Psyche007

This is all IMHO. I'm assuming you are in high school. You might want to discuss this with an adult you trust, unless you are over 18: I can't speak for Cleveland, but it's unlike anything I've heard or experienced with CPS (DCF in Florida). I've been a mental health professional for 8 or so years working with children and adults in a variety of roles. I've made many DCF reports and worked directly with investigators on both cases and protocol. The circumstances you describe are unusual to me. Investigators often go to the school, if they know where the child attends, so they can speak confidentially and without alerting abusive parents. Other times, they will go to the home and speak to a child alone. They sometimes take law enforcement with them, especially if they intend to remove a child from the home. What's important is what your friend is currently experiencing emotionally, why they are telling you this, and what your friend is trying to express. The best thing you can do is be there for them, unless you have serious reason to suspect abuse. Check the law for Ohio: in Florida, every resident who suspects child abuse is a 'mandated reporter'. If you have serious concerns for your friend, you can always make an anonymous report and state that they should speak to your friend at school/work/somewhere other than the home. You can suggest a location. What's better, is that your friend should be able to take control and anonymously report their own abuse and recommend a place to meet confidentially. If there has already been two reports, they won't be able to ignore a third. You have to establish whether you are worried enough to get involved or stay supportive. A report doesn't always make things better, unfortunately, but your friend isn't powerless. Talk to your friend about what they want, what they imagine will happen. If you decide to complain, be aware that what you've been told might not match up to the reality of the investigations, if they occurred. You won't find out the results of your complaint, other than what your friend might tell you.

Yes, me. You can read my feedback for future applicants, plus info about my personal experiences, here:

I think the psych GRE is more beneficial for non-psych major undergrads if they want to demonstrate a good foundation of knowledge.

You’re more than welcome, and I hope it was helpful. It can’t hurt to brainstorm and get other perspectives! I wish you the best of luck!

Thank you. I have no doubt it will be challenging and intense. I am counting on it. I’ll be disappointed and bored if it’s not. Applied Psych undergrad was laughably easy. Perhaps I attended a bad school, but I didn’t have much choice. I took a semester in a MHC Master’s degree programme and was disappointed in its rigor. The MHC reading was easy and I really enjoyed the writing. There were no exams. I left and re-enrolled in a second BS which was much more challenging. The memorization and concepts in a biomedical science BS degree were more rewarding to learn because they were harder for me. If I don’t experience any difficulty or adjustment with a PhD, it’ll be the same “I’m not intelligent or hard-working, the programme was too easy and therefore worthless” situation that I experienced after my first BS. This perception, while not necessarily accurate or rational, is reinforced when you spend time on a forum like this where, despite some protest to the contrary, pedigree and prestige is certainly held as a measure of a programme’s intellectual rigor and the worth of accepted students. Ultimately, I just have to ignore all that and pursue the opportunities that are right for me out of the options I have available.

If your goal is to earn a US PhD, in clinical psychology or counseling, perhaps a research-focused non-clinical UK Master's degree would serve you well, equipping you with both the quantitative skills and research experience necessary to make you a great candidate for a US funded clinical programme. In terms of work, unless you're dead set on working clinically, you'd have to look at fields that would utilize that eduction and experience, such as research coordinators. You might end up in a great setting that could provide you with very strong letters of recommendation. That accelerated programme sounds amazing! Why not make that your focus and go for it? If that doesn't work out, it may come down to choosing a priority: experience (studying abroad) or expedience (studying in the US to efficiently obtain clinical licensure). Either option will have a financial impact. Good luck with whatever you choose! I hope it works out in the best way possible!

Perhaps. Seems a little... dramatic. I took full-time undergraduate classes while working a full-time job and raising my step-daughter, plus outside hobbies such as martial arts and volunteering for a special needs fitness group. I'm looking forward to studying with only myself to focus on, as the kiddo is now 19 and my wife is 100% supportive.

I was a professional web developer when I moved from the UK to the US at 24. I didn't start undergrad until 31, lol. I'm envious in some ways, in others, not so much. I'm married, established, and focused. Not that others aren't focused in their 20s, but I could imagine that sacrificing competing interests, such as social lives, sex, and romance, could make you feel like you're missing out. I've also had some time off work to care for a relative, so I've had enough free time to drive myself crazy.

I'm a young 42 and have no formal research experience. I completed an independent research project and numerous class research projects during undergrad (in psychology and microbiology), but I imagine everyone does those. Worked in the field for several years in multiple positions. First time applying, applied to a single programme. My POI hasn't told me exactly why he selected me, but I have an idea. My situation doesn't appear to be at all typical in comparison to the people that frequent these forums, but I'm completely fine with it.

