Fall 2019 Clinical Psychology Canadian Applicants!

[+ve regard]

2 hours ago, psych12344 said:

Has anyone heard of an MA, MEd or MSc in counselling psych be accepted to a PhD in clinical psych? 

Yes, me! My MA is in counselling psych and I was admitted directly to PhD without having to make up any MA course/clinical work. There are others in my year who had another Master's (MA or MSc experimental psych or MEd counselling psych) and they either catch-up by doing MA clinical work or else re-doing the whole MA clinical degree. It really depends on the program you did, how your thesis work (or previous research) fits for your POI and how you can position your degree work as equivalent to that of the MA program you are hoping to skip  it's definitely possible and not as unusual as you would think!

[C_Lamoureux]

5 hours ago, ventiamericano said:

Just checked UOZone and got “refused” LOL, couldn’t even spare me the rejection email ? Congrats to all who were accepted!!

Same here...haha I didn't want to move to Ottawa anyway!

[Bananaslol]

On 3/1/2019 at 1:47 PM, PsychologyLife1 said:

Sorry to hear about the clinical program! Do you mind sharing when you were notified about the rejection and through what source (i.e., the portal or email)? 

 

In terms of wait lists, they aren't usually very long and idk about counselling but for the clinical wait lists most schools give candidates til April 15th to respond so you def still have a chance! 

 

Hang tight! 

 

Yes! They told me they would let me know by April 1st, and offered me ‘considerations for their teaching and learning concentration’. Which I assumed means, my application is strong enough for that program and they could still fill spots?

 

as for how I heard it was via portal. 

[PsychologyLife1]

Still under evaluation for Ottawa.... this process, man....

[OnThePath01]

15 hours ago, psych12344 said:

Has anyone heard of an MA, MEd or MSc in counselling psych be accepted to a PhD in clinical psych? 

Yes! I talked to a colleague who had no problem doing her PhD from Counselling background. From my understanding it is much harder to get in (if at all) with a MEd but very possible with an MA in Counselling. 

[OnThePath01]

42 minutes ago, PsychologyLife1 said:

Still under evaluation for Ottawa.... this process, man....

Agreed...This is brutal. Collective positive thoughts going out to every single candidate! 

[Psych_School]

Hi Everyone!

I have been admitted into two programs - one MA/PhD in clinical psych and a MA/PhD in counselling psych (both CPA accredited).  I prefer the research of my POI in counselling psych much more... is there a big difference in practice between clinical and counselling psych at the PhD level?

[gillis_55]

20 minutes ago, Psych_School said:

Hi Everyone!

I have been admitted into two programs - one MA/PhD in clinical psych and a MA/PhD in counselling psych (both CPA accredited).  I prefer the research of my POI in counselling psych much more... is there a big difference in practice between clinical and counselling psych at the PhD level?

I've spoken with faculty members from both types of programs and essentially there is little difference in practice between the two degrees. The two fields were very different 50-60 years ago, with counselling focused on vocational/well-being issues (especially in educational/military settings) and clinical focused more on psychopathology; however, at this point the overlap is huge.  You won't have access to different populations based on the degree - that's entirely dependent on your program's training and practicum sites. If you stack up hours with the population you want, there's no issue.

That being said, clinical degrees are still seen by some in academia as having more prestige - but that perception continues to fade as the fields converge. If you're interested in a research career, it's really your CV/pubs/funding record that's important, not the type of degree. 

If I were you, I would go with the better research fit - 6 years is a long time to study something you're not very interested in.

Edited March 6, 2019 by gillis_55

[chopper.wife]

23 minutes ago, Psych_School said:

Hi Everyone!

I have been admitted into two programs - one MA/PhD in clinical psych and a MA/PhD in counselling psych (both CPA accredited).  I prefer the research of my POI in counselling psych much more... is there a big difference in practice between clinical and counselling psych at the PhD level?

Congrats on your admissions, that is great!

As for the difference, and someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I think the lines are slowly blurring bewteen the two, with those in counselling wanting more severe psychopathology training and those in clinical wanting certain elements of counselling training. I'm sure you know the broad differences between the two already. I know that regardless of degree level, counselling tends to be less focused on severe psychopathology in favour of more general life problems/stress and their correlates. Despite the two overlapping, however, they are still pretty different in their core approaches from what I have been told.

Also echoing what @gillis_55 has said above, I think you should go with the better research fit. If you are studying what you are interested in and seek out opportunities within the program/practica for exposure to the population you are interested in, you will get to where you want and be happier along the way!

Edited March 6, 2019 by chopper.wife

[higaisha]

39 minutes ago, Psych_School said:

Hi Everyone!

