What Psychology Grad School is Really Like
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- Опубликовано: 19 май 2024
- What Psychology Grad School is Really Like
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Lots of you have asked me to speak to what the psych grad school experience is like. To be honest, I've put off speaking to this question because I know everyone's experience is so unique, and I can only share my experience.
With that said, I'm going to summarize what MY grad school experience was like as a psychologist in training, but let me know in the comments what your experience has been like and how it's differed so folks looking into grad school can read and learn more.
With that said, let's dive into what psychology grad school is REALLY like!
Please keep in mind that the thoughts I express here simply reflect my personal experience of grad school. I know many folks who had a far more positive experience!
Feel free to jump to the parts of the video you're interested in:
00:00 Intro
01:41 Less academically rigorous than undergrad
02:55 Intense personal reflection involved
05:33 Writing, writing, writing!
06:31 Treated as cheap labor
08:15 Minimal dissertation support
09:47 Unhappy professors
11:43 How I would do it differently now
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I just was accepted to Grad School Thursday.
Yayyyyyyyy congrats!! 🎊🍾 One step closer
!!!! Congratulations! 🎉 I hope you have an amazing experience!
Yayy!! Congrats 🥳🌈✨
Congrats! How has it been going?
Congratulations 🎉
My cohort tackled the academic reading like med students do. We assigned each person a section of reading and we summarized our part and presented it to the group. It helped us with the readings and made it more manageable. I wouldn't say my profs hated teaching but they were expected to do the supervision and reading dissertations as well as their original research which they were expected to turn out on a regular basis.
Sounds like the Jigsaw Method. Very smart.
I agree 100% with your grad school experience. I'm wrapping up my Master's in Counseling and my experience has been largely the same, especially with how easy it was compared to my bachelor's degree. I was also surprised because we've had little to no discussion on what to do after graduation. I had to research for myself what exams I need to take in order to get my license.
I’m in my first semester all of my professors have mentioned those things atleast once
Which school ?
Oh no! That's frightening. My program did do a great job of making clear what steps we needed to pursue after graduation in order to get licensed. However, there wasn't additional support as far as what lies "beyond" licensure.
@@Larawonderandwander Long Island university
I'm a Masters of Clinical Psychology student in Australia (towards the end phew!) and just about all of this resonated for me too. Academically I think it was definitely harder than my BA but the difference was this time I knew how to study and to get through material quicker. I think that maybe it didn't 'feel' as hard because you didn't have the stress of having to meet a certain GPA to apply for Masters, you're already there! I'm not sure about you guys but a lot of our corse work was pass/fail (having said that a much higher 'pass' rate). For example, a pass in undergrad is 50%, for some assessments in Masters this was set at 80%. But I found lecturers would almost always pass you unless you did something drastically wrong. We also had to do a lot of 'reflective practice,' but they did encourage making up scenarios in simulations and doing what felt safe for you. Having said that, my peers and I would joke that it felt like they were trying to break us emotionally purely for having to juggle placement, course work and paid work whilst telling us self-care is important. 😂 You also made me laugh at having to do assessments before the year even started. During mid-term break when students are supposed to have the week off they scheduled full day workshops and when students complained we were told "you're Masters students you shouldn't expect breaks." 🙄 In terms of part-time vs full-time, I did go part-time at some point (due to personal circumstances) but I actually found this worse because the work load doesn't actually feel significantly different but there is a higher chance of getting burnt out because you're extending that stress over a longer period of time! Just my thoughts, thanks for sharing :) great to know all psychology student (even across the other side of the world) go through similar experiences, it's like we all have shared trauma. 😂 P.s. I found this video during procrastination time.. haha better get to it!
WOW! I am shocked that you found it so easy academically. I have a Ph.D. from an APA approved program and it was very academically rigorous and challenging. And, I had already completed a MS in psychology and an internship. Plus we had lots of ongoing clinical and research activities. I was extremely well prepared by the time I graduated.
Totally agree. I've never heard of graduate school from an APA accredited program as "easy". I'm speechless. For those of you not doing an online non accredited program, this is not reflective of what it's like.
Alliant does not have the best reputation (though it is accredited) however it looks like she made it work and got her license so props to her. Their licensure rate is not great.
@@ellencahoon5745 It doesn’t speak well or either Alliant or California licensure. This should have been titled “What Psychology Grad… For Me”. Folks will still walk away thinking this is a normal or typical experience for psychologist education and it’s not for APA approved programs. It sounds like a very poorly administered and supervised program and puts a pall over all of the graduates and, I’m sad to say, over other doctoral programs.
