Psy.D Abroad?

[ClinicalMan]

Hi everyone,

I have determined that doing a Psy.D is a far better choice of degree for me (than a PhD) in my path towards becoming a fully licensed clinical psychologist. I really wanted to go abroad during my undergraduate degree, but decided not to. However, I was wondering if it is possible to go abroad to complete clinical psych training in a doctorate of clinical psychology program?

I currently live in Canada, and we have very few options here for Psy.D programs. However, in the USA and Europe there are many more options and those are look appealing to me. If I go abroad to do my doctorate, will I possibly be able to come back to Canada to work? Will I be able to practice in the country within which I completed the doctorate? Or... am I stuck in Canada?

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[WisNeuro]

Probably depends on which PsyD you choose to go to, and how much crushing debt you're willing to take on.

 

[singasongofjoy]

If you graduate from a US program, then you should be able to practice in the US. I can't speak personally to how easy it is to train in the US and then work in Canada, but I know people who have done so and didn't seem too onerous. I haven't got a clue how training in other countries and then moving back to Canada would likely pan out, but i can tell you that if you train in one of many European countries, it's not easy to come back to the US and practice. The requirements are too different. I suspect the same might be true for Canada.

 

[WisNeuro]

If you graduate from a US program, then you should be able to practice in the US. I can't speak personally to how easy it is to train in the US and then work in Canada, but I know people who have done so and didn't seem too onerous. I haven't got a clue how training in other countries and then moving back to Canada would likely pan out, but i can tell you that if you train in one of many European countries, it's not easy to come back to the US and practice. The requirements are too different. I suspect the same might be true for Canada.

The real question is, how easy is it to go back to Canada when you still owe 200k+ in loans in the US?

 

[Kadhir]

in my path towards becoming a fully licensed clinical psychologist

I am not trying to be cheeky but, this is as opposed to... partially licensed? You can complete a PhD and go into full-time clinical practice. Just wanted to point that out because plenty of folks do come 'round with a pretty big misunderstanding of the two degrees.

 

[psych.meout]

I am not trying to be cheeky but, this is as opposed to... partially licensed? You can complete a PhD and go into full-time clinical practice. Just wanted to point that out because plenty of folks do come 'round with a pretty big misunderstanding of the two degrees.

I'm pretty sure that much of that misunderstanding is nurtured by the PsyD programs at FSPS and for profit institutions and the graduates of said programs. They need to promote the false narrative that the PsyD is for people who want to be clinicians and the PhD is for people who want to be researchers or faculty at universities. They can thereby market themselves as options for students who don't want to be researchers (and for the "stats/research is icky" crowd) and explain away some of their less attractive stats, e.g. cost, poor internship match rates, poor EPPP pass rates, poor licensure rates, etc.

This is not to say that all PsyD programs at bad. There are several great PsyD programs located at quality universities, but they require similar research training to most PhD programs and likely don't perpetuate the aforementioned false narrative.

 

[temppsych123]

APA (US) and CPA (Canada) have a mutual recognition agreement for accreditation (see First Street Accords via google). That means that, if you do an APA-ACCREDITED PsyD program in the US, your training should transfer back to Canada with relatively few hoops. Do NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT do an unaccredited program, for a myriad of reasons, but also because in this particular case, crossing back to working in Canada will be extremely hard.

 

[Oliver3838]

Hi everyone,

I have determined that doing a Psy.D is a far better choice of degree for me (than a PhD) in my path towards becoming a fully licensed clinical psychologist. I really wanted to go abroad during my undergraduate degree, but decided not to. However, I was wondering if it is possible to go abroad to complete clinical psych training in a doctorate of clinical psychology program?

I currently live in Canada, and we have very few options here for Psy.D programs. However, in the USA and Europe there are many more options and those are look appealing to me. If I go abroad to do my doctorate, will I possibly be able to come back to Canada to work? Will I be able to practice in the country within which I completed the doctorate? Or... am I stuck in Canada?

There is an American college in Thessaloniki, Greece with a Master's in Counseling which I believe gives licensure in the U.S.

 

[MCParent]

There is an American college in Thessaloniki, Greece with a Master's in Counseling which I believe gives licensure in the U.S.

State boards grant licenses in the US, not programs. The school can claim it matches requirements for US licensing, but I wouldn’t take their word for it.

 

[psych.meout]

State boards grant licenses in the US, not programs. The school can claim it matches requirements for US licensing, but I wouldn’t take their word for it.

Never trust a necromancer.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Zero percent chance of working. Most other countries have different (and typically lower) standards for training, so it’d be nearly impossible to do training elsewhere and get licensed in Canada / USA. I’ve seen ppl get licensed in the US / Canada and go abroad, but it was still a hassle and far from ideal.

 

[Oliver3838]

State boards grant licenses in the US, not programs. The school can claim it matches requirements for US licensing, but I wouldn’t take their word for it.

Good point, this is what they said to me:

The Master's program in Psychology is accredited by NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges) so it is a fully recognized degree. You will have to check with each State to see what their licensing requirements are, however academically you are covered. Thank you.

 

[psych.meout]

Good point, this is what they said to me:

The Master's program in Psychology is accredited by NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges) so it is a fully recognized degree. You will have to check with each State to see what their licensing requirements are, however academically you are covered. Thank you.

Any counseling master's program not accredited by CACREP or NASP (though this one is more for school psych and counseling) should be a no-go.