Clinical/Counseling/Etc. Psych Programs - Community

[Transition Consultants]

I am in the process of selecting PhD clinical psych programs to apply to for the 2012-2013 school year. I am interested in developmental psychopathology (adolescents, in particular) and neighborhood research using large longitudinal studies. Participatory action research or innovative methods using mobile/online technology to study those communities are of interest as well. As a long term goal, I'd like to do research and design community interventions, perhaps with a bit of private practice counseling on the side. So far, I have contacted professors from 10-12 schools (including some clinical-community programs), and I will definitely be applying to 4 of them: USC, DU, Illinois, and Indiana. Some grad students have advised me to apply to more (8 to 10, they say). So I need help deciding what to do next:

1. Should I look into more clinical psych programs? If so, do you have any recommendations of schools you attend or professors you know who perform the type of research I mentioned?

2. Are there counseling programs with community/neighborhood-type research? Most of the ones I've looked at are more geared toward research related to the practice setting.

3. Should I consider applying to some Masters program (if so, what kind would be well-suited for this)?

Thank you very much for your advice.

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[DynamicDidactic]

I concur, you should apply to more programs. While 8-10 is fine but I would recommend at least 15 viable schools. Try to range programs based on competitiveness and geographical area.

I am interested in developmental psychopathology (adolescents, in particular) and neighborhood research using large longitudinal studies. Participatory action research or innovative methods using mobile/online technology to study those communities are of interest as well. As a long term goal, I'd like to do research and design community interventions, perhaps with a bit of private practice counseling on the side.
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There is no need to find the exact match that fits your interests. Since you are interested in develop. psychopathology, neighborhood research, and community interventions you can apply to clinical child programs or community orientated psych (counseling and clinical). Don't look for programs that satisfy all of your interests in one but that at least address one of your interests.