vintagenira

Hi everyone, I've recently finished a Masters in Counseling Psychology from Columbia TC and am trying to determine what the best avenue would be for what i eventually want to do which is this: I want to do both research and clinical work in global mental health and international trauma. So working with refugees, survivors of torture, migrants, disaster victims. This is really an emerging field, there are treatment centers and research in this field in the U.S. and of course abroad(I'm based in NYC so have been connected with great organizations doing volunteer work in research) but I'm stuck on what is the best next step. I am basically deciding whether it's best to do a PhD in Clinical or Counseling Psychology OR a PhD in a non-practitioner psychology (where my research could focus on these interests) OR a PhD in Public Health (ie, Columbia Mailman school's Sociomedical Sciences with a Psychology concentration). What it really comes down to is whether I want my primary role in the future to be a practitioner or a researcher. My aspirations are to eventually be in academia, do research, if possible do research/work abroad but also do clinical work. With global populations, I know that going into Public Health would be useful for having access and being able to work more globally but I also know that the focus is different, of course, than Clinical Psychology, which I am ok with if I can still [eventually] have my focus be on psychosocial treatment and mental health with these populations. The other thing is that I wouldn't want to go back for another Masters (MPH), I would want to go into a doctoral program, so I'm not even sure what my chances would be getting into a doctoral program in Public Health w/out the Masters. Going into clinical/counseling psychology would allow me to get trained extensively as a clinician, but it's unclear how well I would be able to apply myself to global populations afterward. On the local scale (refugees living in the U.S., ie) I could of course do this. In fact, at most treatment centers, it is PhD Psychologists who are doing clinical and research work. But it also seems that as they are older, the field of "global mental health" was not as developed back then so now there are other options. I've also got differing advice on the importance of what I do during my PhD research v. after. I guess if there is anyone out there who has done this type of work or research or doctoral studies, I could definitely use some insight!!! I've been talking to many professors and people in the field, and its making things more clear, yet more confusing at the same time! And maybe there is even yet another avenue that I haven't yet considered?!