What are my chances of being accepted into a Psy.D. program?

[sillysausage333]

I just graduated college with a dual degree in psychology and neuroscience with a 3.47 overall gpa. The first two years were rough due to care taking for my sick brothers and adapting to covid college life. The last two years of undergrad I averaged above a 3.7 gpa and was on the deans list all of senior year, do grad schools look at the last two years or do they only look at overall gpa? I haven't done my GRE since most schools don't require or accept them now. I also have over 1 year of clinical experience working with severely mentally ill patients and 1 year of research experience in a lab that researches bipolar disorder. Both experiences align with my interests. I'm not sure if this counts as clinical experience, maybe someone can inform me, but I was one of the caretakers for both of my schizoaffective brothers for 6 years. Since I am a family member I'm not sure if this counts or not, to me it does but I'm not sure on the rules. I'm hoping to apply this fall to Psy.D. programs by which time I'll have about 1 1/2 years of clinical and 1 1/2 years of research experience. With the degree I'm hoping to be able to open a private practice and provide therapy to individuals with schizophrenia, schizoaffective, and bipolar disorder as well as therapy for the family members. I want to get a certificate in nutrition as well since I firmly believe diet and the gut-brain connection plays a huge role in our mental well-being. I also hope to be able to do some disability assessments with my doctorate.

What are my chances of getting into a credible Psy.D. program? Should I try for a masters first or is that a waste of time?

Any guidance would be beyond helpful, thank you!

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[NeuroPsychosis]

I would try seeking out the fully funded PsyD programs first (since you got me wondering about "credible"). This is best shot compared to unfunded one. I know talking about funding sounds cliche but I'd always like to make newbies aware of the amount of debt. I would say you have a solid chance if you work hard on your applications and statements. I believe you have an inspiring story to share somehow, but I am unsure where this mostly fits, especially given that lots of applicants have more formal research/clinical experience. You don't need a master's if in a US program and most credible programs give you one on the way to the PsyD.

 

[summerbabe]

I'm not sure if this counts as clinical experience, maybe someone can inform me, but I was one of the caretakers for both of my schizoaffective brothers for 6 years. Since I am a family member I'm not sure if this counts or not, to me it does but I'm not sure on the rules.

Caretaking would not count (i.e., you can't list it as a CV item).

With the degree I'm hoping to be able to open a private practice and provide therapy to individuals with schizophrenia, schizoaffective, and bipolar disorder as well as therapy for the family members

If your sole goal is therapy, you may be served better by an MSW, LPC, MFT, etc degree, which will allow you to open a private practice as soon as you're fully licensed.

A self-pay PsyD will likely cost you anywhere from $150,000 to $250,000 of tuition and living expenses (some programs like Palo Alto will cost even more). Additionally, instead of 3 years to full licensure, it'll likely take 6-8 years for a PsyD.

I also hope to be able to do some disability assessments with my doctorate.

Assessment is a good reason to go for a doctorate. But is the added tuition and time costs worth it? Especially if it might be a side practice?

What are my chances of getting into a credible Psy.D. program?

If you're competitive for the best PsyD programs, you'd likely be competitive for funded or partially funded PhDs. Is there a reason why you are only considering PsyDs?

 

[R. Matey]

With the degree I'm hoping to be able to open a private practice and provide therapy to individuals with schizophrenia, schizoaffective, and bipolar disorder as well as therapy for the family members.

Unless you're talking about a very niche market (and even then its doubtful), most folks with severe mental health presentations typically rely on state/federal benefits for mental health services. I don't think I've ever seen a PP outside of psychiatry that exclusively focuses on these types of presentations. There are reasons for it: while folks with more severe clinical presentations can benefit from psychotherapy, by-in-large psychiatric treatment is usually the first line.

OP, it honestly sounds like your personal experiences with your family is influencing the decision, which is completely fine in my book, but be sure to do your due diligence in researching the field you want to join. A PP disability/psychotherapy practice with the foci you're describing is pretty rare, if it exists at all. This is in part due to those real-life bass tacks of day-to-day such as practice pay incentives, risk management, provider burnout and the like.

