Getting More Assessment Experience

[InYourHead]

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Hey Everyone,

I am currently in the 2nd-year of a doctorate program in Clinical Psychology. I have already been awarded my Master's. My program is giving me a very healthy balance of therapy and assessment experience, which is great. However, I am looking to gain more experience with assessments, particularly with children. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to go about getting this experience?

Thanks in advance, and if you need additional information, please let me know!

 

[nitemagi]

Volunteer/shadow/work in a psychiatric ER. Most large cities/counties have one, including for children. Very useful to see a good volume of the most acute cases, an area I believe has been neglected in many psychology training programs.

 

[AlaskanJustin]

Hey Everyone,

I am currently in the 2nd-year of a doctorate program in Clinical Psychology. I have already been awarded my Master's. My program is giving me a very healthy balance of therapy and assessment experience, which is great. However, I am looking to gain more experience with assessments, particularly with children. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to go about getting this experience?

Thanks in advance, and if you need additional information, please let me know!

How is the wealth of academic medical centers in the area? If there is psychiatric research (or neuropsychological research) then there will always be the need for people to do assessments. And 9 times out of 10 you get paid (at least here in nyc maybe not the case elsewhere).

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Volunteer/shadow/work in a psychiatric ER. Most large cities/counties have one, including for children. Very useful to see a good volume of the most acute cases, an area I believe has been neglected in many psychology training programs.

The one addendum I'll add to this advice is to be sure that if you go through a route outside your program, such as volunteer work, you're being supervised by a qualified individual (e.g., psychologist). The assessment experience in and of itself would of course be beneficial, but if--for example--you're supervised by a master's-level professional, I don't believe you can count those hours on your internship application.