Teaching vs Research vs Practice Areas

[TXneuronerd15]

Hi everyone, I'm putting together my list of programs to apply to this winter. I've posted about "what are my chances" before, but seeing as
I pretty much know where I stand on that, this is outside of that but can be closely linked, fyi. This is due to the fact that Clinical Neuro is what I'm contemplating
going into, and have heard it's even more cut throat than a more generalist program( all other markers of a program's and school's "rank" being held constant).

To start, my clinical experiences have mostly been with adults living with a condition somewhere on the psychotic spectrum and Traumatic Brain Injury. This
led me to a terminal master's in Clinical Neuro. However, the research I assisted with while there was BOTH TBI and Schizophrenia. Since then, I've worked in multiple settings
and have listened to what the universe is telling me; you have a connection with younger people that you should use in your career. However, clinically and/or in research I don't think a lot of programs have a focus of psychosis/ Schizophrenia in kids to young adults.

Second, as I've found schools that have a clinical neuro track the hypothetical ones I could choose from don't have research that I'm into, but one. That said, I've heard that it's entirely normal for professors to switch, or at least add, research interests throughout their careers. If true, if you're interested in an area but it's not your main thing, is it a crime to get a doctorate and study what you truly love later while doing work in an area you like but don't love during your doctoral program?

Lastly, what does all of this combine to look like for teaching, research and clinical practice in a balanced way?( not too generalist or too specialist)?

Teaching: Psychopathology, Personality Assessment, Clinical Neuro, Neuropsych assessment, Behavioral Neuroscience, Psychopharmacology
( areas I'm interested in teaching and/or have actually taught before)

Research( in order of preference): Psychosis( assessment, therapy, and the validity of it in measurement tools to better predict, assess, and treat).
Psychopathy generally, but really into the forensic aspect of it. Personality and other non-neurological constructs and how they affect neuropsychological test performance.
TBI generally.

Clinical Practice: I'd prefer to work with teens to young adults. Perhaps focus on neuropsych testing since it's more broad to the age of the clients? I also have an interest in therapy with clients struggling with Schizophrenia/ psychosis at large.

This is to pick the remaining 2 programs from below that I think are a good match to pick one to go to, assuming I get in somewhere.


In case this helps you to get a better sense of how I'm trying to craft this;
( Programs for sure applying to):
The University of Texas at Tyler- Clinical Psychology- Dr. Dennis Comb's lab on schizophrenia ( brand new, so I'm careful about accretidation. Should be fully accredited this year.
Mississippi State University- Clinical Psych PhD- Dr. Deshong's Lab on the dark triad and studying other related constructs
The University of Southern Miss- Clin Psych PhD- Dr. Bonfil's lab with a focus on social cognition in Schizophrenia( studied this @ UTT for my master's, so should fit nicely)
Ohio University- Clin psych- Neuropsych track. Dr. Suhr's lab focusing on non-neurological aspects of neuropsych test performance

Programs left to pick 2 more:
LSU- Clin Psych- Dr. Calamia( neuropsych very very broadly).
The U of Missouri- Clin Psych- Dr. Kerns- cognitive and emotional control in Schizophrenia
UNT- Dr. David Cicero- First episode psychosis( assess, treat, and prevent aims)
NSU- Dr. Charles Golden and Dr. Gibson( personality and neuropsych assessment on a ton of different conditions, concussion and stroke, respectively)
SHSU- Dr. Laura Drislane; Psychopathy and it's hierarchical structure in assessments and how it relates to forensics
The U of Toledo- Dr. Meyer- personality assessment, neuropsych processes, test validation, clinical symptomatology.

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[cotn_psych]

Are you limiting yourself geographically or number of schools to apply to for some reason? If you want to do research on cognition and schizophrenia, then there a lot of other labs you aren't considering, especially in the clinical high risk area that would get you to your population of interest. I did my graduate training with one of the bigger CHR for psychosis and internship with a focus on neuropsych and psychosis so probably could help you define your search for folks that would be more in line with your research and clinical interests. PM if you'd like to chat.

 

[futureapppsy2]

With teaching, especially as a grad student and even as a faculty member, you often don't get much control over what you teach. Ideally, yes, someone whose research focuses on personality will teach personality assessment, but issues with teaching loads, sabbaticals, course buyouts, student needs, etc., come into play, so often you just end up teaching what the department needs you to teach, within reason.

 

[Justanothergrad]

When you think about assessment, I would think a bit about what type of assessment you are interested in. For instance, the RPAS system (Dr. Greg Meyer's area of work) is a personality assessment system, but it relies on the Rorschach and will likely differ substantially from the other areas of neuro and self-report personality you list. If your interest is in personality, one might take that approach. If you are interested in neuro placement - the Rorschach (regardless of scoring, Exner, Whiteside, Rpas, etc.) is unlikely to be involved and this will not advance your training in that area substantially. There are some articles on frequent instrument use in neuropsych settings that can be a useful guide here as to areas of study that will link directly (Below are some VA articles, although I doubt these are different from other settings):

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13854046.2016.1159730

A Practitioner Survey of Department of Veterans Affairs Psychologists who Provide Neuropsychological Assessments

AbstractObjective. The provision of neuropsychological assessments is an important part of the assessment and treatment of our veterans, yet little is know

academic.oup.com

The focus on schizophrenia seems narrow if that is, indeed, a major area of interest/consideration.