That's not meant to discourage you. If you really want to specialize here, I'd suggest looking up labs and PIs who are doing this kind of research, like at the University of Washington. Your GPA isn't terrible (remember those admission stats you're looking at are means, not minimums) so I don't think I'd rule out a funded Ph.D. program. More research and exposure to the field might inform your ultimate decisions, which may include working within a psychiatric hospital that typically works with these patients.

Also, be sure to check out the insider's guide for broad advice about how to get into grad school.

 

[cotn_psych]

I did my doctorate in this area and did a lot of clinical training in SMI. Most of the clinical work done for this population is more case management, psychiatry, and social work. It is possible to be included in a treatment plan, but I often felt like a John Deere tractor in a half acre field trying to do psychotherapy. The most impact that I made was doing groups at the VA and assessment to clarify diagnosis for psychiatrists and other providers. For example, teasing apart Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective was very helpful for the psychiatrist's planning meds. If you want to go the doctorate route, there are a lot of very good research centers attached to academic medical and VA clinics. You will get better clinical and assessment training at these centers than trying to piece together experiences from a PsyD, IMO. The PhD programs associated with this area tend to be very assessment focused and neuroscience/neuroimaging focused. Take a look at Society for Research in Psychopathology, this is where you will find most of the labs and PhD program supervisors focusing on SMI. As mentioned, you will have some good experience in research. It is worthwhile to get solid research training and research project in the form of poster/paper and finding a funded program.

 

[Sanman]

1. Slow down and evaluate your options

2. Think about taking the GRE. Your GPA is not great and if you score well, you can send the scores out to strengthen your application. On GPA alone chances are slim when there are plenty of folks with 3.8- 4.0 cum gpas and similar experience applying.

3. Before jumping into a non-clinical/terminal masters degree to boost your gpa, consider whether a licensed masters, like an LCSW, would meet your goals quicker than 2 yrs of masters to improve GPA + 4-7 years to get a doctorate for a slight pay bump.

4. Caring for your brothers is not a clinical experience. You can, however, choose to cover this in one of the application essays.

5. Do your brothers go to a therapist/psychologist now? Did/do you as their caregiver? Why or why not? If not, then what makes you think there is a viable business model there? If so, have you spoken to this person about the field?

 

[psyduckies]

To add- also not sure if you’re just wanting to do adult work. Prodromal psychosis is one where there is some treatment things being developed. UC Davis has an internship that works in this area. But echoing what others said- is it just therapy work you’re wanting or assessment? A large part of the work we did on internship/practicums in this areas was providing differential diagnosis through assessments (substance induced, true prodromal, schizoaffective, bipolar, trauma- this was particularly for psychiatrists who would diagnosed 7 year old at the hospital I worked at with “paranoid schizophrenia” when it was quiet obviously trauma mixed with developmental norms ie- being scared of the dark because they feel like they see a shadow as they fall asleep or hyper vigilance due to historical sexual abuse at nighttime). From what I remember UC Davis (and maybe UCLA?) is creating a lengthy interview for prodromal psychosis (appears similar-ish to the ADI-R from the snippets I’ve seen).

Caregiving for your brothers would not count as clinical experience. Be mindful of how you write about this in personal statements- there is a good article called “Kisses of Death” that talks about large errors people make in graduation school personal statements. It’s not impossible to write about- but to much detail can lend programs to think you have difficulty with boundaries/self disclosure (which different schools have different thoughts on).

 

[Peacemaker36]

Unless you're talking about a very niche market (and even then its doubtful), most folks with severe mental health presentations typically rely on state/federal benefits for mental health services. I don't think I've ever seen a PP outside of psychiatry that exclusively focuses on these types of presentations. There are reasons for it: while folks with more severe clinical presentations can benefit from psychotherapy, by-in-large psychiatric treatment is usually the first line.

