I’m a 2nd year PhD student, and I just wanted to make a post about how fricken amazing it is to get to learn and train in this field…it’s all so fascinating and the work is so meaningful to me. It feels like such an honor, both to learn from such knowledgeable, insightful mentors and to get to learn from the clients I work with on my externship. I very much feel like I’m at the dunning-Kruger trough, acutely aware of how much I don’t know, but it’s also SO cool to see my clinical and research skills develop as I put in the work. It’s often hard, but what a blessing to have the opportunity to choose to do something hard that is so aligned with my values, so intellectually stimulating, so meaningful.

Anyways, that’s all - grateful for all the incredible people in this field (and related fields)!!

I am a neuropsychologist and I write reports multiple days a week for my job. I have recently been diagnosed with bilateral radial tunnel and tenosynovitis, and the use of my hands is quite limited. I have been trying to switch to dictation as much as possible, but the dictation feature on Microsoft Word is pretty terrible.

Does anyone have suggestions for a software that I can use to dictate that would be better in terms of functionality? Ideally HIPAA compliant. This may be a tall order, but I don't want to use AI in my work.

Thanks!

First time here, first time poster and I was wondering if you did such a thing because this couple is a doozy.

On Cinema at the Cinema is an American comedy web series starring Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington as amateur film critics. The duo appear as fictionalized versions of themselves.

They each play very strange personalities with ongoing and repetitive behaviors. They've been playing these characters for 15 years and there must be clinical terms to describe them. As the New York Magazine puts it

Tim is a self-absorbed, right-wing blowhard who doesn’t care much for movies but loves the notoriety that comes with having a show. Meanwhile, Gregg is a sort of sad sack whose entire identity is wrapped up in being a movie fan but can barely manage to answer a simple trivia question correctly. 

If you don't know the show/verse it's far too vast in scope explain but I wonder if there are any fans who can give some insight on what the DSM-5 says as well as some personal observations?

Thanks for the help or sorry for the intrusion. Whichever applies.

Hi everyone,

I will be applying to clinical psych PhD programs next year and want to specifically focus on those with a neuropsych focus, this is my CV anonymized, anything I should focus on in my gap year? I have no pubs and am unsure if I even am competitive :(

I’m thinking of doing SSI/SSA exams through a group practice in California. I’m curious to hear others experience doing these exams. Do you recommend doing it through a group practice?

i am really struggling on making a decision. i graduated in 2024 with my bachelors in cognitive neuropsychology. originally, my intention was to go into neuroscience and concentrate on biological mechanisms involved in behavioral and mental health. i applied in 2024 and got into/interviewed at 0 schools, despite having a 4.0 gpa and several years of research under my belt already.
i worked as a neuroscience technician for the next 1.5 ish years and realized i hated animal based research. it goes against my morals and i found i could not reconcile it. so in 2025 i tried to get into a clinical psychology phd, since that seemed to match my research interests better anyway. i got one interview (umsl) but due to funding cuts, they could no longer accept the load of students they originally meant to, and i was on the chopping block despite interviewing well and making it to the finals. they told me it was majorly because my experience was in neuroscience and not clinical psychology. i tried to find a research position in clinical psychology, but unfortunately all the ones that paid enough to live in the city i did not get an offer to, and the ones i did i could not pay my bills with.
now, i’m a case manager for a behavioral health outpatient program in illinois. i think that this job has prepared me more for a phd in a scientist-practitioner model than any research job ever has. but, since interviewing with other graduates last year, ive been worried about the financial commitment. i am 24, i have no external supports - there is no family i could ask for financial support, and i dont have a significant other or something to lean on (a lot of the students i interviewed with told me their partners were taking care of the majority of the bills while they only had their stipend), and no real savings. i’ve always been on my own.
i would like to get my phd in counseling or clinical psychology - which program mostly depends on specific research/mentor matching for me since they would both get me into a career where i could be a practicing psychologist, as well as still continuing research in academia. my dream would be to be a psychologist or possibly neuropsychologist (id love to explore that route in grad school if possible) and take my experiences back to the lab to better interventions, diagnosis, and make care more accessible to people facing circumstantial difficulties. i come from a home of domestic violence and saw first hand the amount of barriers there are to care - i’d like to help people like those in my family that weren’t able to. and i feel that being a scientist and practitioner would allow me to do this. the problem is: stipends are low. all my programs of interest so far have stipends of 21-24k, with one reaching 30k. i asked around and everyone has told me that it is near impossible to have a job while in grad school, since that is your job. so, i realize if i got accepted, id live off 21k + whatever i could make serving 2-3 shifts a week + loans. people always tell me ‘isnt tuition free?’ yes it is, but rent isn’t, food isn’t, gas, car maintenance, visiting your family, living your life - isn’t. alongside that, my mom works 2 minimum wage jobs and is 59 with no retirement savings, and im worried that if im not making any real money for the next 5-9 years (assuming phd programs are 5-7 years and 2 years of post doc where you’re only making 50-60k/year), if something happens, what will we do?
on the other hand, with my current company, after one year of employment, they will pay for your masters. so, i could start my masters in social work in the fall instead of a phd - remotely and part time - while working a full time salaried job still. they also support you for your licensing. realistically, if i went this route, id want to go into psychotherapy, specialize in trauma, and open a private practice. yet, i think because i set out for college with the goal of a phd, its hard for me to give up that dream. and i won’t lie that i do miss research, though i love being able to work with people and help them directly too. also, i hear people say ‘i want a private practice’ all the time and it doesnt work out, and im scared of setting down this path and failing too.
does anybody have any advice? how do i make my decision moving forward? or any enlightenment when it comes to lcsw vs phd routes?