 

[TXneuronerd15]

Are you limiting yourself geographically or number of schools to apply to for some reason? If you want to do research on cognition and schizophrenia, then there a lot of other labs you aren't considering, especially in the clinical high risk area that would get you to your population of interest. I did my graduate training with one of the bigger CHR for psychosis and internship with a focus on neuropsych and psychosis so probably could help you define your search for folks that would be more in line with your research and clinical interests. PM if you'd like to chat.

My undergrad GPA was a 2.94 and my terminal master's a 3.4. Although there are some extenuating circumstances surrounding those grades, it's always a fine line when explaining that in your SOP, and if the program application asks a question giving one the chance to briefly explain, that's the only place I'll put that info down. That's the main reason; usually the less competitive an applicant, the smaller the number. Opposite for a very competitive applicant.

Geographically,I hate the cold and cost of living and how that can affect your coverage by the institution you attend. Therefore, mostly southern U.S. and midwest.

 

[TXneuronerd15]

When you think about assessment, I would think a bit about what type of assessment you are interested in. For instance, the RPAS system (Dr. Greg Meyer's area of work) is a personality assessment system, but it relies on the Rorschach and will likely differ substantially from the other areas of neuro and self-report personality you list. If your interest is in personality, one might take that approach. If you are interested in neuro placement - the Rorschach (regardless of scoring, Exner, Whiteside, Rpas, etc.) is unlikely to be involved and this will not advance your training in that area substantially. There are some articles on frequent instrument use in neuropsych settings that can be a useful guide here as to areas of study that will link directly (Below are some VA articles, although I doubt these are different from other settings):

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13854046.2016.1159730

A Practitioner Survey of Department of Veterans Affairs Psychologists who Provide Neuropsychological Assessments

AbstractObjective. The provision of neuropsychological assessments is an important part of the assessment and treatment of our veterans, yet little is know

academic.oup.com

The focus on schizophrenia seems narrow if that is, indeed, a major area of interest/consideration.

This helps a lot, thanks

 

[PsyDr]

You might want to consider what your career to look like. If you want to be a clinician, some of those names and foci are much better. If you want to pursue a tenure track research position where you study an extremely small area, others are better.

While it is sad, people with persisting psychosis do not typically have great jobs or insurance. That limits your potential income. On the other hand, most neurological conditions seem to occur at an age when people can qualify for Medicare. That has fewer limits. Then there is the likelihood that an expert in psychopathy is going to add anything to a trial. The prosecutor can show "badness" to the jury through the crime. Is the defense going to actually get some years knocked off by showing the person has psychopathy? Think about how someone would sell that service, and how often it can be done.

You might also want to look at the lifestyle of those professors. Look at their indicators of financial security, and indicators of happiness/security (e.g., attire, hobbies, marital status, children, car, and other things people casually mention or demonstrate). If you're obsessive, you can also look up property tax records to see their houses. Is that how you want to live at 40, 50, 60, 70, and beyond?

All of those factors can help you decide. But they can also be used to imagine yourself in the position of the professor, which will help you conceptualize an effective way to sell yourself to them.

 

[futureapppsy2]

However, clinically and/or in research I don't think a lot of programs have a focus of psychosis/ Schizophrenia in kids to young adults.

If you are really interested in this population, look for researchers who study first-episode psychosis, which is usually in young adult populations.

 

[summerbabe]

I've done SMI clinical work and my experience is that there can be lots of clinical jobs (some people don't want to work with this population, some people don't want to work inpt, etc) but getting a tenure track gig or landing at an AMC with research time seemed more competitive than in other subject areas so the grad lab you end up in, who you publish with, where you do fellowship, etc might weigh more heavily.

 

[TXneuronerd15]

I've done SMI clinical work and my experience is that there can be lots of clinical jobs (some people don't want to work with this population, some people don't want to work inpt, etc) but getting a tenure track gig or landing at an AMC with research time seemed more competitive than in other subject areas so the grad lab you end up in, who you publish with, where you do fellowship, etc might weigh more heavily.

What is AMC? This is insightful, thanks.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

What is AMC? This is insightful, thanks.

Academic Medical Center

 

[TXneuronerd15]

What is the difference between Clinical Science in clin psychology and a clinical psychology PhD, other than the organization who's model and policies they adhere to? What is the difference in what that looks like for employment?

 

[WisNeuro]

What is the difference between Clinical Science in clin psychology and a clinical psychology PhD, other than the organization who's model and policies they adhere to? What is the difference in what that looks like for employment?

Depending on area, may be too soon to tell.

 

[cotn_psych]

What is the difference between Clinical Science in clin psychology and a clinical psychology PhD, other than the organization who's model and policies they adhere to? What is the difference in what that looks like for employment?

Of the few places that I seen from fellow grad students, the clinical science programs seem to be more research heavy- students in these programs tend to get fewer face-to-face hours or the hours come more from lab work than practicums. Clinical psychology programs tend to be more balanced. This may affect internship placement opportunities since there are few research heavy internship programs.