Academia AND Private Practice?

[okgod]

I'm currently a psych undergrad, definitely going for a clinical doctorate. Whenever I see people talking about post-grad plans though, its always academia OR private practice, research psychology OR applied psychology, etc. People talk about deciding between the two or switching between the two, but is it realistic to want to both at once? I'm very interested in research/teaching but applied clinical practice is just as important to me. Most of the grad schools I've looked into state that they're interested in training clinical researchers, and people interested in clinical practice should look else where. Maybe private practice on top of academia is reaching a little too high, but I'd definitely want to be at least doing clinical work of some kind, maybe belonging to a group practice. Sorry if this is obvious or common knowledge, I'm only a sophomore trying to figure this all out!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I'm not as familiar w. traditional academic depts (Psychology/Counseling/Education), though on the AMC/medical side it is pretty common. The rub is if the hospital would want you to work as part of their existing practice. Some places req it, others don't. I'd recommend in almost every instance to do it yourself and not w. the hospital group, which tends to have high overhead and excessive red tape.

 

[deleted343839]

I know several college/university faculty who have a small private practice. In an academic medical center it can be done too, but it's easier for research than clinical faculty for reasons that Therapist4Chnge mentioned. I worked for one institution that strictly forbid any outside practice.

On the flip side, I know some people who devote most of their effort to a private practice but also teach as an adjunct instructor. So you can do either as your primary "day job" depending on where you want to concentrate your effort.