Online Psy.D - Why not?

[Doctor Eliza]

I have an infant, so the flexible work hours are good. I can work as much or as little as I "want." There is much less b.s. paperwork than if you are working for an agency or hospital. A good chunk of my caseload is comprised of clients willing to work and make changes and that can be rewarding (you have to get over the idea that this will be your entire caseload).

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[lhasalover]

I have an infant, so the flexible work hours are good. I can work as much or as little as I "want." There is much less b.s. paperwork than if you are working for an agency or hospital. A good chunk of my caseload is comprised of clients willing to work and make changes and that can be rewarding (you have to get over the idea that this will be your entire caseload).

Thanks, Eliza. Do you think that you would be getting a lot less respect from those in the field and referrals if you got your doctorate degree from an online program?

 

[ikibah]

Just to add in my two cents about the referrals and I hope I don't get bombed here: Back when I looking into different graduate school programs i.e phd psyd msw, mft I was wondering how much prestige of school meant so I asked a few physicians and mental health providers about who they referred most of their patients to. Whether it was a social worker, psychologist or any other type of therapist, the physicians and therapists could not tell me what school the therapist they are referring to went to, just that they know they are trustworthy and good at what they do...again I AM ONLY adressing the point about the referrals. This is not meant to be encouragement or vice-versa. I stand with what I said in my last post....make sure you know what your doing before you do it. That's it.

 

[psychtalk1274]

Havent people already answered that question, yes and yes. sounds like your mind is made up which I said on the 1st page. good luck and please dont harm clients.

 

[lhasalover]

Havent people already answered that question, yes and yes. sounds like your mind is made up which I said on the 1st page. good luck and please dont harm clients.

I am afraid that you are only worrying about online programs flooding the market with psychologists which will harm your future earnings. You already alluded to that over on the weddingbee forum. It doesn't seem like you want to help me at all, you just want to discourage me so you can protect your bottom line.

 

[psychtalk1274]

No I said how would you set yourself apart from the competition but thanks for twisting my words. you wanted opinions and you got them. eliza is purposely not replying because you dont want the truth. why would 10+ people lie to you. in what way have I tried to discourage your dream. im telling you what you should do to be a good clinician please tell me that isnt so?

 

[Doctor Eliza]

Thanks, Eliza. Do you think that you would be getting a lot less respect from those in the field and referrals if you got your doctorate degree from an online program?

As a licensed psychologist, I would not refer to a colleague with an online degree. I am quite aware of where my colleagues completed their training. Are clients as aware? I'd venture yes and no. In the age of google, many clients are checking you out online before they even place that phone call. When they see where your degree is from, their reaction will be, "I've never heard of that school." Then they will google the school and learn all they need to know. Are there clients who just wander into the office of someone on their insurance plan? Sure. I couldn't tell you the proportion of clients that is, though.

I will also caution that all insurance plans are different with regard to who they accept on their panels. I know you called one insurer and had a positive response. I have a friend who went to an Argosy campus that lost its accreditation after he graduated. He was promptly dropped by a major insurer because his program (that he had graduated 3 yrs previously) was not accredited. He was licensed in our state at the time.

This program is not in your best interest. CA has a reputation for having a ton of poor quality providers with shady degrees. This is an example of why. I'm not trying to protect my bottom line because I live thousands of miles away and you couldn't get a license in my state. Really consider that master's degree.

 

[cara susanna]

It's not about "protecting our bottom line," it's about protecting the integrity of the field. Although, yes, part of that does involve concern about flooding the market. Sorry, it may be your life, but it's also my life. We SDN Psych people are also in this field and we have to deal with the consequences of lowered standards for psychologist training. These shoddy programs hurt all of us, not just the people who have trouble getting licensed and/or employed. Plus, I'm sorry that it isn't convenient for you to attend a reputable program, but that doesn't entitle you to a doctoral degree. A lot of us did the inconvenient route and had to move away to attend a program--and then again for internship, and maybe again for post-doc. This is not a good field for someone who wants convenience, I'm afraid.

