r/ClinicalPsychology

I’m looking if anyone has any professional advice for my position as my supervisors weren’t all too helpful/nor was I comfortable being this honest with many. TLDR I’m a masters level psychologist in my 4th year of my clinical psych PhD preparing to apply for internship this year. Both of my external practicum were in neuropsych assessment & outpatient therapy. Put simply, psychological assessment is my dream career. I love the workflow that much. A thorough clinical interview, a tailored feedback session, fascination with tests and growing more comfortable with more nuanced interpretation, report writing as an OCPD outlet. I feel very grateful. I felt genuinely depressed when I conceptualized my primary professional role to be a therapist, I just believe that is not the role I’m meant to play in this world. Essentially my question is:

I just want to ensure to the maximum degree I have the highest oppertunity to make a career than is at least like 75% assessment. I love neuropsych the most, but it doesn’t have to be that (I have experience in personality/psychoed/adhd/academic evals from internal prac and moonlighting), I just don’t want to have to be a therapist out of financial necessity. What steps would you consider if you were me, especially if I don’t match neuro internship/post doc? ADOS training? Is it possible to get involved in forensic assessment if needed while still an early career psychologist? I genuinely lose sleep every night worrying I won’t be able to find enough work in assessment or it won’t pay enough (therapy seems to be more lucrative than assessment work generally in my area via insurance. I’m sure forensic private pay is a different game but that’s just not what my sites have ever been doing). I’d be really grateful if anyone familar with the current landscape of our field has advice for how to set myself up for maximized opportunities outside of a continued straight focus on neuropsych.

I know this guy. He claims to have a PhD. in psychology. A cursory search has not revealed his dissertation and the institution he claims to have graduated from requires his written permission to reveal if he ever took a class there. What free resources can I use to determine if he is being truthful about … anything? Please and thank you.

Hi everyone, I need some serious guidance regarding my academic roadmap.

My Background: I hold a BA in English Literature and an MA in Journalism & Mass Communication. I have zero background in psychology (no bachelor's or master's credits).

My Goal: I want to become a registered Clinical Psychologist with the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) and eventually practice clinically. I've read that the new RCI guidelines are strict in this regard. Open to overseas option as well.

Over the past year, I've noticed an increase in clients specifically requesting EMDR, despite not meeting criteria for PTSD or having a history of Criterion A trauma. I have seen people seeking EMDR for presentations such as OCD, social anxiety, generalized anxiety, low self-esteem, or stressful life events and adversity. I've also seen therapists on social media advertise EMDR for concerns ranging from relationship difficulties and attachment wounds to the psychological effects of racism, sexism, and other forms of social injustice.

I wonder if part of this has to do with the increasing trend of people conceptualizating any form of psychological distress or maladaptive personality pattern as trauma based. I have had several clients without any history of trauma attribute things like work or relationship stress to some kind of hidden trauma.

My understanding is that the evidence base for EMDR is strongest for PTSD. I know there is emerging research on EMDR for other presentations, but my impression is that the evidence is generally less robust than it is for PTSD.

Have others noticed this shift? Where do you think the demand is coming from, and how do you approach these conversations when a client requests EMDR but thry either do not meet PTSD criteria or another treatment appears to have the stronger evidence base for their concern?

I am asking this question in earnest. If there is genuinely strong evidence for EMDR in the treatment of other conditions, I would like to know.

I just finished the bachelor in psychology and want to specialize in something however I don't know how to pick what to specialize in, I like sistemic psychology, but also cognitive conductual, and in terms of themes, I like addictions, depression and anxiety. I want to go study this things in europe because I am a german citizen, and I understand that I can study for pretty cheap in great schools. Does anyone know the best way to research for this specializations? Thank you very much in advance!

Hi, I applied to programs in the previous cycle and was unsuccessful. I think it was partly due to applying to programs whose research I was personally interested in, but my experience didn't translate to a methodological fit. For context, I applied to mostly clinical science programs focused on emotional regulation frameworks using ecological momentary assessments to examine adverse youth.

My research experience is in working with chronically ill children (specifically GI issues, although I am more interested in working with a diverse population) and youth to study physiological stress response. I have a couple of posters and a manuscript that will be submitted for review soon. My long-term interests are examining psychophysiological stress outcomes and developing interventions for adverse youth, but I realize I need to focus more on research fit.

What PIs should I target, and what research area will be my best fit for this upcoming cycle? Any advice is appreciated!

This is a copy/paste from someone on a FB group.

