PhD/PsyD Opportunities with a school psychology PhD

[mlm55]

I want to work with kids and enjoy testing and research, but would like to work in an academic medical center. However, I haven't been able to get into a clinical psychology phd program despite having a high GPA, good GRE scores, and 2+ years of full-time research experience. It seems like school psychology PhD programs are easier to get into and match many of my interests. However, I ultimately don't want to work in a school setting. Is it common for school psychology PhD's to find positions in children's hospitals or academic medical centers, or do they tend to prefer clinical PhDs? Also, I found one school psychology PhD program which offers a concentration in neuropsychology. Is it more difficult to get an internship and post-doc in neuropsychology with this degree?

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[gigigirl]

i am not sure about neuropsychology as that is not my area but you can work in a medical setting with a phd in school psychology(doing pediatrics). Make sure the school you choose can offer you practicum placements which will enable you have that experience),

 

[WisNeuro]

I have never seen a school psychologist in a traditional neuropsych setting. Granted, I'm an adult person, but even in the few hospitals that had an accompanying children's dept. The training (grad school, internship, postdoc) is just so much different. Also, many places want you board eligible, which may be hard going the school psych route.

 

[erg923]

I know one school psych phd working in adult neuro. She secured a solid Adult neuro post doc through "connections"

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Is it more difficult to get an internship and post-doc in neuropsychology with this degree?

Yes.

I don't want to say it is impossible, but it is definitely an uphill climb. There is still a perception that: clinical psychology >>> counseling psychology >>>> school psychology. I think there are some valid concerns about the difference between clinical/counseling v. school psych programs, though those concerns vary by program.

I remember a couple of school psych applicants I met during my internship interviews (for neuropsych specific rotations/sites) and I wasn't impressed. They came from quality school psych Ph.D. programs in the Northeast, but they struggled with conceptualization questions during the group interview. Obviously this is an N=1, but it reinforced my apprehension about training differences amongst programs.

 

[snowcherries]

The school psych PhDs at academic medical centers that I'm familiar with are for the most part working in behaviorally oriented programs that serve individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and/or children with significant problem behavior. School psych PhDs with heavy training in behaviorism and experience with things like ABA and behavioral consultation can be really good fits for this type of work. I'm in a behaviorally oriented school psych PhD, and students from my program would definitely NOT be a good fit for a neuropsych position because our training is so different.

 

[FadedC]

I usually recommend that people not go into school psychology unless they are at least willing to consider working in a school. It doesn't mean it has to be your #1 choice, but a large amount of your training and field work will revolve around working in the schools, so it's not the right choice if that's absolutely not what you want to do.

Other then that, school psychologists are more visible these days which tends to lead to more opportunities outside the schools. But it's still an uphill battle if you want to work at a hospital, and there's still some prejudice against them. Where I live at least, many in school psych find that it's just not worthwhile to go that route given that working in a school is often much more lucrative (especially when combined with outside private or pay per service work, which is very easy to fit into a school schedule).

 

[ClinSchoolProf]

I usually recommend that people not go into school psychology unless they are at least willing to consider working in a school. It doesn't mean it has to be your #1 choice, but a large amount of your training and field work will revolve around working in the schools, so it's not the right choice if that's absolutely not what you want to do.

Other then that, school psychologists are more visible these days which tends to lead to more opportunities outside the schools. But it's still an uphill battle if you want to work at a hospital, and there's still some prejudice against them. Where I live at least, many in school psych find that it's just not worthwhile to go that route given that working in a school is often much more lucrative (especially when combined with outside private or pay per service work, which is very easy to fit into a school schedule).

Just wanted to reply to this thread. There will likely be some discrimination if you as a school psych try to go into neuro, but it IS possible. I myself completed phd in school psych, but worked in a children's psychiatric hospital. We had 8 psychologists on staff - myself and the neuropsychologist were both school psych folks (the others were clinical). You can move on to neuro placements and boarding, but you MUST get the experiences in neuro. That likely means taking (at least a few) neuro related classes and getting practicum in neuro placements. For example, for me, I quickly found school work to be largely uninteresting and the mental health side much more interesting. I completed 3 practicum in CMHC and hospitals in addition to the 1000 hours that were required in the schools. I went ABOVE and BEYOND training requirments. This made me competitive (and successful) in the match for a placement in a university psychiatric hospital and, from there, to a R1 child-clinical fellowship. The neuropsych at our hospital had a similar experience. You can do it in school, you just have to have a willingness to look and extend your work beyond your training.

