Psyd in School Psychology or Counseling Psychology -

[psychologist3811]

Hello All,


Thank you in advance for your responses.

I have been accepted to Rutgers University’s School PsyD Program and Felician University’s Counseling Psychology PsyD. Program.

I am choosing to pursue a doctorate to conduct neuropsychological testing, but am also interested in conducting psychotherapy.
Does it matter which degree path I choose if I plan to work in private practice? Long term goals are to start an Article 16 clinic in NY - providing services for people with intellectual and or developmental disabilities. In the event that life happens and I am forced to seek employment with a company, will having a school PsyD “look bad” on applications?

I am leaning toward the Rutgers program because of the cost - it’s about $45,000 in total. Felician’s program is about $80,000.

Thank you for your response!

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[WisNeuro]

I'd definitely look at the types of jobs you want to occupy in your area and see what types of degrees people have in those jobs. These things vary quite a bit by state/region. Here, school psych degrees do not do neurpsych testing outside of IQ/Achievement testing in a school setting. Some of that has to do with how some of our specific statutes are set up, as I know some areas where it's more common. Either way, you'll need APA accredited internships and board eligibility to be hireable at many institutions for neuropsych jobs. So, prioritize that.

 

[Fan_of_Meehl]

Hello All,


Thank you in advance for your responses.

I have been accepted to Rutgers University’s School PsyD Program and Felician University’s Counseling Psychology PsyD. Program.

I am choosing to pursue a doctorate to conduct neuropsychological testing, but am also interested in conducting psychotherapy.
Does it matter which degree path I choose if I plan to work in private practice? Long term goals are to start an Article 16 clinic in NY - providing services for people with intellectual and or developmental disabilities. In the event that life happens and I am forced to seek employment with a company, will having a school PsyD “look bad” on applications?

I am leaning toward the Rutgers program because of the cost - it’s about $45,000 in total. Felician’s program is about $80,000.

Thank you for your response!

There are others on this board with more expertise in this area (who currently work with clients with developmental / intellectual disabilities) but I worked in that field for several years in the past. One of the trends is the requirement of advanced training and certification in applied behavior analysis (basically board certification in behavior analysis) and states are even starting to have their own SEPARATE boards for behavior analysis (separate from their state psychology boards). I say all this to suggest that if you want to ultimately work with developmental / intellectual disabilities you want to make sure that you get very solid training and mentorship in applied behavior analysis as it is an essential competency area for working with that population.

 

[boba_psych]

From what I've heard from trainees at Felician, I would not recommend attending. It's a fairly new program and has to sort out a lot of things

 

[PsyDuck90]

From what I've heard from trainees at Felician, I would not recommend attending. It's a fairly new program and has to sort out a lot of things

Agree with this. I've met some people from there and the program has 0 research opportunities and very few research courses. If you want to go into neuropsych, you need to have relevant research and a solid understanding of stats and psychometrics.

 

[psychologist3811]

From what I've heard from trainees at Felician, I would not recommend attending. It's a fairly new program and has to sort out a lot of things

Agree with this. I've met some people from there and the program has 0 research opportunities and very few research courses. If you want to go into neuropsych, you need to have relevant research and a solid understanding of stats and psychometrics.

Wow, thank you so much. I didn’t know that Felician Univ had a bad rep. In the past, people have mentioned to stay away from the school because they were not accredited, but they recently gained that status.

 

[psychologist3811]

There are others on this board with more expertise in this area (who currently work with clients with developmental / intellectual disabilities) but I worked in that field for several years in the past. One of the trends is the requirement of advanced training and certification in applied behavior analysis (basically board certification in behavior analysis) and states are even starting to have their own SEPARATE boards for behavior analysis (separate from their state psychology boards). I say all this to suggest that if you want to ultimately work with developmental / intellectual disabilities you want to make sure that you get very solid training and mentorship in applied behavior analysis as it is an essential competency area for working with that population.

Hi, and thank you for your response. Here in NYC, it seems that ABA is highly sought after for people - mainly children - with autism. Because I solely want to conduct testing and not perform any ongoing work, I think I’ll be okay without the ABA licensure.

 

[WisNeuro]

Hi, and thank you for your response. Here in NYC, it seems that ABA is highly sought after for people - mainly children - with autism. Because I solely want to conduct testing and not perform any ongoing work, I think I’ll be okay without the ABA licensure.

In your original post you said you wanted to also do psychotherapy? Would that be in different populations than you do testing on?

 

[psychologist3811]

I'd definitely look at the types of jobs you want to occupy in your area and see what types of degrees people have in those jobs. These things vary quite a bit by state/region. Here, school psych degrees do not do neurpsych testing outside of IQ/Achievement testing in a school setting. Some of that has to do with how some of our specific statutes are set up, as I know some areas where it's more common. Either way, you'll need APA accredited internships and board eligibility to be hireable at many institutions for neuropsych jobs. So, prioritize that.