OP, it honestly sounds like your personal experiences with your family is influencing the decision, which is completely fine in my book, but be sure to do your due diligence in researching the field you want to join. A PP disability/psychotherapy practice with the foci you're describing is pretty rare, if it exists at all. This is in part due to those real-life bass tacks of day-to-day such as practice pay incentives, risk management, provider burnout and the like.

That's not meant to discourage you. If you really want to specialize here, I'd suggest looking up labs and PIs who are doing this kind of research, like at the University of Washington. Your GPA isn't terrible (remember those admission stats you're looking at are means, not minimums) so I don't think I'd rule out a funded Ph.D. program. More research and exposure to the field might inform your ultimate decisions, which may include working within a psychiatric hospital that typically works with these patients.

Also, be sure to check out the insider's guide for broad advice about how to get into grad school.

People with SMI benefit from therapy. There is plenty of research on CBTp, CBT for Bipolar Disorder, and a variety of other interventions.

There are plenty of folks with SMI who are in therapy and not insured by Medicare or Medicaid. Young adults who just had a first psychotic break or major mood episode are generally on commercial insurance, either through their parents or a job/college. Many adults with Bipolar or Schizoaffective Disorder are employed and on commercial insurance, or are married to a spouse with commercial insurance. Patients with SMI generally prefer a therapist with expertise in that area.

OP, if you are interested in working with these populations, one option is to train with a hospital program that specializes in Bipolar Disorder, First Episode Psychosis, or early detection. If you live in a major city, there will be plenty of these programs, and they often need to refer out.

Having a background in nutrition would be a huge asset. There is research being done now on the ketogenic diet, the gut, etc. No doubt the people doing this research like to carry a list of therapists who can serve the SMI population.

 

[R. Matey]

People with SMI benefit from therapy. There is plenty of research on CBTp, CBT for Bipolar Disorder, and a variety of other interventions.

I never said otherwise. The point is that a specialty in this area is likely to be highly niche.

 

[summerbabe]

I never said otherwise. The point is that a specialty in this area is likely to be highly niche.

Agreed on the niche-ness of this specialty & I think it's important to highlight this for the OP, including likely employment pathways.

Most people who start this journey probably have one thing that motivates them but we often expand our interests as we have different practicums/jobs but if the OP is super set on this type of work exclusively, it would be good to know about potential viability.

Also, if I have to predict, more and more of SMI focused therapy will shift to master's level providers in the future, especially in agency jobs.

 

[Peacemaker36]

I think having a niche is a very good business strategy for a therapist in private practice! If OP wants to make a career working with SMI, it might be difficult, but in which niche is it easy to make a name for yourself?

I disagree with this sentiment: "...while folks with more severe clinical presentations can benefit from psychotherapy, by-in-large psychiatric treatment is usually the first line." I agree that med management and case management are front line treatments, but there are many patients who also do very well in therapy. And people with SMI are not a monolith. Chronic mental illness with steadily deteriorating course is not by any means the majority of folks who have a manic episode or think, say, that they are being surveilled by Elon Musk.

 

[R. Matey]

I disagree with this sentiment: "...while folks with more severe clinical presentations can benefit from psychotherapy, by-in-large psychiatric treatment is usually the first line." I agree that med management and case management are front line treatments, but there are many patients who also do very well in therapy. And people with SMI are not a monolith. Chronic mental illness with steadily deteriorating course is not by any means the majority of folks who have a manic episode or think, say, that they are being surveilled by Elon Musk.

Familiarize yourself with the literature on functional impairments in these disorders (one such study here). While it is true that some folks may be able to live substantive and meaningful lives with psychotic disorders, the majority are profoundly impaired. Also, to function well, usually requires medication management typically from a psychiatrist given the complexities that can accompany treatment. If the OP really wants to do the full range of treatment for this population, I'd suggest psychiatry.

Also, If you follow my link to the UW lab that researches psychosocial treatments, you will get a list of interventions, none of which have been shown (feel free to prove me wrong) to offset the core symptoms of these disorders.

