Researcher/Therapist

[Pscyh6]

Is it practical to be a researcher & a therapist at the same time or would it take up too much time/work?

I'm aware there are several factors to this question like resources, commission, research subject, field of psychology, etc.

I ask that you please answer this question from a general perspective with no specific point of view, thank you!

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[PsychPhDone]

Is it practical to be a researcher & a therapist at the same time or would it take up too much time/work?

I'm aware there are several factors to this question like resources, commission, research subject, field of psychology, etc.

I ask that you please answer this question from a general perspective with no specific point of view, thank you!

Uhhh a general perspective? This is one of those situations that's highly specific to setting...

 

[erg923]

Is it practical to be a researcher & a therapist at the same time or would it take up too much time/work?

I'm aware there are several factors to this question like resources, commission, research subject, field of psychology, etc.

I ask that you please answer this question from a general perspective with no specific point of view, thank you!

I don't know what the highlighted part means.

But, yes, obviously, especially in academic settings, people can see patients and have research involvement (I would general plan on a work week in excess of 40 hours for this) . This is harder and even more time demanding in private practice but it can (and is) done. Paul Lees Haley comes to mind specifically. Error encountered - PubMed - NCBI

"Practical" is also in the eye of the beholder, right? I prefer to get paid for pretty much any second I spend doing professional work. I have a wife, a large yard and 3 children. So, keeping my working hours to a minimum is a pretty big priority for me, personally.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

It can be done, but it is very dependent on the patient population. I know someone who runs a clinic that conducts research out of his (depression and anxiety focused) clinic. He is faculty at a large research institution, so the IRB stuff is all passed through their IRB.

I’m in the process of transitioning my research over to more intervention and outcome based work. I’m still assessment focused, but i’ll be using mid-levels to conduct the therapy and psycho-ed interventions for a few different sub-sets of a particular patient population. I’ll likely be utilizing a local university’s IRB, depending on how the funding shakes out.

 

[MCParent]

How much therapy?
I do a very small amount of pro bono things for veterans associations etc. I have so little time that it would be impractical to join a group practice etc. but that’s one way to continue to see people in a rewarding and useful way without worrying about overhead, billing, etc. Theyre folks who wouldn’t be able to afford to go to therapy otherwise, so it’s not taking away from the market.

 

[singasongofjoy]

Probably easiest to do both if you're in a university or academic med school type setting, and you'd need your therapy to dovetail with your research to be economical with your time. What someone considers "too much time/work" varies widely, but I don't personally know any psychologists who work 40 hours a week. I'd say 50 is more the norm. Some work more, and some people find it fun go to home and run stats. I'm not one of those people. I try to stick to a 45-50 hour a week but I'm not trying to hammer out a bunch of pubs or go after tenure either.

 

[WisNeuro]

I'd say about 75% of the faculty in my graduate university maintained a small clinical caseload in addition to their research positions.

 

[deleted343839]

Yes, but as others have noted most people focus on one thing as their primary work activity and make the other a secondary focus. Very few people devote equal time and effort to service delivery and research.

 

[Justanothergrad]

What do you mean 'do research'? What type of clinical setting? Which are you doing primarily? Without specifics the outcomes will vary greatly so it's hard to give a good answer here, as others have said.

Do you mean being a primary researcher (TT or soft money) and then seeing folks clinically on the side with a small case load? Sure. Very feasible and common.
Do you mean act as a co-investigator with another researcher taking the lead on projects and you providing clinical samples or consultation during the process? Sure. Very feasible and common.
Do you mean producing large amounts of first and sole author publications with no institutional support such as what you would have in private practice? Not so much.

 

[Pscyh6]

I don't have a specific interest quite yet so I suppose what I am asking is for other people's experiences and what they think is typical or what they consider is too much

 

[ClinicalABA]

I work in a large group private practice, applied setting. We’re required to engage/participate in a research, and are given support and time (reflected in our billable hours percentages) to do so. As long as we are actively involved in research and dissemination of our work (present at a national conference at least once every three years), all annual national and regional conventions in our field (ABA) are funded, including registration, airfare, hotel, and daily stipend. Don’t engage in research, and you get a talking to from the owner (who we all respect highly and don’t want to disappoint on both a professional and personal level). We are eligible for nice monetary bonuses for publications, up to 5k for premier journals. In other words, it’s possible and may be supported by agencies. Research activities CANNOT be an excuse for not meeting billable. This tends not to be an issue for most of us, as there’s plenty of billables to go around, and we all work hard (150% billable weeks are not uncommon). It’s a little easier in ABA, as we emphasize single case research methodology.

 

[Pscyh6]

I work in a large group private practice, applied setting. We’re required to engage/participate in a research, and are given support and time (reflected in our billable hours percentages) to do so. As long as we are actively involved in research and dissemination of our work (present at a national conference at least once every three years), all annual national and regional conventions in our field (ABA) are funded, including registration, airfare, hotel, and daily stipend. Don’t engage in research, and you get a talking to from the owner (who we all respect highly and don’t want to disappoint on both a professional and personal level). We are eligible for nice monetary bonuses for publications, up to 5k for premier journals. In other words, it’s possible and may be supported by agencies. Research activities CANNOT be an excuse for not meeting billable. This tends not to be an issue for most of us, as there’s plenty of billables to go around, and we all work hard (150% billable weeks are not uncommon). It’s a little easier in ABA, as we emphasize single case research methodology.

Thank you, this was very helpful!