Also, again, this program seems to be particularly egregious in that it doesn't require an internship. Imagine a physician who didn't complete a residency. Would you want to see that physician as a patient?

 

[erg923]

I am 49 years old. I already went to the brick and mortar institution to get my masters that took me years and was inconvenient to complete. Now, I want a program that is not as inconvenient and is less lengthy. In addition, I am able to work while I am going through the program.

This reeks of entitlement and narcissism. I want. I want. AND I WANT IT MADE CONVENIENT FOR ME. Who the hell do you think you are?

No one gives it to ya. Ya got earn it. You dont want play the game? Well, you dont get the trophy. I do not want people like this in the field. Besides the egregious entitlement displayed here, your thought process is naive and lacks critical analysis of larger issues...especially issues other than YOU. Even your perception that we are attacking this plan because it would directly hurt us (take away our bottom line, etc.) is due to your theme of ME, ME, ME. That is, you think everyone else must be ME oriented to. Sometimes, just sometimes, its about something bigger. Get it?

Why on earth would having a Psy.D. set you apart? There are like 10,000 Psy.Ds in CA and they are on every corner. A person's work product sets them apart/build reputation. Most people learn this obvious fact in their 20s..and your 49?! And lowering your hourly rate?! Are you even vaguely familiar with social psychology and business marketing? You think people don't perceive you differently when you are $50 cheaper than the guy next door? And how the hell do you do that with insurance anyway?

And you dont like working with people?! WTF bro? You will be working with people every damn day. Patients, insurance reps, doctors, other psychologists, school counselors, parents. Yes, even in private practice. If you don't, or you refuse to, then you aren't doing right! What business do you think you are in? If that your attitude, go into IT or something.

You are getting great feedback here and should be learning alot about the realities of this field, not the fantasy you have in your head where its all about you, your "convenience", and your no effort private practice where nobody seems to care about the quality of your training/education. I think the least you could do is acknowledge it, instead of ignoring it or being openly resistant to it. Feedback is something you need to get used to if you want to pursue higher applied education.

 

[PsychBiker]

If you are considering an online doctorate, but you end up going to a regular brick and mortar program, it's only then will you realize that it would not be truly possible to gain the education needed in a nearly-totally-online program. The irony is if you are set on getting an Online PsyD or PhD, you may not want to listen to this either.

 

[deleted75966]

This kind of loophole to getting into psych is a major problem with the field at present. "Azusa Pacific University" + online PsyD (or any PsyD not from a very small subset of institutions) yields zero percent chance of referral from me. I do clinical work as a small percentage of my job and I often get neuropsych reports that are terrible, almost every time, it's someone from a program like California School of Professional Psychology who wrote the report.. . . and that would be Harvard compared to what you are considering.

 

[erg923]

I'm not sure how I feel about it. I just spoke to another alumni of the program that has achieved licensure as a clinical psychologist in CA and he said that he learned more from his online program than he did from any face-to-face classes in the past.

For goodness sake, I dont care how you "feel" about it. Emotion is irrelevant here. Just answer the question. When a program purposely circumvents all efforts at peer oversight of their program and of its training, and minimizes the oversight given to the student (no group or classes supervision/supplement to clinical training placements), what do we think this is about? What conclusions would a rationale person draw from this?

 

[Mindfulpsych22]

Regarding being a psych assistant- you realize that in order to do this, you need to find a licensed psychologist that would be comfortable supervising you. Given that while you are a psych assistant you are practicing under their license and they are liable for your actions, I imagine that you would have a tough time finding someone that would feel comfortable supervising you given the substandard training that you would receive from this program. I personally would never feel comfortable putting my license on the line for some from a non apa- accredited program. Also realize that you would be competing for psych assistant spots with other students/recent grads who at that point have typically completed at least 3000 supervised hours of experience when you add up all of their practicum and internship hours that are accrued in a reputable program. If you were risking your license, would you risk it on the student who has had better and more formal training experiences and comes from a school that meets the minimal standards for training, or someone that has less experience and received substandard training.

