PsyD recommendations sought

[Navrins]

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Hi, all! I just discovered this forum and have already found a lot of helpful information here. Perhaps some of you can help me with even more specifics:

Short form: I'm trying to figure out for sure whether I want to seek a PsyD (I think so), and where would be best for me to go.

Long form: I'm a 37-year-old career changer. My bachelor's is from MIT in Computer Science. I'm taking undergrad psychology classes now at UMass Boston, and by Sept. 2010 I expect to have had most of the equivalent of a psychology undergraduate major, including a clinical internship. My GREs are excellent, my old GPA is good and my new one will be excellent, and I have no doubts about my ability to write good essays and interview well. However, my recommendations will be limited to some professors I'm taking classes with this semester, and I won't have clinical experience (or a recommendation from a supervisor) as of the time I submit my applications.

Career-wise, what I'm primarily interested in doing is therapy and counseling, ideally in private practice once I'm licensed. I know I could do that with an MA, and if I don't get into a PsyD program I'll do that, but I'm also really interested in *learning*, and I suspect that with an MA I'd come out qualified to work but hungry for more depth and breadth of knowledge. I think a PsyD will satisfy more of that, as well as give me a higher earning potential and more flexibility in job opportunities, and I think that could be worth it to me. I'm not all that interested in doing research - yes, I want enough background to be an effective consumer of research, but if I never publish a paper myself that's totally fine by me. I'd rather read the papers of others and put into practice what they have discovered.

Due to a past career as a programmer, I've got reasonable savings, so (a) I probably will have trouble getting much need-based financial aid but (b) I am not as distressed by the prospect of paying for my education as someone might be who's still loaded up with undergrad loans. A funded program would still be great, but it's not my top concern.

Finally, I live in Massachusetts and expect to practice here after graduation, so a program that will leave me able to get licensed in MA is important.

I've got the list of PsyD programs (Insider's Guide) and am working my way through websites, but it's still hard to know what I should be looking for, and impossible to tell the reputation of a school.

Which brings me back to the main question: What programs should I be looking most closely at? I want programs (PsyD or MA) that I'd have a reasonable shot at getting accepted to with good academic credentials and life experience but very little experience in psychology specifically, that provide good support for learning and gaining clinical experience, and that will leave me with the skills and credentials I need to be an effective practitioner when I'm finished. Any tips you all can offer to point me in good directions would be wonderful.

Thanks!

 

[krisrox]

Hi, all! I just discovered this forum and have already found a lot of helpful information here. Perhaps some of you can help me with even more specifics:

Short form: I'm trying to figure out for sure whether I want to seek a PsyD (I think so), and where would be best for me to go.

Long form: I'm a 37-year-old career changer. My bachelor's is from MIT in Computer Science. I'm taking undergrad psychology classes now at UMass Boston, and by Sept. 2010 I expect to have had most of the equivalent of a psychology undergraduate major, including a clinical internship. My GREs are excellent, my old GPA is good and my new one will be excellent, and I have no doubts about my ability to write good essays and interview well. However, my recommendations will be limited to some professors I'm taking classes with this semester, and I won't have clinical experience (or a recommendation from a supervisor) as of the time I submit my applications.

Career-wise, what I'm primarily interested in doing is therapy and counseling, ideally in private practice once I'm licensed. I know I could do that with an MA, and if I don't get into a PsyD program I'll do that, but I'm also really interested in *learning*, and I suspect that with an MA I'd come out qualified to work but hungry for more depth and breadth of knowledge. I think a PsyD will satisfy more of that, as well as give me a higher earning potential and more flexibility in job opportunities, and I think that could be worth it to me. I'm not all that interested in doing research - yes, I want enough background to be an effective consumer of research, but if I never publish a paper myself that's totally fine by me. I'd rather read the papers of others and put into practice what they have discovered.

Due to a past career as a programmer, I've got reasonable savings, so (a) I probably will have trouble getting much need-based financial aid but (b) I am not as distressed by the prospect of paying for my education as someone might be who's still loaded up with undergrad loans. A funded program would still be great, but it's not my top concern.

Finally, I live in Massachusetts and expect to practice here after graduation, so a program that will leave me able to get licensed in MA is important.

I've got the list of PsyD programs (Insider's Guide) and am working my way through websites, but it's still hard to know what I should be looking for, and impossible to tell the reputation of a school.

