Hi everyone,
I'm looking to apply this fall, likely to Master's in Psychology program, with the idea of going on to a PhD. However I need some advice.
I have a public health background with about 7 years of work experience. I got my MPH in 2016 and have been mostly working in global health since then. In the course of my master's I became really interested in Global Mental Health, and I've had some opportunities to do some related work in the past few years. I also spent a year working full time on an assault hotline, and discovered that I do enjoy working on one on one with people as well.
I really would like to have the opportunity to pursue some focused research in Global Mental Health, and it would also be really nice to eventually come out with a license. (Would love to eventually be doing a combination of research and practice). However, since I've effectively shifting fields into Psychology, I've come to the conclusion that a masters would make me a stronger candidate.
The program I keep returning to is the New School for Social Research's MA in Psychology, where they have a Global Mental Health lab which is fairly active in precisely the areas I'm interested. (Refugees, trauma, displacement...). However, I've heard enough negative things about the New School, that I'm slightly hesitant.The cost is a real stumbling block, though I've talked to a few students who make it sound like they can make it work. I also understand that it's not very well regarded in the field, and I've seen things on this site which suggest that it may be harder to be placed in a PhD elsewhere with 2 years at the New School.
The issue is that I can find almost no other psychology programs where there is someone pursuing relevant research in the Global Mental Health field, and where I would be a qualified candidate.
So, my question is 2 part:
1. Is it worth to pursue a masters at New School, even if it's not highly regarded, considering they are doing the kind of research I'm interested in?
2. Is anyone aware of other Psych programs where there is a similar focus on Global Mental Health/Refugee issues?