Clinical?Forensic?Criminology? Suddenly uncertain about if I’m choosing the right program

[SheMadeItEventually]

Hi all!!

I’m suddenly all confused and completely uncertain whether I want to stick to pursuing Clinical PhD with Forensic focus or Criminal justice PhD. I used to be so sure that I want to go for clinical psychology. But now I actually think of it, the main reason why I was so attracted to clinical psych is bc of full funding programs and it’s relatively solid future. 

My ultimate goal is to be a practitioner working in a private institutions or government agencies directly helping the victims (and studying the effects of crime on victims and sometimes mental health of criminals)

Don’t get me wrong. I love research and I always have fun with it. But I’m just not sure if I want to spend next 5-7 years away from what I really want to study. 
however, at the same time, all my past efforts have been geared to clinical psych programs and all my knowledge about grad  school application is based on clinical psych so I don’t know how much of those knowledge will be applicable to criminal justice or forensic psychology.
 

If you were me and was really interested in working with crime victims (victimology) and criminal personality, but need funding at least for tuition and fees, would you choose clinical psychology (hopefully I can work with a mentor who has interests in forensic psychology) at a prestigious university or just apply for specialized forensic psychology programs in a less well known university?
 

[Modulus]

As someone who thought for a long time that I wanted to do clinical forensic psychology, had research experience, good recs, and experience working in criminal defense, but had 3 round of applications with interviews but no offers, I'll tell you the road to a forensically-focused clinical PhD is long and rough. While I'm sure it is ultimately worth it if your goal is to do research that is specific to the forensic context, know that it is a tiny discipline within an already very competitive graduate program (clinical psychology).

In my case, I realized that another subfield within clinical psychology was actually what interested me--sort of the opposite of your situation where it wasn't the legal/forensic aspect that was interesting but rather the sort of psychopathology that is often present in those contexts.

I see that you are interested in maybe a more narrowly focused field (like criminology), but I also read that you're very interested in working directly with victims. Have you considered other pathways to clinical/advocacy careers? It is possible that something like an MSW would put you in a better position to reach your goals.

Feel free to PM me!

[PsyDuck90]

11 hours ago, SheMadeItEventually said:

My ultimate goal is to be a practitioner working in a private institutions or government agencies directly helping the victims (and studying the effects of crime on victims and sometimes mental health of criminals)

 

Helping the victims how? If you want to work with victims/survivors in a clinical/therapeutic capacity, you need to have a degree that will lead to a clinical license. A criminal justice or criminology PhD will not get you there. You can get a master's level license, but then you wouldn't really be set up for the research end of it. 

In order to achieve both parts of this goal, you would have the most success with a clinical psychology PhD. The program itself doesn't need to have a forensic emphasis, but finding a POI who does this type of research is important. 

Also, your interests are still fairly broad. Victims of what kind of crime? Intimate partner violence? Human trafficking? Gang violence? Robbery? 

Before you go down a path, maybe take some more time to really think about what you want your day to day to be. Then, do a search for people in that role. What kind of credentials do they have? Also, if you can't find anyone who does exactly what you want to do, that also tells you that maybe your dream job isn't really feasible. It's often difficult to find a clinical position that allows for some research time outside of academic medical centers. You may have to ask yourself whether you'd want your days to be spent in a clinic or doing research, as it may be hard to get a 50/50 split.