticist who sees a good chunk of our subjects. I'm intrigued by how much he knows, though I'm deterred by how little he can do.

I'll be able to study any one, or any combination of them as a psychology faculty member, and no one would bat an eyelash. If someone in the history department wanted to study neuroscience...I'm not sure that would be widely accepted many places, if anywhere. I've read a philosophical argument of what defines the "mind", worked on writing a computer program, attended a meeting about developing a new corporate policy about a controversial political topic, and then gone back to reading...this time about electrical signals of the human heart. All in the same day. How many fields could that happen in?

It took me awhile to find this path, but I think I'd have felt very limited if I had gone into anything else. I can learn about anything I want and call it work, what's not to like?

This makes splendid sense, Ollie, and I feel the same way. I think I'd much prefer to teach as I got older though, as I just think I would enjoy clinic work much more. I love being in clinic at the present time, though I do work more with doctors than psychologists. At any rate, I love the atmosphere.

As one of your non-traditional students, I went through a few years (and I'm talking more than three) of figuring out what I didn't want. As soon as it became clear that "this was not for me", I analyzed and moved on. Also, I believe that often opportunities move you in the direction you are supposed to move unless you just remain closed to them. So then how did I end up wanting to go into clinical psych? Once I decided to leave the last career choice - of which I was both successful and pursued for more than 7 years, I thought to myself what do I really want to do with the rest of my life? If not this, then what do I like to do when I'm not working. Helping people through their problems was high on my list - so I went back to school (already having an advanced degree in a different field) and started taking classes. From the courses, I began to focus on the areas of psych I synched with and figured out the areas that came less natural for me. And then a couple of years ago, I did what many people do - applied to clinical psych programs with no idea what i wanted to do and just got thwamped in the application process (a first for me in terms of life successes). So instead of being discouraged, I figured out what I needed to do - which was get some more research experience and plump up that CV. So I continued to take more classes, volunteered for a couple of professors and figured out what I am passionate about. As I work on several very different research projects (different focus, different approaches, different populations etc), I know that some areas just don't float my boat. But there is one project in which I'll lose sense of time while working on it. And the only place to train in that field to do what I want to do is in clinical psych. That is where the people are. That is where the skillsets are built. And that's where I need to go now.

From what it sounds like, you don't seem very excited about the field. 5-7 years is a very long time to pursue something that you are not that into. Also, graduate school - no matter what field - is competitive, stressful, and emotionally demanding. And the money coming out of clinical psych certainly isn't that great of an incentive for all that. So if you aren't in it because something you are passionate about, that's a miserable few years I wouldn't want to look forward to.

But that's just me. Maybe not necessarily the same formula for you.

Thanks for this info. What sort of research are you doing that's clinically related?
I think a big part of me wants to embrace clinical psych and, absurdly, this is the way I kind of work. I question a decision in every possible way until I'm absolutely sure because, in the past, I've left too much up to chance and found myself underachieving and feeling pretty unhappy. I have enjoyed studying psych as an undergrad and working in the field for 2 years, but I just want to know more of what's out there for clinical opportunities. I've come across some fellowships related to health psychology--counseling oncology/hematology patients prior to dangerous treatments--and neuropsych, and I think these would fit the interests I've uncovered working in a children's hospital. I'd be interested to know more about your research too.
One aspect of psych that I am optimstic about is its growth. There seems to be more opportunities to carve out a niche for yourself in psychology as opposed to medicine. At least I hope..

 

[dd123]

I've struggled with the same question up until...oh...2 days ago. Even though I've applied to 8 clinical programs.

I'm doing it for a few reasons.

1. it'll provide more opportunities than an experimental phd will.

2. it'll change my life in a way that an exp. phd won't.

3. it'll be a window into the human experience and people's stories unlike any other.

4. i'm tired of not understanding why so many people are so screwed up, and and i'm tired of feeling hopeless, as if there's nothing i can do about it.

i'm not really in it to "help people". I don't know what it'll be like, or if I'll enjoy it. But the thought of not exploring it was worse than the thought of not even trying it.

I kinda feel like I'm diving into the unknown...