Posted by Karen44 on December 9, 2006, at 23:44:32
In reply to Best grad school for psych in the midwest?, posted by SatinDoll on November 19, 2006, at 18:07:25
> My school just dropped their masters program, and I was wondering where it the best schools to go to obtain at least a masters.
>
> 2nd question, how long does it take to get a masters in psych, and how long for a phd? So like will I be 80 when I am done? LOLSatinDoll
There are some good graduates schools in the midwest. I got my master's degree in psychology, clincial emphasis and worked for a number of years with a master's degree from a school in Illinois. I worked in mental health centers in Illinois, Florida, and Kansas and also did evaluations for the Kansas Department of Corrections for a time before going back to graduate school to get a Psy.D. in clincal psychology. After my internship I did a two year postdoctoral fellowship in clinical psychology at the Menninger Clinic where I also worked for a time after I graduated from the Karl Menninger School of Psychology and Mental Health Sciences. Most recently I have been working as a forensic psychologist doing criminal court evaluations.
Do not despair; you will not be 80 when you finish! I had problems with depression between the time I got my master's degree and my doctorate and had both inpatient and outpatient treatment. I am currently struggling with depression again as a result of a number of physical problems that developed last year.
A decent master's program takes two years. If you go directly into a doctoral program, you can complete it in four years including the internship year. If you can do it, I would recommend applying to a doctoral program. And, if you are interested in doing treatment more so than research, then there are some good Psy.D. programs in Chicago where I went.
Because I waited over 10 years to return to school for my doctorate, I pretty much had to do the whole doctoral program minus some of the testing courses and one statistics course. If you were to go to a school with a Psy.D. program and go into the Master's program, you would then be in a position to go on for the Psy.D. if you wanted. Or you could end at the Master's degree and get licensed as a Licensed Professional Counselor. This would allow you to do therapy and to collect insurance. Some LCPC's work in group practices with psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers. It is not as limiting a degree as it once was (Master's degree). If you have other questions about grad school in psychology, I can probably answer them.
Others are right that a Ph.D. program, depending on the program, does less to train someone to be a therapist. The expectation is that one will learn that on the internship and postdoctoral supervision before licensed. I recall at Menninger's supervising doctoral students from Kansas University who were on internship. They knew nothing about psychological testing or about doing therapy. Their program emphaized research.
Karen44
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thread:705317
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/studs/20060709/msgs/712055.html