Hi! When I go in indeed, most of the postings are pretty vague with the only requirement being that the applicant must be a licensed psychologist. Sometimes it says clinical psychologist, but from my understanding doctoral level school psychologists are psychologists.

 

[psychologist3811]

In your original post you said you wanted to also do psychotherapy? Would that be in different populations than you do testing on?

No, psychotherapy would be for the general population. Sorry, I should have been more clear.

 

[boba_psych]

Wow, thank you so much. I didn’t know that Felician Univ had a bad rep. In the past, people have mentioned to stay away from the school because they were not accredited, but they recently gained that status.

Sent you a DM with more info

 

[niceman]

Hello All,


Thank you in advance for your responses.

I have been accepted to Rutgers University’s School PsyD Program and Felician University’s Counseling Psychology PsyD. Program.

I am choosing to pursue a doctorate to conduct neuropsychological testing, but am also interested in conducting psychotherapy.
Does it matter which degree path I choose if I plan to work in private practice? Long term goals are to start an Article 16 clinic in NY - providing services for people with intellectual and or developmental disabilities. In the event that life happens and I am forced to seek employment with a company, will having a school PsyD “look bad” on applications?

I am leaning toward the Rutgers program because of the cost - it’s about $45,000 in total. Felician’s program is about $80,000.

Thank you for your response!

There continue to be misconceptions about school psych training as people's understanding of it can be limited to specialist training so there can be a disadvantage in the big picture. However, with appropriate and relevant training, I don't think you will have much difficulty to find jobs as a psychologist (probably except for many AMCs and hospitals with no prior school psych hires), especially when Rutgers is a reputable program.

That being said, Neither is great in terms of reaching your career goals. Neuropsych is one of the most competitive specialties in professional psychology. Counseling psych programs have more flexibility in what experience you get but as other people have mentioned, Felician is a relative new program that may not give you sufficient exposure to neuropsych-related opportunities.

School psych doctoral programs typically have to satisfy Both NASP and APA requirements so you are unlikely to get any/much coursework related to neuropsych. You will also need to do school-based practicum placements, which will limit your opportunity to seek clinical neuropsych placements and in turn affect your opportunity for a neuropsych internship (and postdoc and so on). There are school psych-trained psychologists who went on to become board-certified neuropsychologists. However, they are rare. If you really want to become a neuropsychologist, your best bet is to reapply to reputable clinical psych programs with neuropsych faculty and track records of placing students in neuropsych pracs and internships.

 

[psychologist3811]

There continue to be misconceptions about school psych training as people's understanding of it can be limited to specialist training so there can be a disadvantage in the big picture. However, with appropriate and relevant training, I don't think you will have much difficulty to find jobs as a psychologist (probably except for many AMCs and hospitals with no prior school psych hires), especially when Rutgers is a reputable program.

That being said, Neither is great in terms of reaching your career goals. Neuropsych is one of the most competitive specialties in professional psychology. Counseling psych programs have more flexibility in what experience you get but as other people have mentioned, Felician is a relative new program that may not give you sufficient exposure to neuropsych-related opportunities.

School psych doctoral programs typically have to satisfy Both NASP and APA requirements so you are unlikely to get any/much coursework related to neuropsych. You will also need to do school-based practicum placements, which will limit your opportunity to seek clinical neuropsych placements and in turn affect your opportunity for a neuropsych internship (and postdoc and so on). There are school psych-trained psychologists who went on to become board-certified neuropsychologists. However, they are rare. If you really want to become a neuropsychologist, your best bet is to reapply to reputable clinical psych programs with neuropsych faculty and track records of placing students in neuropsych pracs and internships.

Hello and thank you for your detailed response.

Third year school psych students at Rutgers are able to choose two practicum placements - I am hoping to have both a school and a hospital setting to gain additional experiences. I am interested in neuropsychology, but it isn’t absolutely necessary for what I want to do (mostly cognitive testing and behavioral assessments).

 

[psych.meout]

Hello and thank you for your detailed response.

Third year school psych students at Rutgers are able to choose two practicum placements - I am hoping to have both a school and a hospital setting to gain additional experiences. I am interested in neuropsychology, but it isn’t absolutely necessary for what I want to do (mostly cognitive testing and behavioral assessments).

Ok, but does Rutgers have any relationships or history with sending practicum students to clinics that specialize in evals for DD/ID, since that is your area of expertise? Do any of their program faculty do this kind of research?

 

[borne_before]

My doctorate is in school psych. You don't need to specialize in neuropsych to diagnose DD/ID/ASD.

I work in a multispecialty healthcare setting about half of my job is dxing ID/ASD/ADHD/LDs. The other half is being in clinics and doing therapy/parent training.

