Mind Body Medicine

[Kelz1146]

So I am about to finish my undergrad with a BA in Psychology and I am interested in going to grad school to specialize in Mind/Body medicine. I would like to approach mental disorders from a more natural direction. I am interested in studying holistic methods which seem to be increasing in popularity especially in the west coast where I would like to practice. I am fascinated by the Dialectical Approach of Mindfulness in treating individuals with borderline personality disorder. I think so many disorders can be fixed through mind and body health as opposed to prescription drug treatment which is showing to create more health problems. This is only my opinion. I am wondering if anyone can tell me if they know how successful I could be with a PhD in Mind/Body Medicine from Saybrook University in San Francisco and is it going to be a problem that it is not apa accredited?? Any advice would be super helpful!!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[jdawgg]

So I am about to finish my undergrad with a BA in Psychology and I am interested in going to grad school to specialize in Mind/Body medicine. I would like to approach mental disorders from a more natural direction. I am interested in studying holistic methods which seem to be increasing in popularity especially in the west coast where I would like to practice. I am fascinated by the Dialectical Approach of Mindfulness in treating individuals with borderline personality disorder. I think so many disorders can be fixed through mind and body health as opposed to prescription drug treatment which is showing to create more health problems. This is only my opinion. I am wondering if anyone can tell me if they know how successful I could be with a PhD in Mind/Body Medicine from Saybrook University in San Francisco and is it going to be a problem that it is not apa accredited?? Any advice would be super helpful!!

It's important to note that even "mainstream" counseling and clinical psychology aren't exactly pro-meds (especially counseling psych) over, say, psychotherapy. Tuition for the program you're referring to is very high and you wouldn't be a psychologist at the end of it. What would you hope to do with this degree? Also, the APA only accredits PhD programs in psychology.

 

[Kelz1146]

well I what I ultimately would want to do with the degree is develop more holistic centered treament facilities. I would want to open up my own practice that uses treatments like meditation, yoga, massage, etc along with psychotherapy. Is that just completely far fetched?

 

[deenie]

I don't know how marketable it is but I know of a very successful non-for-profit counseling center here in NJ that's been going strong for over 20 years. They just opened another center and combine counseling with acupuncture, massage, sand therapy, etc. I interviewed one of the LPCs for a class I took over the summer (I'm enrolled in the MS for Mental Health Counseling at a university here in NJ that's CACREP accredited.)

My ultimate goal is to open or get in with a practice that will incorporate these wellness practices. I got my MA years ago in Clinical Psych and did a year at a psychiatric hospital and worked in crisis intervention. That was enough for me! I changed careers totally, had kids and over the last decade, dipped my toe back in by getting some coaching training. I realized I wanted to go back for an LPC license (that with insurance reimbursement, it would be easier to make a go of it) so I'm studying for a 60 credit MS now. I'll be 50 in a couple of years and I didn't make this decision lightly but I figure I'll still be 50 in a couple of years if I don't do it anyway!

I don't know if you need to get a degree in holistic therapy to make that your focus. I think it's more important to get the right licensure coupled with a curriculum you find interesting.

I started having acupuncture over the summer and love it. I feel like I would love to get involved in the mind/body connection of psychotherapy as I journey once again in this field. Eventually the medical field will catch on to some of this. The fact that my insurance covers acupuncture points in the right direction.

I'd like to keep in touch! Good luck.

 

[Kelz1146]

Wow I can't believe the effect working in a psychiatric hospital changed your perspective! That's exactly what I'm worried about happening to me! I tend to feel extremely passionate when I don't agree with the way an institution is "helping" people. I believe the more environmentally aware our society becomes the more direction we are going to take towards a holistic nature in general. Well at this university I'm looking at, Saybrook University, it offers a PhD in Mind/Body medicine. Do you think I should just go for this or go for a clinical psychology degree and then take side classes on holistic treatments?? I appreciate all this awesome information!