Editing to add: Functional Impairment In People with Schizophrenia: Focus on Employability and Eligibility for Disability Compensation

 

[Peacemaker36]

I truly don't understand. You are saying that the majority of people with Bipolar Disorder (roughly 10% of the population) don't live substantive and meaningful lives?

You are saying that the majority of young adults who have a psychotic episode will go on to develop chronic schizophrenia?

I am familiar with the literature. I think your view of bipolar and schizophrenia spectrum disorders is limited.

 

[R. Matey]

I truly don't understand. You are saying that the majority of people with Bipolar Disorder (roughly 10% of the population) don't live substantive and meaningful lives?

1 out 10 humans have bipolar disorder? I'd love a cite for that figure because it seems really high to me. But to answer your question, no, I'm saying that functional impairment with bipolar and schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders tend to be higher than disorder usually encountered in private practice thus requiring greater intervention--the kind that is typically found in hospitals and community clinics. Not saying that a psychotherapy PP with this population is impossible, I'm saying it's very unusual.

You are saying that the majority of young adults who have a psychotic episode will go on to develop chronic schizophrenia?

Nope, no idea were you got that from. I'm saying that people with bone fide psychotic disorders are very impaired, more so than the types of patients typically seen in PP. I don't think it does the OP any good, who is still trying to familiarize themselves with the field, to highlight ultra-niche careers. Can my h-index reach 300? Sure, it's possible. Will it? Probably not.

I think setting expectations appropriately for prospective students is important. If the OP wants to get a Psy.D. and open a clinic focused on first episode psychosis, be my guest, but, they can't blame me if they're broke.

 

[Peacemaker36]

1 out 10 humans have bipolar disorder? I'd love a cite for that figure because it seems really high to me. But to answer your question, no, I'm saying that functional impairment with bipolar and schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders tend to be higher than disorder usually encountered in private practice thus requiring greater intervention--the kind that is typically found in hospitals and community clinics. Not saying that a psychotherapy PP with this population is impossible, I'm saying it's very unusual.



Nope, no idea were you got that from. I'm saying that people with bone fide psychotic disorders are very impaired, more so than the types of patients typically seen in PP. I don't think it does the OP any good, who is still trying to familiarize themselves with the field, to highlight ultra-niche careers. Can my h-index reach 300? Sure, it's possible. Will it? Probably not.

I think setting expectations appropriately for prospective students is important. If the OP wants to get a Psy.D. and open a clinic focused on first episode psychosis, be my guest, but, they can't blame me if they're broke.

Sorry, 3%. My mistake.

OP, good luck with your journey.

 

[smalltownpsych]

My business is a niche cash pay practice with young adults with SMI so it is completely doable. It just has to be structured in a way that works and that is not going to look much like a typical outpatient insurance based practice.

 

[R. Matey]

My business is a niche cash pay practice with young adults with SMI so it is completely doable. It just has to be structured in a way that works and that is not going to look much like a typical outpatient insurance based practice.

Care to elaborate? When I worked these folks, it was typically in a Medicaid setting. Even when the parents were independently wealthy, they still wanted to use their child's state benefits.

 

[futureapppsy2]

Care to elaborate? When I worked these folks, it was typically in a Medicaid setting. Even when the parents were independently wealthy, they still wanted to use their child's state benefits.

Not @smalltownpsych , but in my postdoc, we had a program for young adults with new-onset SMI (mostly psychosis). Most of our clients came from wealthy families, even though we were private pay (with financial assistance available for some clients who couldn’t afford the full fee). The center also received not-infrequent large donations from wealthy families who had a loved one with SMI, usually not publicly known. There’s definitely a decent chunk of young adults with SMI with families who can and will pay for high-quality care, ime.

 

[smalltownpsych]

Care to elaborate? When I worked these folks, it was typically in a Medicaid setting. Even when the parents were independently wealthy, they still wanted to use their child's state benefits.

