<p>Hello all,</p>
<p>I am in the market for some advice regarding graduate schools for psychology. I and currently finishing my BS in psychology and will be applying for schools by the end of this year. I know what I want to do career wise but, after all my research on different schools and options, I'm still unsure of the best path to get me there. </p>
<p>As a career I want to work with trauma victims (adults or children) who have suffered neglect, abuse, sexism, racism, heterosexism, etc. I would be interested in working with foster care systems or for nonprofit organizations or with families and even private practice. </p>
<p>I've been looking at clinical and counseling PhD programs in the area. PsyDs are out because of cost. I did find a Clinical PhD program where one can specialize in community psychology which is a newer field but I feel like it would apply to where I'm headed. </p>
<p>I would really appreciate advice from anyone with similar interests or anyone who has been through grad school. </p>
<p>Thanks so much in advance.</p>
<p>Look for programs or advisors that specialize in those topics. For example, Temple U has an anxiety clinic and is also known for research on depression, and so is a good place to go if you are interested in those topics. One way to find them is to read articles in psychology journals on the topics that interest you. You will become familiar with names of researchers who do work that you are truly interested in. Then visit the college’s website where they teach at (a few authors may be researchers in industry, and not available at a college). See if they have a doctoral program at their school. </p>
<p>If you’ve taken any undergrad courses on those topics, or if one of your psych books covered those topics, look for the more recently published names they cite. Talk to your professors to see if they know of any programs that are a good fit for you in that specialty. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that clinicians primarily assess and treat disorders (such as PTSD), whereas counseling psychologists do not usually diagnose disorders, but rather help people through difficult life situations that may or may not involve a psychological disorder. For cases of severe neglect and abuse, I think clinical would be the best path. For helping people deal with cases of prejudice and discrimination, counseling may be the better route. But both professions can overlap at times, which is why the specific program fit is most important.</p>
<p>Clinical-community programs will be great, because of the focus on structural and sociological factors in addition to clinical factors in psychological illness. Here’s a list of such programs:</p>
<p>[Cookies</a> Must Be Allowed - IGLOO](<a href=“http://www.scra27.org/resources/educationc/academicpr/doctoralcl]Cookies”>http://www.scra27.org/resources/educationc/academicpr/doctoralcl)</p>
<p>DePaul and UNUC in particular have very good reputations for their clinical/community programs.</p>
<p>You might also look at clinical or counseling programs that have an emphasis on community mental health or public health, either through research or counseling partnerships or both. They don’t necessarily have to have a formal community psych affiliation, but maybe you can take classes in other departments or maybe there’s a school of public health. (You may also consider getting a master’s in public health after your PhD in psych: a lot of people do this!)</p>
<p>Wow thanks for the advice! </p>
<p>Nova I didn’t even think about authors of all my psych books or research articles. I will definitely do that. And thanks for clarifying the differences in the clinical vs counseling routes. It actually helped. </p>
<p>And thanks Juillet for the link of the schools for community psych! Do you have experience in that type at all? And I had no idea about the masters in public health after a phd. What is that exactly?</p>
<p>Thanks so much again!</p>
<p>My advisor is a community psychologist, so I have a little experience but no direct experience. I thought about getting my PhD in community psychology, but opted instead to go into public health.</p>
<p>A master’s in public health (or MPH) is a professional master’s degree that trains students in the field of public health. Public health is basically population-based health - health that concerns the health of many, entire communities or societies or countries, instead of one person at a time. Epidemiology is the core science of public health (the surveillance of epidemics within people), but there are also environmental health sciences (how our environment affects our health and how we can control it to produce good health), social and behavioral sciences (which it sounds like you’re interested in - the study of how social and behavioral factors affect health on a large scale), biostatistics, and health policy and management (the translation of population health science into policy, both governmental and in the management of clinics and hospitals).</p>
<p>It’s becoming increasingly common for clinical healthcare providers - medical doctors, dentists, nurses, allied health professionals, and psychologists - to earn an MPH after they complete their studies. Even if they are interested in providing point-of-care service to individuals, a public health degree enables them to see their patients in the context of the wider world around them and may give them a better understanding of how to treat their patients. For example, many doctors get frustrated when their patients don’t take their medication and reason that it’s because they are lazy or ignorant. A person with a public health view would recognize that the Rx as written is maybe too expensive, or the person doesn’t have consistent access to transportation to the pharmacy, or the disease has a stigma that makes it difficult to take the medication around people the patient cares about, etc. It helps you understand the big-picture factors that may contribute to your clients’ psychiatric/psychological needs.</p>
<p>There are many one-year MPH programs at top schools designed for people who already hold doctoral degrees or professional degrees in their field. They’re accelerated, and you learn the basics of public health without necessarily specializing in one area. There are also executive MPH programs designed for working professionals in the field who want to acquire the knowledge. These degrees can also prepare you for research and teaching work at a school of public health, if you desire.</p>
<p>Oh wow that’s very interesting and great to consider. Thanks for clarifying it. Much appreciated (:</p>