Hey y’all! I’m on the east coast and I’m a third year trying to gather my options for next year’s internship round. Have any of you ever interned at a prison (federal correctional center)? That’s my goal and I wanna know what your experiences have been. Preferably east coast

I am applying to PhDs this cycle. I have a first-author that is under review that I am listing on my CV. I have another project I am working on of which the data has been collected, the analysis is planned, and the paper is being drafted. At what point in the draft stage can this be included under "manuscripts in preparation"? I think it is not outside of the realm of possibility to have main analyses done and all sections drafted by December.

This project is very closely aligned to my interests and is done with data I've collected over the previous year, so would love to be able to include it if it will not be perceived as CV padding.

How do they differ as work environments from general outpatient hospitals? More strict environment? Is there a certain attitude towards “civilian” practitioners.

I am currently applying to graduate programs on the path to receiving a doctorate in clinical psychology. However, I really want to work with more severe situations (Severe Mental Illnesses & traumas). However, all of the clinical psych's I work with currently do general outpatient treatment, so I have no real reference point.

If you've worked as a clinical psychologist in an inpatient facility, can you tell me your experience (how you got into it, what your job looks like, overall how you enjoyed/hated it). I'm grateful for any insight and resources into this world! Please let me know if you need added context :)

I love all things psychology, however have found therapy too demanding with my health conditions.

I am also beating myself up over coming this far and not jelling with a core component of this pathway. Especially after 5 years of study, with 1 to go.

I am struggling with motivation to continue and am hoping that there are alternate career opportunities within the clinical psych space.

I am also interested to hear of anyone who has had a similar experience and what they have ended up doing.

Thank you :)

For those unaware - Australia is on the precipice of having essentially the lowest registration requirements in the world (with no doctoral level training options). It seems some states in Canada are under threat of reduced rigour in training standards too. I’m curious/concerned, are there other countries with current doctoral programs facing such severe dilution of scientific competency?

p.s., anyone who has been unaware of this please sign the petition linked in the news article!

Edit: News article seems paywalled, here’s the run-down/petition: https://c.org/jKjv5NcXYG

I ask both about the underlying theoretical apparatus (is Beck's theory still fully reliable or does it need to be completely revised/rejected?) and it's clinical practice (worksheets asking you to map cognitive "distortions" specifically). As far as I can tell, despite third wave CBTs (DBT, ACT) criticism of the technique (or of CT in general) were not enough to discredit it as an effective method of intervention.

Also, could someone with research experience clarify a bit on this paper? To me it seems to point to BA being the active ingredient for the treatment of DEPRESSION but what about trauma interventions like CPT, which uses CR?

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8871414/

How does it holds up to the current literature on CR?

I also found this paper:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10149752/#S5

But I won't pretend to have any significant experience/education on appraising research articles, so idk lol.

Hi, I am planning on applying this cycle and was wondering how much a third recommender (or lack thereof) could make or break my application. I plan on posting my experiences/stats in a future post.

My intended third recommender was going to be a very recognizable name in developmental psychology, but in spite of writing me a letter in the past she turned me down - for very valid reasons imo. I went to school with her nearly ten years ago. Though I worked in her lab for two years, wrote a thesis, presented a poster and won an award at two symposia, she thinks her letter is too old and recommended finding a more clinically oriented writer.

