What are the best schools to major in psychology and become a therapist in ?im a junior in highschool and need to look at colleges and universities my home state is Pennsylvania.im in ap courses (aplac )as a junior
Many many schools have outstanding psychology departments. You would need to go on for grad school to become a therapist. I would first focus on finding colleges that are academic and financial fits.
I’m considering Carlow university in my home state or ucla or university of Texas at Austin .i don’t really want to go to college in my home state
You can go to any college and major in psychology and become a therapist. There’s really no “best.” The only consideration I would say is that if you think you want to be a clinical psychologist - a therapist with a PhD in clinical psychology - you do want to go to a well-reputed school that offers good opportunities to participate in research as an undergrad. (However, many schools - including small liberal arts colleges like Carlow and smaller regional public schools - offer that.)
Do know that out-of-state publics, like UT-Austin and UCLA, are expensive and unlikely to offer much financial aid to an OOS student. If you have high stats some OOS publics like Iowa or Alabama might offer you some aid. Otherwise, even though PSU is pretty expensive, I think it doesn’t make sense to go to UT-Austin or UCLA when you can go to PSU for much cheaper.
If you are looking at large OOS schools why not consider Penn State, Pitt and Temple in-state?
-What’s your budget?
-Geographic preferences?
University of Minnesota
University of Wisconsin
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
University of Maryland are highly ranked for psych apart from Harvard, UCLA,UCB etc
I’m myself in the process of committing to one of these
Also penn state has an excellent psych department
For Freudian psychology/ psychoanalysis emphasis, check out Clark University.
“For Freudian psychology/ psychoanalysis emphasis, check out Clark University”
Actually just check out a time capsule.
@lostaccount: your post is wonderfully funny- love it!!!
In a quick aside to @lostaccount that has little to do with the OP’s search: the psychodynamic approach indeed is alive and well-- in many more modern variations in addition to full psychoanalysis-- and all of these psychodynamic approaches are informed by the work of Freud. My husband is a psychologist. (However, his B.A. is from Vassar and his doctorate from Yeshiva.)
I named Clark because it is famous for psychology-- and has been ever since Freud spent time there many years ago-- and the OP is looking for a school with a stellar program in psychology.
On a side note, you don’t actually need a college degree (or a PhD) to be a “therapist.” The word itself isn’t controlled and regulated like “psychologist.” A psychologist on the other hand is the one that needs an advanced psychology degree. Stanford has an excellent psych department where research is thriving and you have the chance to work with pioneers in the field and get to know iconic figures (Bandura, Zimbardo…). If you want to be a therapist then a four-year college might not make much sense considering you can do it much cheaper in most states.
Freudian psychology is mostly taught only for its historical value. Would not advise pursuing psychoanalysis without extensive research first and confirming that is the type of psychology you believe in and are passionate about. Traditional psychoanalysis has little reliability and validity behind it and if you’re new to the field of psychology then I would recommend a broad exposure as an undergrad to a variety of theoretical frameworks.