Career as Clinical Psychologist, Research Paper Example

Clinical Psychology is just one of many subfields that Psychology has to offer.  Individuals whom chose to enter a career in clinical psychology strive to help other individuals with emotional stress, mental illness, different types of addictions and/or any other form of mental health issues.  “Clinical psychology is both a health care profession (like medicine, surgery or social work), and a health-related scientific discipline (like physiology or sociology).” (Carr 2012)  Therefore, the objective of a clinical psychologist handles both mental and physical behavior.   “The profession of clinical psychology involves using clinical judgement to apply knowledge from the scientific discipline of clinical psychology in clinical practice with clients and patients (Carr 2012).”  For example, helping a teen who is displaying low grades in his/her education and is unruly to his/her parents and school officials; helping a woman to regulate her mood effectively when dealing with depression; or “helping the family of a person whose psychotic symptoms have been reduced through medication to develop a supportive style to prevent relapse (Barlow 2011).”

Concluding my research on clinical psychologist, I’ve come to find the biggest pros and cons about becoming a clinical psychologist.  Firstly, the graduate program and the internship is going to be a lot of hard work and dedication, regardless of what graduate institute I am enrolled in.  However, the completion of the program varies depending on the institution.  This necessary isn’t a pro nor a con because I would except a clinical psychologist to be heavily educated.  It’s always a pro to have the ability to help people and becoming a clinical psychologist would be an ongoing learning experience.  However, cons of becoming a clinical psychologist is the stress of emotional issues from the patients.  Dealing with patients requires a lot of time and patience, which could severely stress out a person within this career.

The education of a clinical psychologist is the most prominent part of their career.  Depending on the state the individual resides in, the process and requirements of employment for psychologists vary, as well as their salary and where they may be employed.  However, the first step in achieving a license in clinical psychology is to earn a bachelors degree.  Once a undergraduate bachelor’s degree is obtained, the next step to being a clinical psychologist is to enter into a doctoral program.  Though several graduate institutes admit students with a Bachelor’s degree in a related field, an undergraduate Bachelor’s degree in psychology is the most ideal major to entering into a doctoral program.  A Doctor of Psychology or Doctor of Philosophy program may take 4-5 years to successfully complete and should be accredited by the American Psychological Association.  A common component of obtaining a doctoral psychology program is to successfully complete an internship of up to 2,000 hours, which is dependent on the doctoral program.  The next step one would take to becoming a licensed clinical psychologist is to gain field experience.  Many doctoral programs offer post-doctoral fellowship programs, which allow post-grad students to provide clinical services to individuals and groups under faculty supervision.  The post-doctoral fellowship programs usually last up to a year to complete, but requirements to completion for licensure tends to vary based on state.  After completing the education requirements, as well as the post-doctoral fellowship program, the individual must then becoming licensed as a clinical psychologist.  Applicants will need completed doctoral programs, an internship approved by the state and 1-2 years of professional clinical psychologist experience.  Applicants must also successfully pass the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology.

After extensive research about the career path of a clinical psychologist, I’ve looked into several remarkable schools and have looked into two of the prestigious graduate schools for clinical psychology.  The first would be University of California (Los Angeles, CA), which is “one of the largest, most selective, and most highly regarded in the country and aims to produce future faculty, researchers, and leaders in clinical science, who influence research, policy development, and practice (University of California 2017).”  According to University of California, “admission decisions are based on “applicants’ research interests and experiences, forms coursework in psychology and associated fields, academic performance, letters of recommendation, dedication to and suitably for a career as a clinical scientist, program fit and contributions to an intellectually rich, diverse class (2017).”  Also, applicants must complete a background check and fingerprinting with the UCLA Police Department prior to their first Fall Quarter.  Before the end of the first Fall quarter, students are required to completed “1) Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) modules on conducting research with human participants and 2) the CITI modules for obtaining HIPAA training certification (Universtiy of California 2017).”  Although, undergraduate programs may have had similar training programs, UCLA requires both programs to be completed through UCLA and no other institution. This program consists of clinical training and teach, continuous research involvement and different types of coursework pertaining to clinical psychology.  The clinical psychology program at UCLA is a six-year program, which includes a full-time one-year internship, and at least four years of the program must be completed in residence at UCLA.  Once these requirements are successfully completed and the internship is approved, the student will receive their Ph.D. degree.  Tuition for full-time students would be $22,502.00, which doesn’t include university/institution fees and/or costs of $5,416.78 and additional estimated fees and/or costs to students (ex: books, travel, etc.) of $2,658.00.

As I am more than aware as UCLA is the most prestigious University for clinical psychology, it’s also mandatory to be realistic with what type of school will fit my personal skillset.  Personally, Duke University is a potential and realistic match for myself for numerous reasons.

Duke University “searches for qualified graduate students, [that have the] potential to conduct original research, to engage in scholarship, to work effectively with others, including future clients, and to have an impact on the broader field of clinical psychology (Duke University 2017).”  Duke University seeks applicants who are interested both in research and in clinical practice, and an undergraduate psychology major is not mandatory, but mostly favored.  Duke requires that all clinical applicants have a faculty interview before placement into their clinical program.  However, only about 20 individuals, of the approximate 300-350 applicants, are picked to have interviews with the clinical faculty.  “All students accepted into the program are guaranteed five years of stipend support, as well as full tuition. Stipends may be based on fellowships, research or teaching assistant positions, or, for more senior students, their own external research support (Duke University 2017).”  Federal loans are available to graduate students attending Duke University through the Stafford Loan Program and the Carl Perkins Student Loan Program.  “The charge for tuition is $24,750 per semester.  Registration fee for the summer of 2017 will be $3,425. The department usually covers registration fees for years 1-5 (9-month academic year only). (Duke University 2017).”  The clinical program at Duke University is a more expensive per year based, if residing in the same state as the University attending, however, the program is also a year shorter in length.  Therefore, the total amount for the graduate program at University of California will be more expensive overtime.

After extensive research, a degree in clinical psychology is exactly what I would want to obtain.  The ability to help individuals throughout their lives would be extremely ideal.  Also, being able to learn both mental and health attributes of individuals would broaden my knowledge and be able to extend my knowledge to other individuals who may need help.

References

Barlow, David. (2011). The Oxford Handbook of Clinical Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.

Carr, Alan. (2012). Clinical Psychology: An Introduction. London: Routledge.

Duke University. (2017). Clinical Psychology. Retrieved October 4, 2017, from https://psychandneuro.duke.edu/graduate/clinical

University of California. (2017). Clinical Psychology. Retrieved October 4, 2017, from https://www.psych.ucla.edu/graduate/areas-of-study/clinical-psychology

Streissguth, T. (2003).  The Challenger: The Explosion on Liftoff.  Capstone High-Interest Books.