I have been admitted into two programs - one MA/PhD in clinical psych and a MA/PhD in counselling psych (both CPA accredited).  I prefer the research of my POI in counselling psych much more... is there a big difference in practice between clinical and counselling psych at the PhD level?

There isn't much a difference depending on the school, some counselling depts i.e., McGill, UBC push into quasi clinical territory, York's clinical department for sure pushes into counselling, and this is fair to say of most of the older clinical departments. That said, some places like UTSC, Ryerson and Queens are much more hardcore clinical and wont be confused for a counselling program anytime soon lol (likely because of their CBT focus), but you can still acquire counselling type external practica from a clinical program (and vice versa, as @gillis_55 mentioned).

[Piagets#1Fan]

1 hour ago, OnThePath01 said:

Agreed...This is brutal. Collective positive thoughts going out to every single candidate! 

 

2 hours ago, PsychologyLife1 said:

Still under evaluation for Ottawa.... this process, man....

I got my official rejection this morning but I emailed my POI yesterday and he confirmed that he ended up going with a student in the experimental program but I was his 2nd choice ;__; so close I could taste it! If you haven't heard yet, maybe that's a good thing?

[Sharbar]

49 minutes ago, Psych_School said:

Hi Everyone!

I have been admitted into two programs - one MA/PhD in clinical psych and a MA/PhD in counselling psych (both CPA accredited).  I prefer the research of my POI in counselling psych much more... is there a big difference in practice between clinical and counselling psych at the PhD level?

It really depends on what you want to end up doing in terms of clinical practice. Like the others have said, in terms of providing psychotherapy, there may not be huge differences. HOWEVER, if you wanted to do any formal assessment/diagnostic work in your clinical work, you would have to be a C.Psych which means you need to have graduated from a clinical psychology program. Counselling psychologists are not permitted to do any assessment/diagnostic work (unless it's in school psych and you're working with children and doing assessment/diagnosis around learning disabilities and such). Diagnosis of DSM disorders is regulated in Canada and only clinical psychologists and medical doctors are permitted to do this. 

There may also be differences in your mode of training. As the others have said, clinical psychology tends to focus on psychopathology. Counselling psychology tends to deal with systems theories and focus on that more so than psychopathology. Accordingly, training in a clinical psychology program may equip you better to work with most clinical populations than counselling psychology programs (which trend to be geared towards working with more problems in adjustments/daily living/relationships). 

Yes, research fit is important, but you should also give serious consideration to what your ultimate goal is, because the two degrees, though similar, will get you different end results and opportunities. 

[J-Shot]

1 hour ago, Sharbar said:

It really depends on what you want to end up doing in terms of clinical practice. Like the others have said, in terms of providing psychotherapy, there may not be huge differences. HOWEVER, if you wanted to do any formal assessment/diagnostic work in your clinical work, you would have to be a C.Psych which means you need to have graduated from a clinical psychology program. Counselling psychologists are not permitted to do any assessment/diagnostic work (unless it's in school psych and you're working with children and doing assessment/diagnosis around learning disabilities and such). Diagnosis of DSM disorders is regulated in Canada and only clinical psychologists and medical doctors are permitted to do this. 

There may also be differences in your mode of training. As the others have said, clinical psychology tends to focus on psychopathology. Counselling psychology tends to deal with systems theories and focus on that more so than psychopathology. Accordingly, training in a clinical psychology program may equip you better to work with most clinical populations than counselling psychology programs (which trend to be geared towards working with more problems in adjustments/daily living/relationships). 

Yes, research fit is important, but you should also give serious consideration to what your ultimate goal is, because the two degrees, though similar, will get you different end results and opportunities. 

Is it true that those with a PhD in Counselling Psych can't diagnose/do formal assessments?  I was under the impression that all professional psychologists (school/counselling/clinical) could provide a diagnosis (at least in Ontario "C. Psych" is short for "certificate of registration as a psychologist").  I could be wrong though!

[PsychologyLife1]

1 hour ago, Piagets#1Fan said:

 

I got my official rejection this morning but I emailed my POI yesterday and he confirmed that he ended up going with a student in the experimental program but I was his 2nd choice ;__; so close I could taste it! If you haven't heard yet, maybe that's a good thing?

Apparently they send out wait listed last... so it may be better than nothing or we may just be next round of rejections hahah 

[Psych_School]

Thanks for all of the great responses!! @gillis_55 @chopper.wife @higaisha @Sharbar  I agree that research interest and supervisor are super important and am fairly confident that I will have good quality practicum opportunities in the counselling psych program  

I will have to look into the assessment and diagnosis more carefully as this is something that I would like to be able to do whether I choose the counselling or clinical psych program.