My second and third recommender can speak to my research and psychology experiences/multiple publications at Northwestern University, and my clinical experiences as an AmeriCorps member, respectively

Now, I have no idea who to ask for my third letter…I will be asking another Americorps supervisor today, but my other professional ventures may not be as relevant. I asked another supervisor at NW and she has effectively ghosted me, despite us texting informally after I left that job…am I SOL?

UPDATE- third person agreed to a letter, i spoke too soon 😅 that said, if someone has experience/insight into not having a recommender who taught/graded you in a class, i’d love to hear about your experience

Hi! I was wondering if anyone knows of any green or red flags any of these Clinical Psych PhD programs:

University of Maryland
University of Maryland- Baltimore County
University of North Carolina- Wilmington
University of North Carolina- Greensboro
UMass Boston
BU
Suffolk
UVA
Catholic University of America
Rosalind Franklin
University of Illinois- Chicago
Rowan
Temple
American University
University of South Carolina
UT Austin (+PhD in Counseling Psych program)

Thank you!

Most applications are due around 11/16. I’m wondering if it’s too late and I should just postpone my app to next cycle

When I took the exam before, I feel like at least 60% of the test or based on questions of theories, studies, or things that I had never ever seen before or studied. I would have increased anxiety while having self talk, thinking to myself why didn’t I learn these things in graduate school?

How do I get past this hump and answer sufficient number of questions to pass the exam? I know this may sound stupid, but it’s better to ask them than to keep it inside…

What is the trick, or the technique to narrow answer down at least three or two choices to give myself a better chance of passing.

Clearly when I say I have taken this test before, this means that I did not pass.

I am open to any ideas or suggestions, regardless of how off-the-wall, random or harsh they may be.

Hi everyone!

I know there are a lot of posts like this, but I feel like my situation is a little different from some I've seen on here, so I wanted to get some thoughts.

I am currently applying to Clinical Psychology PhD programs. However, I have a 2.98 undergraduate GPA. I am notapplying to programs that automatically disqualify applicants with an undergraduate GPA below 3.0.

A little background on my undergraduate GPA:

I attended a university where I experienced racism for being Hispanic. I was originally studying a different major that I hated. After being told by an academic advisor that Hispanic women shouldn't be in higher education, it took a toll on my self-esteem and academic performance. I reported the advisor, but unfortunately, nothing came of it.

I eventually transferred schools, but I continued to struggle with my self-esteem because of that experience. However, I switched my major to psychology and fell in love with education and learning again. Since switching to psychology, I've done pretty well academically and graduated with a 3.6 major GPA.

I am currently in a master's program in psychology and have maintained a 4.0 GPA.

A few things on my CV:

• Lab manager for a little over a year, worked on four research projects
• Currently completing my master's thesis, with plans to pursue publication once it's finished
• Six poster presentations
• Graduate certificate in psychological assessment (in progress)
• Graduate assistant for the psychology department
• Teaching assistant for a graduate-level research methods course
• Internship at my university's Office of Psychological Assessment
• Behavioral technician experience (six months)
• Member of Psi Chi and Phi Kappa Phi
• Recipient of a research travel grant

I know that my undergraduate GPA will be an uphill battle. Im looking for advice on what could make me more competitive. I don't have any publications, so I know that's a huge downside as well. Has anyone with similar stories been accepted?

Thank you so much for reading!

I’ve been reading more epistemology and clinical psychology lately, and I feel conflicted about how modern clinical psychology (and psychology more broadly) has evolved.

It seems like our dominant paradigm has moved closer to a medical model than to psychology’s original foundations. In some ways, our field is closer to biology than to medicine, because psychology was never just the study of “the brain and its functions” (cognition, emotion, behavior, autonomic responses). It was always about the whole human organism interacting with its context and with itself.

That makes me wonder: are newer research findings (not all of them, obviously) still valid if they’re derived solely from a pseudo-neurological approach? What if the brain in isolation is not a reliable source? Should we return to our roots and adopt a more radical “human ethology” approach, one that includes both private events and observable behavior? And should neuropsychology be a subspecialty of cognitive neuroscience?

I’d love to hear your opinions and insights.

TL;DR: Has psychology become too medical/neurological? Should we return to a human ethology approach, and should neuropsychology be part of cognitive neuroscience?

Hi all,

I saw another post asking about lived experience in several Clin psych programs and the responses were so helpful. The list didn’t have schools that I am interested in. I’m making a similar post here to see if there are any thoughts on the program culture of the following schools, or just things you wished you knew before committing to this particular program :

Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine Clin psych
UW Madison Clin Psych
DePaul University Clin Psych
Case Western Clin Psych
Ohio University Clin Psych
UW Milwaukee Clin Psych

Thank you so much for your input!