Diversity Issues

[bearclaw]

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Hello everyone,

For the record, I'm an fairly new LMSW (working on my LCSW). I'm finding that direct clinical practice is not as intellectually satisfying as it once was. I've mostly worked with school aged youth in both residential treatment and acute psychiatric hospital settings. Anyway, now I'm looking around at a Clinical Psych PhD that are more research focused. My research experice is minimal, but I enjoyed the work I did do.

I'm trying to find schools (and faculty) that are interested in diversity issues (I'm also interested in pediatric psychology and chemical dependency). So far, I found that Texas A&M's Counseling and School PhD have programs that emphasize the effects of race, class, gender, etc. I'm having trouble finding Clinical programs and faculty with a similar focus. I'm wondering if RCG issues aren't necessarily a clinical concern.

I'm still searching, but I was just wondering if anyone knew of a PhD program (Clinical preferred, I'm considering Counseling and School) that had a number of faculty looking at diversity issues.

Any help, advice, thoughts, and comments would greatly be appreciated!

 

[JockNerd]

Why are you not considering Counseling Psych more strongly? Essentially every program in Counseling psych has at least one person who focuses on diversity issues in some form. You'd easily find people who research diversity at an intersection with clinical work, too.

 

[KillerDiller]

I wouldn't say these issues aren't a concern by a long shot. What is probably happening is that you need to narrow your focus from diversity issues in general, to a specific population. For example, there is a professor at the University of Vermont who works with Black law students. There is a professor at UCSB who works with eastern Asian immigrants and one at UConn who works with an immigrant population from southwestern Asia. If you are interested in the Native American population, then University of Washington and the University of Oklahoma have professors doing this research...etc., etc.

If you are more interested in gender issues or LGBT populations, then there are whole different sets of professors who do this kind of research.

I also agree with JockNerd that you should consider counseling programs alongside clinical.

 

[ahhhh]

Dr. Ana Bridges at the University of Arkansas

 

[cardamom]

UMass Boston's program is very diversity-focused as a whole, even for profs who don't have that as a main interest.

 

[Wildcat06]

You might also look for programs with a Clinical-Community focus. This was the area I applied to. Particularly U South Carolina, UVA and ASU. All these programs have multiple faculty members dealing with diversity issues.

 

[deleted176373]

Texas A&M's Counseling and School PhD have programs that emphasize the effects of race, class, gender, etc. I'm having trouble finding Clinical programs and faculty with a similar focus. I'm wondering if RCG issues aren't necessarily a clinical concern.

Any help, advice, thoughts, and comments would greatly be appreciated!

I wouldn't let the title of counseling psychology scare you away from Texas A&M's program. It is an excellent program, while the focus is a little different, you can be licensed and the program has good funding. I would rank the counseling program at A&M over some clinical programs in terms of desirability. Unless there is some critical reason to have a Clinical Ph.D. that I can't think of, I would keep A&M high on your list.

Mark

 

[bearclaw]

I appreciate all the insight! It's really great. Ill consider the counseling programs more. I guess I prefer clinical programs because I'm hoping to be able to work in clinical RTC settings. I'm not too knowledgeable about the difference in job opportunities for each degree. But as far as research in totally find with couseling, clinical, school...and to an extent soci or social work. I feel like I can still research what I want with any of those phds. Its more of what I can do practice end.

 

[JockNerd]

By RTC do you mean residential treatment center? There should be no problem working at one of those with a counseling psych degree. Here's a random one I found, first hit on google, that has counseling psych staff: http://www.astorservices.org/internship_staff.php.

There aren't many significant differences in terms of what the degrees allow you to do. Plenty of differences arise in what graduates of counseling psych v. clinical actually do (counseling psych people work less in hospitals and more in counseling centers, for example), but those are more issues of training than any kind of limitation of the degree.