A few of the people in program are board certified neuropsychs by now. I would suggest pursing some ABA or special education coursework, if you are interested in those domains.

Honestly, I see school psych as being very relevant to your career goals. Depending on your internship/postdoc, you could very well run a clinic.

School psych can be limiting. But, if you're proactive it can be a very versatile degree.

 

[borne_before]

Ok, but does Rutgers have any relationships or history with sending practicum students to clinics that specialize in evals for DD/ID, since that is your area of expertise? Do any of their program faculty do this kind of research?

They're generally called schools.

 

[WisNeuro]

They're generally called schools.

Schools will, yes, but still a lot of specialty clinics that work in this area. Multiple pathways to get this type of experience.

 

[psychologist3811]

My doctorate is in school psych. You don't need to specialize in neuropsych to diagnose DD/ID/ASD.

I work in a multispecialty healthcare setting about half of my job is dxing ID/ASD/ADHD/LDs. The other half is being in clinics and doing therapy/parent training.

A few of the people in program are board certified neuropsychs by now. I would suggest pursing some ABA or special education coursework, if you are interested in those domains.

Honestly, I see school psych as being very relevant to your career goals. Depending on your internship/postdoc, you could very well run a clinic.

School psych can be limiting. But, if you're proactive it can be a very versatile degree.

Hi and thank you for your response. The reason I chose school psych opposed to neuropsychology is because I mainly want to be able to conduct cognitive and developmental assessments. I have a master’s degree in a similar field, but my degree does not allow me to conduct and score tests. Thank you for the insight.


PS I tried to PM you regarding some more info about becoming/being a school psychologist. If you don’t mind, can you inbox me?

 

[psych.meout]

They're generally called schools.

Love the irony in you posting this smart-assed comment immediately after posting this one:

My doctorate is in school psych. You don't need to specialize in neuropsych to diagnose DD/ID/ASD.

I work in a multispecialty healthcare setting about half of my job is dxing ID/ASD/ADHD/LDs. The other half is being in clinics and doing therapy/parent training.

A few of the people in program are board certified neuropsychs by now. I would suggest pursing some ABA or special education coursework, if you are interested in those domains.

Honestly, I see school psych as being very relevant to your career goals. Depending on your internship/postdoc, you could very well run a clinic.

School psych can be limiting. But, if you're proactive it can be a very versatile degree.

Almost like that's what I was alluding to in my post since OP was so adamant about doing this kind of work in PP...

 

[borne_before]

Hi and thank you for your response. The reason I chose school psych opposed to neuropsychology is because I mainly want to be able to conduct cognitive and developmental assessments. I have a master’s degree in a similar field, but my degree does not allow me to conduct and score tests. Thank you for the insight.


PS I tried to PM you regarding some more info about becoming/being a school psychologist. If you don’t mind, can you inbox me?

Sent

 

[psydoc57]

I think you would ultimately have more flexibility in terms of training and practice with the counseling psych degree. Sorry 🙁 as I know its higher cost

 

[PsychPhDMama]

Ditto in nice man’s post. If you want to work across the lifespan then counseling is a more obvious choice. I’m in a counseling psych PhD program (with school psych in our dept) and the neuropsych training is *definitely less than in clinical programs. We do take a course in child assessment. That said, if you’re able to land neuro pracs, you should be fine. One of my clinical psych PsyD peers just landed a neuro prac at MGH. In clinical psych its much easier to get neuro training across the lifespan than counseling. Most of my peers work with kids and some do testing. Be sure to review all of the licensure requirements very very closely. Also, programmatic requirements may be different than licensure requirements. And a school like Rutgers is more likely to have better connections with pracs etc.

 

[psychologist3811]

Ditto in nice man’s post. If you want to work across the lifespan then counseling is a more obvious choice. I’m in a counseling psych PhD program (with school psych in our dept) and the neuropsych training is *definitely less than in clinical programs. We do take a course in child assessment. That said, if you’re able to land neuro pracs, you should be fine. One of my clinical psych PsyD peers just landed a neuro prac at MGH. In clinical psych its much easier to get neuro training across the lifespan than counseling. Most of my peers work with kids and some do testing. Be sure to review all of the licensure requirements very very closely. Also, programmatic requirements may be different than licensure requirements. And a school like Rutgers is more likely to have better connections with pracs etc.

Hi and thank you for your response.

It appears that I don’t really need to become a neuropsychologist to conduct developmental and cognitive testing. I chose to apply to the school psych program because there is more of a focus on cognitive/developmental assessments then the clinical program. I should also mention that I have a Master’s Degree that allows me to practice psychotherapy. Returning to school would allow me to conduct testing.

I am hopeful that I will be able to land a neuropsychology practicum.

