Currently in PhD program for Molecular and Cellular Biology, but want to switch to Clinical Psychology

[rabbitlocks]

I am in need of some advice regarding my unique (as far as I can tell) situation. Basically, I am in the middle of a PhD program in Molecular and Cellular Biology, but would like to switch to Clinical Psychology. I have done some reading on Psy.D and PhD programs in Clinical Psych, and feel I would be much better suited for this field rather than my current one. Without getting too deep into personal matters, I essentially no longer find any joy in my current field of work, and I believe I would find much more meaning and fulfillment as a clinical psychologist or licensed therapist. I doubled majored in MCB and Psychology in undergrad (Top 40 school), and the PhD program I am currently in is consistently ranked #1 or #2 for MCB. I have done molecular bio research more or less full-time since my senior year of undergrad, but have ZERO experience in clinical psych. I spent a semester in undergrad working as a research assistant in a Cognitive Psych lab though, and did win a departmental award for my research there. Still, this feels very minor compared to what I imagine other applicants have in terms of research experience.

I have tried to be as honest with myself as I can, and I do not believe this is just a case of getting cold feet as many people experience during their PhD years. My dream has been to get a PhD for a long time, and I do not want to give up on this. I just do not want it to be in a field where I see no future for myself. The reality is, I absolutely do not want to keep doing benchwork science in academia OR in biotech, and I do not want to settle for an alternative career (consulting, teaching) that I am not truly passionate about. For me, the bottom line is I want to help people with mental illnesses live better lives, whether that is through clinical research or as a licensed therapist.

Mainly I am interested in hearing about what a typical to exceptional applicant to Clinical Psych doctorate programs looks like (GRE, research experience, etc.). I would also like to get a feel for what programs I might expect to get into (if any...) if I were to apply literally right now without doing anything else to add to my CV. What were your top choice schools? What do you think I would need to do in order to get into those programs?

Relevant stats:

Education/GPA: Currently a Molecular biology PhD candidate at top ranked university, 3.8 GPA. (Technically I would have a masters if I were to drop out of my program now as I have already passed my qualifying exam). Bachelors in MCB and Psychology, 3.7 GPA overall (Psychology GPA is higher)

GRE: 170 V / 158 Q

Research experience: 7 years of molecular bio, 1 semester of cognitive psych research. Currently in a neurobiology lab (albeit with no particular focus on mental disorders), although I rotated through one lab where my project dealt with genes involved in schizophrenia, and another lab where my project dealt with neurological correlates of depression.

Teaching experience: 1 semester teaching a general biology course to ~100 students. Have also volunteered at elementary and middle schools as a science outreach instructor, as well as a science summer camp one year.

Thank you in advance for your input!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 13, 2017 by rabbitlocks

[juilletmercredi]

First of all, there are other ways to become licensed and qualified to help people with mental illnesses other than a PhD in clinical psychology. You can get a master's in mental health counseling or a master's in social work and becoming a licensed clinical social worker. Most mental health therapists are actually master's degree-holding professionals.

That aside, you are in a pretty unique position and really, your best advice is going to be talking to some clinical psych professors at departments you might be interested in attending.

Clinical psychology is very competitive - as competitive or more competitive than medical school admissions, depending on the year. The typical competitive applicant for top clinical psych programs has a high undergrad GPA (3.6-3.7+), 2 years of psych or closely related research experience in undergrad PLUS an additional 1-3 years of psychology research experience as a lab manager, research coordinator, or research assistant/associate after college; and usually, some experience doing clinical volunteering at a mental health clinic or hospital. The research experience doesn't have to be clinical psych in nature, although it can help.

I think how competitive you can be depends really on how you pitch yourself and what your interests are. If you have research interests that lie at the intersection of biology and clinical psychology, and are applying to programs where there are faculty doing that kind of research, then you may be competitive right now without any additional preparation. I would imagine that your biggest hurdle would be explaining how  you came to be sure that clinical psychology is the field for you, particularly since it sounds like until now you've only read about it. You can mitigate that concern by learning more. For example, is there a clinical psychology PhD program in your university? Learn more about it, talk to the students, maybe some professors. You can do this casually without revealing that you want to switch, at least at first - visit some lab meetings or maybe get involved in a project or if the opportunity arises.

If your research interests are completely unrelated to biology and are a complete switch, then you may run into some additional difficulty without further experience.

One thing I do want you to be wary about is that if you are a scientist in academia doing research, you're not necessarily any 'closer' to helping people with mental illnesses in psychology than you are in biology. Doing research as a clinical scientist in academia is similar in concept to benchwork - not actually at a bench, but similar in that it's a super academic field that doesn't necessarily have direct impact on clinical practice or policy unless you take the kind of job where it does. So before you do make the switch you need to get super clear about what kind of career you want and whether your ideas line up realistically with what's actually out there. Again, talk to or observe some of the psych professors at your current university. Or, if you have the funds, visiting an American Psychological Association convention may be a good way to talk to a lot of psychologists and go to panels where you hear about academic and research psychology. The next one is August 2018 in San Francisco. There are also regional psychological associations (like the Southeastern Psychological Association or the Western Psychological Association) and APA divisions (Division 12 is the Society for Clinical Psychology) that meet in smaller conferences outside of the big APA one.

But yeah, this is something that will require a personal touch and communication with the appropriate PIs.