PhD/PsyD Neuropsych: Professional Development Advice

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Joined
Mar 3, 2021
Messages
31
Reaction score
34
Hi all,

I am a clinical PsyD student who hopes to eventually become a board certified neuropsychologist! I’m currently a 4th year, and unfortunately did not match for internship in Phase I or Phase II. I’m oscillating between internalizing and externalizing, although I know that neither are helpful. I can’t help but kick myself for not “doing more” even though I know that I have done a lot to try to be competitive, and because I love gaining experience in the field! I notice myself comparing myself to peers who I perceive as more qualified, which makes feel like I need to do “the most” in order to be seen as a qualified applicant for next year.

I also can’t help but feel frustrated, because I feel like if I had a mentor in neuro I would have been better prepared. My school had promised a neuro track, however they got rid of the track starting my year. We did not get a full time neuro professor until this year. I’ve been trying to seek guidance from this professor, but I feel like it is a lot of pressure for her to step in and provide guidance to all of the students interested in neuro. I feel that I’ve been navigating without much guidance and that my judgment and knowledge alone is just not enough.

I’m curious if anyone has any general advice in how to keep moving after an emotional and professional blow such as this! Thanks in advance :)

Members don't see this ad.
 
I also can’t help but feel frustrated, because I feel like if I had a mentor in neuro I would have been better prepared. My school had promised a neuro track, however they got rid of the track starting my year. We did not get a full time neuro professor until this year. I’ve been trying to seek guidance from this professor, but I feel like it is a lot of pressure for her to step in and provide guidance to all of the students interested in neuro. I feel that I’ve been navigating without much guidance and that my judgment and knowledge alone is just not enough.
Sorry to hear about your experiences! I'm not a neuro person but had friends who went down this path, including some who received all of their neuro mentoring from outside of their program.

What types of sites have you been doing your pracs? Did you receive any especially hands on mentoring? Have you been engaged in any neuro research? If not or only minimally, were any of your pracs AMC/VA affiliated and potentially have research opportunities that you can get involved with?

From what I've observed, a lot of people can get enough testing hours to meet minimum neuro internship cutoffs but being engaged in research and didactics help to not only differentiate people during internship but also contribute to your preparedness for neuro postdocs and eventual boards.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
I would agree with the above that if you have limited neuropsych research experience, shoring up your research activities could go a long way toward helping your application. The other general advice generally entails a combination of much of what you've already mentioned--multiple neuropsych practica working in different settings/with different populations, having one or more recommendation letters from neuropsychologists, and having neuropsych coursework to help show you have a base/foundational knowledge of important concepts. If your thesis and/or dissertation are neuropsych-focused, that can also help.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Members don't see this ad :)
Sorry to hear about your experiences! I'm not a neuro person but had friends who went down this path, including some who received all of their neuro mentoring from outside of their program.

What types of sites have you been doing your pracs? Did you receive any especially hands on mentoring? Have you been engaged in any neuro research? If not or only minimally, were any of your pracs AMC/VA affiliated and potentially have research opportunities that you can get involved with?

From what I've observed, a lot of people can get enough testing hours to meet minimum neuro internship cutoffs but being engaged in research and didactics help to not only differentiate people during internship but also contribute to your preparedness for neuro postdocs and eventual boards.
Thank you for your response!

I think you’re definitely right! I have a lot of neuro assessment hours but I definitely lacked neuro research! I’ve tried to get involved but none of the research opportunities came to fruition. I guess I will need to make my own opportunities or be more persistent when looking for research opportunities over this next year!
 
I would agree with the above that if you have limited neuropsych research experience, shoring up your research activities could go a long way toward helping your application. The other general advice generally entails a combination of much of what you've already mentioned--multiple neuropsych practica working in different settings/with different populations, having one or more recommendation letters from neuropsychologists, and having neuropsych coursework to help show you have a base/foundational knowledge of important concepts. If your thesis and/or dissertation are neuropsych-focused, that can also help.
Thank you for your advice!

