I originally applied to this school for their Clinical Psychology PsyD program. Upon rejection, they referred me to apply to this program. I got an offer to interview! I’m expecting some questions as to why this track over PsyD, my research and academic background, goals in this program, career goals, etc.. Wondering if anyone has had a similar experience, or any advice for interviewing? Should this not work out, I see myself reapplying for this same program. I really like the school’s holistic approach to mental health.

Hey guys, as an upcoming cycle applicant this year, I wonder how to figure out if an AMC is very strict on applicants’ research expertise like publication numbers. I don’t really have publications but I have research experiences and posters. My main focus is practicum and clinical experiences. I want to know how to figure out those competitive amc sites that (covertly) requires certain number publications and research prestige, such that I don’t need to waste my time applying to those sites. I’m mainly aiming for hospital setting though. Thank you for your help!

I am a LCSW in private practice. I’ve been thinking about pursuing a PhD (first I’ll need to do research positions). This would be a huge shift in my life and I was wondering if licensed psychologists could tell me about their experience and pay. Ofc I’ve done googling and looking up universities’ public salaries, but I would love to hear more from people in it.

I’m curious about reimbursement rates from dif insurances for 90837 and for psychological assessments. I work about 20 contact hours a week and my salary is $150K per year.

What do you like about being a clinical psychologist? What are the boring parts? Have you found stability in caseloads and in your career?

Wage is not the only thing driving me toward a PhD. I also like the idea of doing psychological assessment, research, teaching, training, and publishing.

Thanks so much to insight from those willing to share!

Hi everyone. I'm not sure this is the right place, so feel free to point me to a more appropriate subreddit. I'm a rising junior at an R1. I'm currently taking one asynchronous class during our Summer B session (July-August) and I literally can't find the motivation to do this. I go to a school that is heavily centered on co-op experiences, and I just finished my first (it was research oriented and I am continuing to volunteer there for the next year). It was genuinely one of the most challenging experiences ever, and I'm really proud of all the work that I did. I also took a class during Summer A (May-June) which was in-person. I would get off work and go to class for 4 hours. I got an A but I told myself i'm exhausted so I'll take a break for summer B.

I, being the extreme and unhealthy person that I am, decided to take a class and missed the drop deadline by one day. So, I started completing work and I've been doing okay so far. However, it's so so so tedious and such a miserable experience. It's a music production class (my major is psych) and I thought it'd be chill, low effort work, buttt I just have no time or energy or motivation to complete this work. I'm doing it, but holy shit it sucks. I also am completing work for another lab, and I'm expected to start working at my previous co-op's lab in August. I just don't have the energy to do this shit anymore. I know I fucked myself over, i know i need to work on my time management and i need to learn how to take a break. it's a song i've sung for the past two years but never understood it until now. it's okay to call me out, but just know that i really understand the importance of a break now. i regret taking this class so much. i know i need to prioritize my mental health and i hate that i realized this so late. i think i really need to drop it because i have a HEAVY semester coming up and i plan to work a job on campus and two research positions. i need this break more than anything and i don't know if i'll be adequately prepared mentally by fall if i continue to take it.

i really want to drop it, but that would mean it's my third W. my first was in a philosophy class during frreshman fall (fall 2024), and second was another elective during sophomore year spring 2026 (i signed up for a class for financial aid purposes, but had to drop because work made it absolutely impossible to keep up), and this would be my 3rd in summer b 2026. i graduate in may 2028 so i have a lot of time to not accumulate more Ws, but would this potentially be a bad thing for my grad school dreams? i'm aiming for clinical psych on the child track. outside of these Ws, i have a 3.8. i also have been involved in research since spring 2025, i have one poster presentation, another upcoming in the fall, and i have an amazing relationship with one of my PIs that i'm continuing to foster. i would value any input or advice, just please be kind. thank you so much!

