Time to complete a Clinical Ph.D or Psy.D after completing another doctoral degr

[attackemu]

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I'm a third year undergrad right now who's having a problem with regard to clinical vs. experimental, and I'd appreciate any advice!

Getting a clinical Ph.D has been a goal of mine since my freshman year, and I've done massive amounts of research into the different programs offered at various US and UK universities; all this is to say that I have a pretty good idea of what is involved in a clinical PhD, and have looked at a ton of different labs.

My problem is this: the vast majority of labs in the clinical area perform research that, while it is very important, does not interest me (especially when I think about dedicating 5-8 years of my life to researching it!). There are some labs that do research that really interest me, so it's not a completely lost cause, but given how difficult it is to get into any program, the more options I have the better.

On the other hand, there is a LOT of research done in experimental PhD programs that I find really interesting. And a lot of the universities that house these labs only offer the experimental program (top examples include Stanford, Oxford, Cambridge, Princeton--and yes, I know it's the supervisor you work with, not the school you attend that's important).

So, to summarize, I really enjoy the experimental programs' research, but want to get the benefit of having a clinical doctoral degree so that I can practice therapy and treat people on the side of research and academia. I know there are some schools (e.g. McGill, Berkeley) that have clinical and experimental programs, and allow their clinical students to do research with profs in the experimental areas, but these programs are the exception to the general rule.

SO (sorry for the novel here...) here's the question: if I were to be accepted to a program like Cambridge (an easy feat, right?), where I would attain a PhD in Experimental Psychology, how long would it take to obtain a 2nd PhD, this time in Clinical, or a PsyD? Because I would, in this hypothetical situation, already have a PhD, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have to take most of the general (non-clinically oriented) classes required for the 2nd degree (stats etc), and it would mostly be working on the dissertation and getting the experience/internship. Does anyone have any idea as to the range of the duration of this second degree? Do you think it would be possible to pursue this while maintaining your position in the academic world? (e.g. post-doc somewhere).

Sorry for the rambling here, and I apologize if I left out any important information...I just have a lot of thoughts on the topic, and it's kind of a weird topic. I'd appreciate anyone's insight into the matter!

 

[lexicon]

Can you be more specific about your research interests? Are you sure they can't be pursued through clinical avenues?

A friend of mine is getting her PhD in an interdisciplinary program where she works in both psychology and the humanities, and is receiving training at a psychoanalytic institute at the same time. When she finishes her PhD she plans on getting a MSW so that she can have a clinical practice and still do the type of research she is interested in. Might that be an option for you?

 

[erg923]

Well, you wouldn't get a 2nd separate ph.d in clinical psych. You would do a clincal re-specialization program. These are housed in a handful of universities in the US and take about 2 years of training (mostly clinical training and practicums, as you already have a good research background if you have a ph.d in experimental), plus one more for the clinical internship. So, 3 years total.

 

[attackemu]

ahhh, erg, that's perfect--exactly what I was looking for. Do you know if there are some respecialization programs that are known to be good/better ones to attend?

Also, most of the programs I just looked up affirmed what you said about timing--roughly 3-4 years, depending on how recently you did your PhD. My understanding of a PsyD is that the time is fairly similar, about 4 years (depending on what you're doing and how fast you do it); would there be a benefit (other than potential time difference) to doing a PsyD over the respecialization?


Also, are you a rower? 🙂 i assume 9:23 is your 2k time?

 

[AcronymAllergy]

There are a (small) handful of individuals in our program who have transferred from a non-clinical area (bio, for example) to clinical after three or four years. They were made to complete two separate general exams (one in each area), and either two dissertations, or a dissertation that appropriately addressed content areas from both fields, but were/will be graduating with a "dual" Ph.D. I believe. The entire process seemed to take about 7-8 years total (including internship).

Beyond that, erg's suggestion about respecialization is the way to go.

 

[Spacemonkey]

There are other options, for the highly motivated. For example, I know of a clinical psychologist assoc prof at a prestigious US university, licensed in current state, whose PhD is in developmental psychopathology from Cambridge. She had an MA in clinical psych, and did post-docs in both clinical (1 year) and devpsych(2 yrs). Not sure about her internship year, as I think they must do things slightly differently in the UK. What is important for clinical psych is your state's reqs for licensure.

 

[Wapote84]

I know that UM-St. Louis has a clinical respecialization program that is amazing, ESPECIALLY if you are interested in PTSD and/or trauma in adults, adolescents,or young children. I would say its one of the best trauma focused programs out there.

 

[PhDToBe]

It might be beneficial for you to list your research interests, and then people who have similar interests can help you find clinical ph.d. programs with that research, so you don't have to do two degrees.

Also, if your research interests are similar to a professor's or a lab's, the professor/lab might be willing to work with you. It depends on the professor, lab, program, etc.