On another note, you should be aware that psych assistantships are typically a far cry from the type of structured training one receives by completing multiple practicums and an internship. In those settings, you typically have group supervision, formal dydatics, and individual supervision as well as a gradual and methodical increase in the complexity and severity of your cases as you build your skills and gain competence in these areas. Most psych assistant gigs only provide individual supervision (and to accrue 40 hours a week, you would have to find someone willing to supervise you for 4 hours each week- no easy feat) and you are assigned the patients that walk in the door. You would seriously be robbing yourself and you patients of much of the proper training to be a psychologist by going this route.

If I were you, I would 1) contact the board directly to talk to them about this program. 2) contact an alumni of APU who works in the field or a faculty member in their psyd program for guidance. I am guessing that they will tell you everything we are saying here, but I hope you may believe it coming from individuals at your Alama matter.

 

[lhasalover]

I am considering what you all have to say. A question: If the program is so shoddy, then why is the faculty comprised of people with Ph.Ds and Psy.D's, from APA accredited programs?

Regarding the difficulty in finding a psych assistant placement in order to get my 3,000 hours for licensure, one alumni of the program that I talked to did say that I should find someone that would allow me to be a Psych Assistant for them and supervise me before I began the program. That way, I would have that set up in advance.

 

[nessa34]

Troll is trolling, whether purposefully or not. Don't feed it. Just walk away...

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[lhasalover]

On another note, you should be aware that psych assistantships are typically a far cry from the type of structured training one receives by completing multiple practicums and an internship. In those settings, you typically have group supervision, formal dydatics, and individual supervision as well as a gradual and methodical increase in the complexity and severity of your cases as you build your skills and gain competence in these areas. Most psych assistant gigs only provide individual supervision (and to accrue 40 hours a week, you would have to find someone willing to supervise you for 4 hours each week- no easy feat) and you are assigned the patients that walk in the door. You would seriously be robbing yourself and you patients of much of the proper training to be a psychologist by going this route. [QUOTE/]

I just want to point out that it doesn't have to be on-site supervision.

 

[lhasalover]

Troll is trolling, whether purposefully or not. Don't feed it. Just walk away...

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

I'm not trolling. Just because you don't like what I am posting, your attacking people as trolls is unacceptable.

 

[deleted75966]

"I am considering what you all have to say. A question: If the program is so shoddy, then why is the faculty comprised of people with Ph.Ds and Psy.D's, from APA accredited programs?"

Because there are tons of PhDs and PsyDs out there. Getting a position in academia is challenging. Most people get through graduate school with no publications which would mean that most people can't teach as part of good graduate programs. More than 50% of our field not comes from professional schools (schools that charge lots of money and have low admissions standards). So, we've got a lot of not very good students who make poor financial decisions out there looking for work. That's why.

 

[lhasalover]

For goodness sake, I dont care how you "feel" about it. Emotion is irrelevant here. Just answer the question. When a program purposely circumvents all efforts at peer oversight of their program and of its training, and minimizes the oversight given to the student (no group or classes supervision/supplement to clinical training placements), what do we think this is about? What conclusions would a rationale person draw from this?

It may be about money, or it may be about a new way of doing things. Say that it is about money, what does it matter as long as I can get my foot in the door as a practicing psychologist. There is post-doc training that I can get to improve my skills/knowledge if I feel that the training in this program isn't adequate. Right?

 

[deleted75966]

Oh, and if you look at the faculty.

Represented, you have Capella, Saybrook, Alliant, Argosy, and FIT. Several of the listed faculty only have masters degrees. You have specialists in EMDR and hypnosis. Several of the faculty listed are just mentors and they aren't academics, they are people that work in private practice. Garbage program.

 

[deleted75966]

"It may be about money, or it may be about a new way of doing things. Say that it is about money, what does it matter as long as I can get my foot in the door as a practicing psychologists. There is post-doc training that I can get to improve my skills/knowledge if I feel that the training in this program isn't adequate."

What's your GRE/GPA/Research background?

