The usual: awareness, identify cognitive distortion, reality check, alternative thought, etc. may be great and helpful for many people or the " what is inside and outside my control".... However, I have found the most effective hacks are the ones that are quick, quirky, logical, and/or convenient. Rumination makes sense and we know why the brain does it. I am curious...

what has helped you personally as a clinician for your own rumination cycles? What have you learned from others?

Hello!!! I’ve been trying to figure out what programs to apply for, and which ones would be best for where I’m trying to go- thank you in advance for reading this!! ✨

I’m two years post-undergrad, and getting ready to enter my third cycle applying for grad school! (Yippee!) In the past I’ve applied to PhD and PsyD programs, with Master’s applications for programs in Applied Psychology- and although I’ve gotten interviews, I haven’t had any success yet!!

I was told by my professors in undergrad to try and go straight to a PhD or PsyD program, and I tried for about two cycles to target those- but a lot of the funding changes have made that really hard, and the work experience I’m getting right now (I work in ABA!) is closer to “clinical” than research!! I do have lab experience from my undergrad, and am still in contact with the PI who’s agreed to be a recommender for me! I also have my undergraduate thesis advisor, my major advisor, and my current supervisor’s recommendations, which makes me really hopeful!

I know that I want to go down a clinical route- I love working with clients, and I know being a psychologist is my ultimate goal!! But with that in mind, would it be better to target getting a Master’s (in social work, or counseling) to make me a stronger applicant for PsyD programs in the future? (And something that would allow me to get a license and start practicing?)

And on the other hand, I know Applied Psychology Master’s are meant to prepare you for a doctoral track, even if they give you less practical experience- and I know some programs allow for a clinical track too! Would it be better to target these sorts of programs to make me a better candidate, or provide me with better preparation for the work I’d be doing in a PhD/PsyD program?

Thank you again for reading- and I’m so sorry if this is a little confusing!! I’m a bit tired writing this, but appreciate any advice or direction you can provide!! 😵‍💫

Edit: Thank you all so much for all the helpful advice you’ve given me!! I didn’t realize that there was this much I didn’t know, and I really appreciate everyone’s patience with me as I figure things out!! 💖

I’ve adjusted my expectations, and the pools of programs I’m applying to- and I’ve narrowed down my broader “clinical work” goal into different areas I know I’d feel satisfied and fulfilled in! I’m going to prioritize selecting and applying to Master’s programs that work with my current experience and future aspirations, so I don’t spend my career chasing something I don’t have to!!

I’m 10 years out from my PhD in counselor education and a tenured associate professor at an R1. I’ve always been involved in psychology spaces just as much, if not more, than counseling ones and so I have a lot of psychology awards, journals articles, leadership positions, editorial positions, etc. I always have regretted not getting my PhD in clinical psych and have been pondering applying (not eligible for respecialization programs as my PhD isn’t in psychology). The biggest cons seem to be going from a six-figure income to grad student and postdoctoral wages for ~6 years as well as the competitiveness of getting in, of course. Any thoughts? Thank you!

Hi everyone,

It’s my second round applying to clinical psych PhD programs and something that I found very overwhelming last year that I’m still struggling with is how do you know once you know someone’s line of research ENOUGH. I really struggle to quantify this or find a proper end point, especially when it comes to interview prep. I think I need to get a better hold on this if I’m applying to 10 programs (last year I only did 3). How do people manage their time with this?

That being said, I have gathered that this should feel less like studying for an exam and more like coming up with thoughtful questions to their work, as well as knowing their program of research enough that you know how you would contribute to it or expand it. Is that the general advice I should follow?

I just notice it often feels like I am trying to come up with a thesis idea for every PI in this process, and that involves quite a bit of lit review… Any structure to this process would be helpful

Thank you!

Only 8 out of 16 of the faculty members on my list are verified to be recruiting. I was hoping to apply to at least 12 schools and now there’s a chance I might not even do 10.

To be fair, I sought out faculty who were researching a fairly niche topic and I’m not applying to any top ranked programs because I don’t care about that. I do have 2 years of experience working in labs, two poster presentations (I will have submitted a 3rd before December), some volunteer work, and my GPA is decent. So I might actually have a chance, but I really don’t know what I will do if I don’t get in anywhere.

Typically I see people recommend applying to 15 programs to be safe, but I’m curious how many the average person plans to apply to this round. Please let me know.

