Clinical Psychology
See also: Mental Health Field, Forensic Psychology, Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology
The field of Clinical Psychology is dedicated to the integration of science, theory, and clinical knowledge for understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction. While many associate this field strictly with “therapy,” Clinical Psychology—particularly at the doctoral level—is deeply rooted in the Scientist-Practitioner model. This means that practitioners are not just consumers of research, but often producers of it.
Career pathways and graduate school: Becoming a licensed Clinical Psychologist requires a doctoral degree (PhD or PsyD). A PhD program places a heavy emphasis on research production and data analysis, while a PsyD places more emphasis on clinical practice. These programs tend to differ in cost and duration as well as research emphasis, with PsyDs tending to be more expensive and shorter, whereas PhDs tend to provide a stipend and take 6+ years to complete.
- With a Doctoral Degree: Careers include private practice, clinical work in hospital settings (VA, academic medical centers), teaching at the university level, mental health tech industry, or conducting clinical trials and research in medical or academic settings.
- With a Master’s Degree: Students interested in therapy but less interested in conducting research often pursue a Master’s in Social Work (MSW) or Mental Health Counseling (LPC/LMHC). These are excellent pathways for those who want to focus strictly on patient care. A Master’s in Social Work provides greater training on community systems and services that can help individuals thrive.
Career opportunities with a Bachelor’s Degree: While you cannot practice as a psychologist with a B.A., there are plenty of industry positions available in consulting or tech, and there are many jobs that provide crucial experience to improve graduate school applications:
- Clinical Research Coordinator/Assistant: Working in a lab managing participant data, recruiting subjects, and running protocols. This is the “gold standard” gap-year job for PhD applicants.
- Psychiatric Technician/Mental Health Associate: Working on inpatient units, monitoring patients.
- Behavioral Technician (RBT): Implementing behavioral plans, often with children with autism.
Preparation: Research and practical steps: Because Clinical Psychology PhD programs are among the most competitive graduate programs in the country, undergraduate preparation is vital.
- Research experience: This is the most critical factor for PhD admission. Students should seek to join a faculty lab at Georgetown as early as their sophomore or junior year to gain experience with data entry, literature reviews, and poster presentations.
- Clinical exposure: While undergraduates cannot do therapy, you can gain exposure to vulnerable populations. Volunteering for crisis hotlines (such as the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or Crisis Text Line) is highly recommended, or university clubs like Active Minds, or any mediation or counseling groups.
Professional organizations:
- Society of Clinical Psychology (Division 12 of the American Psychological Association)
- Association for Psychological Science (APS)
- Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT)
Relevant courses in Psychology: To be competitive for this field, students should demonstrate strength in statistics and methodology, as well as core clinical content. Relevant Georgetown courses include:
- PSYC 2000: Research Methods and Statistics
- PSYC 2700: Psychological Disorders
- PSYC 2710 Personality and Clinical Science
- PSYC 3220: Health Psychology
- PSYC 3750 Hoyas Connected (highly recommended before applying for Group Process and Facilitation Course Sequence)
- PSYC 3740 Group Process and Facilitation 1 and 2
- PSYC 4420 Culture and Psychopathology
- PSYC 4700 Theories of Therapy
- PSYC 4710 Anxiety and Related Disorders
Cognate courses in the Biology department (Neurobiology) or Statistics department can also be helpful. A background in computer science (coding for data analysis) is also increasingly attractive to research-heavy clinical programs.
Want to find out more? Chat with Profs. Andrea Bonior, Casey Brown, or Yulia Chentsova-Dutton.