 

[PsyDr]

Here are the reasons why its a bad idea:

1) The program is of a substantially lower quality than anything reputable. Quantitatively, there is less education.
2) The alumni are advising you to deceive someone for years in order to gain licensure.
3) Given that you will have less education, there is a danger in mis-performing known procedures or doing something that has implications that you do not understand. This risks peoples health.
4) There is only a 22% chance you will succeed.
5) Even if you succeed, your peers will look down on you. Some of those peers comprise licensing board members. Some sit on hospital boards. Some sit on health insurance peer review panels. Even if you are licensed, any of the latter groups can rightfully refuse you.
6) If you ever get sued for malpractice, the first thing they will ask you about is your online education. Which will go poorly.
7) Your peers will have a field day with ethics complaints with you. Anything you vaguely do wrong, will be attributed to your education.
8) Insurance panels are private contracts. They do not have to accept ANYONE. In a saturated area, there are no spots left for many insurances. If you are BCBS or Aetna, and you have enough providers; are you going to accept the online person or the brick and mortar?
9) Hospitals review the hell out of your background. They, like insurance, do not have to accept anyone. They would not be likely to accept you.
10) If patients ask about your education, you are required to tell them about it. If you have no shame, then this won't be a problem for you.


Those are just off the top of my head. It really sounds like you made up your mind prior to posting.

 

[deleted75966]

One of the faculty members.

Roy Sumpter, NMD
Faculty Mentor, Psychology
Areas of Interest and Expertise
Behavioral medicine, the mind-body connection
Bio
Dr. Sumpter has served as an associate director for a youth program in Florida, working with children who had run afoul of the law. Over the years, he has taught on the university level, rising to the level of full professor. Dr. Sumpter has also directed a residential facility for boys with behavioral problems.

Today, in addition to teaching, he does private counseling, serves as an expert witness on behalf of the Social Security Administration, and is developing a website on behavioral medicine (www.CenterOnBehavioralMedicine.com). He grew up in Seattle, Washington and loves his work, which he also considers his hobby.

Educational Background
NMD Naturopathic Medicine, Bastyr University, Washington; PhD and MS Home Economics, Florida State University, Tallahassee; BA Bible, Bob Jones University, South Carolina
Courses Taught
NS 1105 - General Biology

There are 8 non PhD or PsyD faculty members listed out of 29. Amongst the doctorates, you have saybrook (online), capella (online), alliant (diploma mill), nova (professional school that charges a billion dollars a year to attend), FIT (professional school that charges a billion dollars a year to attend).'


There is a social worker on the faculty at a doctoral level psych program. A social worker? Among the esteemed subprograms, they offer a certificate in pastoral counseling.


The fact that this program generates a degree that can possibly produce a licensed practitioner is a testament to how bad a job our field does in protecting itself and the public from people who should not be practicing.

 

[deleted75966]

"CalSouthern does not require standardized entrance exams like the SAT, ACT, GRE, or GMAT as a basis for admission. At CalSouthern you will have the opportunity to demonstrate your academic merit as you learn."

Heh. Argh!!

Stupid field.

 

[Ollie123]

I'm no longer convinced that this is a legitimate thread, but regardless I think it illustrates a number of reasons why these schools need to be shut down immediately. There will always be folks/programs who slip through the cracks even with high standards. I've never understood the argument that "High standards are clearly imperfect so low/no standards must be better" (the argument offered against relying on APA accreditation).

OP, in the event that you are indeed serious (I'm still wondering if this is a ploy/experiment to get people posting because of the recent "its quiet in here" thread), I wish you the best of luck (seriously). I believe you have much growing up to do if you are going to succeed in this field (and in life), as right now you are practically a case study in why these programs should not exist and why psychologists have an ethical obligation to keep them from proliferating.

 

[cara susanna]

Wow, this program makes Alliant look like Harvard or something.

 

[lhasalover]

One of the faculty members.

Roy Sumpter, NMD
Faculty Mentor, Psychology
Areas of Interest and Expertise
Behavioral medicine, the mind-body connection
Bio
Dr. Sumpter has served as an associate director for a youth program in Florida, working with children who had run afoul of the law. Over the years, he has taught on the university level, rising to the level of full professor. Dr. Sumpter has also directed a residential facility for boys with behavioral problems.

