The Best Clinical/Counseling Psychology PhD Programs in the Country?

[CSURAM2011]

This last application season I only applied to one school and didn't get it. Too bad, but I figured as much. Now, I'm broadening my horizons and looking to apply across the country and the best scientist-practitioner schools -- if possible.

I'm wondering what you consider to be the best with the balance in mind.

I was thinking Duke is probably up there.

And advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
CSURAM2011

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Ollie123]

This is kind of an impossible question. Best for what? This matters regardless of your career goals, but I think its especially true on the science side of things. The best school in the country for health psychology might be absolutely terrible for neuropsychology, and vice versa. This is why at the graduate level the general thought seems to be it matters more who your mentors/advisors are than your school. Of course, better faculty will generally be found at better schools but there is a lot of noise in the equation.

Duke is certainly a great program, but there is no shortage of other comparable schools.

 

[Gully376]

This is kind of an impossible question. Best for what? This matters regardless of your career goals, but I think its especially true on the science side of things. The best school in the country for health psychology might be absolutely terrible for neuropsychology, and vice versa. This is why at the graduate level the general thought seems to be it matters more who your mentors/advisors are than your school. Of course, better faculty will generally be found at better schools but there is a lot of noise in the equation.

Duke is certainly a great program, but there is no shortage of other comparable schools.

This is absolutely correct some schools are going to be better known for specific specialties. Also you could have a perfect GRE score and GPA while working with well known psychologists but if you don't match well with the professor you are applying to work with you are not going to get in. That being said if you are looking for a school with the highest GRE/GPA requirements I would buy the insiders guide to clinical psychology it will list the stats for the schools. Off the top of my head I know Duke Cal Berkley Stanford Brown and University of Washington are very competitive and good schools

 

[erg923]

The only answer you are going to get to a question like this is, "it depends on your interests."

Is Yale a top program? Of course. Was there much appealing about the faculty research interests and the opps available there for me? No.

 

[CSURAM2011]

Let me clarify...

I don't want health psychology nor did I mention anything about neuroscience. The focus of this post was supposed to be on balanced scientist-practitioner model schools. From what I understand, plenty of schools don't fit this.

And yes, I understand that research interests and faculty matches may dictate decisions. If possible, I'm just looking for general answers.

BTW, in regards to Yale:

The Clinical Psychology area is dedicated to research and training in clinical science. Unlike many scientist-practitioner programs, the main training objective at Yale is to cultivate the development of scholars through exposure to a rich and multidisciplinary array of research opportunities and to scientific disciplines within and outside of the field of psychology.

So that would rule out their program.

 

[erg923]

Then Duke is not for you.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Let me clarify...

I don't want health psychology nor did I mention anything about neuroscience. The focus of this post was supposed to be on balanced scientist-practitioner model schools. From what I understand, plenty of schools don't fit this.

Those were examples meant to point out that you are not asking the right question. Without knowing your area of research interest, it is impossible to even attempt to recommend a program. A place like the University of Florida would be a great place for someone interested in neuroscience, but it'd be a poor fit for someone wanting to study psychoanalytic theory.

And yes, I understand that research interests and faculty matches may dictate decisions. If possible, I'm just looking for general answers.

Research interests and faculty will dictate your decision because without a good research match, you will not be offered a spot. As long as the program is APA-acred., graduates its students, and has a track record of consistently matching its students to APA-acred internship sites....you'll be fine.

 

[cara susanna]

There's no such thing as truly balanced, tbh. You have to choose one thing over the other.

Or so says someone at a "balanced" program.

 

[LM02]

Off the top of my head I know Duke Cal Berkley Stanford Brown and University of Washington are very competitive and good schools

Stanford and Brown don't even offer clinical PhDs...

The "best" programs are those with the greatest strengths in what you want to specialize in. For anxiety disorders, those may be places like UCLA or BU. For mood disorders? Maybe a place like Yale or CU-Boulder. For suicide research? Maybe Florida State or Harvard. But none of these are places that I would describe as truly balanced.

So if you want to specialize in, say, anxiety disorders, maybe one of the best "balanced" schools is Albany? Or maybe Fordham is a good match if you want to do suicide research, but still want "balanced."

It is far more nuanced than, say, picking an undergrad school or even a professional school (eg, business, law, etc).

 

[Ollie123]

Let me clarify...

I don't want health psychology nor did I mention anything about neuroscience. The focus of this post was supposed to be on balanced scientist-practitioner model schools. From what I understand, plenty of schools don't fit this.