In addition to doing a few more practicum experiences over this next year, I’m going to try my best to get some neuro research experience. My current dissertation topic is not neuro (none of the professors I asked were comfortable with chairing a neuro dissertation at the time), but I’m supposed to meet with my chair today and I’m going to see if they would be open to me switching to a neuro topic!
 
Thank you for your advice!

In addition to doing a few more practicum experiences over this next year, I’m going to try my best to get some neuro research experience. My current dissertation topic is not neuro (none of the professors I asked were comfortable with chairing a neuro dissertation at the time), but I’m supposed to meet with my chair today and I’m going to see if they would be open to me switching to a neuro topic!

I think your plan is sound to make you more competitive this year. I wonder about switching dissertation topics now though depending on where you are or what that would involve as there is likely to be a lot of value to you personally in having a completed dissertation already going out the door to internship. Perhaps there is additional neuro research projects you could get attached to.

My main thought though is do what you can to find a mentor in neuropsychology. Not only to guide your experiences and offer advice but there is also a certain level of socialization to the field that occurs during training to make yourself competitive. Neuro applicants know the lingo, the journals, the conferences, the opinions held by the larger field. They were advised what kind of case example to choose, what to put in an application essay. These are not necessarily quantifiable things like hours but probably have more importance than you might think.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
I think your plan is sound to make you more competitive this year. I wonder about switching dissertation topics now though depending on where you are or what that would involve as there is likely to be a lot of value to you personally in having a completed dissertation already going out the door to internship. Perhaps there is additional neuro research projects you could get attached to.

My main thought though is do what you can to find a mentor in neuropsychology. Not only to guide your experiences and offer advice but there is also a certain level of socialization to the field that occurs during training to make yourself competitive. Neuro applicants know the lingo, the journals, the conferences, the opinions held by the larger field. They were advised what kind of case example to choose, what to put in an application essay. These are not necessarily quantifiable things like hours but probably have more importance than you might think.
Thanks for your thoughts! I definitely see the value in having a mentor in the field and would love to have one. Hopefully I can find one soon!
 
Thank you for your advice!

In addition to doing a few more practicum experiences over this next year, I’m going to try my best to get some neuro research experience. My current dissertation topic is not neuro (none of the professors I asked were comfortable with chairing a neuro dissertation at the time), but I’m supposed to meet with my chair today and I’m going to see if they would be open to me switching to a neuro topic!

Hello! I'm sorry you didn't match this year. I definitely advise against switching your dissertation topic this late in the game. I think it'll be a bigger help to your application to have your dissertation defended when you apply versus having a neuro-relevant topic. See if you can help a prior prac supervisor with research in the mean time, or hop into a project with the new professor.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
There are also several mentorship programs that come to mind (AACN, Society for Black Neuropsychology, etc.). I encourage you to look at the many professional neuropsych groups that are out there and see if their mentoring programs fit what it is you need at this stage in your training.

I am not affiliated with this program, but I found this site that lists out neuropsych and psychology organizations with mentoring resources (cannot verify whether these are all of the possible opportunities):


Note that the Queer Neuropsychological Society is not listed, but they may also have resources.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
There are also several mentorship programs that come to mind (AACN, Society for Black Neuropsychology, etc.). I encourage you to look at the many professional neuropsych groups that are out there and see if their mentoring programs fit what it is you need at this stage in your training.

I am not affiliated with this program, but I found this site that lists out neuropsych and psychology organizations with mentoring resources (cannot verify whether these are all of the possible opportunities):


Note that the Queer Neuropsychological Society is not listed, but they may also have resources.
Thank you! That’s really good advice! I will definitely look into the mentorship opportunities :)
 
Hello! I'm sorry you didn't match this year. I definitely advise against switching your dissertation topic this late in the game. I think it'll be a bigger help to your application to have your dissertation defended when you apply versus having a neuro-relevant topic. See if you can help a prior prac supervisor with research in the mean time, or hop into a project with the new professor.
That definitely makes sense! Thanks for the advice! I reached out to the ANST organization that I participate in at my school to see if anyone would like to collaborate on any research and am hoping to hear back from my colleagues soon
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Top