[Sharbar]

33 minutes ago, J-Shot said:

Is it true that those with a PhD in Counselling Psych can't diagnose/do formal assessments?  I was under the impression that all professional psychologists (school/counselling/clinical) could provide a diagnosis (at least in Ontario "C. Psych" is short for "certificate of registration as a psychologist").  I could be wrong though!

I've always been told that only clinical psychologists can engage in those acts, and it largely has to do with competence and the areas of training a program offers in order for you to be able to declare an area of competency. A part of this is because  *typically* (there obviously may be exceptions to this depending on how the program is built) other psychology graduate programs don't train you adequately enough for competence in diagnosis and assessment. Counselling psychology programs typically focus on systems perspectives that traditionally don't see much utility in diagnosis whereas clinical psychology programs do, by virtue of its theoretical orientation. It would be possible for a counselling psychologist make diagnoses and do formal assessments/interpretations if they've had extensive practicum experience doing these things, but because counselling psychology programs typically don't offer as much formal training in this nor with the same amount of rigour as clinical psychology programs, it may be a natural consequence that a someone coming out of a counselling psychology program is unable declare these things as their competencies. Graduates of all clinical psychology programs are expected to be able to do assessments and diagnoses whereas graduates of counselling psychology programs are not. Keep in mind that counselling psych and clinical psych have different orientations and focus so the training will be tailored differently, which then lends itself to different areas of competencies. 

Take everything I say with a grain of salt however, because it's possible that I may have been misinformed  ! I don't think that changes the crux of the message though: give due consideration to  what it is that you want to do and how you want to be informed in your practice. Hope this helps! 

[gillis_55]

9 minutes ago, Psych_School said:

I will have to look into the assessment and diagnosis more carefully as this is something that I would like to be able to do whether I choose the counselling or clinical psych program.

@Sharbar made a good point, I'm not sure of this piece - definitely something to ask your specific program. 

[PsychologyLife1]

So I’ve been waitlisted at Ottawa. Any insight on chances of getting off waitlists?

[Mickey26]

4 minutes ago, PsychologyLife1 said:

So I’ve been waitlisted at Ottawa. Any insight on chances of getting off waitlists?

I currently hold two offers of admission (not at Ottawa sorry), and will be releasing one of these offers once I hear more about funding. So there is always a chance for those who get wait listed. Don't lose hope!

[PsychologyLife1]

27 minutes ago, Mickey26 said:

I currently hold two offers of admission (not at Ottawa sorry), and will be releasing one of these offers once I hear more about funding. So there is always a chance for those who get wait listed. Don't lose hope!

Funding acceptances are released April 1? Then we have til April 15 for acceptance? 

[Mickey26]

8 minutes ago, PsychologyLife1 said:

Funding acceptances are released April 1? Then we have til April 15 for acceptance? 

Yes but I hear back about internal awards that are University-specific in late March. I'm waiting on that; not CGS-M specifically. 

[lobstergirl]

45 minutes ago, PsychologyLife1 said:

So I’ve been waitlisted at Ottawa. Any insight on chances of getting off waitlists?

I was told that they move through the waitlist relatively quickly. Not entirely sure what this means, but I'll take it as an indication that there is hope.

[chopper.wife]

Kind of unrelated to this thread but also kind of related -- anyone going to SRCD this year? I'll be alone in Baltimore for a few days and would be happy to hang out with one of you awesome individuals!

[nerdy_metalhead]

Anyone has any insight on OGS ? I know for UTSC, deadline is in May (way after all the decisions were made). Anyone knows if they do perhaps rolling acceptances for OGS? For example if you receive CGS-M, you may email your POI to inform them and it is possible (albeit unlikely) that you might get acceptance if you were rejected before. Anyone knows when the decisions on OGS come out? And whether the same reasoning applies here? 

 

[psych12344]

8 hours ago, Psych_School said:

Hi Everyone!

I have been admitted into two programs - one MA/PhD in clinical psych and a MA/PhD in counselling psych (both CPA accredited).  I prefer the research of my POI in counselling psych much more... is there a big difference in practice between clinical and counselling psych at the PhD level?

The Ontario college says all psychologists (counselling, clinical, school etc) must be able to communicate a diagnosis so I assume there is minimal difference in the end it really just depends on the setting you work in but I believe clinical psychologists do the diagnosis and counselling psychologists can diagnose in order to formulate a treatment/counselling intervention. Could be wrong but that’s how I understand 

Edited March 7, 2019 by psych12344