It varies from state to state what is available and the quality of care that is available through medicaid systems. Also, these systems tend to be less flexible so patients don’t always do well in them for a variety of reasons so people with resources will look for better options. Some of what we do is try and prevent patients from ending up in the often overloaded and underfunded state systems. This seems especially important for the younger adults. I have worked with older patients in the state systems and they tend to have a tragic history before they get to where they are more stable in the system when they are 40 or 50. We are trying to mitigate that by providing targeted services that young adults and their families can work with. Working with the families directly is something we do differently too.

 

[R. Matey]

It varies from state to state what is available and the quality of care that is available through medicaid systems. Also, these systems tend to be less flexible so patients don’t always do well in them for a variety of reasons so people with resources will look for better options. Some of what we do is try and prevent patients from ending up in the often overloaded and underfunded state systems. This seems especially important for the younger adults. I have worked with older patients in the state systems and they tend to have a tragic history before they get to where they are more stable in the system when they are 40 or 50. We are trying to mitigate that by providing targeted services that young adults and their families can work with. Working with the families directly is something we do differently too.

Are these folks the majority of the cases serviced by your practice or are you set up for anyone with private pay? How do you handle acute psychosis in your office?

I could see private pay for psychosis working well in a center where multiple providers (i.e., psychiatry) are on hand as @futureapppsy2 describes. Less so, for a PP with only psychotherapy providers as it isn't the most common route for psychologists historically from what I've seen.

 

[futureapppsy2]

Are these folks the majority of the cases serviced by your practice or are you set up for anyone with private pay? How do you handle acute psychosis in your office?

I could see private pay for psychosis working well in a center where multiple providers (i.e., psychiatry) are on hand as @futureapppsy2 describes. Less so, for a PP with only psychotherapy providers as it isn't the most common route for psychologists historically from what I've seen.

To clarify, we didn’t have psychiatry (or medicine in general) in-center. It was all psychology and psychosocial interventions.

 

[R. Matey]

To clarify, we didn’t have psychiatry (or medicine in general) in-center. It was all psychology and psychosocial interventions.

Ah, ok. I stand corrected. I still have multiple lingering questions and I'm not sure it's work that I would focus on, but GTK these exist.

 

[sillysausage333]

Unless you're talking about a very niche market (and even then its doubtful), most folks with severe mental health presentations typically rely on state/federal benefits for mental health services. I don't think I've ever seen a PP outside of psychiatry that exclusively focuses on these types of presentations. There are reasons for it: while folks with more severe clinical presentations can benefit from psychotherapy, by-in-large psychiatric treatment is usually the first line.

OP, it honestly sounds like your personal experiences with your family is influencing the decision, which is completely fine in my book, but be sure to do your due diligence in researching the field you want to join. A PP disability/psychotherapy practice with the foci you're describing is pretty rare, if it exists at all. This is in part due to those real-life bass tacks of day-to-day such as practice pay incentives, risk management, provider burnout and the like.

That's not meant to discourage you. If you really want to specialize here, I'd suggest looking up labs and PIs who are doing this kind of research, like at the University of Washington. Your GPA isn't terrible (remember those admission stats you're looking at are means, not minimums) so I don't think I'd rule out a funded Ph.D. program. More research and exposure to the field might inform your ultimate decisions, which may include working within a psychiatric hospital that typically works with these patients.

Also, be sure to check out the insider's guide for broad advice about how to get into grad school.

I appreciate your honesty. Do you know anything on how a psychologist can also become a nutritionist? I'm also very interested in nutrition and metabolic health for the treatment of mental health conditions. There's metabolic psychiatry but I'm not interested in going to med school. I could become a dietician but I want to ensure I will work with patients with mental illness

 

[sillysausage333]

Not @smalltownpsych , but in my postdoc, we had a program for young adults with new-onset SMI (mostly psychosis). Most of our clients came from wealthy families, even though we were private pay (with financial assistance available for some clients who couldn’t afford the full fee). The center also received not-infrequent large donations from wealthy families who had a loved one with SMI, usually not publicly known. There’s definitely a decent chunk of young adults with SMI with families who can and will pay for high-quality care, ime.

