clinical neuropsychology

[gaki]

hello,
a professor of mine suggested I look into clinical neuropsychology since I have been trying to decide between psychology and psychiatry. hes reasoning was that clinical neuropsychology study includes biological aspects that other psychology studies do not. He said that clinical neuropsychology was a subspecialty under clinical psychology.

but then when i visted the division website:
http://www.div40.org/tprograms.html
it says on the bottom that "Currently there is no system of accreditation or credentialing for training programs in clincial neuropsychology" .. what is this about?

I thought that clinical psychology programs in general had to have apa accreditation to be taken seriously by states who provide licensing for psychologists to do clinical practice. does clinical neuropsychology fall under this category or no?

I have a book call the insiders guide to clinical and counseling psychology. it says it lists accredited programs of these types, and there is an index in the back that lists 'neuropsychology' as one of the areas that a clinical psychology program might emphasize. is this "clinical psychology" with neuropsychology included different from specifically a "clinical neuropsychology" program?

im so confused.. help help.. thanks.

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[PublicHealth]

hello,
a professor of mine suggested I look into clinical neuropsychology since I have been trying to decide between psychology and psychiatry. hes reasoning was that clinical neuropsychology study includes biological aspects that other psychology studies do not. He said that clinical neuropsychology was a subspecialty under clinical psychology.

but then when i visted the division website:
http://www.div40.org/tprograms.html
it says on the bottom that "Currently there is no system of accreditation or credentialing for training programs in clincial neuropsychology" .. what is this about?

I thought that clinical psychology programs in general had to have apa accreditation to be taken seriously by states who provide licensing for psychologists to do clinical practice. does clinical neuropsychology fall under this category or no?

I have a book call the insiders guide to clinical and counseling psychology. it says it lists accredited programs of these types, and there is an index in the back that lists 'neuropsychology' as one of the areas that a clinical psychology program might emphasize. is this "clinical psychology" with neuropsychology included different from specifically a "clinical neuropsychology" program?

im so confused.. help help.. thanks.

Talk to clinical neuropsychologists in your area and tell them that you're torn between psychology and psychiatry. They will likely tell you to pursue medicine/psychiatry. Clinical psychologists -- neuro and otherwise -- are struggling. Most of the clinical neuropsychologists that I interviewed urged me to go to medical school and pursue psychiatry. Their reasons included: inordinately lengthy training, lack of autonomy, lack of professional identity, lack of prescription privileges, limited treatment interventions (reimbursable and otherwise), and poor financial compensation. Money seemed to be their most salient concern. Clinical neuropsychologists employed by academic medical centers start at about $35-60K. Private practice/hospital = $45-60K. It seems as if the only way to make money in clinical neuropsychology is to establish a reputation in the field (this typically takes 10+ years) and conduct many forensic evaluations.

 

[Sanman]

As far as those that I have talked to, there have been many who have urged me to go into psychology and some with negative stories. I recently talked to a psychiatrist and an MSW about career options over lunch. The information relayed to was that psychology can be very lucrative and is a much better level of education tha than the MSW. Private practice all depends on your ability in running a business. There are many problems in medicine as well. Psychiatry isn't bad right now, but you never know when that will change. Lowering reimbursement, increasing malpractice, etc. are all problems. One change in the reimbursement of medicine and incomes could fall. The problem with medicine is that if that happens there is no backup. Psychologists may well tell you to go to med. school if they are having problems, just as psychiatrists in bad positions would tell you to go to grad school. The grass is always greener on the other side. The truth as psychgeek pointed out in another thread is that none of us can forecast the future. As far as neuropsychology, it is very biological in nature, but has more in common with neurology and cognitive psychology than psychiatry much of the time. What they mean is that there isn't any accreditation board that certifies certain standards of neuropsychology. They are accredited by the APA, but for clinical psych in general. There are post-doctoral standards to become a diplomate in the ABCN though. Your license at the end is that of a general psychologist. You can practice anything which you are properly trained to do.