If you haven't already, ask these people, too: http://www.cacrep.org/template/index.cfm (CACREP accredits master’s and doctoral degree programs in counseling and its specialties that are offered by colleges and universities in the United States and throughout the world.) https://www.counseling.org http://www.amhca.org/home https://www.ncda.org/ http://www.iamfc.org https://www.aamft.org https://acesonline.net I'm shotgunning this but sometimes you just have to ask as many different people as possible. There's bound to be a lead somewhere. If not, you may just have to accept that the consequences of your choice may not be fully predictable.

I'd also consider looking at some of these resources: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/overseas-degree-equivalency-table-and-methodology https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html https://www.wes.org https://www.thedegreepeople.com https://tea.texas.gov/Texas_Educators/Certification/Out-of-State_Certification/Foreign_Credential_Evaluation_Services/ It's going to be difficult for you to make a decision based on someone else's experience. You'd have to compare your programme to theirs and then see if any of the state regulations have changed for licensure. It seems as though this is a request to validate a solution to an unknown problem. What is your current situation and what are your plans? That information would be really helpful, if you're willing to disclose. For example, if you are a UK citizen and want to emigrate to the US one day, perhaps you would be better served looking at an online US Master's degree that accepts international students (if such a programme exists). You'd have access to a full curriculum and have that parsed by a UK governing body if you wanted to practice in the UK first. Then, all you might have to do after you move is complete internships or supervision hours plus take the licensing exam. If you are a US citizen and like the idea of graduate studies abroad, you may be complicating things for yourself, in terms of US licensure.

That’s good to hear. My mentor has a specialization in research methodology and statistics and has already said he's happy to provide me with additional training and support outside of class and the lab.

I would certainly like the same, but I don't think there are many members of my cohort using this board. At least, they don't seem to be posting. I know my mentor is going to have me come and meet his research team at some point because they're the ones I'll be working alongside. I'm excited as he made several comments indicating that he feels positive that I'll get along well with them. Leisurely reviewing some textbooks will help me get back into the mindset of studying and get my space optimized. I've already created and labeled my file folder structure for the entire PhD, plus the spreadsheets I use to track assignments and grades.... ?

I hear what you're saying. There is definitely relaxation time built in. We're going to be traveling a little, that kind of thing. How much time did you have between undergrad and beginning your doctorate? I want to refresh my memory because I graduated with my 1st Bachelors in Applied Psych, when I took stats, in 2011. 2nd Bachelors in Health Studies, when I took A&P I&II covering neuroanatomy and pharmacology, in 2015. For various reasons, I've had plenty of time to 'smell the roses' over the last year or two. I'm bored out of my mind. I listen to plenty of lectures and audiobooks. I'm probably at least 10 years older than the average grad student and I just want to get a move on, haha.

For everyone attending a clinical psychology PhD/PsyD programme this fall, how are you spending your time until the semester begins? What kind of preparations are you making? What kind of contact have you had with your POI/advisor/mentor, if any? Spoken to any current/former grad students from your department? Living arrangement/moving? — I was thinking of grabbing my old stats, anatomy, and pharmacology textbooks from storage for some refreshers, plus my DSM V and some other misc psych books. My POI will email me in the next few weeks with some reading material, grant and funding information, and grad student referrals. In the meantime, I’m reading his last few publications and generally itching to begin. We’re not sure where we’ll be living just yet, as my wife has some career changes coming up, but we currently live about 45 minutes or so from the university. I’ve already been on campus to find out the earliest I can get my ID, parking pass, and student credentials for access to the journal databases. I can’t stop thinking about starting. I know it will be here quicker than I realize. I know I’m obsessing. I’m just so excited. Roll on orientation!

(I'm bored and indulging in necromancy.) I'm a UK national living in the US. I've attended two different universities here and about to enter my third. Not once, at any time, have I EVER had a professor correct my British English to American English. As long as you follow the university style guide for papers, you shouldn't have a problem. I've encountered many anglophile professors, anyway!

I think this ties into something I said in my post: "Know your potential niche. If you're not reading much about your specialty in your spare time, are you really that interested?" If I wasn't as old as I am, with a family, and was able to study anywhere in the country, I would focus on finding the top academics publishing in my area of interest and see where they taught or what departments they were attached to, rather than to focus on schools specifically. I'd ask academics and non-academics alike who the top researchers in my field of interest were: it appears that plenty of grad students, as well as sufferers or advocates of certain conditions or issues, write blogs pertinent to their area of interest. They are a fantastic resource. I'd also look at federal grant-issuing bodies, such as the NIMH for insight into where the money is going and what it's paying for: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/funding/opportunities-announcements/index.shtml https://www.nimh.nih.gov/funding/opportunities-announcements/funding-amp-grant-news.shtml I think if you develop a well-defined set of evaluation criteria, the programs you apply to will be highly relevant for you and rank themselves naturally. This will make it easier to decide between choices when you get accepted to your top 3 programmes!