Which brings me back to the main question: What programs should I be looking most closely at? I want programs (PsyD or MA) that I'd have a reasonable shot at getting accepted to with good academic credentials and life experience but very little experience in psychology specifically, that provide good support for learning and gaining clinical experience, and that will leave me with the skills and credentials I need to be an effective practitioner when I'm finished. Any tips you all can offer to point me in good directions would be wonderful.

Thanks!

You might want to get some clinical experience in the field (crisis counseling, working at a camp for disabled kids, etc) so you can be familiar with the field and be sure this is that you want to do.

You may also want to consider MSW programs, though I can't recommend any programs/schools specifically for you.

 

[erg923]

Career-wise, what I'm primarily interested in doing is therapy and counseling, ideally in private practice once I'm licensed. I know I could do that with an MA, and if I don't get into a PsyD program I'll do that, but I'm also really interested in *learning*, and I suspect that with an MA I'd come out qualified to work but hungry for more depth and breadth of knowledge.

If thats the reason why you want a psy.d, then I would suggest reading some books to satisfy those intellectual curiosities rather than going 120k in debt at the age of 37.

 

[thewesternsky]

Unfortunately, I'm having trouble recommending any PsyD programs that would seriously consider your application without any research experience. (I can think of a few, but I can't recommend them).

I have a couple of suggestions, which you may or may not find useful.

1) As someone else mentioned... think about whether or not an MSW might meet your needs.

2) If you're set on the PsyD, consider getting involved in research. Not all research is fundamentally detached and academic, and if you're as interested in psychology as you say you are... I'd be surprised if you couldn't find someone doing work you're interested in. Check out research hospitals as well as universities. There's some interesting psychotherapy process/outcome research out there that might interest you, for instance. You could also help out with a study as a way to get clinical experience in your area of interest (being trained to administer portions of a structured intake interview, for example, to screen participants for a study, might be right up your alley).

I think even a few solid months of this kind of research experience would significantly improve your application, and you'd then be more competitive at the kind of programs that you seem interested in ("good support for learning and gaining clinical experience, and that will leave me with the skills and credentials I need to be an effective practitioner when I'm finished").

 

[Navrins]

Thanks for the thoughtful replies.

I would like to get more clinical experience before applying, but unfortunately application schedules mean that doing so would delay my application by a full year. And I don't want to do that - or rather, if I don't apply or don't get into a PsyD program, I'd rather spend that year starting an MA program. (Which might be the best thing for me to do anyway - that's still what I'm trying to figure out.)

I have looked into MSW programs, and the course requirements for several different programs look much less interesting to me than anything in the psychology or counseling areas.

Reading books is great for gaining knowledge, but not for demonstrating to anyone else that I have it. If I have the knowledge, I want to have the degree that'll let me get paid to use it.

I have not been able to find any resource like the Insider's Guide to Programs in Clincal and Counseling Psychology that covers master's programs in counseling or psychology. Is there anything you can recommend for getting oriented to what masters programs are like, what I should be considering in choosing one, and so on? Is there any respected accreditation for such programs (I know APA doesn't)?

 

[psychmama]

Thanks for the thoughtful replies.

I would like to get more clinical experience before applying, but unfortunately application schedules mean that doing so would delay my application by a full year. And I don't want to do that - or rather, if I don't apply or don't get into a PsyD program, I'd rather spend that year starting an MA program. (Which might be the best thing for me to do anyway - that's still what I'm trying to figure out.)

I have looked into MSW programs, and the course requirements for several different programs look much less interesting to me than anything in the psychology or counseling areas.

Reading books is great for gaining knowledge, but not for demonstrating to anyone else that I have it. If I have the knowledge, I want to have the degree that'll let me get paid to use it.

I have not been able to find any resource like the Insider's Guide to Programs in Clincal and Counseling Psychology that covers master's programs in counseling or psychology. Is there anything you can recommend for getting oriented to what masters programs are like, what I should be considering in choosing one, and so on? Is there any respected accreditation for such programs (I know APA doesn't)?

Hi. I recommend Rutgers Psyd program. There are a lot of older career changers there, and while the faculty like to see research and clinical experience, they are willing to be flexible and consider other things, especially for non-traditional applicants. I'm a Rutgers Psyd student, and this was my situation as well. If your grades and test scores are high, and if you bring other things to the table, I'd say you have a shot there.

Feel free to pm me if you'd like more information.

 

[hkusp]

Keep in mind that the Massachusetts area is well known for being "oversaturated" for MH practitioners and students. This is going to put you in a position of having to be even more crafty and competitive than someone else in an unsaturated market. Your 4.0 and 1450 GPA (as an example) may look like a 3.0 and 1050 in that crazy market.