Masters vs. PhD

[RafikiTherapy]

Hey SDN network,

I have posted to ask of your insight and experience into the grad school process for a potential graduate school programs. I am currently overwhelmed with the number of choices I can follow to obtain my goals and seek some advice.

My name is Louie, a graduate (2015 woohoo) from U of Missouri with a plan to apply for schools this fall. My main goal is to become a therapist and open my own private practice with other licensed therapists. Secondarily, I am also interested in doing clinical research at a University. In both research and in clinical practice, I lean towards alternative therapies such as mindfulness (e.g., dbt) and spiritual approaches as well as working with patients with anxiety and mood disorders. I have a 3.7 GPA, with 155 Verbal and 148 Math (ouch - might take again), and sig. amount of therapeutic experience in clinical and academic settings. If I were to apply to doctoral programs, I would reluctantly take the GRE again.

Part of the difficulty in my decision is deciding on graduate programs that either focus on traditional forms of therapy vs. specialized therapies (e.g., mindfulness, humanistic approaches). I see the benefit of going to a more normative institution to establish a traditional therapeutic framework, seeking specialized training after graduation.

I also see the benefit of obtaining non doctoral degrees such as LPC or MSW. I currently am leaning towards masters because I will make more connections by going to two schools and am honestly scared of being locked into a doctoral program for 5-6 years that may not be a good fit. A masters allows me to dip my feet in without getting to wet.

On the other hand, masters programs are typically not paid for (right? know any paid masters programs?) and getting a masters and PhD separately would take significantly longer then going straight for a PhD. On top of that, a PhD will allow me to be more flexible in my career; with the ability to do research as well as therapy. I also feel that obtaining a PhD will more aline with my goals and be a great accomplishment in my life. I have also looked into PsyD's and might apply to good standing programs.

Given that there are a variety of ways to reach my goals, I wanted to hear some of your experiences on obtaining these degrees and advice to a youngin' with a variety of interests.

I realize this forum is dedicated to doctoral pursuits but any and all advice is appreciated!

Louis Markovitz

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[smalltownpsych]

The rationale behind attending a masters program to make more connections and dip your feet in the water doesn't make much sense. Mainly because very few do a masters at the same place as their doctorate. Sometimes the better question to ask is who you want to be more than what you want to do: counselor, social worker, or psychologist. Each role has their own mindset, philosophy, and professional identity.

 

[singasongofjoy]

I went the master's first route for the same reason- afraid of jumping headfirst into a 5-6 yr commitment and figured if it wasn't for me, well, I could at least get licensed at the master's level and do something meaningful while I figured out the next step- plus wanted to beef up my chances of getting into a really good program, b/c if I'm going to commit to 5-6 years of crazy hard work, it better be a good one, ya know? Smalltownpsych is right in pointing out you're likely not going to do a master's at the same place as you get a PhD/PsyD. Yes, master's programs are much less likely to be funded. At some, you can manage working part-time, which is what most of my classmates did. (I fortunately landed a paid research position my first year). Now here I am a few years older than most of the rest of my cohort (I also took 1 year before my masters, and 2 years after it) but I wouldn't change the way I did things. Doctoral programs are too hard and too intensive to be anything less than absolutely certain about, in my opinion.

Also for what it's worth, I like what you said here: "I see the benefit of going to a more normative institution to establish a traditional therapeutic framework, seeking specialized training after graduation." Much easier to do it that way than the other way around I think. Plus that traditional knowledge you'll need to pass the licensing exams should you go the doctoral route.

 

[deleted343839]

In both research and in clinical practice, I lean towards alternative therapies such as mindfulness (e.g., dbt) and spiritual approaches as well as working with patients with anxiety and mood disorders.

Out of curiosity, how do you know what you "lean toward" if you haven't been trained in any of it? Anyway, mindfulness is pretty mainstream nowadays and DBT is not an "alternative" treatment unless you are talking about applying it outside the populations it was originally developed for. Also, there are some folks in mainstream settings who study integration of spirituality into psychotherapy.

My main goal is to become a therapist and open my own private practice with other licensed therapists. Secondarily, I am also interested in doing clinical research at a University.

In practice, this can happen, though it's rare that someone spends most of their effort on a private practice and does a little academic research on the side. Usually it's through personal connections that you can collaborate with a regular faculty member on research. The more typical situation is that a regular faculty member has a small private practice on the side, which is the reverse of what you're describing.

But I guess that's getting ahead of the ball. I agree with smalltownpsych that figuring out whether you want to be a counselor, social worker, MFT, or psychologist should be your first priority.

 

[DrMikeP]

Be aware that a Master's in Psychology will not get you licensed in many states to practice. At many universities a masters in psychology is a stepping stone to get you the research experience to apply for a doctoral program. A masters in psych can get you a really good job in management at places like walmart and target.

Many states require special coursework/degrees to be licensed as a masters level counselor or clinical social worker. So look up several states you may one day want to practice in and see what they require.

I know many professors who have a practice on the side and some who have a full-time practice and adjunct, so it's possible to have your feet in both worlds but there are trade-offs. So as stated above you really really need to decide what you want to be. Right now it seems more like a counselor and you don't need a doctorate in psychology and significant debt to do that!

Good Luck