 

[ClinicalABA]

Rutger's School Psych PsyD will prepare you for licensure as a psychologist (though there are some differences between jurisdictions, so it's always a bit caveat emptor). With this degree and licensure, you would be able to conduct the types of testing you have mentioned in a variety of settings, including schools, outpatient clinics, and hospitals. I have a clinical psych Ph.D. and do neurodevelopmental testing in a private clinic, including developmental, cognitive, language, and early motor skills assessments. In the past I have done such testing in schools. I have/had colleagues with Clinical PhDs/PsyDs, School Psych Ph.Ds./PhDs/EdDs. As long as the training qualifies you for licensure and gives you appropriate supervised experience with the populations and the tests, then we all can do the same thing.

ETA- If you can also pick up a BCBA along the way, you'd have a a pretty marketable (and very much needed) skillset.

 

[borne_before]

Rutger's School Psych PsyD will prepare you for licensure as a psychologist (though there are some differences between jurisdictions, so it's always a bit caveat emptor). With this degree and licensure, you would be able to conduct the types of testing you have mentioned in a variety of settings, including schools, outpatient clinics, and hospitals. I have a clinical psych Ph.D. and do neurodevelopmental testing in a private clinic, including developmental, cognitive, language, and early motor skills assessments. In the past I have done such testing in schools. I have/had colleagues with Clinical PhDs/PsyDs, School Psych Ph.Ds./PhDs/EdDs. As long as the training qualifies you for licensure and gives you appropriate supervised experience with the populations and the tests, then we all can do the same thing.

ETA- If you can also pick up a BCBA along the way, you'd have a a pretty marketable (and very much needed) skillset.

As usual, ClinicalABA gives the best response.

 

[Psychstudent!721]

From what I've heard from trainees at Felician, I would not recommend attending. It's a fairly new program and has to sort out a lot of things

Im sorry this is a late comment, I am a first year student in Felicians PsyD program and this caught my attention. Can I DM you and learn more about the issues you’re eluding to?

 

[Psych20122]

Hello All,


Thank you in advance for your responses.

I have been accepted to Rutgers University’s School PsyD Program and Felician University’s Counseling Psychology PsyD. Program.

I am choosing to pursue a doctorate to conduct neuropsychological testing, but am also interested in conducting psychotherapy.
Does it matter which degree path I choose if I plan to work in private practice? Long term goals are to start an Article 16 clinic in NY - providing services for people with intellectual and or developmental disabilities. In the event that life happens and I am forced to seek employment with a company, will having a school PsyD “look bad” on applications?

I am leaning toward the Rutgers program because of the cost - it’s about $45,000 in total. Felician’s program is about $80,000.

Thank you for your response!

If assessment is your primary goal, school psychology is the better choice. If you want to be able to conduct “neuropsychological evaluations,” I’m pretty sure you need to attend a postdoctoral program for additional training. I also think it depends on your state. I know of school psychologists with PsyDs who entered specialist programs for the same reason (and also have private practices).

Just make sure the program is well rounded in a clinical sense. I say that because I have a PsyD in school psychology and am having a hard time with licensure/the EPPP because a lot of the content was only briefly touched upon during coursework.

 

[Mojito_15]

I have a Ph.D. in school psych and have worked in healthcare settings on both my internship & postdoc in integrated behavioral health. I have worked across the lifespan & I would argue that training w/ kids actually is more helpful in making you qualified at all ages vs. training w/ only adults making you qualified to work w/ kids. While I am not a neuropsychologist I do have substantial knowledge about cognitive assessment & taught IQ testing courses for 4 years. I feel extremely comfortable diagnosing LD/ID/ADHD or any of these disorders and I am uniquely able to collaborate w/ families on interventions because I have actually worked in a school as a school psych for 2 years- so I know what schools need. I am much more knowledgable about cognitive assessment than most clinical psychs that I work with and am the go to person in my organization of 20+ psychs for IQ testing questions. I also see a school psych degree as being very relevant for your goals. School psych is a very versatile degree if you are intentional about your experiences throughout the program.

 

[borne_before]

I have a Ph.D. in school psych and have worked in healthcare settings on both my internship & postdoc in integrated behavioral health. I have worked across the lifespan & I would argue that training w/ kids actually is more helpful in making you qualified at all ages vs. training w/ only adults making you qualified to work w/ kids. While I am not a neuropsychologist I do have substantial knowledge about cognitive assessment & taught IQ testing courses for 4 years. I feel extremely comfortable diagnosing LD/ID/ADHD or any of these disorders and I am uniquely able to collaborate w/ families on interventions because I have actually worked in a school as a school psych for 2 years- so I know what schools need. I am much more knowledgable about cognitive assessment than most clinical psychs that I work with and am the go to person in my organization of 20+ psychs for IQ testing questions. I also see a school psych degree as being very relevant for your goals. School psych is a very versatile degree if you are intentional about your experiences throughout the program.

I concur. And school psych phd gang gang.