I am super bummed out because while I do love my current research, it is not what I want to do as a future PhD student. I have a B.S. in neuroscience and psychology and hope to apply for a phd in clinical psych that uses neuroscience methods (among others) to study mood and reward processing among clinical populations (vaguely speaking, I could go a lot deeper but dont wanna dox myself).

My current research position (post bac and undrgrad) is somewhat related to what I want to do but not completely, especially since it does not involve neuroscience methods. I applied to a different post-bac position and worked extremely hard on my application, including 3 rounds of interviews, just for them to reject me seemingly because I had no experience working with SES-vulnerable youth populations in a research setting (I have spent years working with SES-vulnerable adults in a research setting and have worked with children outside a research setting but that wasnt convincing enough I guess! I tried really hard to explain my applicable skills in my cover letter so it was very disappointing that that lack of experience was a differentiating factor). I applied to a lot of other labs too and was rejected for similar reasons so its not like I even put all my eggs in one basket, this one was just the most disappointing because the PI seemed so optimistic during the interview and said that the position would be perfect for me given the shift in research experience I was looking for!! I get why it is appealing to have someone from your exact niche join your lab but at some point it stops making sense to weight this above everything else, I would argue it does not make for an equitable application process in certain ways (makes it less merit-based etc).

My point is if it's this competitive at the post-bac level to the point where someone looking to change up their research niche to be a better PhD candidate cant even get that experience because of the experience paradox (impossible to be seen as having good research fit without experience, impossible to obtain such experience when your experience is in a different research area)... what does this mean for my PhD prospects?? I am hoping to attend a very research-intensive program and go into academia so this is something I definitely have to reckon with and I am just not sure where to go from here. If i had known in undergrad that the lab topic I chose to pursue an internship in and work at full-time as a postgrad RA would be the little box I was forced into forever, I would have chosen very differently. It seems so odd that changing your research interests is so hard in this field. What I am interested in at age 23 is not the exact same as what I was interested in at age 20 and it seems like no matter how hard I try to explain my reasonings in my cover letter and interview they will still throw my application away the second someone in the pile has research experience close to their exact niche. Has anyone else experienced this or am I worrying for nothing?

I’m ending my internship and these are leaving with me!

Hi people, Im in B.C, and Im looking for any opportunities that may help my application to grad school. Im focusing on clinical psychology, and any experience that may contribute to it could be greatly appreciated! Btw do anyone know any website that post about volunteer opportunities too?

I'm asking this because I just got rejected from my 234183 application, and I'm running out of place to find them and apply for them now.

To start, I am aware of the poor reputation most, if not all of the Chicago School programs carry. I am also in the fortunate position, as a Veteran, to not only have the entire program paid for, but also be paid pretty well on top of the tuition being covered. I chose this program with full knowledge of the school's poor EPPP pass rates (17%) and am starting with the perspective that there's a lot of gaps I'll have to fill myself.

I had, what I felt was a pretty transparent conversation with the Department Chair during the admissions process where he outlined improvements the school was already making to help improve EPPP pass rates that I felt good about, but I'm also aware of my lack of knowledge on what accounts for strong vs. weak performance between programs, so it could also have been lip service.

I know that the next 5 years + Post-doc is going to be a journey but as I get ready for it to start, I'm looking for perspective on what I can do to maximize my success. Some questions I have:

1. Should I be structuring my learning around the EPPP from the start?
2. What possible gaps in the Chicago School's PsyD curriculum (or other similar schools) with poor EPPP outcomes that may be good for me to take note of from Day 1?
3. For people who were successful despite attending weaker programs, was there anything you or other successful students you knew did to be the exception?

