Clinical vs. Research?

[LGPsychology]

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Halfway done with grad school at a research-heavy clinical psychology program. I initially came into grad school certain that research was the clear path for me. However, more recently I have found myself leaning towards a clinical career.

Have any of you experienced this? How did you resolve the research vs. clinical decision? What sorts of questions did you ask yourself when deciding the right career for you?

Any people regret the path they chose (i.e. chose either research or clinical and realized it wasn't the right decision)? What sorts of things do you know now that you would you tell yourself if you could go back in time and talk to yourself as a early grad student?

Are there any careers that truly balance both research and clinical experience? What might that look like?

In short, I guess I'm wondering what sorts of things I should be asking myself right now in order to make the best decisions for my future.

 

[paramour]

Great use of cut and paste: Link. 👍

Also not sure the relevance in addressing the OP's concerns. At all.

 

[cara susanna]

I did the opposite - went from wanting a clinically-focused career to wanting a research-focused career 🙂

 

[Pragma]

Are there any careers that truly balance both research and clinical experience? What might that look like?

Well some AMC jobs will give you an 80/20 split (research/clinical or vice-versa). I think it is hard to find something truly 50/50 - usually you have to pick an area of emphasis.

Then there is doing "clinical research" as some folks are clinicians at their setting, but then publish papers on their patients. The people who I know doing this are in appointments funded by their clinical work, but try to stay active in research when they can. They aren't usually the types getting huge grants independently, but of course that is a generalization.

You can also create your own career or do things on the side. Personally, I cared more about teaching and research, so took an academic job. But I still obtained licensure and I can do private practice anytime. That works for me - if I miss clinical work, I can go back to it, and it gives me some degree of control over the balance.

 

[futureapppsy2]

I did the opposite - went from wanting a clinically-focused career to wanting a research-focused career 🙂

Same here. 🙂

 

[Doctor Eliza]

I started my career intending to be an academic, but by the end of my program ended up pursuing a clinical career. My program had a definite goal of producing researchers and coursework and experiences were consistent with this. However, a large number of students from the program have become clinicians, much to the dismay of the program (this trend was likely influenced by the obvious unhappiness of our faculty and the visible conflict within the department). I mention this by way of saying, there was not a lot of faculty support for the clinical career path. There were a number of students who received much less attention and mentoring from faculty after their future intentions became known. You’ll need to assess what the climate is like at your program and make decisions accordingly.

One thing that was helpful to me in guiding my clinical development was mentorship from my clinical supervisors (who were primarily PP psychologists outside of the university). They knew what the real world of being a clinician is like, whereas many of our faculty had not set foot in a therapy room since internship (which I think is problematic on a number of levels, but I digress…) I wish I had utilized this resource even more than I did.

In terms of your question about a career mixing clinical work and research. I myself have not done that (yet) but I am starting to get the itch to be involved in research and publishing again. I think the next step for me will be some serious networking. Fortunately, I live near a major university. However, I have friends who have had positions with a nice mix of both types of opportunities. One is a neuropsychologist at a VA where she has some time each week dedicated to research and has continued to publish since leaving grad school. Another friend recently accepted a job with a university primary care clinic and they are interested in involving him with some research. Another example I am aware of is a seasoned PP psychologist that practiced in the same city he attended grad school (therefore was already known to the faculty) and has been able to serve as a clinical consultant on several large research studies. I think diverse opportunities exist, but you might have to seek them out and be a little creative.

I also second the idea about contributing to the field in ways other than empirical research. I knew someone who was a very active psychoanalyst who wrote, presented, and published regularly. Her work tended to integrate, discuss, and shed new light on the work of previous theorists.

Best,
Dr. E

 

[paramour]

Like Dr. E, I started with every intention of being an academic/researcher. In more recent years, I began contemplating whether or not that was the best thing for me (despite still loving research) and maybe I should suck it up and think about the clinical side of thing. It's been a while though and I really do not believe that I can spend all of my time clinically. I would drive myself batty. So now I'm back to trying to nudge myself into the academic/research realm again for work... Hopefully a bit more firmly this time.