Research based PhD

[Le Chat]

For those applying to or pursing a PhD in Psychology that is non-clinical, what made you decide to pursue this vs. the clinical field?

My primary reason for studying Psychology is to contribute to research, and I would like to be able to devote a significant amount of time. I also greatly enjoy academic teaching and relevant work. My concern with a Clinical Program is that the focus on therapy and assessment might draw away from research possibilities, or that my time and focus would be too divided. Essentially, clinical work would take time away from what I really want to do.

Thoughts? Advice?

[Oshawott]

I know people who went through a clinical program because their research interests involved clinical populations. Unless you're in the same boat, I don't see a reason why you need to be in a clinical program given your preferred focus.

Edited August 29, 2018 by Oshawott

[ResilientDreams]

If you don't want to do clinical work, don't apply to a clinical PhD. 

[PsycUndergrad]

I think it depends on the type of research you want to do. If you’re interested in clinical research, clinical populations, etc. then you might want to consider the clinical PhD. For example, I know someone who is primarily research-focused but studies interventions in a particular population, which would be difficult to do without her clinical education and license. 

If your research is not clinical, then there is no reason to apply to clinical programs. 

Edited August 29, 2018 by PsycUndergrad

[Clinapp2017]

Even if you don’t want to be practicing clinician, pursuing a PhD in Clinical can be wise. If your work involves clinical populations, there is significant value in learning assessment and treatment techniques, even if they don’t overlap with your interests. An example of this from my life is the study of neurodegnerative diseases, which isn’t exactly what most people think of when they think of clinical psych. However, many of these conditions have presenting components of anxiety, depression, etc., so me learning about this through clinical experience hands-on is important to me. 

 

I also think having more options after finishing a PhD is always better that less. Clinical gives you the flexibility to open a private practice or just do clinical work if you wind up hating research and the academic struggle-bus. This, to me, was valuable. 

[Executive-D]

14 hours ago, Clinapp2017 said:

Even if you don’t want to be practicing clinician, pursuing a PhD in Clinical can be wise. If your work involves clinical populations, there is significant value in learning assessment and treatment techniques, even if they don’t overlap with your interests. An example of this from my life is the study of neurodegnerative diseases, which isn’t exactly what most people think of when they think of clinical psych. However, many of these conditions have presenting components of anxiety, depression, etc., so me learning about this through clinical experience hands-on is important to me. 

 

I also think having more options after finishing a PhD is always better that less. Clinical gives you the flexibility to open a private practice or just do clinical work if you wind up hating research and the academic struggle-bus. This, to me, was valuable. 

Agree with this. Also you have the benefit of being taken more seriously among your non-psychology clinical peers, which can lead to research opportunities, collaborations, etc. Not saying it’s a must but I’ve talked with some C. Psych researchers who have said this.  

[kalman_gain]

You might be able to apply to a program in your area of interest (developmental, cogneuro, what have you) and join the lab of a professor who is listed as "clinical faculty", which would allow you to do research on clinical populations without having to do all of the intensive clinical work.

But yeah, I have a friend currently in a clinical program and it's an insane amount of work given that you have to do research on top of the clinical aspect

[juilletmercredi]

I was interested in mental health and substance abuse research. I also absolutely did not want to get a PhD in clinical psychology. I decided to get one in social psychology and public health instead.

Like you, I primarily wanted to contribute to research. There are lots of clinical psychologists that do that, though; there are even PhD programs that are specifically for clinical science (i.e., preparing researchers and academics primarily). But I also had a strong desire not to do any clinical work. I didn't want to even do practical hours. I definitely did not want to do mental health therapy or practice. I knew I wouldn't enjoy it; it would've made me unhappy.

Some well-meaning people also told me that it was better to have more options after the PhD. I considered that. But quality of options is important (and IMO, more important than quantity). I did not want a career in private practice or any kind of clinical work, so to me it made no sense to give myself those options if they weren't options I'd be willing to take. There are lots of other things you can do with a PhD in another non-clinical subfield of psychology.

I conducted research in mental health and substance abuse in my program. My school had clinicians - MDs and DOs, DDSs, and a few clinical psychology PhDs - and people with PhDs in non-clinical social and behavioral sciences. I never observed or experienced any differently in how 'seriously' I or any of the non-clinical faculty was taken by the clinicians at the clinics from which we sourced our research participants. (I'm not sure that they were even 100% aware of what our PhDs(-in-progress) were in.) Nor did I perceive any difference in how my non-clinical professors collaborated or researched with other professors. There is one exception: there are some kinds of studies in which the IRB will recommend or require that a clinician be involved (an MD in some cases; a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist in others). So sometimes, I suppose clinicians can come on as consultants on grants and perhaps get a lower authorship on certain papers through those kinds of selections. The catch, though, is that you're usually asked that because of your clinical skills and would be called on to offer expertise in that area...and if you dislike clinical work, then maybe you wouldn't want that.