Thinking about Switching to Clinical Psych

[psych4good]

Hi,

I currently have a Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology, and am thinking about changing careers to clinical psychology. I chose psychology in the first place because I wanted to help people on a personal level, and am not seeing that in my current field.

1) Are there any accelerated programs available for someone that already has a Ph.D. in psych?

2) What is the job market like for clinical psychologists? Any estimates on the percentage of Ph.D. grads who get a job?

3) I would appreciate if you could point me to any other forums on clinical psychology, including currently practicing psychologists.

Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[AlaskanJustin]

Hi,

I currently have a Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology, and am thinking about changing careers to clinical psychology. I chose psychology in the first place because I wanted to help people on a personal level, and am not seeing that in my current field.

1) Are there any accelerated programs available for someone that already has a Ph.D. in psych?

2) What is the job market like for clinical psychologists? Any estimates on the percentage of Ph.D. grads who get a job?

3) I would appreciate if you could point me to any other forums on clinical psychology, including currently practicing psychologists.

Thanks!

ever looked into recertification/respecialization programs? I reckon U Missouri in St Louis has one I am sure other places do.... not that I know much about them

gl

 

[psybee]

Hi,

I currently have a Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology, and am thinking about changing careers to clinical psychology. I chose psychology in the first place because I wanted to help people on a personal level, and am not seeing that in my current field.

1) Are there any accelerated programs available for someone that already has a Ph.D. in psych?

2) What is the job market like for clinical psychologists? Any estimates on the percentage of Ph.D. grads who get a job?

3) I would appreciate if you could point me to any other forums on clinical psychology, including currently practicing psychologists.

Thanks!

check out http://www.apa.org/ to learn more about the field

 

[psych4good]

Does anyone know of a good discussion forum for current clinical psychologists?

Thanks.

 

[Psyched2525]

Does anyone know of a good discussion forum for current clinical psychologists?

Thanks.

EarlyCareer Psychologists list serv via APA. Great listserv for discussing clinical issues and private practice, but not great for research psychologists.

 

[jnine]

if i were you id figure out exactly what I wanted to do for a career and pick the shortest path to it. if you're looking for a job as a therapist, there are a slew of options for you. i think the job prospects vary by geographic location.

Hi,

I currently have a Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology, and am thinking about changing careers to clinical psychology. I chose psychology in the first place because I wanted to help people on a personal level, and am not seeing that in my current field.

1) Are there any accelerated programs available for someone that already has a Ph.D. in psych?

2) What is the job market like for clinical psychologists? Any estimates on the percentage of Ph.D. grads who get a job?

3) I would appreciate if you could point me to any other forums on clinical psychology, including currently practicing psychologists.

Thanks!

 

[whypsy]

My understanding is that because a PhD in IO is significantly different from a PhD in clinical that you wouldn't be able to do re certification. I would look into it though. It's mainly the clinical portion of the program that requires strict supervision and training.

Your previous PhD would count towards hours for the research portion of your clinical PhD. This means you could skip the stats classes and research methods, maybe some basic grad level psych courses.

Now I think you would have 2 options. You could go PsyD which is less research oriented and focuses on clinical work. Or you could go PhD which is often a split between research and clinical work.

Both PhD and PsyD are competitive on several levels.
1) very difficult getting into competitive programs
2) very hard getting an APA accredited pre doc internship (required)
3) very tough finding work early in the field/specialization you want

It seems that PsyD graduates are at an advantage when it comes to applications, because while the PhDs are doing their research, the PsyDs are doing clinical work. (PhDs will grumble about this...) Often my impression is that most PsyDs graduate with many many clinical hours making them more competitive for internship and early career applications.

For a more informative discussion about PhD vs PsyD, check the forum. There's a really long and I'm sure contested thread about PhD vs PsyD.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

It seems that PsyD graduates are at an advantage when it comes to applications, because while the PhDs are doing their research, the PsyDs are doing clinical work. (PhDs will grumble about this...) Often my impression is that most PsyDs graduate with many many clinical hours making them more competitive for internship and early career applications.

Yes and no. I believe the mean number of contact hours are pretty similar between Ph.Ds and Psy.D.s, and in some programs Ph.D.s come in with more. This is most likely due to spending another year doing clinical work (applying as a 5th year instead of as a 4th year like many Psy.D.s), though many of the balanced Ph.D. programs have just as many opportunities for clinical training as a Psy.D. program.

The total number of hours sort of loses strength after a certain amount. I think anything above maybe 700-800 really doesn't matter. There are some very therapy intensive sites that regularly take people with 1,000+ hours, but I wouldn't say it is because one person had 1200 and another person had 800. APPIC lists some of this data, so it may be worth considering. On the other end of the spectrum, anything less than 500 hours may cause problems at the more therapy oriented sites. I would also be aware of how much testing experience you have, as some sites don't want to have to train from the beginning, but most sites don't mind having to help students in certain areas....since training is expected on internship.

 

[psych4good]

Thanks all for your suggestions.

I already have the research side covered with my I/O PhD. Here are the options as I see them:

1. A PsyD seems a good option, given its practical focus and that I already have the research training.

2. A second PhD is also an option, possibly through working a customized program with a school which accepts courses I've already taken in research, stats, etc.

3. I could go the LPC route.

4. I could market myself as a "therapist" rather than a "psychologist", without worrying about the accreditation needed for licensure.

I don't like option 4 much, but am considering the first 3. Any other thoughts?

 

[PsychPhDone]

For PhD programs (and I'm only speaking for the research-heavy end), I'm not sure how enthusiastic they'd be unless you're gung ho about doing clinical research. They will still want you to take the core clinical courses, so you'd only be excused from stats (and that's as long as your stats coursework is comparable and you still have syllabi). They generally admit students on a mentorship model, so your research interests would need to match significantly. They probably wouldn't want to put the effort and funds into admitting you unless you're going to produce solid related research. If you're not interested in continuing with research, you'll want to focus on other careers or clinical-heavy PhD programs. (Or respecializations.) It coudn't hurt to call a couple of DCTs at programs that interest you to see what coursework/milestone work they'd let transfer.

Good luck!

Thanks all for your suggestions.

I already have the research side covered with my I/O PhD. Here are the options as I see them:

1. A PsyD seems a good option, given its practical focus and that I already have the research training.

2. A second PhD is also an option, possibly through working a customized program with a school which accepts courses I've already taken in research, stats, etc.

3. I could go the LPC route.

4. I could market myself as a "therapist" rather than a "psychologist", without worrying about the accreditation needed for licensure.

I don't like option 4 much, but am considering the first 3. Any other thoughts?

 

[ADDICTED2STATS]

I would really look into the respecialization options. I know someone who did this. This person had a Ph.D. in biopsych (working exclusively with animals) and was able to complete the respecialization in 2 years + internship without doing another dissertation. I would think that I/O, with all the assessment work, would be sufficiently close to clinical that you wouldn't need to complete a 2nd Ph.D.

 

[psych4good]

My interest is applied rather than doing clinical research, so sounds like respecialization would be the best option. Thanks again for the feedback, I'll check out the clinical programs here in the Dallas area.