Should I finish my PsyD?

[curiouscat777]

Hello! I am in a unique position that I would appreciate your opinions on.

To start off, it might be best to state that my dream job is to run a OON group practice.

Now, a little about the situation...
I am currently a LCSW, and I have a small OON practice that I started about a year ago. In this practice I have a caseload of 8 clients (4 that continued with me from a previous workplace and 4 that have found me since venturing out on my own).

Around the time that I started my practice I also started a fully funded PsyD program. I enrolled in this program for two reasons:

1. I wanted to become the best possible therapist I could/learn as much as I could
2. I thought having the extra credential would make me more marketable as a therapist long-term

The first year of my program has the lightest workload, so I was able to successfully work at my practice while also making it through the first year of school.

I have about 3 years of my PsyD program left including internship year (I'm in an accelerated program/track), but the workload is about to drastically ramp up to the point where I don't think that I would be able to continue working with my clients in private practice.

Fortunately I have enough saved up so that I could still live my life throughout the rest of the program without taking out loans, but I am trying to decide if it is going to be worth it for me long term (AKA help me achieve my goals).

I know that a select number of clients look for therapists with doctorates, but do you think this benefit would outweigh the cost of shutting down my practice for the next 3 years?

It might also be worth mentioning that I am in a major metro area where there is a decent amount of other therapists that clients can choose between, however I am somewhat unique in that I am younger (late 20's) and male-identifying.

Thanks for all of your thoughts!

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[ThatPsyGuy]

I'll toss my two cents briefly before others chime in:

You are an LCSW practicing independently with a client load of 8 with hopes of expanding I'm assuming.

Unless you want to do more evaluations/assessment oriented things or intend on leaving private practice, I don't really see the point of closing down your practice for 3+ years just to do more schooling.
If you wanted more teaching, you could go to seminars, enroll in CE things, trainings, certifications, etc.

Private practice itself, as you probably know, is all about your marketing, networking, and setting yourself apart. There's many ways to do that than from the potential gain that comes from losing 3+ years of income.

a little wordy because end of semester old fashioned but to summarize:

1. If you want to do more therapy, invest more time/money into yourself and your private practice than into a PsyD.

2. Credentials can be bou- I mean earned through certifications/trainings and all that.

3. Market and Network yourself better to make yourself stand out.

 

[PsyDr]

Most of your questions can be directly answered by YOU. It's not even an opinion. It's simple math.

You know that your assumptions are correct, right? You have sat down, and called every single practice in the area, right? You gathered data before you went back to school, right? It's one day's worth of work. It's not even hard.

You just pick up the phone, say, "I'm looking for a therapist. Do you guys have a wait list? How much does a session cost? Okay. Thank you. (hang up)". Nothing above is a lie. Takes 60 seconds. Write that down into an excel sheet. Armed with that data...

a. Exactly what is the percentage of psyd practices with a wait list in your area? What is their hourly?
b. Exactly what is the percentage of lcsw practices with a wait list in your area? What is their hourly?

Using a&b, you calculate the increased income. Put that into the standard opportunity cost formula.

You could just go to the Beck Institute and pay for private coaching, or go to a psychoanalytic institute, or whatever. It's gotta be cheaper than the rest.

 

[curiouscat777]

Most of your questions can be directly answered by YOU. It's not even an opinion. It's simple math.

You know that your assumptions are correct, right? You have sat down, and called every single practice in the area, right? You gathered data before you went back to school, right? It's one day's worth of work. It's not even hard.

You just pick up the phone, say, "I'm looking for a therapist. Do you guys have a wait list? How much does a session cost? Okay. Thank you. (hang up)". Nothing above is a lie. Takes 60 seconds. Write that down into an excel sheet. Armed with that data...

a. Exactly what is the percentage of psyd practices with a wait list in your area? What is their hourly?
b. Exactly what is the percentage of lcsw practices with a wait list in your area? What is their hourly?

Using a&b, you calculate the increased income. Put that into the standard opportunity cost formula.

You could just go to the Beck Institute and pay for private coaching, or go to a psychoanalytic institute, or whatever. It's gotta be cheaper than the rest.

Hmmm, that is an interesting idea. I hadn't thought of that - good point!