I watched this when I was finishing my psychology BA. Just got accepted into grad school so I’m back to take real notes 🤗
CSPP SD Alumni here as well! I would say the $$$$$$$ is something I didn't have any idea about when I chose that program (especially coming straight from undergrad as a 22 year old). Definitely something to consider when thinking about a private/public program and a doctorate vs masters. Thank goodness for PSLF!
Everything in this video is on point! I wish I had found this before I enlisted in graduate school! Great video!
Yes! I was pretty blown away at the whole experience of grad school for most of the reasons described in this video. Good suggestions for how to navigate some of that!
I'm sorry you knew so many similar experiences! I hope things are shifting away from some of the yuckier underbelly of what was my grad experience.
I can relate to balancing internship, working, and commuting over an hour. I was doing it all fulltime... in last semester of master's program I quit my fulltime job with amazing benefits; this was part of my self-care
Good for you! I'm sure that couldn't have been an easy decision, but sometimes the best decisions are also the hardest!
this is actually making me excited
Im really considering the exact school and program that you went to. I’m so glad I found this video.
I’m about to graduate with my MSW and found this SO relatable! Much of what you talk about here is applicable to the MSW journey as well.
Congrats, you're almost there! Best wishes as you finish your grad experience!
You wrote 20-40 pages a week for your MSW??
Wow dude!!! How did I not discover ur channel before!!!! I am almost done with graduate school and I’m like yelling at my phone saying that this is so relatable!!!!!!!!!!! I agree with all that you said and it’s really similar to my experience and I felt like I was failing but I guess that’s normal
Oh no! I'm sorry you've had a similar experience and that you've felt like you were failing, that's a terrible feeling! I hope the home stretch of grad school shifts for you and I wish you all the best!
This is golden! Thank you!
I’m currently completing a second bachelor’s in psychology and the courses are definitely rigorous and sometimes hard to get an A, glad to hear that undergrad is more challenging
I am a clinical social worker and not psychologist but I can say that the very most important part of graduate school was internship. The "baptism by fire" thing seems universal but I had great placements. I didn't like what the school offered so I advocated for myself to get one focused on working specifically with women, so I did that. The other student intern at my first year placement had her own mental breakdown within weeks so I got to do a lot more because the program planned for 2 of us. One of my colleagues in my cluster was missing from class one day and we found out she was freaked out because the counselor who was her supervisor had been choked to death by a patient with a phone cord. That tainted her field experience a bit.
Oh my! What a horrific scenario for your classmate and her supervisor! I'm so sorry to hear.
Omg fellow Triton!! Nice :]
Thank you for the videos!
Thanks for your support! :)
I was looking into Alliant...I work at a crisis house in San Diego and I can't imagine!
Wow and thank you for the observation.
Thank you so much for making this video. I'm going to be applying for grad programs soon and I am trying to find out as much as I can about what it entails.
Thank you sharing your experience.
Would you mind doing a video on what licenses you can get after grad school and how to get apply/get them?
I'm glad you found this helpful! Thanks also for your video request!
@@PrivatePracticeSkills Of course! You are welcome!
Just finished my MA in psych. Been trying to figure out how to do grad school and work full time to support my family.
Haven’t found any that will let me do my PhD/psyD part time.
update?
@@jyrahmalloy1547 she posted a really good video about pursuing a Masters instead of a PhD/psyD. I will be looking into that. My current master was general psych.
PhD in Clinical Psychology - My experience was different. My grad school was academically rigorous and many who attended my school would have agreed. Also, we didn't spend so much time writing for the purpose of self-reflection. We also weren't treated as "cheap labor." Keep in mind what she's saying: This is her experience.
I'm so glad to hear your experience differed! Yes, I can't emphasize enough - I can only share my personal experience and I hope and pray that there are other much more positive experiences out there. Thank you for sharing!
Dannibal, wondering what PhD program you attended. Sounds like a nice program. My daughter just applied for PsyD at Loyola Maryland, Rutgers and Palo Alto-Stanford. Thanks!
I just finished applying to phd programs in clinical psych, and have been lucky enough to have a mentor that has helped me though the whole process. when i was picking my schools, i had Alliant professional schools on my list and my mentor straight up told me to take them off. didn’t even ask why i thought they were a good fit he just said no.
this could be the reason she didn’t have a very positive experience. my professor warned me about professional schools because he says a lot of times their goal is to make money rather than produce competent clinicians and researchers.
