Many people are interested in psychology because they want to pursue careers in mental health and related areas (e.g., building stronger communities that help people to avoid mental health problems). This section focuses on the many options in psychology, as well as in related fields, that are concerned with mental health.
This phrase is used by the American Psychological Association (APA) to refer to careers in psychology that include areas in the mental health field within psychology, including clinical, counseling, and school psychology, regardless of whether a given graduate program emphasizes the professional practice of psychology in an applied setting or the academic part of the field. If you know your interests fall in the area of mental health, your next step is to decide whether you wish to be a full-time practitioner, full-time academic (teaching and conducting research, usually in a college or university setting), or some combination of the two. Here are some guidelines to follow for each of these career paths.
You have many options open to you in this career path. The first decision you will need to make is whether to go for a doctoral or master's degree. If you wish to go for the doctoral degree, consider the Psy.D. (i.e., doctoral degree in psychology) as opposed to a Ph.D. (i.e., the more traditional academic degree you are familiar with). The Ph.D. is better suited for those who wish to pursue academic-oriented careers, conducting research and teaching in a university setting (see below). The Psy.D. is a newer option that caters to people who want to be clinicians (to have a practice counseling others) rather than pursuing research as well. If you decide to pursue a Psy.D. you should apply to APA-accredited Psy.D. programs. One great benefit to the Psy.D. programs is that they are structured around a 4-5 year curriculum, where students actually finish in 4-5 years (compared to Ph.D. programs in which students sometimes take much longer depending on such things as the scope of their doctoral dissertation). Another benefit is the match to your interests. If doing research is not your thing, there is no point in spending 5+ years of your life doing it. In Psy.D. programs, the emphasis is on building your clinical skills. When you finish, you will be able to get the same license as those with a Ph.D. as long as you graduate from an APA-accredited program. Another benefit of the Psy.D. option is the fact that they are not as difficult to get into as traditional Ph.D. programs. While there are many benefits to the Psy.D. programs, the one drawback is that there often is not as much financial aid available. This is because the Psy.D. is a professional degree typically offered by free-standing institutions that are not part of large universities. At universities, graduate students usually get financial assistance, such as tuition remissions and paid work as a Teaching Assistant (TA) or Research Assistant (RA). In contrast, at Psy.D. programs, less aid is available and students usually wind up with more student loans to pay in the end. However, full-time practice typically is more lucrative compared to salaries made by psychologists working in academic settings. Thus, students who pursue the Psy.D. typically are in better positions than their Ph.D. counterparts when it comes to paying back student loans once they finish their graduate school training.
Students who go to graduate school for the master's degree can do more than ever before. During the past 15 or so years, there has been a steady movement in the mental health field to cut the cost of mental health by offering more and more service by those with a master's degree. Moreover, by graduating from an accredited program, those with master's degrees can go on to get licensed in their fields of study. For example, in Wisconsin, those with master's degrees in Psychology are eligible to become licensed as Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC). Those with master's degrees from social work programs are eligible to become Accredited Social Workers (ACSW). These licenses are important insofar as they allow the clinician to practice and be reimbursed by insurance companies, as long as they receive supervision and practice in a state-certified facility. In contrast to both the Ph.D. and Psy.D. options, the master's degree provides excellent opportunities for those students who wish to go to graduate school for 2-3 years (instead of 5+ years) and whose undergraduate academic records may prevent them from gaining admission to one of the doctoral-level programs. Moreover, starting graduate training in a Master's program is an excellent way to demonstrate one's ability to do doctoral-level work and to gain admission into a doctoral program. While "transferring" is not done between masters and doctoral programs, the latter usually will count most, if not all, of the graduate work done in a Masters program, as long as the masters program is in a reputable and accredited school. In short, the Master's degree provides an excellent opportunity for students to become mental health practitioners. Moreover, the cost is not nearly as high as it is for doctoral programs. Of course, there are a few drawbacks. One must obtain supervision, which is not required of a licensed Ph.D. or Psy.D. psychologist. In addition, for tenure-track academic positions, most colleges and universities exclusively hire those with the Ph.D. Thus, the Master's degree is an excellent option for those who wish to practice as mental health workers, not for those who wish to pursue academic careers.
If you wish to become a full-time practitioner but also wish to keep your options open so that, for example, you could occasionally teach courses at colleges and universities and/or collaborate on research, then your best bet is to obtain a Ph.D. from an APA- accredited program in clinical or counseling psychology. It is a misconception that Ph.D. clinical and counseling psychology programs only train students to become academicians. In fact, these programs are specifically designed to train students in both research and clinical skills. The latter skills are needed in order to allow clinical and counseling psychologists to supervise graduate students' (and master's level clinicians') clinical work as well as to conduct research on the treatment of psychopathologies. Thus, think of the Ph.D. in clinical or counseling psychology as one career pathway to becoming a full-time mental health practitioner while also keeping open the option of pursuing academic-related activities, particularly teaching and collaborating on research. You should keep in mind that the Ph.D. in clinical or counseling psychology also is the career path through which one can pursue an academic career in the area of clinical and counseling psychology. If you wish to pursue an academic career in this area of specialization, see the next section.
If you wish to pursue an academic career conducting research and teaching with a specialization in the origins and/or treatment of abnormal behavior, then your interests would be best served by obtaining a Ph.D. from an APA-accredited clinical psychology or counseling psychology program. Keep in mind that the difference between clinical and counseling psychology programs used to be greater than they currently are (e.g., clinical psychology used to place a greater emphasis on research training). However, over the years, these boundaries have blurred and the distinction is no longer very meaningful in that both types of programs emphasize training in research skills as well as clinical skills. Also keep in mind that many psychologists who train in these areas follow a scientist-practitioner model, where a blend of clinical work and academic work is emphasized. Those who follow the scientist-practitioner model believe that one's teaching and research both benefit from seeing patients in practice and, further, that one's clinical skills benefit by staying current through teaching and research. In short, this is the best option for students who wish to pursue an academic career in the mental health field. For students who know their main interest lies in the mental health field but who do not yet know whether they wish to practice or pursue an academic career (or some combination), the Ph.D. from an APA-accredited clinical or counseling psychology program is the best option for maximizing career options in mental health.
Keep in mind that APA- accreditation only is pertinent to programs in professional psychology (i.e., clinical, counseling, and school psychology). For students who choose the Psy.D. or Ph.D. route in clinical or counseling psychology, it is important to go to an APA-accredited program. In most states, coming from an APA-accredited program is required to obtain a license to practice. Therefore, for those who wish to attend an APA-accredited program in professional psychology, it is important to consult the APA's list of accredited programs. Every December in the American Psychologist (available in the library or through PsychArticles), APA publishes its most recent listing of programs and their accreditation status. If a school is listed as being "on probation," it is best not to apply to it. If a school has "pending approval" it is best to contact the Chair of the department to learn when the next site visit from APA is scheduled; this will give you a good indication of the earliest possible time the school might become accredited. Remember, however, "pending approval" does not necessarily mean the program will receive accreditation so applying to such programs can be risky.
In order to check whether or not a given program is APA-Accredited, the links here provide the most up-to-date information from APA as to the status of every program in professional psychology.
For more information about graduate programs in professional psychology (clinical, counseling, and school psychology) and in other allied mental-health fields (e.g., social work), see Gerry Metalsky.