From MA in Counseling to Clinical Ph.D. in Ohio

[OSUPsychStudent]

My ultimate goal: Licensed in the State of Ohio as a Psychologist
My problem: Chances are slim getting accepted into APA accredited Clinical/Counseling Ph. D. programs in the state of Ohio

I'm currently beginning my senior year as a psych student. I've already done a variety of things to boost my chances of getting accepted but I'm willing to pursue a long term route to my ultimate goal. To do this, I'm considering applying to MA Counseling programs (In Ohio) to become licensed as an LPCC, then reapplying to Clinical/Counseling Ph.D programs in Ohio. My theory is that this will allow me to practice counseling while hopefully being more applicable for programs in the field of psychology. But is this rare for people to use this method to reapply to psychology programs? What are my chances of this working? Are there other ways to ultimately reach my goal?

The idea of switching fields from professional counseling to psychology sounds odd to me, so I wanted to draw opinions and alternate ideas from all of you. I'm not exactly pleased to do this route, but I would feel much better if I knew more about my options.

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[AcronymAllergy]

It's not at all odd to go from a master's program/degree to PhD programs, no, even when the MA is in counseling. There were at least 2-3 students in my program who'd completed their counseling masters degrees prior to attending our doctoral program, although they made sure that the masters program had sufficient research opportunities, as that is what will truly increase your competitiveness for a PhD.

That being said, if you're limiting yourself only to the state of Ohio for the entirety of your doctoral study, you're already setting yourself up for a rough time. It's going to make getting into a doctoral program tough (as you've experienced), and will potentially make finding an internship just as difficult. After that, significantly limiting yourself geographically can also make it harder to find employment; not impossible, but you might have to settle for a position that's either in an practice area/setting that isn't ideal, or that doesn't pay what you'd like.

But short answer to your question: the MA won't hurt your chances, and it's not an uncommon route. However, unless the program you attend has a strong research component (e.g., at least requires that you complete an empirical thesis), the odds of it helping your chances are reduced. It'll likely help out more with respect to counseling vs. clinical PhD programs, though, as the former more frequently require masters degrees prior to admission.

 

[srfrey]

I think one thing you have to consider is what you actually want to do for your career. I had this issue when I was looking at graduate schools. If you want to do strictly counseling and therapy you may want to stick with just being an LPC or LPCC. It's less time, less money, and you'll be able to achieve your professional goals this way. However, if you really like doing research going for your Ph.D may be the option for you. You will have to apply outside of the state of Ohio if you want to get into a doctoral program, though. I think the average number most apply to is about 10-12 schools and you have to match up your research interests to faculty at that institution.

That being said, there are a lot of people who have their masters and want to go back for their Ph.D. Just keep in mind that it may not make your Ph.D program any shorter, you'll probably have to go the full 4-5 years. Just some things to think about!

 

[Psychadelic2012]

Also, be aware that some schools do not prefer incoming students with a master's degree, particularly a practice-oriented master's. You will want to apply to doctoral programs that DO enthusiastically accept students with a master's. With a counseling degree, you will probably want to shoot for counseling (rather than clinical) psychology or a PsyD program--not a clinical psych PhD. See who they accept and take that as a guiding rule on where to apply.

 

[wigflip]

See who they accept and take that as a guiding rule on where to apply.

I think this is great advice. A lot of the advice I got from profs prior to applying was out of date (they hadn't been on the job market in many years); a lot of the policies stated on program websites weren't necessarily what was put into practice. Better to find out what really exists than how programs want themselves to be perceived.