PsyDuck90

Is there a reason you cannot ask your supervisor thus question? This is a forum for grad students and prospective grad students. No one here has the qualifications (i.e. licensure) to provide you a specific answer to your question.

I would recommend you speak with the psychologist supervising your research, as no one on here is qualified to help you make diagnoses.

What kind of a graduate program are you interested in? What kind of career would you like to have? From your post it isn't clear, and the advice will differ significantly if, for instance, you're asking about a master's in psychology vs. a master's in accounting.

I don't think it would be considered plagiarism. However, if it is generic enough that the exact letter can be used for multiple students, it's not a very good LOR. You want your letter writers to be able to speak to your specific strengths and accomplishments.

You can take them at a community college (not sure if they are a thing where you are), but in the US those credits tend to be pretty cheap. Also, look up the specific master's programs you are interested in and make sure what courses you actually need for those programs.

It's about that time where we are seeing multiple students asking about their chances of getting into a program this next app cycle. Rather than having many threads about the same thing, it will be easier to have all these questions in one place.

Your GPA isn't that bad. Average GPAs of admitted students hover around 3.5, so you're pretty much within the mean. Research fit is the biggest factor in applications. Also, make sure to do well on the GRE as a way to counterbalance the GPA. Make sure the POIs you apply to are a good research match and that you have great letters of recommendation.

Do you have any research experience? Clinical Psychology PhD programs are very competitive, and applicants typically have several years of research experience along with a few posters/publications. Also, research fit is the biggest factor in acceptance. Are you applying to these programs because they are ivies or because there are faculty doing research you want there? Master's programs are a bit easier to get into than PhD programs, but you want to consider your goal with the masters. Are you using it as a stepping stone for PhD apps? If so, a program that provides strong research mentorship is best. If you want to practice after getting your Master's, you need a program that leads to licensure (most often mental health counseling or social work). Aside from a few states (such as Texas), a master's degree in psychology is not a license-eligible degree.

If you are a US citizen, your application will be viewed as a US citizen. Where you are living now won't really make any difference to them, especially if your whole educational history is in the US. Also, your husband's legal status is also likely not of relevance to the university. I would speak to an immigration attorney regarding your husband's status and options.

Look for programs with faculty doing research that is a good fit for your interests. In the US, PhD programs primarily provide their own funding, as students typically work as research or teaching assistants in exchange for tuition remission and a stipend.

Many research coordinator positions are 2 year contracts. This also gives you time to get posters/pubs out, which, as you said, will help significantly in your application.

Clinical Psychology PhD programs don't really care about clubs. The Quant score may be a barrier though. Keep studying and see if you can boost it. If you can afford it, maybe one of those prep classes. Check out Magoosh for some additional resources. The biggest factor clinical psych programs look for is research match with your intended faculty mentor and research experience. You said you've been in a lab for several years. Do you have any posters at conferences or any publications? If not, definitely try to get your name on some research projects. Can you do a thesis? That's another good option.

The license you get as a clinical psychologist and a counseling psychologist is identical. The difference is more of a philosophical one than anything else, especially since APA-accredited programs must have certain coursework regardless of which type. There are more clinical psych programs out there than counseling psych programs. As far as why hospital systems will hire LMHCs and LCSWs over counseling psychologist, the answer is just that it's economically better. Master's level providers are cheaper, and you often don't need as many people doing assessments as you do people doing therapy. You can hire 1 or 2 psychologists for assessments and then let counselors and social workers handle the therapy.

Most of the university-based PsyDs with funding and small cohorts also care about research experience, so I would definitely get involved in research if you can. While a PsyD doesn't necessarily do as much research as a PhD, it's important to have a solid understanding of the research process and be a good consumer in order to be able to be a good clinician and deliver evidence-based treatments.

Whether clinical or counseling, either PhD program will require some research experience. I would see if there is any way you can get involved with research and at least presenting a few posters at conferences. If you are aiming for NYC-based programs, know that those tend to be more competitive just because they get SO many applicants because many people want to live in NYC. You may need to take an extra year or so to accumulate enough research experience to be competitive.

Honestly, the best thing is to look at the recent research that is of interest to you, and then look up where those people are located. From there, look at the school. The Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology is also a good book to purchase. When you say "outside of the US," do you mean Canada or elsewhere? Be mindful that training done in a country other than the US or Canada may not allow you to obtain a clinical license to practice psychology in the US. If that is not a concern, then no worries! However, if you want to practice (or teach in most clinical grad programs), you will need to be licensed.

I would follow Sigaba's suggestion and check out the history forum for more guidance. This may be discipline specific, but faculty in my field would be confused if someone reached out to them for help. People often reach out when they are about to apply and hoping to discuss research match.

Start by researching articles of interest. Do a search in Google Scholar and find papers of stuff you envision yourself doing. Who are the people doing that research? What departments are they in? This will help you build your list of potential mentors/schools.

What is it that you want to do ad a job? A PhD is still a means to and end, so I would start by figuring out what your ideal career path is and then look at what degree most people in that field have. If your goal is academia, then I would consider what it is specifically that you want to study and what departments are faculty doing that type of research.

I have no idea, as I have only ever looked at licensing laws in the US. You would have to look into the laws of the UK to get that answer.

These are very broad and distinct career paths. However, you could achieve many of them by either getting a PhD or PsyD in clincial psychology or counseling psychology, a masters in mental health counseling or marriage and family therapy, or a master's in social work. You can also pursue a masters, PhD, or PsyD in school psychology to work in a school setting. Social workers can also work in schools. The master's in social work and subsequent LCSW is probably the most versatile of the master's level license-able degrees, so I would probably go that route.

Oh yikes. Yeah, I misunderstood. I've gotten feedback on things like being mindful of space-filler sounds like "ummm" and "like," not being so expressive with my hands because it actually comes across as more distracting, or putting more confidence in my voice. Talking about the specific sound of your voice is absurd since...you can't change that. Yeah, that's inappropriate.

While it seems like they may have gone about it the wrong way, feedback on presentation performance is appropriate. I've had faculty mentors provide my feedback on conference presentations and practice rounds because it is important to be able to effectively communicate your findings to others. It is a skill, just like any other, and feedback can allow for improvement.

To address this part, state schools are actually where most of the mental health training happens. Going to Texas Women's University for a master's will not be looked down on. The psych field isn't like going for an MBA where it's ivy league or bust. Those national rankings we normally think about when considering undergrad degree programs and the like basically go out the window. As long as you can get some solid research experience, you should be in a good place. Just note that PhD programs in clinical/counseling psychology are very competitive, and most successful applicants have a good research fit with their mentor and also several posters and maybe a publication or 2 on their CV when they apply, so make sure that whatever master's you choose allows for ample research experience and the ability to present your work. Letters of recommendation do have a bit more weight when the person you're working with knows the person you're applying to work for, so that is something to keep in mind

What things do you like about psychology/the mental health field? What do you envision doing on a day to day basis? You can get creative with opportunities with a PhD, or even a master's. If you're currently in a program, what is the degree you're getting? That may give us more information about what jobs are more feasible.