Today, in addition to teaching, he does private counseling, serves as an expert witness on behalf of the Social Security Administration, and is developing a website on behavioral medicine (www.CenterOnBehavioralMedicine.com). He grew up in Seattle, Washington and loves his work, which he also considers his hobby.

Educational Background
NMD Naturopathic Medicine, Bastyr University, Washington; PhD and MS Home Economics, Florida State University, Tallahassee; BA Bible, Bob Jones University, South Carolina
Courses Taught
NS 1105 - General Biology

There are 8 non PhD or PsyD faculty members listed out of 29. Amongst the doctorates, you have saybrook (online), capella (online), alliant (diploma mill), nova (professional school that charges a billion dollars a year to attend), FIT (professional school that charges a billion dollars a year to attend).'


There is a social worker on the faculty at a doctoral level psych program. A social worker? Among the esteemed subprograms, they offer a certificate in pastoral counseling.


The fact that this program generates a degree that can possibly produce a licensed practitioner is a testament to how bad a job our field does in protecting itself and the public from people who should not be practicing.

Would you tell the whole story, please? Amongst the faculty, you also have Ph.Ds and Psy.D's from USC, Pepperdine, St. Louis, and Memphis State. The Psy.D from Pepperdine teaches practicum courses. Now, if this program was so bad, how could these doctors that are practicing in the field, most in private practice, look at themselves in the mirror?

So, it's ok for those on the "other side" of where I want to be to do what's best for them in terms of earning a living, but it's not ok for me to do what's best for me? This is hypocritical!

None of you have an answer for this question, do you?...

 

[lhasalover]

Wow, this program makes Alliant look like Harvard or something.

Alliant charges an arm and a leg. The tuition in this program is only $395 per credit hour...

 

[deleted75966]

"Would you tell the whole story, please? Amongst the faculty, you also have Ph.Ds and Psy.D's from USC, Pepperdine, St. Louis, and Memphis State. The Psy.D from Pepperdine teaches practicum courses. Now, if this program was so bad, how could these doctors that are practicing in the field, most in private practice, look at themselves in the mirror?"

They are not academics. And to answer your question, if it were me, I could not.

"So, it's ok for those on the "other side" of where I want to be to do what's best for them in terms of earning a living, but it's not ok for me to do what's best for me? This is hypocritical!"

I don't think you should be able to do it through this mechanism. And, those that did should not be in the field. You are welcome to take the route I took.

 

[psychtalk1274]

You haved your mind made up. go crash and burn I just hope no clients die because of you. im sorry you were forced to resigned from your school psych job because you couldnt handle your yearly feedback (via your thread on wedding bee). maybe do some introspection into why your in this position in the first place. im dont with this ridiculous conversation.

 

[lhasalover]

They are not academics. And to answer your question, if it were me, I could not.

What do you mean, they are not "academics"? They teach classes, and as I just said, the Pepperdine Psy.D teaches practicum courses.

 

[deleted75966]

They don't publish, get grants, etc. . . There's no research program. They aren't teaching classes at a real university. That's what I mean.

 

[lhasalover]

I don't think you should be able to do it through this mechanism. And, those that did should not be in the field. You are welcome to take the route I took.

But, the state licensing board of psychology is ok with it...You want to explain that?

 

[Ollie123]

So, it's ok for those on the "other side" of where I want to be to do what's best for them in terms of earning a living, but it's not ok for me to do what's best for me? This is hypocritical!

None of you have an answer for this question, do you?...

I do. Its not okay for them to do what they're doing. I think it is disgusting and they are behaving unethically by affiliating with that place. Its a good question how they look themselves in the mirror every morning. I'm not necessarily convinced that they can. I certainly couldn't in that situation. Admittedly, cognitive dissonance may play a contributing role (I wonder if they have anyone on faculty who knows what that is...).

 

[lhasalover]

I do. Its not okay for them to do what they're doing. I think it is disgusting and they are behaving unethically by affiliating with that place. Its a good question how they look themselves in the mirror every morning. I'm not necessarily convinced that they can. I certainly couldn't in that situation. Admittedly, cognitive dissonance may play a contributing role (I wonder if they have anyone on faculty who knows what that is...).

