Our Top Tier Admissions annual meeting in May featured a topic close to our hearts: mental wellness. As admissions consulting professionals (and parents!) who work with middle schoolers and high schoolers from all other the world, we are paying close attention to today’s global mental health crisis.
Clinical psychology graduate programs train and position their graduates to excel in academic positions, clinical and lab-based research roles, and as clinical and mental health providers. As the Guardian reports, “’We’re in a trauma together’: Americans need therapy – but psychologists are booked.” Thankfully, many college students and working professionals have been inspired to make things better and are seeking to enter this field. Bottom line: we need more of them!
As the Society of Clinical Psychology notes, “The field of Clinical Psychology involves research, teaching and services relevant to the applications of principles, methods, and procedures for understanding, predicting, and alleviating intellectual, emotional, biological, psychological, social and behavioral maladjustment, disability and discomfort, applied to a wide range of client populations.” If you’re interested in research, consider attending their upcoming August 3-5, 2023 annual conference in DC for a resume boost and an intro to some of the top U.S. faculty in the field.
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY GRADUATE PROGRAMS: DIFFERENT PATHWAYS
The neat thing about pursuing a graduate degree in clinical psychology is that applicants have many options. Even beyond the more commonly known M.D. option, there are assorted pathways to a Masters degree, a PsyD, or a PhD. Here is a breakdown of the options:
Masters: you can choose from programs that concentrate in clinical psychology, social work, school counseling/psychology, marriage and family therapy, forensic psychology, educational psychology, developmental psychology and sports psychology. These programs are typically 2-3 years plus added time for licensure. Possible tracks include: MS in Clinical Psychology, MS in Clinical Psychology (both could be with or without a thesis), or MS in Psychology.
PsyD: This is a Doctor of Psychology degree that’s going to take longer than a Masters and will go deeper into client-based work and clinical training. Students typically wrap the program as clinical psychologists and degree programs are 4-6 years in total.
PhD: This is a Doctor of Philosophy degree (in this case, it’s a PhD in Clinical Psychology) with the ability to focus in a variety of sub-fields. It can lead to an academic appointment as a psychology professor, a psychology researcher, a lab director, a licensed psychologist and more. There is a focus on research, data, and the theoretical foundations of the field.
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CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY GRADUATE PROGRAMS: DIVING DEEPER
As you begin to think about a career in clinical psychology, I urge you to think about the courses you will take in the program once admitted. Do those course offerings align with what you want to study? In graduate school, the ability (and willingness) to focus on a few key areas within your targeted field is key. For example, will you take classes in human development, abnormal psychology, the history of psychology, statistics, theories of personality, applied behavioral analysis, etc.? These are areas to consider and hopefully dive into well before you apply.
A great first step is to pinpoint the graduate degree program options you’re interested in, assess universities that offer what you’re seeking, and dive deeper into the field. How?
- Consider an online Coursera course on Positive Psychiatry and Mental Health
- Take a 4-credit graduate level course from Harvard on the Psychology of Eating (something we ALL understand) this summer June 20-August 7, 2023. OR, how about Narratives of Mental Health and Mental Illness?
- Become a member of the American Psychological Association and add it to your CV. Start following their webinars.
- Earn a Be There Certificate from Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation.
- Submit a piece and get published in the Awakenings Review, an award-winning literary magazine committed to publishing poetry, short stories, nonfiction, and photography by writers, poets, and artists who have had experience with mental illness: either in themselves, family members, or friends.
- Keep your eyes peeled for information on (and attend) the 2024 Mental Health America Conference. Check out the recaps provided on the 3-day event to see what it’s all about.
These are just a few examples that could allow you to not only explore the field of Clinical Psychology further (many of which are free!) but also boost your CV on the path to graduate school admissions this summer.
Today’s clinical psychologists simply cannot meet the demand. If you’re seeking to enter the field of clinical psychology or counseling psychology, I’d love to help!
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