I am an accepted pre-med student. This question is for my fiance. My fiance received a bachelors in psychology and is currently in her first semester of a counseling psychology masters degree program at OSU-Tulsa. She has been considering applying for the Ph.D. in counseling psychology. What is an average amount of time it takes someone to get through from start to finish in this type of thing? Also if someone could breakdown how the practicum, internship, dissertation and classes all fit together and in what order, that would be informative. Thanks.
Length of training?
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Counseling psychologists are trained at the doctoral level (usually Ph.D., but also Psy.D. or Ed.D.) in programs that typically require AT LEAST four to five years of graduate study, involving coursework and integrated training experiences in a variety of topical areas and professional skills.
Unlike medical school in which the length of training is predetermined and concrete, the length of graduate school depends on how long it takes students to complete their dissertation. In the research world, sometimes you get good data, sometimes you get bad data. I have heard of people who were in graduate school for 10 or more years. Rest assured, however, that the average length of most counseling psychology Ph.D. programs is 4 to 5 years.
Search that website well -- it's the official APA website for counseling psychology. It may also be useful to contact individual programs to inquire about the length of training and specific degree requirements.
Hope this helps.
Unlike medical school in which the length of training is predetermined and concrete, the length of graduate school depends on how long it takes students to complete their dissertation. In the research world, sometimes you get good data, sometimes you get bad data. I have heard of people who were in graduate school for 10 or more years. Rest assured, however, that the average length of most counseling psychology Ph.D. programs is 4 to 5 years.
Search that website well -- it's the official APA website for counseling psychology. It may also be useful to contact individual programs to inquire about the length of training and specific degree requirements.
Hope this helps.
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Hello carDiO! Although PublicHealth pretty much answered your question, I wanted to provide additional information about your inquiry. Having recently applied to two Counseling Psychology PhD programs (and accepted to both), I can understand where your fiance' is coming from.
Now, here's how the practicum, internship, dissertation and classes all fit together. Most Counseling Psychology programs have three years of coursework, and one year of an APA approved internship. A student takes courses and gains practicum experience simultaneously. Practicum is an opportunity to apply the knowledge you have learned during coursework. Some programs have counseling centers or clinics within the program where a student does the practicum, while other programs encourage you to seek practicum outside the department. After the 3 years of coursework and the practicum, you apply for the APA accredited internship. A student can apply to internship sites all over the country, even overseas. Some students are able to complete their dissertation while on internship; others take an extra year or so to complete the dissertation and doctorate requirements. That's why people aren't able to pinpoint exactly how long it will take to complete a PhD program. 4-5 years is an approximation (but PublicHealth already explained that.)
I hope that helps. Good luck to your fiance'.
Now, here's how the practicum, internship, dissertation and classes all fit together. Most Counseling Psychology programs have three years of coursework, and one year of an APA approved internship. A student takes courses and gains practicum experience simultaneously. Practicum is an opportunity to apply the knowledge you have learned during coursework. Some programs have counseling centers or clinics within the program where a student does the practicum, while other programs encourage you to seek practicum outside the department. After the 3 years of coursework and the practicum, you apply for the APA accredited internship. A student can apply to internship sites all over the country, even overseas. Some students are able to complete their dissertation while on internship; others take an extra year or so to complete the dissertation and doctorate requirements. That's why people aren't able to pinpoint exactly how long it will take to complete a PhD program. 4-5 years is an approximation (but PublicHealth already explained that.)
I hope that helps. Good luck to your fiance'.
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Has she considered going the professional Psy.D. route? I don't believe they do dissertation work and the program is more along the line of medical school with regards to how the program works.
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This is wrong. Many, if not all, Psy.D. programs require that students complete a dissertation based on original research. In order to be accredited by the APA, programs have to offer courses in a certain number of subject categories, require a dissertation and internship, and so on. While clinical work such as therapy and assessment is emphasized more heavily in Psy.D. curricula compared to Ph.D. curricula, research is still a requirement for the degree. Of course, you will have to check with individual programs to determine how they run things.
Here is an example of degree requirements for a counseling psychology Psy.D. program:
http://catalog.unco.edu/2001-2002/Output/COEprog64.html
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