 

[modestmousktr]

Just wanted to reply to this thread. There will likely be some discrimination if you as a school psych try to go into neuro, but it IS possible. I myself completed phd in school psych, but worked in a children's psychiatric hospital. We had 8 psychologists on staff - myself and the neuropsychologist were both school psych folks (the others were clinical). You can move on to neuro placements and boarding, but you MUST get the experiences in neuro. That likely means taking (at least a few) neuro related classes and getting practicum in neuro placements. For example, for me, I quickly found school work to be largely uninteresting and the mental health side much more interesting. I completed 3 practicum in CMHC and hospitals in addition to the 1000 hours that were required in the schools. I went ABOVE and BEYOND training requirments. This made me competitive (and successful) in the match for a placement in a university psychiatric hospital and, from there, to a R1 child-clinical fellowship. The neuropsych at our hospital had a similar experience. You can do it in school, you just have to have a willingness to look and extend your work beyond your training.

What do you do, as a school psychologist, in a psychiatric hospital? I am applying to clinical programs mostly, but one school psych PhD caught my eye due to the research interests of a faculty member. Because I lean toward clinical, I am obviously interested in things like inpatient units or children's hospitals, but assumed the closest I would get would be working in a continuation type school. So anyhoo, what are the responsibilities of a school psych PhD in a psychiatric setting?

 

[ClinSchoolProf]

What do you do, as a school psychologist, in a psychiatric hospital? I am applying to clinical programs mostly, but one school psych PhD caught my eye due to the research interests of a faculty member. Because I lean toward clinical, I am obviously interested in things like inpatient units or children's hospitals, but assumed the closest I would get would be working in a continuation type school. So anyhoo, what are the responsibilities of a school psych PhD in a psychiatric setting?

What did I do is the better question? (I am now starting a faculty position) I had all the same duties and responsibilities as the other psychologists on staff -->served as clinical director of a unit, did assessment and evaluations for competency, therapy, treatment planning meetings, oversaw a hospital committee etc. etc. The lines have blurred greatly between the three fields - counseling psychologists and school psychologists commonly do work once perceived to be solely in the domain of clinical (counseling psychs work in VAs and other settings with serious mental illness, school psychs hold jobs that I held). Similarly, you can find clinical psychs working in schools in areas and also in university counseling centers. If you do decide to go for school psych and you have interest in working with clinical child/adolescent populations, I would definately recommend you do your due diligence, however. Some school psych programs provide minimal training in working with mental health/illness, whereas others (such as my program) are more closely aligned with the mental health side. School psych programs such as the ones at UT Austin and Tulane would likely be good matches for you, many other school psych programs would not be. Also, you might want to look into the integrated programs in clinical-school psychology, such as UC Santa Barbara, Pace, etc. APA programs in combined clinical-school (and counseling-school) can be found on the APA website.

 

[smalltownpsych]

I agree that it would be odd to get a degree in school psychology with no intent to work in a school. I would suggest keeping an open mind. One of the beauties of being a psychologist is that we have a skill set that can lead to a broad variety of jobs. I am not a school psychologist, my degree was clinical, but I have worked in schools and was clinical director of a school, and consult with educators and administrators frequently. Currently I am working in a medical setting which is more in line with my clinical experience. It is also important to note that most employers that I have dealt with are not very concerned about what my school's focus was and I doubt if they even knew, but they did want to know what my experience was, that's where the rubber meets the road. In other words, practicum, internship, and post-doc placements will determine what that experience will be more than clinical, counseling, school. I would imagine that it is easier to get practicums in a school at a school program, but you might find that all of the cohort wants a school placement so the more clinical slots might be wide open.