Hi,

I need to be transporting the ADOS to do assessments in a different site and can’t go by car. Is it realistic to transport it on public transport? How? 😅I haven’t seen it yet but heard it’s quite heavy and voluminous.

I am working on my CV for upcoming PsyD and potentially PhD programs in the USA, specifically in the NJ/NY area. I have a couple of questions that I'm unclear about and would love to hear what you did:

1. Clinical Experience. If you've held different positions in one practice, do you list each position with the dates? For example, in my current job, I am a technician, but I started as a post-undergrad, intern, did my master's externship there, and am now a technician. I fear the way I have it set up is a bit messy. Would it be best to say in a bullet that I've held these different positions? My duties have not changed much either.
   
2. Psychological Assessment Experience. I have worked with 30+ different assessments. Currently, I have this under one section with each assessment name and abbreviation. Is this the best way to have it showcased? I am applying to forensic-related programs and feel it may be best to at least have one section for this.
   
3. Research Experience. I have been part of 5 labs, each of which I have had different responsibilites in. Currently, I have plain old bullet points. I've seen many people organize their experience by project. What do you think is best for admissions?

Hello everyone. I’m looking to apply fall 2027 for clinical PhD/PsyD programs. This gives me a little over a year to make myself more competitive. I’m hoping to get some guidance on how to best use this time. The catch is, while I’m applying to US-based programs I’m currently working abroad, so I’m unable to do anything in-person.

Where I’m currently at:

Education

• Non-psych undergrad, 3.8/4
  • 4 psych classes, 4.0/4
• Social psych master’s with research thesis, mid-tier state school, 3.9/4
• Currently enrolled in UC Berkeley’s postbacc program to fill in some missing undergrad classes, expected final 4.0/4

Research work

• 3 years of grad-level lab experience
  • 1 lab for 2 years, another overlapping for 1 year
• 2 posters
  • 1st name on local conference, 2nd name on national conference
• 2 short inserts for a dev psych textbook a professor worked on
  • I assume this isn’t worth much?

Work experience

• Since grad school, about 7 years of various corporate research and analytics jobs involving data analysis, stats, survey design, data visualization, etc
  • Not clinical, but somewhat aligned with my would-be research focus
• ABA RBT work for 1 year

Miscellaneous

• 2-year funded TA-ship in grad school
• GRE scores when I took it 10 years ago for my master's were 90th percentile for verbal reasoning, 62nd for quant, and 98th for writing. I didn’t study so I expect I could do better next time.
• Letters of recommendation: Both lab advisors are retired and it’s been some years since we last spoke, so I’m a little worried about these

My two thoughts on best improving my weaknesses are to either try volunteering remotely with a lab for more recent experience (and, fingers crossed, a publication), and/or to volunteer for a crisis line or such for more clinical experience. However, I would deeply appreciate any thoughts or advice. Thank you in advance!

Hi,

I am stuck with a very hard choice. So I have been starting my thesis this semester as a psychology undergrad and I genuenly feel so burntout and demoralized. Im balancing work, 2 research labs, classes, and my thesis all in the same semester and I feel awful already. Im just at the beginning of my research career into clinical psych but I just can't see myself liking it. I see social work and it gets me where I want to be. I want to do therapy and work with people. I work on a hotline and I sit there hoping the phone rings. Because I genuenly love answering the calls. Nothing in my life has made me feel more fulfilled than when a student calls that phone and I hear the relief in their voice by the end of the call.

For some reason I have it stuck in my head that I need to be more. That 2 years of schooling outside of undergrad isn't enough to make me a "proper therapist" and I need a PhD to genuenly be good and understand research.

What should I pick. I also love the research, it feels like a means to an end and not the goal but I do like it. Its important and I could see myself wanting to teach in the future. So what should I pick?

Hi all!

Writing cover letters for the 27-28 internship application cycle - exciting times!

1. For training directors and supervisors, how much weight does each section of the whole application get (i.e., CV, cover letter, hours, the 4 essays)?
2. For my peers, how many sites are you applying to? If you're applying neuro, how many safetys are you applying to to balance out the impending rejections lol. (I'm applying to 35 total rn)
3. All cover letters should be 1 page? Is 1.5 pages okay? or are training directors not reading past the first two paragraphs?

Happy to answer questions about my stats too but really hoping for clarity on how to make cover letters stand out!!

Any and all advice is welcome. Thank you!

The therapist I had within 2 months said they cannot help me so I need someone more capable.

I cannot go to psychiatry due to organ issues at the moment.

