Psychologist - Do I Need the Ph.D/Psy.D?

College Majors
1

<p>I am currently a freshman psych major at UCSD, and would like to have a career in counseling others. Simple enough, right? I was a peer counselor in high school and helped many a student with literally any problem you can imagine. I think I'd like to help patients with mental disorders, such as bipolar disorder and schitzophrenia, or those who are harming themselves, or drug/alcohol abuse... ok, so I haven't REALLY decided yet. All I know is that I want to be able to counsel others, one-on-one.</p>

<p>Do I need to get the Ph.D/Psy.D in order to have a career of this nature? I know I'd have to get a master's, a bachelor's just won't cut it (unless you're happy with being a school counselor, and THAT is not for me). I guess I just can't envision myself in postdoctorate school for 4-6 years. And even if I could, I'll admit it, I'm not the brightest student and I'm certainly a tad bit lazy. As of right now I have a 3.425 GPA, which isn't bad, but isn't terrific, either. Who knows if I can maintain that throughout my college career?</p>

<p>I don't know, maybe I shouldn't even be stressing out about this right now... should just concentrate on general eds...</p>

2

<p>To be a professional psychologist you will need a psychology doctrate.</p>

<p>However, you can get jobs counseling others without being a professional psychologist. e.g the professionals in the mental health team at my university don't all have Ph.Ds.</p>

<p>That said, I would advise you to try for the Ph.D./Psy.D. so that qualifications won't hold you back later on. Besides, I believe the doctrate program will likely be fairly applied and interesting to you. In the meantime keep working hard on your grades. It would be great if you can bring it up to 3.6.</p>

3

<p>Talk to your professors and check in with your school's career services office; they can point you in the right direction.</p>

<p>Definitely work on you GPA. Psychology (particularly clinical) is one of the most competitive fields in terms of graduate admissions.</p>

<p>This website: Psychology</a> Graduate Applicant's Portal may be an interesting starting point for more information.</p>