That being said, i’m sure she is great at what she does, but i encourage everyone to do their research about the school and speak to as many professors or clinical therapists or phd students as you can to get an idea of the vibes of your prospective schools.
Which schools in your list can you recommend?Thanks.
The focus on self reflection isn’t that surprising if you think about it. How can one be a a good therapist if you don’t possess self awareness and introspection. I had several classes in undergrad that required this for my BS In Psychology. We did papers every week in Cognitive Psychology and Community Psyc that required us connecting the material to our own lives.
Fortunately my school had a Counseling Theories course offered as an elective for my Bachelors. That one also required a ton of self reflection. I also was able to take a group counseling course which fell under Human Services for my minor. In that course we covered the therapeutic approaches and how to facilitate psycho educational support groups. That one was one of my favorite courses.
I think 21 is way too young to start a doctoral program. There’s not as much to self reflect on as someone in their 30’s. I’m a first year PhD student in Clinical Psychology and I am looking forward to everything you mentioned because it will prepare me and help me grow as a professional Psychologist and as a person. I have done enough research on PhD programs to know what I am getting myself into but I do appreciate this video for the confirmation.
What jobs would you say is good for that exploration period prior to the program ?
I submitted my application two days ago. Now the waiting game
I actually just applied for my MA in Psychology. Hopefully I can pass and proceed.
I’m applying to grad school next cycle and did a lot of self reflection papers/discussion and role play therapy in undergrad. Is that generally something people don’t experience until grad school? I did go to colleges with somewhat smaller class sizes. Would also really love any grad school application videos.Thanks for your content! Good job
Dan that's so amazing that you already got that exposure early on. At my undergrad, the "clinical" track for psychology only involved a few courses focusing on symptoms of psychological disorders, but nothing at all on therapeutic approaches whatsoever. Our coursework emphasized statistics, research, and human behavior, but no clinical applications. I'm so glad to know there's an undergrad program out there offering that exposure so you can get a taste of what it's like and make an informed decision!
@@PrivatePracticeSkills thanks for your input. makes me feel less intimated about finding a good program for me. Appreciate it
Thanks for sharing! Question: did you ever experience situations in which there was a risk of clients inflicting harm upon you during training? I am visually impaired, and I am concerned about any potential safety challenges.
Unfortunately, yes. Many times. Including that first week at my very first practicum. This seemed especially true at the beginning since I had no idea yet what I was doing, which put me in a more vulnerable position. I would want to ensure you attend a program that offers support around any needs that arise for you and to make sure your safety is a priority. For certain, some training placements are higher risk of danger than others and it could be worth exploring what sites are the best fit for you.
As far as I know there is one APA accredited online PsyD program and zero accredited part time programs. But I do believe there are a variety of online masters options available. This video is wonderful!
Which is it?
I had no idea! That is incredibly unfortunate to hear. I hope the accreditation system create an appropriate avenue for part-time programs to get APA accredited.
Capella?
@@bradb82 Capella degrees are about as useless as University of Phoenix i think.
I don't believe that there are an part-time PhD/PsyD programs that are APA-accredited and there's only one that's a hybrid model (Fielding Graduate University). Classes are online, but you meet in person with a mentor in your general area regularly and you're expected to go to national events once or twice a year. At least, this is as of the last time I review their program in my own research into programs. It's too bad that there aren't any part-time programs, because the thought of quitting my full-time job to go to school and losing access to health insurance and income is really stressing me out.
I’m starting a MFT program in a few months and was wondering if you had any tips on preparation? This is going to be my second career so I haven’t been in school for 20 years. Thank you.
Can you share how you became a competitive applicant and got accepted straight into a doctorate program right out of undergrad?
PhD in clinical psych here from APA program. Zero self-reflection papers. The course work was not necessarily hard because so immersed in everything. The balance of Clinical work, externships, research, and coursework was the hard part. The hardest part was appeasing & surviving the pathological faculty who compromise most psychology departments.
Don’t go to grad school in psychology. Too many years, not enough reward.
This was difficult for me to hear, I’ll be honest. Having supervised a few post-docs over the years I guess I shouldn’t be all that surprised. They received extensive supervision and most of them appreciated it. Now I understand better.
Thanks a lot to share these necessary information with us. Is this possible that I can have your email to talk more about master program in Alliant university?because I just apply for family and marriage therapy master degree in this university, but I am worry about that how can i be prepare for this program and be a good student?
