is anyone a clinical psychologist?

Question

I am planning on becoming one and of course getting my Ph.D My ultimate goal is opening a private practice. If anyone has this occupation can you tell me the pros/cons or any advise please? I would really appreciate it.

Thank you so much for all your comments. I really like psychology so I think I'm going to stick to it. Now it's just Psy.D vs Ph.D but I think with a Ph.D there are more job opportunities and more respect...so I'll give it a try.

Answer 1

I am a clinical psychologist. I have worked as a therapist but, like many clinical psychologists, I am currently involved in research and education. I answered another post similar to yours a while back and am including the portion of my answer pertinent to your question in this response:

If you are interested in being a therapist in a private or group practice, becoming a psychologist is not the best or most efficient option for the following reasons: (1) It is incredibly difficult to get into doctoral programs in clinical psychology. The average PhD program accepts approximately 4-7% of the applicants, which means that it's harder to get into the average PhD program in clinical psychology than it is to get into medical school. PsyD programs are somewhat easier to get into, but, on average, PsyD psychologists have a harder time passing the licensing exam than PhD psychologists and they also have a harder time getting an APA approved internship than PhD psychologists. The internship is a prerequisite for licensure, so it would be unfortunate to go through 4-6 years of school and then not even be about to get a license. (2) Regarding admission to doctoral programs in psychology, an applicant does not have to have an undergrad major in psychology but many schools do require both the GRE and the GRE subject test in psychology. It is rather difficult to get a competitive score on the subject test without a background in psychology. Furthermore, research experience in some sort of social science discipline is absolutely essential for admission to a PhD program. Again, it's hard to get this experience without some type of background in the field. (3) The PhD degree is a research-based degree and most schools prepare PhD candidates to become researchers first and then practitioners. Therefore, unless you're highly interested in research then you will be spending a long time (4-6 years) engaged in research that might not be particularly interesting. The PsyD is a better option for those who REALLY want a doctoral degree in psychology because it focuses almost exclusively on clinical work. However, the program still takes about 4-6 years to complete and is much more expensive than either MSW or MA/MS programs. Unlike PhD programs, PsyD programs are not usually funded so one will have to pay tuition. (4) In order to be a licensed therapist, a person does not have to have be a psychologist. Rather, it's possible to work as a therapist after completing a masters degree in social work and becoming a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW). It's also possible to become a licensed professional counselor (LPC) after receiving a masters degree in clinical or counseling psychology. Both programs are far easier to get into than PhD programs; both programs take less time to complete than PhD programs; and both programs are less research-focused than PhD programs. Furthermore, it's possible to get an MD and complete a residency in psychiatry. Although medical school is not easy to get into, it's easier than some PhD programs so it's not an entirely bad option. (5) There is essentially no difference in treatment outcome among people treated by psychologists, social workers, or masters-level therapists.

Hope this helps. If you have other questions, an excellent site to look at is: http://www.psywww.com/tipsheet/applyphd.htm

Answer 2

i have a masters in counseling services and i am a liscensed professional counselor, my father is a PHD in clinical pschology and has a private practice. For real now it is a hard bussiness, with HMO;s out their it is difficult to have a private practice, the hmo would rather pay a social worker or someone like myself with a masters and a license than a phd who wants more money, there is a high demand for neuropsychologist and those guys make mega doe, however if you arent into doing testing and writing reports its probably not for you, I tried private practice for awhile and its hard you dont get paid if they dont show up, you dont get sick time vaction time or a retirement plan, it is a dog eat dog world, some people make it big time i worked for a phd who had his own practice but this guy was like the donald trump of pschology, he had 5 therapist working for him and basically he ran it like a business and didnt do much clinical work anyways thats been my experience hope that didnt scare you, if you have a passion for this work you will find your way , right now i work for a major company and have great benefits and do a lot of clinical work i will never be rich but i will always like going to work and its never dull.

Answer 3

in case you flow to the APA internet site (you would be responsive to what it relatively is, each Psychologist does D:<) you could lookup information on those matters. the militia is actively searching for Psychologists. And the better area is that in case you have your tiers, getting Commissioned and serving as a Psychologists is rather achievable.

Answer 4

I interviewed my teacher who is a clinical psychologist and I asked her that question. I can send you the paper I typed up, if you would like. Email me and let me know...
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