 

[deenie]

IMHO, I would go for the curriculum you like but I think it's important to keep accreditation in mind. I know, in NJ, they really stress getting into a CACREP accredited program or the state makes you jump through hoops to get licensed. When I complete all my course requirements, in the areas specified, it's a very streamlined to get my LPC license after I pass the NCE. Even with already having my MA in clinical psych, I can already see the overlap and the depth of knowledge in actual counseling with this program vs. the other degree I had. I knew, at the time, it was preparation for a PhD, not counseling. I was so unprepared for my job, when I look back on it. Personally and professionally. This time around, I know my education will be well-rounded.

I hear what you're saying about practicing from a place of wellness and I definitely want to be there in my practice, however, I need the license first so I'll fill in with those classes for CEUs and other things. Good luck in whatever you decide!

 

[constructionist]

It's important to note that even "mainstream" counseling and clinical psychology aren't exactly pro-meds (especially counseling psych) over, say, psychotherapy. Tuition for the program you're referring to is very high and you wouldn't be a psychologist at the end of it. What would you hope to do with this degree? Also, the APA only accredits PhD programs in psychology.

Not true. PsyD programs are also available for APA accreditation. Before you choose any program, check with others and make sure you find out what the licensing requirements are for your state.

 

[constructionist]

So I am about to finish my undergrad with a BA in Psychology and I am interested in going to grad school to specialize in Mind/Body medicine. I would like to approach mental disorders from a more natural direction. I am interested in studying holistic methods which seem to be increasing in popularity especially in the west coast where I would like to practice. I am fascinated by the Dialectical Approach of Mindfulness in treating individuals with borderline personality disorder. I think so many disorders can be fixed through mind and body health as opposed to prescription drug treatment which is showing to create more health problems. This is only my opinion. I am wondering if anyone can tell me if they know how successful I could be with a PhD in Mind/Body Medicine from Saybrook University in San Francisco and is it going to be a problem that it is not apa accredited?? Any advice would be super helpful!!

It will probably get you nowhere but in a great deal of student loan debt. Many states do not license naturopathic doctors, probably because they are basically quacks. Definitely NOT APA accredited.

 

[Harry3990]

Does the program at Saybrook provide a path to licensure for any mental health profession? If not, I would say it's definitely not worth it. Go to a program that leads to a legitimate mental health license (LPC, LCSW, licensed psychologist). I'm in a clinical psychology program and have gotten lots of mind/body related training (that I have specifically sought out because I'm interested in psychophysiology and health psych, but in most clinical programs you will be forced to get some exposure to this stuff on a basic level) in things likes stress mgmt strategies like PMR and autogenics, mindfulness, CBT, DBT, biofeedback, etc. I'd advise checking out PhD or PsyD (funded is always best) clinical programs that offer these or other mind/body interventions that you're interested in.

 

[Jake0006]

I am fascinated by the Dialectical Approach of Mindfulness in treating individuals with borderline personality disorder.

There are some great mindfulness-based approaches out there, MCBT, ACT, MBSR and others. You could pursue these modalities in the context of an APA-accredited program, and then you would have all the versatility you'd want post graduation. No one's going to discredit you in naturopathic settings because you went through an accredited program, whereas conversely, non-APA-accred. and many typical positions will not consider your training adequate. The danger you might run is that you might 'start drinking the CBT kool-aid' and see the virtue in positivist approaches (that only what can be measured is real) and medical model, which allows for the standardization of care. Even the psychodynamics are fighting this fight, the pressure from the APA itself to esteem only EBP's, psychologists who feel that only EBP's are ethical, as well as insurance companies, who of course want to standardize all of their clients for ease and efficiency. While pushing ourselves to use empirically-backed approaches is wonderful for the profession in many ways, there is not enough EBP's out there, by any means, to consider that every situation which a practitioner will encounter has a manual which can be used appropriately. In such situations, do you make the client fit the manual you have? Do you just treat the part of their set of problems covered in your EBT's that you have ready at hand while you look for another manual?

Long story short, there's a place out there for people who are wanting to break away from the medical model, still being informed of research and best-practice, still being a scientist/scholar/practitioner helping people, and doing so without the Rx-friendly approaches. Many would actually like to see more people trying to defy the mould and keep the profession's inclinations for philosophy/sociology intact, when it seems that many of them don't feel up to this, and become life coaches, or whatever. Just saying