I already have an MS in Psychology but I need my MFT in Clinical Counseling / MFT 😭 is it worth it?
I'm in the last semester of my MSW and this is exactly my experience! I have to do clinical hours after to get my LCSW. Do you have any suggestions about how to obtain a job when trying to gain clinical hours?
Hey, good luck with your final semester of graduate school. I have my MSW and have a basic license but not a clinical license. Many of my friends from graduate school are pursuing their clinical license and my best advice, based on my understanding of their experience, is to prioritize applying to jobs where clinical supervision can be provided by a clinical social worker at the agency (and ask to get that confirmed in writing beforehand). I’m a PsyD student, which is why I’m not pursuing my clinical license. However, I work as an LSW and was told by my current employer that they would be able to provide me with clinical supervision towards my “C.” But when push came to shove they didn’t have someone to provide me with clinical supervision when I began the job.
Good luck!!
There's no single "right" way to go about it. But if it's of any help, I did share my own story of post grad training here: ruclips.net/video/Gr_9uQrewMA/видео.html
Congrats on being almost done! So exciting!
Thanks for sharing your tips!
@@stephenseger19 I have a bachelors in psychology and want to eventually get in a clinical psychology doctorate program. Do I need to get a masters in psychology or can I get it in social work or SLP?
@@AllAboutBreaAlysse I think if you have a Masters in either social work, psychology, or SLP you’re putting yourself in a great position to get into a PsyD program. About half of the twenty people in my cohort have masters degrees, I’m the only social worker but there are others who have masters degrees in things like music therapy and neuroscience. Half of my cohort came in with bachelors degrees only and they’re great, also.
I have similar sentiments.
I'm sorry to hear you've known similar experiences. Sigh. Hopefully by getting more of this information out there programs can feel a little pressure to improve their systems.
I start my MA in Psych on 3/1 🙏🏻
As an undergraduate student hoping to obtain my bachelors degree in Psych, after the doctorate/Phd programme and licensure (EPPP), do you think its necessary to get a formal postdoc? My goal is to have my own clinic and its seems like you can easily get lost in the weeds of degrees.
Hi and thank you for this video! I'm currently doing research trying to find good LMFT programs. I had ruled out online programs because I assumed they would lack the amount of face-to-face learning that would be important in this field. Do you (or other people watching this video :)) know about how online programs handle practicums and supervision?
I don’t know if you are still interested in this but I may be able to share what my university does. So my university is completely online it’s a masters in clinical mental health counseling. When it comes to practicums and supervision we the students find our field work in our respective communities. There are forms the student and the site supervisor have to fill out basically laying out the university’s requirements. If you have a hard time finding a site the university can help you. Once you have that you keep track of your hours and skills practiced and at the end turn it all in.
Only the coursework is online most of the time. The placement into practicum and internship is most likely on site for psych programs.
Omg 😳 I wish I knew this before I did my counseling masters program and before I wasted time in this doctoral program that is a waste of time at GCU. Not to mention my Masters was from Argosy University so I put myself through hell twice. Now I’m working on transferring credits from my doctoral program into another one as many as I can and continue my journey. Your feedback is so helpful. A lot of time even your peers aren’t supportive they maybe struggling through the dissertation process and end up being at the school over five years and not getting that far. It’s sad 😞 but I admire that they refuse to give up. I just refuse to stay trapped at a school that is sucking money out of their students by extending their dissertation process.
I can relate, I have a master's from argosy as well but now I'm finishing up a counseling master's at another school.
I'm so sorry you wound up at Argosy I did write undergraded Argosy University 5 years before the school closed so my psychology and ba was still good because they had not closed so they had to honor the credits thank God. It was so horrible because I put in a lot of hard work and then to find out that the school and I was mishandling funds and that's why they shut the whole university down and all the campuses that was horrible. My graduate school I picked a school that was not a for-profit school so that really helped with that respect and I didn't have to worry about that with the school but anyway I'm so sorry that you had that experience.
I’m currently getting enrolled in The Chicago School of Professional Psychology to start my path to becoming a Clinical Psychologist. I was wondering what are the steps mainly will I need to get a Master’s or can I jump straight from Bachelor’s to Doctorate (Psy.D)
grad school as in masters or doctoral? I heard those two have drastic differences
How on earth can a person write 20 pages in 7 days?? Im in undergrad struggling my a** off to do a 10 page assignment thats dated to be turned in a month later. 🙄
Maybe it’s 20 pages double spaced. I just did that for and undergrad thesis.
