Questions regarding the requisite background for clinical neuropsychology

[wong928]

Hi, everyone. I am an international student from Macau who have just finished my undergraduate in psychology. I have some questions regarding the background requirements for someone intending to choose neuropsychology as the field of graduate study. Pardon me for my English if I 'm not expressing well.

Indeed, I am currently in the process of applying for some master programs of clinical psychology in U.S. I do so because I want to demonstrate my academic aptitude by raising my lackluster gpa (3.24) during my undergradute, which I considered partially due to the different grading standard in my country. And more importantly to gain more research experiences and some publications. My ultra aim is to apply for clinical Ph.d programs which have neuropsychology specialization and would allow me to seek post-doctoral training in some medical settings. The problem is I don't have any background in hard science (e.g., chemistry, physiology, biology etc) neither in my high school or undergraduate. The curriculum plan in my university is very hidebound which won't allow me to enroll in any courses besides psychology and some humanistic fields. Is it possible for someone with zero background in hard science to choose a subspeciality like neuropsychology? Will it be possible for me to compenstate all those deficencies during the study in master program? Moreover, I also have difficulties in distinguishing neuroscience and neuropscyhology because they are closely overlapped. Are there main differences in their training focuses and if so, what are those differences?

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[roubs]

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-a-clinical-neuropsychologist-do.htm

vs

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-a-neuroscientist-do.htm


It would be helpful to figure out which type of job you want to have before receiving advice on how to prepare.

 

[wong928]

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-a-clinical-neuropsychologist-do.htm

vs

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-a-neuroscientist-do.htm


It would be helpful to figure out which type of job you want to have before receiving advice on how to prepare.

Thank you, I now understand more about the differences between neuropsychology and neuroscience. However, I still want to know whether my background would let me be eligible for the training of neuropsychology.

 

[roubs]

Thank you, I now understand more about the differences between neuropsychology and neuroscience. However, I still want to know whether my background would let me be eligible for the training of neuropsychology.

Neuropsychologists are psychologists first. There are not special pre-reqs if you happen to know you want to pursue neuropsych already.

Many of my classmates who are going into neuropsych internships and postdocs did not even know that neuropsych would be their focus when they applied to grad school, so they obviously did no special preparation beyond what was needed for a clinical psychology Ph.D.

 

[roubs]

Thank you, I now understand more about the differences between neuropsychology and neuroscience. However, I still want to know whether my background would let me be eligible for the training of neuropsychology.

If you wanted to do neuroscience with a biological bent that would necessitate more hard science. Are you sure which area you want to focus in? As the descriptions noted, they are quite different jobs if you think about what you'd be doing on a day to day basis.

 

[wong928]

If you wanted to do neuroscience with a biological bent that would necessitate more hard science. Are you sure which area you want to focus in? As the descriptions noted, they are quite different jobs if you think about what you'd be doing on a day to day basis.

I 'm pretty sure I want to do neuropsychology because I 'm interested in the clinical application of brain-body relationship in particular severe form of neurocognitive disorders rather than going into the micro level of neruochemical activity. 🙂

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Many of my classmates who are going into neuropsych internships and postdocs did not even know that neuropsych would be their focus when they applied to grad school, so they obviously did no special preparation beyond what was needed for a clinical psychology Ph.D.

This is what happened to me. I actually am not a big fan of "tracks" or programs that really push specialty training because I believe strong generalist training is needed before a person even considers a particular area. Programs that focus too much on specialties really put the cart before the horse.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

This is what happened to me. I actually am not a big fan of "tracks" or programs that really push specialty training because I believe strong generalist training is needed before a person even considers a particular area. Programs that focus too much on specialties really put the cart before the horse.

+1, particularly given the amount of time I spend each day practicing "regular" clinical psychology in addition to neuropsychology. As I'm sure you can attest T4C, it's not as though once you accept a position (even as a neuropsychologist), you're suddenly allowed to say, "oh, that's psych, not neuropsych; I don't do that."

Heck, I'm a strong believer that a big part of our unique benefit in various settings is the strong training we receive in psychology relative to many of the other professionals with whom we work (e.g., physicians, nurses, rehab staff). This training allows us to conceptualize cases in ways that most others can't (and/or won't).

 

[Pragma]

+1, particularly given the amount of time I spend each day practicing "regularly" clinical psychology in addition to neuropsychology. As I'm sure you can attest T4C, it's not as though once you accept a position (even as a neuropsychologist), you're suddenly allowed to say, "oh, that's psych, not neuropsych; I don't do that."

Heck, I'm a strong believer that a big part of our unique benefit in various settings is the strong training we receive in psychology relative to many of the other professionals with whom we work (e.g., physicians, nurses, rehab staff). This training allows us to conceptualize cases in ways that most others can't (and/or won't).

I agree with you both T4C and AA. That was also my pathway and I am skeptical of specialized programs.