Help! Choosing btwn Fordham, Adelphi, and LIU Post

[LCT4907]

Hello all. I'm currently considering Adelphi University's Clinical PhD program, Fordham University's Counseling PhD program, and LIU Post's Clinical PsyD. I had a few questions and was wondering if any of you had any insights into:

Choosing between a more "balanced" school and a school with a targeted theoretical orientation (i.e. Psychodynamic only or CBT only).Adelphi is very psycho dynamic, and although I don't feel 100% comfortable committing to a program that only offers one orientation it's a strong program with solid match rates. I'm conflicted.

QUESTIONS:
How did all of you make that call re: orientation so early on before your training has even begun?

Does anybody have recommendations on materials/books I could look into that explain more about psychodynamic therapy? Something that would help me make an educated decision?

Also, what have you all heard about each one of these programs? I'd be interested to know of their reputations outside of their current student/faculty body.

Thanks so much!

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[Therapist4Chnge]

You should post this over in the "help me decide" thread, which can be found at the top of this forum.

From what I recall about those programs...they all should offer good training, so you'll want to consider the overall cost of attendance.

 

[graduatingsoon]

Hello all. So far I've been accepted to Adelphi University's Clinical PhD program, Fordham University's Counseling PhD program, and LIU Post's Clinical PsyD. I had a few questions and was wondering if any of you had any insights into:

Choosing between a more "balanced" school and a school with a targeted theoretical orientation (i.e. Psychodynamic only or CBT only).Adelphi is very psycho dynamic, and although I don't feel 100% comfortable committing to a program that only offers one orientation it's a strong program with solid match rates. I'm conflicted.

QUESTIONS:
How did all of you make that call re: orientation so early on before your training has even begun?

Does anybody have recommendations on materials/books I could look into that explain more about psychodynamic therapy? Something that would help me make an educated decision?

Also, what have you all heard about each one of these programs? I'd be interested to know of their reputations outside of their current student/faculty body.

Thanks so much!

I personally would not want to limit myself to a program that only trains in psychodynamic therapy. This will limit your career, internship, and postdoctoral options, especially if you decide to go outside of NYC. The VA hospitals, which employ the largest % of psychologists, emphasize evidence-based treatments so I think it's important to have training in CBT and DBT etc. even if you want to ultimately specialize in psychodynamic treatment. I have training in several theoretical frameworks and its been a huge asset for me in terms of landing a good internship and postdoc position.

Like T4C mentioned, I would look extensively into the cost of all these programs. The median debt for a PsyD is now at 120K, which makes absolutely no sense given the low starting salaries in our field.

 

[Doctor Eliza]

I personally would not want to limit myself to a program that only trains in psychodynamic therapy. This will limit your career, internship, and postdoctoral options, especially if you decide to go outside of NYC. The VA hospitals, which employ the largest % of psychologists, emphasize evidence-based treatments so I think it's important to have training in CBT and DBT etc. even if you want to ultimately specialize in psychodynamic treatment. I have training in several theoretical frameworks and its been a huge asset for me in terms of landing a good internship and postdoc position.

Like T4C mentioned, I would look extensively into the cost of all these programs. The median debt for a PsyD is now at 120K, which makes absolutely no sense given the low starting salaries in our field.

I would really dig to find out how psychodynamic it is. My program labeled itself that way. When I got there it was dominated by psychodynamic stuff, but there were also other options. About midway through my program there was a bit of a hostile takeover by some new CBT faculty and it is barely psychodynamic at all anymore (or so I hear.)

There is so much more to any program than what is presented on the website!!

Best,
Dr. E

 

[LCT4907]

Thanks everyone fort your responses. Great advice!

 

[RCCH11]

Thanks everyone fort your responses. Great advice!

I think a psy D is a year shorter

 

[psychstudent5]

I think a psy D is a year shorter

No, it's the same length as a PhD.

 

[RCCH11]

No, it's the same length as a PhD.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blo...ng-between-phd-and-psyd-some-factors-consider

 

[WisNeuro]

That blog post is not necessarily true. Check the programs outcomes page, they will list the average length of time until degree conferral.

 

[smalltownpsych]

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blo...ng-between-phd-and-psyd-some-factors-consider

View attachment 215983

I am from a PsyD program.
The first statement is sort of true, but kind of silly as the PhD is probably more respected and associated with a psychologist by both lay people and professionals.

The second statement is correct in the first part that the PhD programs place a greater emphasis on research productivity which is actually an advantage career-wise. The second part of that is not true at all as when I was applying to internship I clearly saw that the PhD students had the same or even more clinical hours than the PsyD students and the APPIC stats continue to indicate that.

For the third statement I just glanced at my own program's outcome data and the overwhelming majority took between 5 to 7 years to get the degree. That doesn't even count the fact that my program required a MA degree prior so add a couple of years to that. It took me 8 years from the time I started my masters until I got my doctorate. If I had known more about the field when I completed undergrad in 1999, theoretically I could have spent a year or two doing research, started a PhD program in 2001 or so and still have been able to get a PhD by 2008 with minimal debt.

I frequently advise against taking the path I took because no one was there to tell me different and sort out the misinformation. I still received excellent training and make an excellent living doing what I do now, but I could have saved a lot of money on tuition and interest and had even better potential career opportunities.

 

[PhDToBe]

This is based on an n of 1, but I know someone from Adelphi who could not interpret an MMPI-2-RF (or PAI I think) on internship, so I guess she was only exposed to the Rorschach or something.

 

[psych.meout]

This is based on an n of 1, but I know someone from Adelphi who could not interpret an MMPI-2-RF (or PAI I think) on internship, so I guess she was only exposed to the Rorschach or something.

Even with an N=1 situation, that should have never happened. What kind of program teaches assessment without proper instruction in those two instruments?

 

[PhDToBe]

Even with an N=1 situation, that should have never happened. What kind of program teaches assessment without proper instruction in those two instruments?

I thought it was somewhat common for programs to only teach one or the other, but I am fairly confident she didn't learn either there.

 

[psych.meout]

I thought it was somewhat common for programs to only teach one or the other, but I am fairly confident she didn't learn either there.

I was more referring to having learned neither one.

 

[neurobain]

Having lived most of my life in NY and having trained at another NY program and knowing people from all these programs through clinical placements, the caliber of students coming out of Fordham is much higher. The reputation is better as well. Adelphi is very psychodynamic, and their students generally do not fair well during the internship match because of this.