Can you please make a video discussing differences between grad school options like PsyD vs PhD?
I'd been thinking about making a video on this. Thanks for the request!
A big differentiating factor is whether you want research (outside of your dissertation) to be a core part of your graduate experience, which would be the PhD route, versus a PsyD that focuses largely on honing your understanding of clinical theory and skills. A PhD program also includes those pieces, but there’s also a demand for you to allot time to research.
I guess it really depends. I heard a lot of this at BLANK School of Professional Psychology but less at universities institutions
That's an interesting point. I will say, I have colleagues who attended the same program as me but at a different campus location who adored their experience. I think it varies even at the same program over time. That would be interesting though to get more information about how individual programs differ in student satisfaction.
Wow!
Are students able to work full time while doing a Psyd? Is it even possible? What is the work load like? Is it brutal?
I am pursuing a master's degree in applied behavior analysis, and I am about halfway through the program. The writing and self-reflection resonated with me. I found graduate school to be more time consuming and intellectually challenging than my undergraduate studies. I hold a A.S in mortuary science, and a B.A in Psychology.
HI, you have amazing experience, 5000 hours wow! Could you please let me know whether US universities accept students to masters degree after their bachelors degree in economics (UK). Thanks in advance!
You will need to meet the pre requisites needed for the program before applying.
How old were you when you started the doctorate?
Is an APA accredited program a must? Sadly APA doesn’t accredit online/remote programs and almost seems like the non-out of the box thinking is hurting the profession
it does and it doesn't, just depends on your educational goals. What really matters is if your school has institutional accreditation (i.e. regional accreditation). If you hope to become a psychologist (clinical, counseling, developmental, etc...) obtaining a PhD from an APA accredited doctoral program is highly recommended (some states, very few, do not require you to have a PhD from an APA accredited program to obtain licensure). keep in mind this mostly applies to PhDs, accreditation doesn't matter when it comes to masters programs as they do not get accredited by the APA organization. In my opinion, a PhD from a non-APA accredited program is pretty much useless, as most, if not all states would not allow you to obtain licensure (they would scrutinize your program, and more than likely you would not make it far in the licensure process to begin with), you are better off just pursuing a masters program that meets your states requirements for licensure (credits, supervised clinical hours obtained through internship, exams). You can still obtain a masters, but if you want to become a therapist (or other related occupation) and obtain licensure (such as LMFT) then you simply need to find a program that provides the necessary requirements that will fulfill your states licensure requirements. Hope this helps somewhat.
You didn't mention what type of grad school you were in?! PsyD or Ph.D. and was it clinical? I would appreciate it if you can tell me.
Great question! I have a PsyD in Clinical Psychology :)
Wait where did she go to grad school? She mentioned UC San Diego but not grad school?
What field of psychology are you studying?
Mine has been rough. I'm not doing a psych degree but I was doing a professional counseling degree and I still have six classes left to finish and I was having a hard time. This was only because I was dealing with my own family dysfunction and family members that were addicted to drugs and things like that and it affected me to where I was not able to focus on my school work.
I had the same experience as you with the self reflection assignments and this also bothered me to the point that I weld up in therapy myself this is what sent me to therapy and made me realize I needed to get my own help immediately.
hi
how are you
Hello I am a under grad psy major and need to interview someone via email for an assignment would you be interested in sharing your experience? It is a PSCY299 class. I would email you the 10 questions. You could be short and to the point! If yes THANKS! If no I totally understand : )
I know you recommend online programs, but aren’t they a bit frowned upon?
I don't see the problem as long as you have the appropriate practicum training. Also, teletherapy is a thing so...
Did you graduate from college early? 21 and you’re already in grad school?!
Cheap labor! That’s awful. My program made certain that didn’t happen. That’s the responsibility of the graduate program. Oy vey!
I'm sorry but why you always have that expression like you need to complete your own therapy. Like a person who really needs therapy facial expression. I think you're not like that irl, so what for to create that impression
Money comes up too much in your presentations. Academia is a calling not a drive through.
Obviously money is a major factor for the majority of the population. You don’t pay thousands for an doctorate education that’ll pay minimum wage. Stop being a negative Nancy.
I hear you but consider this. She’s making content based on feedback that she’s received from numerous videos. Money is a huge factor from many people.
Alliant University is not as competitive as UC San Diego