I understand, as someone else mentioned, those were simply examples. If you are going scientist-practitioner, you are again going to be looking at SOME level of specialization. The vast majority of these programs operate under a mentor model which means that whether you want to be a world-famous researcher or not, you are going to be doing research and wwill probably be obtaining at least some focused clinical experiences in a specific area.

What you are looking for does not exist for the reasons myself and others have said. Its not really feasible to pin down a best "balanced" school because what does that even mean? The school that offers mediocre training in the most topics? I'm not aware of any school that offers good training in every area of the field....heck you'd probably need 100+ core faculty members. You need to have something more specific in mind if you are going to aim high....or really anyplace but the bottom of the barrel.

 

[busybusybusy]

To sum it up...if you could elaborate on your interests maybe we could all comment on schools that would be a good match...

 

[futureapppsy2]

There's no such thing as truly balanced, tbh. You have to choose one thing over the other.

Or so says someone at a "balanced" program.

I agree. I also think truly "balanced" programs are rare and that "balance" can even differ ifrom advisor to advisor within a program.

 

[CSURAM2011]

Okay. First of all, thank you all for commenting, I appreciate the feedback very much.

To LM02: Let's rule out both Harvard and CU-Boulder, though. Those are both dedicated to making researchers not Scientist-Practitioners. In fact, their sites plead with you not to apply if you're interested in becoming a practicing clinician/psychologist.

To erg923:

Then Duke is not for you.

I wasn't sure about the program's balance. I had inferred from their website. Here's a quote:

Our training program follows the scientist-practitioner model. We aim to prepare graduates to be outstanding scientists and outstanding clinicians, who will conduct research and practice in an ethical manner, with sensitivity to individual, cultural, racial and ethnic diversity.

Perhaps you could shed some light on why this wouldn't be the program for me?

As for my specific research interests:
-Protective factors in suicide
-Dispute and resolution in couples' relationships
-Diversity and stereotypes
-Anxiety disorders/test-taking nervousness

 

[erg923]

Because they are members of the following. http://acadpsychclinicalscience.org/index.php?page=member

This does NOT mean they are not able to produce competent clinicians. They do. But, as members of APS, its really not their priority. In other words, its a VERY research intensive program...and you don't sound like you want that.

That said, I would not be so black or white or literal in your interpretation of program descriptions. You are gonna have to talk to some people at each and put in some leg work before you can really get a feel if the program is a good fit for you. Again, others are correct that a program can feel very different depending on what lab you're in. One professor may be very "clinically-friendly" and encouraging, whereas other may be nearly single mindedly focused on their research.

 

[LM02]

To LM02: Let's rule out both Harvard and CU-Boulder, though. Those are both dedicated to making researchers not Scientist-Practitioners. In fact, their sites plead with you not to apply if you're interested in becoming a practicing clinician/psychologist

I know. That was my point - arguably these are some of the best programs in certain research areas, but they are not "balanced." As such, I wasn't recommending them to you. I was simply using them to make the same point that several others have made.

 

[MrQuack]

CSURAM2011

This is a very common question. Heck I bet just about everyone in here asked this question when they first applied.

Now, if you want to go to the "top schools", which is a pathological issue all in itself, you M U S T fulfill these basic tenants...

1. The "Best" schools by USNWP rankings are all research schools, so if you want to work in academia and then practice part-time, if at all, that is for you...not for me, most professors seem unhappy and psychology research rarely translates to the real-world. I don't know why you would want to get a degree which liberates you from institutionalized working environments with bosses and such and then go into the ultimate institution.

2. GRE scores. Do not even ask this question until you clear a 1300. These schools are very iffy about this issue. Now I know people are going to disagree with me on this, but it is a common rule to clear this mark for research programs. I think someone said another forum that once you get interviewed these scores no longer matter, what a load of crap. These schools are ranked so high for many reasons, one is the GRE score of their ADMITTED applicants.

3. A clear focus. Why did you only apply to 1 school last year? You really have to commit to this goal and not just dip your feet in the water. It would be pretty awesome if you had gotten in though (a lot of work and money saved).

4. As far as "balance" goes...that is completely dependent on your advisor. If they are one of the biggest producers at that school, in your case, I'd avoid them. Which really sucks because these people can get your extra $$$ from their grants and have good professional connections both in and outside of research.

The end message is, buckle-up because your still along for the ride. If you want to go to a "top school" pffff you will have to be a researcher and your clinical training may leave you somewhat disappointed. You seem like you are pretty fresh out of undergrad so you should know that if you were to get into these programs, a lot of people in your cohort would be in their late 20s' early 30s'...are you getting the picture yet?