Okay, now answer the question as to why some state licensing boards of psychology are ok with it? CA and AZ are two of them. I might practice in either state.

 

[deleted375280]

But, the state licensing board of psychology is ok with it...You want to explain that?

Why do you keep arguing? You asked for opinions about this path. You have gotten an overwhelming consensus that it's a shoddy program, you will get poor training, and it will be an uphill battle for you career-wise. It seems you have gotten your answer. You're not going to convince anyone here otherwise (and you might note that this is the same reaction you're going to get from reputable professionals in the real world, too - what people are telling you here is how you are going to be treated by reputable psychologists if you move forward with this plan).

 

[lhasalover]

No one is answering. I'm not a troll, but I can hear crickets chirping in here...

 

[lhasalover]

Why do you keep arguing? You asked for opinions about this path. You have gotten an overwhelming consensus that it's a shoddy program, you will get poor training, and it will be an uphill battle for you career-wise. It seems you have gotten your answer. You're not going to convince anyone here otherwise (and you might note that this is the same reaction you're going to get from reputable professionals in the real world, too - what people are telling you here is how you are going to be treated by reputable psychologists if you move forward with this plan).

I could see it being an uphill battle career-wise if I wanted to teach in a brick and mortar college or university, or work for the VA or any other organization, but I don't want to do any of those things. I want to go into private practice. Period. My patients aren't going to ask or care if my school was APA accredited or if it was an online school. All they are going to care about is if the state licensing board of psychology saw fit to license me to practice. A couple of people on here have already agreed with me on this.

So, am I right? Or am I right?

 

[erg923]

Okay, now answer the question as to why some state licensing boards of psychology are ok with it? CA and AZ are two of them. I might practice in either state.

I think we are done here. If you dont get it now, with all that has been provided/explained to you, objective data and rationale explanation from those in the field, then you NEVER will. You are simply looking for a reason to go. Thats it. You don't care about the training. It arrogant and entitled and its wrong. Patient deserve the best. Not adequate. Dont ever forget that. I think I'm done. :>)

 

[psychtalk1274]

We have answered my gosh. its called loop holes which states are starting to fix.

 

[erg923]

I could see it being an uphill battle career-wise if I wanted to teach in a brick and mortar college or university, or work for the VA or any other organization, but I don't want to do any of those things. I want to go into private practice. Period. My patients aren't going to ask or care if my school was APA accredited or if it was an online school. All they are going to care about is if the state licensing board of psychology saw fit to license me to practice. A couple of people on here have already agreed with me on this.

So, am I right? Or am I right?

The fact that YOU dont care is the concerning part.

 

[psychtalk1274]

I could see it being an uphill battle career-wise if I wanted to teach in a brick and mortar college or university, or work for the VA or any other organization, but I don't want to do any of those things. I want to go into private practice. Period. My patients aren't going to ask or care if my school was APA accredited or if it was an online school. All they are going to care about is if the state licensing board of psychology saw fit to license me to practice. A couple of people on here have already agreed with me on this.

So, am I right? Or am I right?

You lack of respect for clients is disgusting you are a fraud plain and simple. have a great day.

 

[Jxz]

Here's my final word on it. The state sets the requirements for the license. Not the APA and certainly not a bunch of people on a messaging board. If you've checked the state requirements and this plan follows those then you should do this. Especially if its a cheaper option (and that includes time not in the workforce that you're spending in a "free" graduate program).

You'll never match up to the requirements of these people on this board. Do what makes you happy and gets you licensed don't spend time/$ to in order to seek the approval of others. If I had it to do over again I would have done it like you said. The compensation of a psychologist is not proportionate to the amount of training.

 

[erg923]

Can we have this thread locked? Shoddy program with shoddy faculty, attracting subpar product. Garbage in garbage out. Loopholes and poor wording allow this to happen in a couple states. These states also make it legal to smoke dope and kick out immigrants for not having there papers. States allow dumb things to happen. If you haven't observed that after you 40 years on this earth, then God help you. Havnt a govenemtn sanction something in no way legitimizes it.