Psychologists in NY State: The Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT) Bill (A6744) passed the assembly and senate on 6/3/26 and only needs Governor Hochul to sign (which would mean either she signs, vetos or it goes into law in 10 days). This would open the door for any NY licensed psychologist to obtain PSYPACT membership and expand care to patients in any other PSYPACT state.

However it is currently being held by Assemblymember Tony Simone and could take as many as 6 months to get passed unless we speak up and ask them to move it along faster. They need to know some of us are waiting on this.

Please take a moment and send a quick message urging them to move the process along and open the door for NY psychologists to offer our much needed services.

You can contact them with the info below. If you want a script, these are what I found online. Feel free to copy/paste or create your own. I personally explained how this has limited my income (and of course my tax contributions :P)

Assemblymember Tony Simone:

* simonet@nyassembly.gov

* I am contacting you to urge Assemblymember Simone to lift the sponsor hold and transmit Assembly Bill A6744 (PSYPACT) to the Governor. This bipartisan mental health legislation has already passed both chambers, and New Yorkers cannot afford a months-long administrative delay to access cross-border telehealth.

* Or you can use his webform https://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Tony-Simone/contact/

Governor Hochul

* correspondence@exec.ny.gov

* Please urge Governor Hochul to immediately call up and sign Assembly Bill A6744. This bill passed both houses overwhelmingly and is vital for expanding the state's mental health workforce and ensuring out-of-state students can maintain continuity of care with their psychologists.

* or you can use her website form. https://www.governor.ny.gov/content/governor-contact-form

To review the bill status and schedule updates you can use this link. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A6744

If we all join together we have a better chance to move this process along sooner rather then later.

I’m applying for internship this upcoming cycle and have a list of sites all over the U.S. I’m looking for programs with a strong reputation that primarily offer geropsychology or generalist training, ideally with a neuropsychology rotation.

I’ve already searched the APPIC directory, but it’s hard to tell which sites have the a strong reputations without interviewing or talking to current or former interns. I’m hoping to get a better sense so if you have an idea do you mind sharing?

I’m currently on the West Coast, but I’m open to relocating anywhere.

With NY becoming one of the final states in PSYPACT, and with the changes in registration happening across the Yukon, BC, Ontario, NS, etc…why doesn’t Canada adopt PSYPACT across the country?

There has been increased attention on interprovincial mobility, with it largely guaranteed (in many places) that if you’re licensed as a psychologist in one province, you’ll gain licensure in another. Why make psychologists pay more licensing fees/jump through further hoops? This has often been relevant for those treating young adult populations, who might be out of province for four months at a time, but return to their home province in the summer. Unless licensed dually across those two provinces, the student might have to have two separate providers.

Who would even start up the process of PSYPACT? How could this get going?

I am trained in PE, and it's a modality I feel quite confident in. When it works, it really works.

That said, I've run into a couple of limitations:

Less flexibility. I recently referred a client for CPT because we couldn't identify a single index event for imaginal exposure. The trauma was fragmented and unfolded over several days rather than one discrete event. I know there are workarounds for that, but PE was fundamentally inappropriate for this person.

Harder sell for some clients. I've had several clients report feeling anxious about starting treatment, or noticing strong urges to cancel appointments due to feelings of dread. I've even had one client discontinue before beginning because the idea of exposure felt too overwhelming.

Because of that, I'm considering adding CPT training to my toolkit. My impression is that it may be an easier sell for some clients who are HIGHLY avoidant, and may offer more flexibility when an index event is difficult to identify.

For clinicians who practice both CPT and PE, what differences have you noticed? Do you have a preference?

Edit: For context, I work in CMH. Most of my clients with PTSD developed it due to sexual abuse (childhood and adulthood), IPV, and the occasional MVA. I don't really see veterans or military related trauma.

It seems like the field currently has a gap. On one hand, in popular culture the concept of "trauma" has become expansive to the point that many people call literally ANY experience of stress or adversity "trauma". On the other hand, the DSM's definition is incrediby narrow, requiring exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence for PTSD. This does leave out a large group of people who have experienced chronic adversity, attachment disruptions, emotional abuse, neglect, or other highly distressing experiences.

As a result, I have noticed that many people seem to identify with complex PTSD, even though the DSM doesn't recognize CPTSD as a diagnosis, and ICD-11 still requires exposure to an extremely threatening or horrific event before CPTSD can be diagnosed. A lot of people think that CPTSD means "PTSD caused by lots of little t traumas".

Do you think the DSM will eventually introduce a diagnosis that captures clinically significant, trauma-like responses to chronic adversity without broadening Criterion A PTSD? Or do you think it will keep the current distinction?

