School Psych Popularity?

[smalltownpsych]

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The amount of power is certainly a point in favour of high standards in training. At the same time, you could argue that since there is so much unknown, there shouldn't be that much power given to the profession.

So who do you give the power too? Someone has to make some of these decisions and our extensive training prepares us to do a pretty good job of it.

 

[mkberry85]

Besides larger metro areas, many school districts only only one or two school psychologists, if any. So, unless you live in/live close to a larger area, you will either be waiting a while to get a job, will be forced to move, or find an alternative career (which is why I know many school psychologists that take additional coursework for school counseling, professional counseling, or psychology associate license).

 

[mkberry85]

Actually my doctoral program was 3 years of coursework but had a requirement to have a masters degree to enroll. During the three years we had about 20 hours a week of practicums. Most doctoral students have logged a couple thousand hours of experience before they even start their one-year full time internship. The supervision and mentoring is extensive. Sure there are solid masters level programs but I have worked with, hired, and supervised many master level clinicians and my observation is that the comparison is not even close. I could explain the logical flaw better if I drew a couple of normal distribution curves on a board to show that you are comparing the tail ends of the distribution.

While this may be your experience, it is not necessarily the norm. I completed almost twice the amount of practica hours within my masters as many of my friend did during their doctorate. The supervision and mentoring is extensive in many masters programs as well; individual supervision on site and by faculty, group supervision, peer-supervision. I also firmly disagree that a doctorate does not necessarily prepare one to be a better clinician.

 

[smalltownpsych]

While this may be your experience, it is not necessarily the norm. I completed almost twice the amount of practica hours within my masters as many of my friend did during their doctorate. The supervision and mentoring is extensive in many masters programs as well; individual supervision on site and by faculty, group supervision, peer-supervision. I also firmly disagree that a doctorate does not necessarily prepare one to be a better clinician.

This is not just my experience, it is also supported by the APA match data. I'm on my phone so don't have the link. If you think that less training in the field is better, I don't think I could convince you otherwise. There is a wide variation in types of MA level therapists. I know I used to hire and supervise them. It seems to me that you are describing the most experienced as though they are the norm. Q

 

[Chalupacabra]

Besides larger metro areas, many school districts only only one or two school psychologists, if any. So, unless you live in/live close to a larger area, you will either be waiting a while to get a job, will be forced to move, or find an alternative career (which is why I know many school psychologists that take additional coursework for school counseling, professional counseling, or psychology associate license).

I don't really understand your argument here. If it's that there aren't jobs, that's just plain incorrect. Hell, the president of NASP just wrote an editorial in the latest Communique about how there's a massive shortage of SPs pretty much everywhere but New York State, with plenty of data to back it up. As I stated in another thread, many of the people in my recently graduated cohort have had MULTIPLE job offers and we're only a month out from graduation. If your argument is that this isn't a field for the geographically inflexible, I agree, but that can be said of psychology in general and is by no means a unique disadvantage of SP.