I just asked R. Matey this question but I'll copy and paste it here too: Do you know anything on how a psychologist can also become a nutritionist? I'm also very interested in nutrition and metabolic health for the treatment of mental health conditions. There's metabolic psychiatry but I'm not interested in going to med school. I could become a dietician but I want to ensure I will work with patients with mental illness

 

[psych.meout]

Why do you need to be a nutritionist? As in, why do you need to be nutritionist in addition to being a psychologist instead of referring to a nutritionist or consulting directly with them?

In PCMHI, I did warm handoffs in both directions with dietitians to help manage my patients nutritional and mental health problems. In presurg evals, dieticians are part of our interdisciplinary teams. In none of these situations have I felt like I needed to be doing this work in addition to the psychology services I was providing.

 

[sillysausage333]

Why do you need to be a nutritionist? As in, why do you need to be nutritionist in addition to being a psychologist instead of referring to a nutritionist or consulting directly with them?

In PCMHI, I did warm handoffs in both directions with dietitians to help manage my patients nutritional and mental health problems. In presurg evals, dieticians are part of our interdisciplinary teams. In none of these situations have I felt like I needed to be doing this work in addition to the psychology services I was providing.

I’m still trying to figure out what exactly I want to go to grad school for since I have a lot of interests. I feel psychology and nutrition overlap more than we are aware of at the moment. Nutrition and mental health are soooo intertwined. There’s no degree path I’ve found yet that allows me to combine the two. Im asking around on these forums for advice about PsyD programs and dietetics programs to try to get a sense of where I would be most happy. I think I would be content with a PsyD, but this thread has made me second guess myself. Dietetics seems very interesting if I can learn more about the behavioral aspects of nutrition. But the thing is I know limited information about both programs. I’m here hoping strangers have some advice for me because I can only google the same thing so many times.

 

[summerbabe]

There’s no degree path I’ve found yet that allows me to combine the two.

As you move forward from general/undergrad interests into possible careers, our interests will usually narrow, sometimes naturally (we want to develop an expertise in something specific) or unnaturally (there is no dual degree and we need to choose one).

To use a rough analogy, if you want a meal with a bunch of options, you might go to Golden Corral. Nothing individually will be great but you'll at least pick and choose from a lot of options.

But if you want a really nice meal, you'll like choose something specific: Italian, seafood, steak, etc. Those staffs will offer a limited menu and try to do that type of food really well. But don't expect Chinese food if you change your mind after being seated at a Brazilian steakhouse.

So professionally, when somebody wants a good therapist or needs an assessment, a psychologist might be brought on board.

When somebody needs to see a dietician or nutritionist, they will be referred to that speciality.

Very rarely does a patient need somebody truly specialized in both topics and at the same time.

If you go down the psychology path, there are likely opportunities to encourage healthy eating habits or provide some basic education (especially in a more medical/primary care setting). Or if you go down the nutrition path, you might sometimes provide a listening ear to patients who have a lot going on.

But there really isn't space in our current health care system to integrate the two beyond that, much like how you won't find any Brazilian steakhouse/Chinese dim sum fusion restaurants.

Maybe there's a niche/boutique private practice that can marry the two realms. But you'll likely need to build that from the ground up and probably operate on a cash pay only model, which means it could easily flop. Good luck as you continue to figure out your options.

 

[smalltownpsych]

Are these folks the majority of the cases serviced by your practice or are you set up for anyone with private pay? How do you handle acute psychosis in your office?

I could see private pay for psychosis working well in a center where multiple providers (i.e., psychiatry) are on hand as @futureapppsy2 describes. Less so, for a PP with only psychotherapy providers as it isn't the most common route for psychologists historically from what I've seen.

About 2/3 of our patients would meet this criteria and the other are regular private pay outpatient therapy folk. We only have a couple of patients who actually have more chronic psychotic symptoms and they are both fairly stable. We work with a company that transport and crisis intervention for patients with acute mental illness so they can be called in if need be and law enforcement is the final option which is the same for CMH. As for psychiatric care, we facilitate that and had a PMHNP in house and one point. Unfortunately, the more severe and complex patients that we work with would benefit more from a real psychiatrist to be of much help. The two patients we have with psychosis and one other with TBI and prior hx of severe mental illness of meet with psychiatrist at our office using telehealth with support from social worker. We might end up using him for more of our cases as the NPs down the street have been disappointing in a couple cases. One undermining our therapist and whole treatment plan when a patient split and the other telling an unstable patient with recent hospitalization that she could come back in three to six months.

