Psychology Should I pursue a MA or PsyD?

[Mr.Smile12]

I have known for quite some time that I want to be a therapist, and became extremely interested in clinical psychology after taking a few course at UC Davis as well as reading many personal accounts of those who live with abnormal psychological disorders. I am applying to graduate school this fall and have decided to apply for both MA and PsyD clinical psychology programs so that I have options to choose from. Ideally, I hope to get accepted into a Psy.D program. I want career flexibility, and I know that with a Masters you are very limited in practice. With a PsyD I can provide therapy as well as diagnose others with psychological disorders, which would be ideal for me as I am a person who seeks variation in my career. Personality disorders and antisocial behavior are also topics of interest, and I know that through some programs (Alliant University in San Diego) you can be trained on how to diagnose those who have been indicted. Lastly, it seems most economical to obtain a PsyD, because I do have a strong feeling that I will want to progress in my career as time continues, and again a masters does not satiate all that I hope to do. I know obtaining both is timely and costly, it seems more efficient to jump to a PsyD.

While this is a wide scope of all I hope to do in my career, I am wondering if all of this is possible (therapy, working for court cases, working as a clinical psychologist in private practice) ? In addition to this I am struggling to find the best schools I can apply for, as I want to receive the best training possible so that I can be a very helpful psychologist. I would appreciate any insight that you may have while reading this, if anything I would love to be a therapist but I truly do want to go to the next level by obtaining a Psy.D so I can have flexibility throughout my career.

(my last question) I will be applying to the following schools:

PGSP-Stanford Psy.D. Consortium (PsyD)
JFK (PsyD)
Wright Institute (PsyD)
Pacifica University (PsyD)
Alliant International University (PsyD)
Cal Poly (MA)
Pepperdine (MA)

and a few more

I am wondering which of these will provide me with the tools to become a successful practitioner, (I have looked at the stats for those students who graduate and obtain APA internships afterwards). I am asking this question because I know that some schools that are easier to get accepted into like Alliant University, have mixed reviews. Are there any other programs you can recommend me to do some more research on? What do you think are good schools to apply to? I am looking forward to any commentary, advice, or insight that you can give!

I do have research experience in which I have had opportunity to score assessments, observe psychological testing for children with autism, as well as input research data so that I am familiar with many forms of psychological assessment. In addition to this I have experience in ABA behavioral therapy. I graduated UC Davis with a degree in clinical psychology and a minor in human development.

Given the degree you earned, have you talked to your former professors about this? What did they suggest for schools and degree options?

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[AcronymAllergy]

A few quick points to start:

• You'd want to check specific state laws, but just about everywhere I know, certain masters-level practitioners (e.g., LCSW) can diagnose mental health disorders in addition to providing psychotherapy
• I'm not quite sure what you mean RE: "diagnose those who have been indicted;" are you referring to forensic practice? If so, there are a handful of psychology programs that allow a focus on forensic psychology (e.g., I believe the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa has such a "track")
• What is your rationale for focusing exclusively on Psy.D. programs? There is a common misconception that Psy.D. programs prepare one for practice while Ph.D. programs prepare one for research. This isn't the full story, as most people who complete Ph.D. programs go on to 100% clinical careers. Essentially, a quality Psy.D. program will look very, very similar to a balanced Ph.D. program

The Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology is probably the most frequently-recommended resource for anyone going through the application process. It lists all APA-accredited programs and provides information about each, including a rating of how research- or clinically-focused they are. It could be a great starting point for you.

Regarding your stated career goals, if you worked in private practice, you could certainly both conduct therapy and work on court cases, although the latter includes a very wide range of activities (e.g., criminal or civil, assessment or treatment, court-mandated or attorney/client-referred, etc.).

When evaluating any graduate training program, you're going to want to pay attention to the same key factors: are they APA-accredited (every program you apply to should be accredited), how well do you and they fit with respect to your training goals (e.g., do they have professors working in your areas of interest and do they offer practicum in such), what are the stats of their incoming classes and how do your stats compare, what are their outcome metrics (e.g., % of students obtaining APA-accredited internships, % of students completing the program and in what number of years, % of students getting licensed after completing the program), and what is the cost. This last point is, unfortunately, a frequent knock against many Psy.D. programs. If you're spending $150-200k in tuition for a doctoral degree in psychology, for which the median salary is <$100k/year, I would consider that a poor investment. And if a program that expensive isn't subsequently sending 80+% of their students to APA-accredited internships, and licensing perhaps 90+% of their graduates, that's a large red flag.

I would also recommend you expand/increase the number of programs to which you're applying. Most folks typically aim for 12-15, potentially more, although you'll want to ensure you're a relatively good fit for each. Depending on your amount of research experience, you may or may not be competitive at balanced Ph.D. programs. If you aren't, options include obtaining an additional year or two of research experience (e.g., via working as a paid or volunteer research assistant in a psychology lab), or pursuing a non-terminal masters degree that would allow you to complete an empirical thesis and additional research while enrolled.

Regarding this last point, if you cannot expand the number of programs to which you're applying is because you're geographically-limited, this unfortunately does not bode well for doctoral training in psychology. Most students will move for graduate school, move against for internship, and potentially move yet again for either fellowship or their first job. Relocation is the norm rather than the exception, for better or worse.