Respecialization student or graduate

[poppy]

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Hello,
I'm expecting to get my PhD in experimental psychology in a year. I'm thinking to respecialize in clinical psychology. Is there anyone who are in a respecialization program or is on the similar track as me?
I would like to learn/share experience.

 

[UhOh]

I'm interested in talking to students or graduates of respecialization programs in clinical psychology. Please holla here or pm me.

 

[cogneurophd]

Have you looked into the APA website's list of resp. programs?

 

[cogneurophd]

Hello - yes, I am on a similar track. I have found a list of programs on the APA website, and would like to shorten the process from 3 years to 2 years if possible. I have started taking some clinical courses with the hopes of shortening the process. I have not yet decided on a program and am working on figuring this out. How has your research in respecialization programs progressed?

 

[mixolyd]

Do you already have a Bachelors degree?

I did a second degree program in psychology at Rutgers and focused on clinical psychology. I am about to finish it with 50 credits. 9 of these credits were required by the university to be outside my major, so I could take anything. I chose to take epidemiology, evolution, disease, medicine, and philosophy of science -- pretty interesting courses ! Anyway... I could've be done sooner but I chose to do the psychology honors program which requires more credits and a thesis project (a must if you want to get into Clinical PhD programs)

 

[cogneurophd]

removed previous post.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Mod Note: I've merged these three threads given the identical subject matter.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Does anyone who has completed this process have advice for shortening the length of the respecializtion program (e.g., would it be to my advantage to take courses or start getting supervised hours now?).

I'm not sure you'll find a way to shorten it....even more. As for "supervised hours", you'll need practica hours along with your classes, though the "supervised hours" that go towards licensure aren't possible until ~3 years down the road when you start your internship (assuming you match to a site).

 

[cogneurophd]

Thank you for your response. By "supervised hours", I mean that I am interested in gaining some clinical experience before begining a respecialization program. Please advise if this is not a productive use of my time.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Thank you for your response. By "supervised hours", I mean that I am interested in gaining some clinical experience before begining a respecialization program. Please advise if this is not a productive use of my time.

The devil is in the details. Gaining some exposure to clinical populations can be helpful in figuring out what populations you may/may not want to work with once you start your respecialization, but you won't be able to do any actual psychological interventions because you don't have the requisite background classes or supervision to provide it. Working/volunteering as a psych tech or something may be helpful, but that is more to get a feel for things, not to actually accumulate hours or anything official in that capacity.

 

[PHD12]

Hello - yes, I am on a similar track. I have found a list of programs on the APA website, and would like to shorten the process from 3 years to 2 years if possible. I have started taking some clinical courses with the hopes of shortening the process. I have not yet decided on a program and am working on figuring this out. How has your research in respecialization programs progressed?

Keep in mind that you won't be able to match to an APA accredited internship (the standard in our field) if your doctoral respecialization program is only 2 or 3 years. You will be competing with people in doctoral programs with 4 to 5 years of clinical training under their belts. I am referring to doctoral training not pre-doctoral training since that does not count when applying for internships. The few people I know who completed respecialization programs took 4 years to graduate in order to match for an APA internship.

 

[cogneurophd]

Thank you again for the helpful commentary. Can you specify the reasons the people you knew where unable to match? In which program did they respecialize?

 

[PHD12]

Thank you again for the helpful commentary. Can you specify the reasons the people you knew where unable to match? In which program did they respecialize?

In case you haven't read the threads, there is an internship crisis in our field in general so excellent candidates don't match on a regular basis as well. I don't want to reveal personal information about others since this forum is not completely anonymous. All I can say is that these were highly competent people, but did not have enough years of doctoral training under their belt when they applied for internship.

The best thing you can do is check out the APA internship match rates for the respecialization program you chose to enter. The program is required to post this information online and should supply it to you if you contact them. Its a red flag if a program does not have this information available or has low match rates. Don't get fooled by internship match rates in general since unaccredited internships (CAPIC) are usually unpaid and prevent you from getting many jobs and fellowships, including VA hospital work, military etc. You want to find out about APA internship match rates specifically.

 

[PHD12]

I was just looking through the APA list of respecialization programs in clinical psychology. Unfortunately, many of these programs are housed in professional schools that are costly and have poor reputations in our field (e.g., Alliant, Argosy). If you search on this forum, there are multiple threads about the risks and drawbacks of attending a professional school.

On the other hand, the list has some university-based programs, such as Hofstra, Adelphi, University of Hawaii, University of Massachusetts. You may want to start with these and look at the APA match rates. Good luck!

 

[cogneurophd]

I was just looking through the APA list of respecialization programs in clinical psychology. Unfortunately, many of these programs are housed in professional schools that are costly and have poor reputations in our field (e.g., Alliant, Argosy). If you search on this forum, there are multiple threads about the risks and drawbacks of attending a professional school.

On the other hand, the list has some university-based programs, such as Hofstra, Adelphi, University of Hawaii, University of Massachusetts. You may want to start with these and look at the APA match rates. Good luck!

Thanks! This is very helpful advice - I really appreciate it.

In addition to the list of resp. programs on the APA website, there is text that states, "In addition to the following departments, some doctoral programs will accept students for respecialization as a part of their regular doctoral training group." Is anyone of aware of other universities that offer respecialization ? Moreover, how would one go about respecializing as part of the regular doctoral training group?

 

[bcliff]

A colleague of mine was under the impression that an individual with any doctoral degree in psychology (not just clinical) could become a licensed practitioner. His example was if an individual had a PhD in I/O psych and they completed a clinical internship and post doc that they could take the licensing exam? I was always under the impression that only PhD's & PsyD's in clinical psych were eligible for licensure. Thanks for the help!

 

[wigflip]

Mods: merge with this thread?
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=929388

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Good news...you'll be competitive, bad news is you will still need to do research. Your best shot (IMHO) is to find someone who does research related to an area that you have experience/published or can reasonably do for the next 3ish yrs, and see if they'd consider you. This kind of arrangement is akin to being a 2nd or 3rd yr redshirt transfer in college. You have a lot to offer (and gain), but the fit needs to be right.

I think most mentors will recognize the value of adding an experienced person to their lab, so have an idea how you can contribute to an existing lab AND meet your clinical interests. A minority may balk at not being able to mold you as much or think they wouldn't be able to offer you as much, but most should recognize the value in adding someone they don't need to hand-hold through basic stuff. I don't take students in my current role, but I'd love to have someone who comes in w. knowledge, as the "fun" stuff tends to be later on in training when you get to dig into the work.

If you would consider a balanced Canadian program, I may know someone who might be a good fit (assuming you could find a shared research interest). PM if you are interested.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Mod Note: Merged threads owing to the similarity of the content.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

briarcliff: To answer your question--it'll vary by state, but in general, most will require that your doctorate be in clinical, counseling, or school psychology in order to be licensed as a psychologist.

 

[MBellows]

A colleague of mine was under the impression that an individual with any doctoral degree in psychology (not just clinical) could become a licensed practitioner. His example was if an individual had a PhD in I/O psych and they completed a clinical internship and post doc that they could take the licensing exam? I was always under the impression that only PhD's & PsyD's in clinical psych were eligible for licensure. Thanks for the help!

Rice has an I/O program, but 100% of their graduates become licensed psychologists.