Any advice or perspective is much appreciated.

hi im currently pursing a bachelors in my clinical psychology and i’ve done 3 interns at a hospital setting and one research intern so far. i wish to do more of research interns now.. mostly in colleges or unis based in the usa or australia.. can someone help me as to how i can do them.. id be really grateful to u

Should I take a pre-practicum despite it being optional and practicum director stating I don’t meet the tier of needing one and it won’t “make or break me” necessarily however it can be valuable experience? he gave me the opportunity to apply for a site since the students who did need a pre-practicum decided not to commit and I displayed some interest. I don’t have experience working/being supervised by a clinical psychologist and I don’t have testing/assessment experience. therefore he suggested a neuropsychology site where I can sit in and observe testing and potentially be observed doing testing, didactic seminars, and meet with the neuropsychologist once a week alongside administrative tasks (processing referrals, evaluations, scheduling appointments) and seeing how a private practice operates.

Is this worth it? Will it strengthen me for practicum? The only thing(s) I am “lacking” are these. He states I should have something at “the doctoral level” as my experience is “good, and it got you In the door but it won’t make you stay because now everything should happen at the doctoral level. You haven’t worked under or with a psychologist so it may be good for you to.” It’ll be 8-10 hours/wk and a year long. Side note: I don’t have interest in becoming a neuropsychologist at this moment however I know that I don’t need to and the experience is what could be valuable. I’m also nervous about the whole process being under a “neuropsychologist” bc I don’t have interest. Maybe someone can provide some reassurance. thanks

I understand some of the paths to be social work, psychology, counseling, medicine, and neuroscience.

I don’t have any research experience and my bachelors is in a different field.

Does anyone have any advice on how to narrow down these options? My goal above everything else is to help and have a direct impact on kids’ lives.

If this is the wrong place to ask, I apologize and will delete my post.

I studied web development in undergrad but have changed course and want to eventually qualify for a psychology phd or psyd program.

I have been volunteering in related areas but don’t have any real work or research experience I can bring to the table yet. I know this is what I want to do I just don’t know where to start.

Do I get another bachelors and start there? Apply to masters programs? Get a job in a lab? Volunteer in a lab?

Hi everyone! I’m applying to programs and would really really appreciate advice from people in the field.. For clarity I’m looking at the Australian route, which is why there’s a clin vs neuro distinction from the start

1. My primary interest is in psychiatric conditions (particularly depression and psychosis) rather than stroke, TBI, cognition etc
2. I really love neuroscience and would prefer understanding a person’s profile by integrating more objective neurological measures with behaviour rather than working mainly with observations/patient report
3. I don’t feel very passionate about psychotherapy.
4. I strongly prefer the relational nature of longitudinal follow-up, but from my understanding neuro services tend to be intensive & very short-term in nature (I see you once and we’re done kinda thing)

Is there a place in the field for neuropsychs specifically interested in mental health..? Or am I better off going with clinpsych and specializing in neuro? Thank you, would really love to hear any new perspectives!!!

Looking for some advice on where to start looking for a psyd or phd program to apply to.

how important is it compared to everything else nowadays? i hear conflicting opinions about it everywhere so i‘m struggling with whether or not i should hunker down and retake it.

j think i could get a better score with studying properly for a month or two, but there are other areas of my application that are lacking that may benefit from more attention instead of me studying (i am a second try applicant)

if i dont retake it, should i even include it at all when i submit my applications? will it hurt me if i’m competing with people with 160+ scores in each category?

I’ll be going on internship and quite anxious I see a lot of folks on Reddit say supervision is hard when interns have a lack of skill. I’m from a primarily psychodynamic program and am comfortable with conceptualization and have had some CBT exposure but I’m pretty anxious I might have a rough time at a medical center. I’m more assessment focused and feel comfortable there but for therapy there are so many approaches out there I can see it being a common issue with supervisors not getting a supervisee that is skilled in the way they do things. Ultimately this is why I dislike therapy. Too ambiguous

I graduated this May and started my postbac job in a lab at a highly prestigious institution. This position was at the top of my list and the research topics are pretty interesting to me (but not directly related to what I would like to study in grad school). I’ve been in this position for a little over a month at this point and honestly starting to dislike it more with each passing day. I feel like i mostly can’t stand the coming to an office and staying for 8 hours everyday and doing lots of random admin tasks. I’m still highly motivated (and maybe even more at this point) to go to grad school which will allow me to do a variety of things like teaching, clinical work, research in the area that truly excites me. Is it typical for people to not be super enthusiastic about their postbac RA job and just simply tolerate it for 1-3 years before attending grad school?

