So, I've posted on here before asking for advice regarding which path I should take. At this point I'm pretty much set on a Ph.D., I just don't know if I should take the (clinical/health or developmental) psychology route, or the public health (health behavior/promotion) route. My interests are in health behavior and behavior change as it relates to physical health issues (i.e. nutrition and obesity). I'm currently working as a RA on a childhood obesity prevention project, and I LOVE it! I know there isn't a single answer to my question, but I'd like to hear some of your perspectives. I'm taking the next year and a half off before applying, so I have some time... I'd just like to get a better idea about what I should be doing between now and then to prepare (take subject GRE if necessary, etc.). Any thoughts?
psychology or public health? (health behavior)
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How do you feel about working 1:1 on behavior change with clients vs designing/implementing programs to influence health behaviors on a wider scale? Keep in mind it is possible for a health psychologist to be involved in research on wider programs but impossible for a public health Ph.D. to work one on one with a client.
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Psychology PhD gives you so many more options. Unless you are 100% sure public health is your calling, I would strongly consider psychology.
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I am currently in a clinical phd program. You should know before going into clinical psychology that it will take between 5-7 years to get your PhD and you have to complete a 1 year full-time internship (which is a whole beast onto its own). The field is currently experiencing many crises and the demand of clinical psychologists does not even come close to supply. Prospective students should be informed of this before making a commitment. It is very tough these days to land an internship, and you can't graduate without one. There are also many states that have very rigorous and time consuming licensure requirements, such as NJ and CA. I know graduates who spent 2-3 years trying to jump through all these requirements. Before you are licensed, it is very tough to secure a clinical position and the pay is very low. Even faculty in a clinical psychology program need to be licensed because they have to supervise graduate students on their cases.
If you are solely interested in research, it is very tough to get through a clinical program without working with patients since you'll have to see patients throughout your training and on internship. Some programs have fewer clinical requirements, but you will have to have a good amount of clinical patient hours before internship anyhow. Are you also interested in doing psychotherapy and assessment with psychiatric patients?
I am not sure what the requirements are for public health programs, but clinical psychology programs require you to take a full load of courses, do research, possibly TA, work on your dissertation, and often work 16-20 hours in a hospital setting seeing patients. You will then need to accrue at least 500 face to face hours before applying to internship, which is more work than applying to graduate school by the way.
If you are solely interested in research, it is very tough to get through a clinical program without working with patients since you'll have to see patients throughout your training and on internship. Some programs have fewer clinical requirements, but you will have to have a good amount of clinical patient hours before internship anyhow. Are you also interested in doing psychotherapy and assessment with psychiatric patients?
I am not sure what the requirements are for public health programs, but clinical psychology programs require you to take a full load of courses, do research, possibly TA, work on your dissertation, and often work 16-20 hours in a hospital setting seeing patients. You will then need to accrue at least 500 face to face hours before applying to internship, which is more work than applying to graduate school by the way.
thanks for the replies! I honestly don't have much (if any) interest in doing therapy with patients, though I haven't really explored the clinical side of things much. So yeah, I kinda feel like a clinical psych Ph.D. would be a lot of clinical work that I don't need to do if I want to just do research. I am very interested in program design/implementation and health behavior on a broader scale.
What are my other options aside from clinical psych? I'm already considering developmental psych, as I'm interested in childhood obesity. Could I do an experimental program? I just want to make sure that whichever degree I pursue will allow me to work in the world of health/psychology research.
Graduatingsoon, thanks for your input. I worked in a clinical psych lab as an undergrad so I watched many of the grad students go through the process... I know it definitely isn't easy. The only aspect of clinical work I am kind of interested in is assessment.
What are my other options aside from clinical psych? I'm already considering developmental psych, as I'm interested in childhood obesity. Could I do an experimental program? I just want to make sure that whichever degree I pursue will allow me to work in the world of health/psychology research.
Graduatingsoon, thanks for your input. I worked in a clinical psych lab as an undergrad so I watched many of the grad students go through the process... I know it definitely isn't easy. The only aspect of clinical work I am kind of interested in is assessment.
I'm not sure exactly what you mean by this statement, but it is not entirely true. For example, my partner, who has a Bachelors in Health Education and is working on an MPH, does exactly that. She "coaches" clients over the phone as part of a reputable hospital-based weight management program. Her work is 1:1 with clients, working toward meaningful behavior change, using motivational interviewing techniques.
Clinical may technically be less limiting, but on a pragmatic level I actually think public health folks have pursued more diverse career options since many more are involved in policy, non-profits, government organizations, etc. than is typical of psychology. These are all things you likely COULD do with a clinical degree, but it would involve going against the grain a bit whereas it seems quite standard for folks in public health.
From what you are saying, public health seems like a good fit. You can still be involved in interventions, though they will often be of a different nature than we typically see in psychology. I know folks who work designing anti-smoking ad campaigns, organize interventions for smoking quitlines, etc. Some work is done by psychologists, some is done by public health folks. The approaches are different, but I think either is a viable route - it just depends on your background, goals, etc.
From what you are saying, public health seems like a good fit. You can still be involved in interventions, though they will often be of a different nature than we typically see in psychology. I know folks who work designing anti-smoking ad campaigns, organize interventions for smoking quitlines, etc. Some work is done by psychologists, some is done by public health folks. The approaches are different, but I think either is a viable route - it just depends on your background, goals, etc.
