Internship and Post-Doc

Internship is done at the national level, so most people apply across the US. Some choose to stay in their state, but there can be slim pickings, depending where you are. Places like NY and CA have a plethora of spots, but they are all highly sought after.

I know FL is one of the states many people try and stay, so out-of-staters just add to the numbers of applicants. It can be done, but you REALLY limit yourself. I was quite picky with my sites (my backups were a bit more varied), and I am still applying to 8-9 different states.

As for post-doc...you have more flexibility, but if you are going for certain types (neuro), then you will have a much more limited pool to choose. I'm trying to apply to sites that have post-doc placements, and give those placements to their interns.

-t

Basically, unless you SERIOUSLY stand out in graduate school, you are at a serious risk for not matching if you only apply locally. That isn't to say you CAN'T do it, you certainly can, and I know people who did.

The point is, its a big gamble. I imagine post-doc is a similar situation. Plus the whole idea of post-doc (at least in my eyes) is to do something related, but kind of tangential to your grad school area. In other words, to branch out. Generally, that will mean going elsewhere so unless there are a veritable buttload of great schools in the area, it can be hard to pull off. Again, not impossible, just hard.

Overall though (and what I heard pretty much from the start) is that psychology is not the ideal career choice for anyone with heavy geographic restrictions early on in life.

I don't know what your situation is, and whether staying in your area is a "need" or just a "want", but its probably best to plan on moving around a bit.

In most cases (again not always) you usually end up sacrificing some degree of quality of education, experience, etc. by limiting yourself geographically too. For example, I doubt I'll be applying to internship in my current area because despite there being 4 internships, none seem like they would be a good fit for me.

Eh, it can be done, but it's risky. I have a friend who specifically wanted to stay in the region (not necessarily the state, as that particular state only has one internship site) that here grad. school was in. She did match in the region and seems to really enjoy her placement thus far but has really changed her area of focus from grad. school (both in population and types of disorders). I don't really know if this was something she particularly wanted to do or something she was just willing to do, but I think it helped that her main research interest is grounded in her (sort of out there, imo) theoretical orientation and not in a specific population or type of disorder.

It has to do with accrediting the sites and whatnot. Here is the link to check out the current list of sites:

http://www.appic.org/directory/search_dol_internships.asp

-t

brightness said:

Well, that is good information to know. I guess that I will be limiting myself geographically to stay close to my boyfriend, who is a pre-med. If he gets into medical school, I don't want to move all the way across the country from him. I know many people say not to plan your life around a person if you're not married, but we've been together for three years and I am sure we will be married in grad school. Its very important for us to stay together, and so I would like to stay in the same geographic area as him, as much as possible.
You know what? Clinical psychology is a royal pain in the a**!! Lol.
Why is there such a limited availability of internship sites? There are lots of settings a clinical psychologist could work in, so it just seems like there would be more internship sites.

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If he's starting med school at the same time you start your clin psych program, he should be done around the same time as you, or maybe before-- it may be possible to plan your internship and post-doc around his residency.

Anyway, there's no real reason to let this be the deciding factor in whether or not you go to a Ph.D./ Psy.D. program-- it is only one year, after all. And you wouldn't necessarily be across the nation from him-- even if you can't get something in the same town, you may be able to get something a couple hours away or something.

It isn't that I doubt your commitment, but basing your career (since you will be going to school FOR A LONG TIME) on a relationship that isn't yet legally bound (marriage), can be short-sighted.

I'd say 85% of the 'long distance' relationships fail in the first year of doctoral training. Your priorities change, your career becomes your central focus, and the distance doesn't help. Many people have made it through, but just be aware that you are committing to 4-5 years, which very well will dictate the next 2 after that AND where you go after that.

Check out the "Spouse & Partners" forum for some interesting threads about marriages right before grad/med school, during, and after (residency and post-residency)

-t


ps. He probably has A LOT more flexibility with med school than you will be clinical programs, so it may be worth checking out HIS options.