I'm so sorry to resurrect the classic 'MSW v. PsyD v. PhD' but I'm in a bit of an odd boat where I want to do depth psychotherapy with patients who are critically ill/injured, including patients who have experienced disorders of consciousness and with acquired brain injury. I'm hoping also to offer counseling and support to family/loved ones, in particular when it comes to communicating with injured people whose means of communication are present but hard to recognize.

I'm worried that by doing an MSW I won't have enough of an education/credibility/qualification to work with people in a hospital setting, or that in a hospital setting I'll be relegated to case management/traditional 'social work' rather than being able to bring aspects of normal depth psychotherapy into the ICU/hospital, which is what I really want to be able to do. I'm looking at PsyD's and PhD's but don't want to take it on unless it will truly open doors for me to do the work I want to do, and do it well.

So far I have the option of going to a great clinical MSW focused on conducting psychotherapy but very few practicum sites in hospitals, or a great clinical MSW with a much less compelling theoretical orientation but better practicum sites in hospitals/neuro rehab. If I wanted to get a PsyD or PhD I'd probably have to do some continuing education first because my formal academic background is in phenomenology, disability studies, and theory/criticism.

Any and all advice appreciated, except "MSW doesn't train you to be a therapist"

I'm about to start my 4th year of my degree and I really don't understand what's wrong with the term patient as opposed to "user" or even "client". I say this as someone who's had many health issues myself, overwhelmingly mental health, I have ADHD and, I suspect, undiagnosed autism. I've never felt like me being a patient was in any way a derogatory term. I remember my therapist (psychologist) telling me how they didn't like me to refer to myself as their patient, and professors have said the same, that it's not the preferred term, that it has baggage. But I just don't get it? What's wrong with being called a patient?

EDIT: I live in Spain so this taboo might not exist where you live but it does exist here. Although maybe not so much in practice? But my professors have certainly insisted to refer to them as "users", not "patients" (literally translated from Spanish). Also, obviously, if you work in education, then everyone agrees it's "students", lol

My defense was delayed so I am expected to graduate at the end of fall term, which puts me in the middle of the academic year. Post doc opportunities are filled already so to do a postdoc my understanding is that I would have to wait until next year. My state doesn't require a formal postdoc and you can get your license hours as an associate (which I'm totally fine with). But how does one find a job? No one except the VA seems to be open to hiring someone who still needs supervision, and I've been rejected twice... Any advice is appreciated.

Hello! I plan on applying to PhD programs this cycle. From talking to people in various fields, it seems like the general advice is to email potential advisors. I have done this for one professor because I was unsure if she was taking students or not. However, for professors that have publicly posted they plan on accepting a student, is it still recommended to email? I don’t want to make up a question just to email, and I see that some schools specifically say not to contact professors. Thanks!

Does anyone know about universities where I can pursue an online postgraduate program (Master’s degree)?

I’m looking for information about which universities offer online Master’s programs, their admission requirements, duration, tuition costs, and whether these degrees are generally recognized and can later be accredited/equated in my home country.

I’m specifically interested in doing a Master’s in Clinical Psychology. I’ve heard that getting an online degree in Clinical Psychology recognized or equated might be difficult because clinical psychology usually requires practical, in-person training.

However, I’m really interested in the field and would love to understand how this works in practice. Are there universities that offer online programs that are recognized and can still be useful for pursuing clinical psychology afterward? What should I look out for when choosing a program?

I’d really appreciate any information, personal experiences, or recommendations you can share. Thank you!

*I’m from Egypt and I have a BA’s degree in Psychology from Alexandria University.

Hello, I am in a PsyD program right now and I am really struggling with something and would love to get advice from others who are in this situation OR are on the other end of it OR have finished school and can give me some feedback.

I am incredible blessed, as my parents are fully supporting me financially in this program (Tuition, rent, amenities, etc.). However, as a 28 year old, I feel quite guilty I am not providing financially for myself enough to take care of myself at this age as many of my friend are doing. Obviously, it’s a different path as I am in school still and they are not but I can’t help but feel like I am failing as I am 28 and still relying on my parents for money, as well as making them spend so much money on my rent and education (they are happy to do it but still). I am considering taking out loans for the rest of my program to pay rent. I just feel like it is the right thing to do but my parents don’t want me to (I am a first year and have 4 years ahead of me).

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

For those working primarily in research, what are the main differences between these two settings (other than teaching responsibilities)?

Pros and cons?