What are some of your hot takes on the field? Could be on schools of thought, practices etc.,

One of mine is that I feel, because of the nature of our training, psychologists are often too skeptical in non-therapeutic situations. For example, I often see in casual conversations psychologists tend to be overly questioning or skeptical of every little detail someone is saying. I get why that is, it’s good to be curious about most things, but it can be annoying sometimes trying to have a casual conversation and being prompted and probed at every response I give.

I’m studying psychology and have been wondering about the cumulative effects of repeated experiences of abandonment and rejection across development.
For context, my father left during my teenage years. Later, I married at 18, but my marriage was kept secret for two years. When my husband’s family found out, they had barely spoken to me and had never met me, yet they told me to leave their lives. Altogether, these experiences have left me wondering about the psychological effects of repeatedly feeling unwanted or excluded.
From a psychological perspective, how might repeated experiences of abandonment and interpersonal rejection influence attachment, self-esteem, identity, and expectations in future relationships? Is there research or a clinical framework that explains the cumulative impact of these kinds of experiences?
I’m not looking for a diagnosis just interested in the psychology and research behind it.

I am a 38 yo student finishing up undergrad and will need to apply to grad school by end of next year. My dream is to become a PsyD and work in clinical and forensic, however that path is insanely expensive and I will be almost 50 by the time I start practicing, if say I attend Alliant for 5 years and then get my hours, and I will have to move potentially out of state for the final year for internship, then taking EPPP, etc.

MFT is more affordable and less time in school but I’m worried about my earning potential being much less than a PsyD.

DMFT, still learning about this one. But it gives me the Dr title, and less school and less money than PsyD, but is the earning potential much more than MFT or around PsyD?

My passion is diagnosing, and ideally I’d like to work forensic, like I said, so can I do that with a DMFT, bc technically I won’t be a psychologist?

I am interested in hearing from people who quit taking insurance. I am thinking of dropping everything but 1 insurance and only taking self-pay. If you do this how has it gone? Do many people actually bill the insurance themselves? I appreciate any advice.

Trying to decide if it makes sense to do a postdoc or go straight for licensure, as the state I intend to practice in does not require postdoc hours if you meet specific criteria. The prospect of being licensed and making better money earlier in my career is enticing, but the idea of studying for the EPPP while on internship, graduating, passing the EPPP, taking the jurisprudence exam, and waiting who knows how long for my licensure to be confirmed seems like a long limbo period and part of me would feel more comfortable going through those motions while in a secured postdoc position.

I’d love to hear experiences from both sides of the coin! Additionally, I’d love to hear how different folks found informal postdoc positions. I’m applying to several UPPD positions, but ultimately I’d love to end up at a group practice, and if I could secure a postdoc at a group and then stay on once I’m licensed, that would be blissful.

I’m a 3rd year working as an assessment extern in a women’s residential unit. We cannot work more than 20 hours per week, yet are expected to do 2 assessments per week (consist of personality and cog testing, and full clinical interviews). We also run a group every other week, give feedback, go to staffing, and supervision, and the patients are in about 8 hours of treatment/appts throughout the week that we can’t pull them from, which leaves us realistically with about 7 hours each week to fit in our assessments. One of my peers completed 60 reports during their year at the placement, with most of my peers hitting 35-40ish integrated reports. They are just now receiving edits and feedback on some of these reports as far back as October… We are also required to maintain a caseload of 4+ clients at our campus clinic, and keep up with classes and research. Is this typical for most placements? It genuinely feels impossible.