Psychology Should I get a PhD?

[AcronymAllergy]

Hi all, first-year master's student in clinical psychology here! I am trying to decide what I want to do at the end of this two-year degree. I am thinking about applying to PhD programs (this was my original intention upon entering this program). My ultimate goal is to work in clinical practice (doing psychotherapy, assessments, etc), but I've gotten a lot of advice from professors at this school to not apply to PhD programs unless you are really interested in research and/or becoming a professor. I definitely don't want to be a professor, and I don't mind research, but it's not something that I'm passionate about, and a professor here said that it could be strategic to lie about that in personal statements/applications because PhD programs want people interested in research/teaching. Another professor also said that you should take the PsyD route if you want to do clinical work. This isn't an option for me because it is such an expensive degree, and I already have a lot of debt from my undergrad and this master's program. So I guess what I'm wondering is if it is worth it to go the PhD route if you are ultimately interested in clinical work, and if not, what other options there are?

Your professors seem to have an outdated and inaccurate view of training and practice in the field. Short answer: yes, it can definitely be worthwhile to pursue a Ph.D. if the ultimate goal is clinical work, particularly if you want to conduct assessments and have in-depth training in multiple psychotherapy modalities. Most individuals who obtain a Ph.D. in clinical/counseling psychology go on to clinically-oriented careers. Additionally, in part because the training is on average a year longer, Ph.D. students (again, on average) have more clinical hours by the time they apply for internship than do Psy.D. students. And on the flip side, most/all reputable Psy.D. programs (particularly those that provide any type of financial support) are going to require some degree of research participation/activity.

In the end, the idea that Ph.D. = research while Psy.D. = practice is simply false, although it is certainly still perpetuated by some advisors, professors, and programs.

I also applaud your thinking about cost. In most instances, a doctoral degree in psychology does not make financial sense if the end result is $200k+ in student debt, given the average salary in the field.

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