Counseling Psychology- Help?

[PSawyer]

Hi everyone, I just recently started thinking about a career as a psychologist but right now my brain can't seem to make sense of all the information that I've found on the internet. That could be because it's almost 1 o'clock in the morning here, but I could really use some help to sort everything out. I'm not really sure what kind of program I should be looking into taking, so here is my situation and then I'll ask a couple questions of you.

I am really interested in working with children and adolescents, in a counseling setting such as a group home or a private practice (OHIP sponsored). I would love to work with children who have emotional or behavioural problems, traumatic experiences, child abuse, etc., and with teenagers who are having emotional crisises, trauma, abuse, gay/lesbian/bi, etc. I'm not really interested in abnormal psychology such as schiznophrenia, Down Syndrome, or other mental health challenges along those lines.

From what I understand, there is a specific part of Psychology that is Counseling Psychology that would relate to this, but I don't know what kind of educational requirements I would need for that. I am not too interested in research, so I think I would be better off taking Psy.D rather than Ph.D. So I guess my question would be, does anyone have any information on Counseling Psychology, the educational requirements, and the length of study for Psy.D? Any advice would help as I'm entirely new to all of this. Thanks a lot.

PSawyer.

PS. I am from Canada (Ontario), so any Canadian specific information would be greatly appreciated!

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[BamaPsych]

Hey there,

I am an undergrad at the moment applying to grad school but I can help you some.

Counseling psychology and clinical psychology are very very similar in many regards. Both can work with the populations that you want to work with. It is true that clinical psychology (abnormal psychology as you worded it) tends to work with more severe mental illness than counseling psychologists, HOWEVER, that is not always true. A clinical psychologist could work with less severely mentally ill, and a counseling psychologist could work with more severely mentally ill. It all depends on the program you attend for graduate school and what sorts of practiums and internships you have before you get your degree.

You are right that someone who has little interest in research would probably be better suited for a PsyD. However, there are very, very few PsyD programs specializing in counseling psychology - most are clinical psychology. In other words, it's possible to get the degree but if you were dead set on a PsyD in counseling psych you may be really limiting your choices for grad school.

Keep gathering information and look into PhD's and PsyD's in both clinical and counseling psych. Remember, both the PhD and PsyD in clinical and counseling psych can eventually help you accomplish your goals of private practice or a group home - but it definitely varies by program and this will take a lot of research on your part to look into all of these programs. In general, getting the PhD may take longer to obtain than a PsyD but not necessarily. Also, if you investigate schools closely enough you can find somePhD's that are pretty balanced in practice/research, and some PhDs that may even be more practice oriented than research.

Hope this helps some =)

 

[JockNerd]

Good post, Bama.

Yup, there are almost no Counseling Psych PsyDs. There have been several articles in Counseling Pysch journals emphatically supporting the Boulder model as the way to train both clinicians and therapists. And, again, most PhDs still end up in practice so that's not a good reason to go for the PsyD, in my opinion.

The premier Counseling Psych program in Canada is at McGill. But I'd encourage you to look at US programs, especially since your interests line up well with Counseling Psych. I myself am a Canadian studying in a US Counseling Psych program (though I don't like kids and want to do lots of research). Happy to answer any questions you might have about study in the US.

 

[PSawyer]

Thanks for the replies so far. I did a little more research last night and found a program that is a Master's in Counseling Psychology and that can lead to a Doctoral. Would that allow me to take a clinical Psy.D afterwards? What exactly is involved in the clinical? Thanks.

PSawyer.

 

[JockNerd]

Thanks for the replies so far. I did a little more research last night and found a program that is a Master's in Counseling Psychology and that can lead to a Doctoral. Would that allow me to take a clinical Psy.D afterwards? What exactly is involved in the clinical? Thanks.

PSawyer.

Can you clarfy what you're asking? Are you saying Masters -> PhD -> PsyD or Masters -> PsyD?

You could do that second plan, sure. But your masters coursework might not transfer over and might not end up doing much for you beyond helping you get into a funded PsyD, maybe.

What's involved in a clinical PsyD differs by program but would include clinical work, research training at any good program, and coursework, at a minimum.

 

[psydd]

And, again, most PhDs still end up in practice so that's not a good reason to go for the PsyD, in my opinion.

But, if not for the drop-off in research intensive study, what is a good reason to go for the Psy.D., in your opinion?

 

[KillerDiller]

With your career goals, I'm unclear why a doctoral degree would be necessary. I'm not terribly familiar with the Canadian system, are terminal Masters programs an option for liscensure and subsequent practice like they are in the U.S.? If so, you may save yourself time and money by going for a 2-year Masters in Clinical Psych instead of a 5 year Psy.D or a possibly even longer Ph.D route.

 

[Ollie123]

But, if not for the drop-off in research intensive study, what is a good reason to go for the Psy.D., in your opinion?

Its been discussed elsewhere, but I don't think there IS a good reason to go for the PsyD, exclusively.

There are MANY clinically-oriented PhD programs that are not designed for, nor expecting their students to go on to research careers. I mentioned it in another thread, but the latest APPIC data showed PhD students having more clinical and supervision hours than PsyD students on average. Obviously, this is not true at all programs, and there's probably multiple factors driving it that I won't get into. Regardless, I think it would be hard to argue that this doesn't mean there are at least some PhD programs where you can spend a great of time on clinical training. Potentially more than you would at many PsyD programs.

Given that, I can't come up with a reason not to look at the clinically-oriented PhDs in the above situation. Please note that I'm NOT saying don't apply to PsyDs. If all the programs that seem like the best fit are PsyD programs, then go for it. I'm just saying making wise decisions about what schools to apply to requires a great deal more effort than "I want to be a clinician, so I'll just look at PsyDs".

 

[JockNerd]

...I'm just saying making wise decisions about what schools to apply to requires a great deal more effort than "I want to be a clinician, so I'll just look at PsyDs".

Yes, this is *exactly* what I meant.

 

[psydd]

Works for me. I have 2 years before I would potentially be starting in a graduate program. So I'm going to exercise all options.

Would any of you be able to throw a couple of names at me for Ph.D. programs that are more practice-oriented than research?

 

[Ollie123]

First two that spring to mind for me are U Montana and Auburn.

 

[ClinicalPsychhh]

Replying to the OP

 

[nicelydone]

hi anyone knows of good programs in Counseling psychology (masters)?