This is a great observation. My wife became a little frustrated that I agonized over my personal statement, ending up with about 15 drafts to produce the final product, haha. While I may fixate on details and become a little obsessive, the PS can hurt your application if you make an error or don't communicate well. In an effort to be supportive, people will downplay the significance of elements they don't understand. While the perfect is the enemy of good, you should be serious in your preparation and execution. It is possible to find balance between building unrealistic expectations and being afraid to try. You can't anticipate with absolute certainty what a POI and admissions committee will respond well to. Some elements you can control more easily than others: GRE, GPA, personal statement, and reaching out to POI. Some are more difficult: research, professional, and life experiences, your personality, the personality of faculty, funding, the saturation and relevance of your area of research interest, and the strength of recommendation letters, etc. If I wasn't geographically constrained, I may well have applied for top schools, just to see what I was capable of. As it stands, I'm incredibly happy I have this opportunity in front of me. To be honest, I'm glad I only joined this forum once my application process was over, or I may never have completed it. The advice and guidance here is both generous and overwhelming. This is a process, not a binary result, not pass/fail; understand that not getting in this cycle isn't really failure unless you reject the opportunity to learn and grow.

That pretty much sums up how I approached my statement.

Did anyone conduct a mock interview? I had lunch with my friend, mentor, and recommendation writer (PsyD), and she put me on the spot, grilling me on every aspect of why I chose the school, why a PhD, what my research interests are, which professors were aligned with my goals, how my professional experience made me a strong candidate, what I wanted to do afterwards, etc, etc. It was helpful insofar as it really allowed me to practice expressing my thoughts to someone who could actually appreciate the answers, rather than talking to family and friends who have no specialized knowledge in or appreciation of the field. It was a useful rehearsal.

I’m not certain that PsyD programmes have a POI in the way PhD programmes do. PsyD programmes are more ‘vocational’ than ‘academic’ and aren’t funded in quite the same way. Waivers and stipends do exist, but to the best of my knowledge, a typical PsyD is something you pay for. This also explains the disparity between the number of PsyD and PhD clinical psychology graduate students accepted. My university will have something like 8 PhD students to 80 PsyD students. OP doesn’t seem to have to worry about funding due to military benefits. That being said, I can’t see why it would hurt to reach out to faculty in any of the programmes you are interested in, perhaps even reach out to graduate admission department. It still begins with OP making a shortlist of suitable programmes.

I’m not sure how much research experience you need for a PsyD, as it’s generally focused on clinical practice and consuming research instead of producing it. Generally. There are exceptions. I’m sure some members here will post their disagreement. I’ve been accepted to an APA accredited clinical psychology PhD programme having completed a single independent research directed study during undergrad, no Master’s degree, and no lab hours, but I’m also not your typical student. That makes me skeptical of conventional wisdom. It doesn’t sound like you are an average applicant, either. You have unique experiences and a special opportunity to contribute something important. This whole process is more than just test scores and what you’ve done. It’s about who you are, who you can become, what you have to offer, and how you can show that to a university admissions committee. You are correct in identifying your recommendation letters as an area of potential weakness, but it’s not insurmountable. Would it be impossible to shortlist some programmes and just apply, see what happens, and modify your approach from there? You want something to guide you and there is no better experience than first hand experience. The advice you receive here may end up being more harmful than helpful, including my own, but while applying will cost you time, money, and some anxiety, perhaps, it is a less unsettling and drastic option than any of the others you mentioned. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. It’s not like you’ll give up if it doesn’t work first time, right?

NSU, Clinical Psychology PhD. I’LL BE A SHARK DO DO DO DO DO DOOOOOO

UK national living in the US here. You should look at the particular state you want to reside in and talk to someone at their licensing board. Each state has different requirements for licensure, which typically includes earning an approved degree, passing a licensing exam, and accruing a certain number of supervised internship/practicum hours. When individuals with a US Master’s degree move from state to state, they sometimes have to take additional courses or have additional supervision hours to meet different requirements for licensure eligibility. From the link you posted, it’s difficult to tell if that degree is equivalent to the average US Clinical Social Worker/Mental Health Counselor Masters degree. As an example, I live in Florida. Here’s the licensing site: https://floridasmentalhealthprofessions.gov/licensing/ Here is an education assessment sheet: https://floridasmentalhealthprofessions.gov/forms/MHC-EDU-worksheet.pdf You might be required to pay for your degree transcripts to be assessed by a third party and submitted to the board. Email a licensing board and they should be able to guide you. Also, think about the type of work you want to do. Some ‘social work’, such as case management or child protection/investigation only requires a Bachelors degree. The same can be said for some substance use disorder counseling positions. I hope this is helpful.

I DM'd you, seems you haven't read it yet.