Here is a person who wrote it and I quote

"Why pursuing Clinical Psychology is a Bad Idea in India? A Devil's Advocate Stance.

Why some people say you should not do Clinical.

I think I can offer some insight about it (since I did Clinical from a non-RCI body, but clinical for sure). Clinical carries some sort of "prestige" over other psychologist professions.

In the US, where the concept of prestige comes from, a clinical psychologist is allowed to diagnose mental disorders, PRESCRIBE meds and offer therapy (everything billable at high hourly rates). And thus, a clinical psychologist usually ends up making as much as a doctor. \[They are required to have a Doctorate to practice though\]

In India, it is not so. **A Clinical Psychologist is not allowed to give meds** (and rightly so, since students come mostly from arts backgrounds - with no knowledge of biology/medicine). Secondly, RCI course trains very little on prominent therapy modalities (you can check the syllabus).

**So you will find most clinical psychologists working at roughly 20k** in a hospital and getting lesser treatment than a nurse.

**The other reason is Patients.** Clinical deals with mental disorders. So when someone's family member is suicidal or is seeing things that are not there, the will simply go to a Doctor. And if you think, a clinical psychologist who can just diagnose, is not of much use to such a patient either. **What will I do if someone is highly depressed on Beck's Scale? Offer them CBT when they are presently not even in talking stage? I will have to refer them to a doctor only.**

**LASTLY, the final reason why Clinical seems not-worth-it to many people. Its the pain.** We are humans and we end up vicariously living trauma.

Watching

*- a Schizophrenic patient talk to the a person who he sees but you don't;*

*- and then a patient who tried to harm themselves and still have the cuts;*

*- and then a patient who does not leave their house or goes only so far so that they can keep it in the line of their sight;*

*- or a patient who is catatonic because of some sexual abuse. And when they do, the just sob loudly in pain.*

*All of this, is not really what we think we will do when we decide "Clinical psychology achhi lagti hai mujhe".* The truth became clear to me over the months of internship I did.

Amidst all these reasons, bad-regulatory norms, poor pay, lack of skills taught, and the vicarious trauma - people often end up advising against Clinical.

For you a good suggestion would be to take a bunch of internships - a few months each - under a psychiatrist, under a counsellor (relationship, children, etc), and even at an NGO that deals with trauma. You will quickly get an idea what you want to do for a lifetime and what not. "

Hello, for context I have a B.S. in Biopsychology Cognition and Neuroscience, and this fall am beginning my Masters of Science in Clinical Psychology. I’m looking for great suggestions for books (that are highly regarded, or even scholarly texts), but are not specifically textbooks alone, and can be an enjoyable read.

For my current reading list, I am a chapter away from finishing Mind Fixers by Anne Harrington which I’ve absolutely loved. This summer I also read The Body Keeps the Score which I enjoyed a lot. My current docket right now has What Works for Whom, and Malignant Self Love, although I am not 100% sure on those if I get any better suggestions for the near future.

Thanks again everyone in advance!

Just want to know if there’s anyone that has any experiences that may be comforting. Given that this cycle or any cycle for that matter has a lot of uncertainty, I would like to know if persistence does ultimately pay off. I have been in the research game for several years now (2 years part time, 2 years full time), but of course there are people out there with much more. I aim to put my best foot forward this application season in hopes to finally land at least one offer. I was wondering if anyone had any similar experiences where you had no interview offers or little to no success and had a better outcome the following year. Also, any wisdom and advice would be greatly appreciated.

LCSW here. I trust PhDs so I wanted to ask here. My local APS apparently only goes out if someone is delirious level but I'm uncertain about a ct who is not that level but I just want to rule it out. Any recommendations for assessments regarding the ability for decision making capacity?

I know a lot of psychological concepts have specific definitions and then those definitions can sometimes get stretched or lost in online discussion and among the general public. But I’m wondering where on the spectrum the concept of covert narcissism lies. Is this a well-established concept that is getting the normal internet treatment or something else?

I’m open to recommendations on further reading about this.

Hi everyone,

I’m planning to apply to clinical psychology PhD graduate school programs this fall. Now that more psych graduate programs are starting to require or recommend the GRE again, I've started studying. Does anyone have a GRE (+/- psych subject) tutor they'd recommend (online or in person)? I live in the north Midwest.

I haven’t decided whole GRE + subject psych, or subject psych only.

All help is appreciated. Thank you. ☻

I think we all know the adage “research is me-search.” Which topics do you think have the most stigma upon the researcher?