 

[deleted375280]

I could see it being an uphill battle career-wise if I wanted to teach in a brick and mortar college or university, or work for the VA or any other organization, but I don't want to do any of those things. I want to go into private practice. Period. My patients aren't going to ask or care if my school was APA accredited or if it was an online school. All they are going to care about is if the state licensing board of psychology saw fit to license me to practice. A couple of people on here have already agreed with me on this.

So, am I right? Or am I right?

You're wrong. Insurance panels will care where you went to school. If you can't get on insurance panels, you'll have to take clients that can pay. Clients are more savvy than you give you them credit for - they know how to Google, especially if they're going to pay out of pocket for their treatment. Additionally, as has been mentioned earlier, good luck getting someone to risk their license by supervising you. Likely the only people willing will be those who are similarly shoddily trained, so I don't see how you expect that this is going to make up for your poor training by somehow improving your skills.

 

[lhasalover]

I think we are done here. If you dont get it now, with all that has been provided/explained to you, objective data and rationale explanation from those in the field, then you NEVER will. You are simply looking for a reason to go. Thats it. You don't care about the training. It arrogant and entitled and its wrong. Patient deserve the best. Not adequate. Dont ever forget that. I think I'm done. :>)

erg, I understand that patients deserve the best, but I have to do what's best for me.

Here's my final word on it. The state sets the requirements for the license. Not the APA and certainly not a bunch of people on a messaging board. If you've checked the state requirements and this plan follows those then you should do this. Especially if its a cheaper option (and that includes time not in the workforce that you're spending in a "free" graduate program).

You'll never match up to the requirements of these people on this board. Do what makes you happy and gets you licensed don't spend time/$ to in order to seek the approval of others. If I had it to do over again I would have done it like you said. The compensation of a psychologist is not proportionate to the amount of training.

Jxz, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Erg, I'm sorry, but I have to do what's best for me. Sure I care about clients, and I will do my best to take care of them. However, I have to pay my bills, keep my electricity on, keep food in the house, etc.

Also, there are opportunities for post-doc training. I'm going to go ahead and enroll in Cal Southern. I agree with Jxz on all points.

 

[lhasalover]

You're wrong. Insurance panels will care where you went to school. If you can't get on insurance panels, you'll have to take clients that can pay. Clients are more savvy than you give you them credit for - they know how to Google, especially if they're going to pay out of pocket for their treatment. Additionally, as has been mentioned earlier, good luck getting someone to risk their license by supervising you. Likely the only people willing will be those who are similarly shoddily trained, so I don't see how you expect that this is going to make up for your poor training by somehow improving your skills.

I have already called one insurance panel and they are willing to take me regardless of the school that I went to as long as I'm licensed to practice. That is good enough for me. If Blue Cross/Blue Shield will do it, it's likely most others will too.

 

[deleted375280]

I have already called one insurance panel and they are willing to take me regardless of the school that I went to as long as I'm licensed to practice. That is good enough for me. If Blue Cross/Blue Shield will do it, it's likely most others will too.

You're right - I don't know why those other 78% of graduates from that program aren't employed in private practice since it's so easy. I sincerely hope that no client dies because you were so flippant and negligent about your training.

 

[wesleysmith]

That's why I come here; so I can completely disregard the opinions of all the professionals I came to for advice in one thread. Good on you mate!

 

[LPPSYD]

Here's my final word on it. The state sets the requirements for the license. Not the APA and certainly not a bunch of people on a messaging board. If you've checked the state requirements and this plan follows those then you should do this. Especially if its a cheaper option (and that includes time not in the workforce that you're spending in a "free" graduate program).

You'll never match up to the requirements of these people on this board. Do what makes you happy and gets you licensed don't spend time/$ to in order to seek the approval of others. If I had it to do over again I would have done it like you said. The compensation of a psychologist is not proportionate to the amount of training.

The same person who actually argued with others about maintaining the integrity of psychological measures on an internet forum.