 

[R. Matey]

I’m still trying to figure out what exactly I want to go to grad school for since I have a lot of interests. I feel psychology and nutrition overlap more than we are aware of at the moment. Nutrition and mental health are soooo intertwined. There’s no degree path I’ve found yet that allows me to combine the two. Im asking around on these forums for advice about PsyD programs and dietetics programs to try to get a sense of where I would be most happy. I think I would be content with a PsyD, but this thread has made me second guess myself. Dietetics seems very interesting if I can learn more about the behavioral aspects of nutrition. But the thing is I know limited information about both programs. I’m here hoping strangers have some advice for me because I can only google the same thing so many times.

It's not uncommon at your career stage to have a lot of interests, but think about what you want to be doing day-to-day. To me, it sounds like your interests lie more in mental health than they do in nutrition, but you also want dietetics expertise. But, as @summerbabe rightly mentions, our current healthcare system doesn't really support dual-specialization. Something also to think about is how laws governing both professions interact with each other, which could lead into quagmires you'd rather avoid. For instance, imagine that you are seeing a patient with depression that basically eats trash when they do eat, not an uncommon problem encountered in healthcare. You then as their provider make specific diet recommendations and combine it with motivational interviewing. What role were you functioning in during that session? Were you a dietician or psychologist? Is that a psychotherapy service or is it a consult? What code do you bill? Are you objectively providing therapy or are you using an intervention to enforce your recommendations? By combining services, you may open yourself to this kind of scrutiny.

That said, there's nothing wrong with developing a research specialty in mental health and the gut biome and informing patients of where the evidence currently stands. Tbh, I'm not too impressed with the quality of that evidence, so my current recommendation is "a healthy diet couldn't harm your mental health." But, I know of a few folks who have active programs in this area so it's not outside the realm of possibility for a psychologist, but less so for a Psy.D. than a Ph.D. who wants to dedicate themselves to the area.

 

[Sanman]

I’m still trying to figure out what exactly I want to go to grad school for since I have a lot of interests. I feel psychology and nutrition overlap more than we are aware of at the moment. Nutrition and mental health are soooo intertwined. There’s no degree path I’ve found yet that allows me to combine the two. Im asking around on these forums for advice about PsyD programs and dietetics programs to try to get a sense of where I would be most happy. I think I would be content with a PsyD, but this thread has made me second guess myself. Dietetics seems very interesting if I can learn more about the behavioral aspects of nutrition. But the thing is I know limited information about both programs. I’m here hoping strangers have some advice for me because I can only google the same thing so many times.

Are you going to grad school to read about something you are interested in or are you going to grad school to get a job?

If the former, pick the cheapest degree option possible as you may be unemployable when you graduate. If the latter, who currently has the job you want? If no one, see my advice regarding the former.

If I had picked a career based on interests alone, you might have seen me in a leather jacket hunting down hidden treasure. Unfortunately, no paid Indiana Jones or Benjamin Gates to do that even in the movies. One had to teach and the other was a pariah.

 

[R. Matey]

If I had picked a career based on interests alone, you might have seen me in a leather jacket hunting down hidden treasure. Unfortunately, no paid Indiana Jones or Benjamin Gates to do that even in the movies. One had to teach and the other was a pariah.

I like that having to teach is your only barrier to being Indiana Jones.

 

[Sanman]

I like that having to teach is your only barrier to being Indiana Jones.

Well, I already own a brown leather jacket (and per Hollywood it must be brown) and the bullwhip seems unnecessary when you can just shoot the guys with swords.

For the record, an unwillingness to wear tight leather pants is the only barrier to me being a rock star as well. I mean if Nickelback can succeed...