Ok, I lied in my last post. I don't have a Ph.D. I am on my way to getting a Psy.D.
Uh no..not SIDEY..its Psy.D=Doctor of Psychology.
Yes, there is such a thing. I am not making it up. I still qualify to being a false doctor.
What's the difference between a Ph.D and a Psy.D, you may ask, as do the millions who drop their jaws when I tell them what I am doing, and wait for the answer before they run for the door.
This difference is basic. A Ph.D degree is more focused on research, publications, and collection of data while a Psy.D degree is more focused on field experiences, intensive practicum, and lots of real patients before we graduate.
So which one is better? Go figure. I personally feel that Psy.D's can do more justice to you because they have had the real experiences as opposed to bookish or theoretical knowledge, while under supervision. But that is my own personal bias.
Most states in the United States do not give the title of a "psychologist" to anyone who does not have a doctorate degree and the appropriate license to practice (which is a whole new story). So if there is someone who has a Master's degree and poses to be a psychologist, they are probably fooling you or ripping you off! So beware!!!
Why so much education for someone who just sits on their butt and listens to people drone? Because we are dealing with real lives here. Real people. It is no joke.
So if you have taken a psychology 101 class in your undergraduate coursework, please refrain from doing "psychoanalysis" on other people. That is one of my pet peeves. And then I wonder, "If I could do psychoanalysis by taking one class, what the heck am I doing in this "sidey" program for 5 freaking years only to be paid a measly $60,000 a year?"
GROAN!
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33 comments:
You;re absolutely correct... the job is not only to sir and listen..it is to listent to the "live problems" of live people.. :)
you're into a good proffession!
hey u answered before i could ask...i was gonna ask u what is the highest degree for ur line of work...
Psy.D sounds like a whole lotta real work, no place for plagiarism or inspirational work...i'd believe thats pretty stressful!
ALL THE BEST for ur Psy.D :)
PS:The text color is much better now, thanks :)
Its very courages of you to be able to listen and provide solace and solutions to problems of real people. Personally if you ask me ... at times other peoples problems start to affect me... i do not mean it in selfish way... but it is emotionally draining... at times you are hardly able to handle your own set ... while being there for others at times... can becoming taxing and almost impossible...
O well. I am sure you enjoy it ... and so u are pursuing it. as you said. Real People with Real problems... and I am sure at the end of day when you look back to reflect upon what you did... you feel happy for being able to help :)
P.S: I give in to your plan... will start blogging back from next month !
you said it all.. Some people believe if they can listen and talk good and then have some background like few classes or semesters taken psychology they can do the job.
But god beware people from such "i-know-it-all" psycologists.
Err..I'm a little confused!
So , how long before u reach the 5th and final year, then are u free to practice on ur own?
Good Luck!
@ Radhika, and a badly paid one!
@ Vandita, Thanks!! Need all the luck!
@ Neeku, I do not know if I enjoy it cause after all its work! And the lazy person that I am, work is not fun to me!
@ Lena, oh ya! Recently encountered one such person on blogosphere, who actually accused me of having little knowledge to make a psychological statement cause they knew better for having done "some psychology".
@ Clouds, ok which part?
@ Pavi, 4 more months! Cannot wait! Practicing on my own? No way! That's a long road ahead. More later.
The difference between the two and which is better and why.
@ Clouds, one is more scholarly, the other is more practice-based. Which one is better? Depends on what your needs are.
I am curious as to what a sidey..oops! a Psy.D dissertation is like. In sciences and engineering, we present the results of our research, where the problem is very well defined, mathematically or theoretically.
Solitaire, a PhD is not JUST bookish or theoretical knowledge. A PhD can be obtained in a wide variety of fields...History, Literature, a specific language, computers, biological sciences ...the list goes on and on. So I really don't think it is a fair comparison of a Psy.D to a Ph.D, because you are not really comparing two fields.
As for which is better...I don't think one is better than the other.
Regarding your statement of 'real experiences' with a Psy.D, I don't agree again. Take my own example...I have a PhD in Pharmacology. I have experience with models several different diseases, and drug treatments, as so many other scientists. I'm not trying to brag about myself, but am proudly advertising the work of other PhDs. Scientific research has offered so much to the human race...new treatments for rare diseases, new techniques for organ regeneration and transplant..and what not.
So was that experience not 'real' ??
No offense by the way :)
@ Solitaire...regarding your reply to Clouds' comment...
Again,, it is not ALWAYS true that "one is more scholarly, the other is more practice-based"..Yes, if the PhD was in literature, or history or something along those lines, it is more scholarly.
But if the PhD were in computers, or biological sciences etc, then it is scholarly AND practice-based. This practice may not always be on humans (sometimes on animals), but it is practice nonetheless!!
@ Carolinagal, my comment of Phd vs Psy.D is only for Phd in psychology. Having gone through the application for internships recently, we have come to know that Ph.D students have only 500 hours of clinical experience by the time they apply whereas a Psy.D student has 2400 hours of clinical experience by the same time in the course of 4 years. So while both experiences are real, Ph.D students spend more time on research (which may involve human subjects but not necessarily therapy sessions) while Psy.D students spend less time on data collection and thesis writing, and more on clinical experiences. Hope this clarifies what I was trying to say. Once again, I am talking only about the comparison between a Ph.D in Clinical Psychology vs. a Psy.D
Oh by the way, I did not say it was JUST scholarly and JUST practice-based in my response to Clouds. I said one is MORE scholarly than the other, which I believe is true.
@ Tuhin, good question! Once again, we are not into data collection and trying to find NEW ways to make the world a better place to live in. A lot of sidey (Psy.D) students prefer to do a qualitative study with no statistics involved. For example, my dissertation is on creating a handbook for parents of gifted children in order to better understand their child's needs and to facilitate a better environment for him or her at home and in school. I did not come up with some great new ideas for the parent. Am only compiling ideas from several resources for the parent.
Thanks for clarifying this Solitaire! In that case, you are probably right, as I don't know anything about a PhD in Psychology. I always thought they were the same, but now I know the difference.
Maybe you should edit your title to reflect the fact that your comparing a Ph.D in Psychology to a Psy.D.
Cheers !
:)
Done!! I know that can get confusing. I do not think I can speak about Ph.D degrees in other fields because I have NO idea about what people do.
didi phd is not just theoretical knowledge.. in phd there are lots of practical work..
btw hats off to u didi,,u r doing very stressfull and important work of handling others life.. too good..
@ Gaurav, did you do a Ph.D?
no but most of my friends doing it rite now so they told me that..
I must admit u require some patience to work with people.
so what age group of people u work with or it doesnt matter?
Most of my friends doing PHD are in Eng or Chem...which meant their reseacrch is quite different...its more of an experiment based (or trial and Error)
In ur PHD when u write ur Dissertation in ur field there is no experiemntation (trial and Error)! so how do you do ur research?
i HATE people who try psychoanalyzing everybody & everything without being qualified to do so!!! it's really painful! for those who're being subjected, that is! :D
my hubby's doing his PhD... and it's not completely theoretical.. he works with live chickens *mostly*, instead of humans tho...
hope we can meet. will be really interesting!
I am loving this - so we are not the only ones in this kinda crap....
A second blog !!!... you're making it hard for us to keep up :)
i don't think a PhD is a purely theoretical activity anymore. Field work (replace field by laboratory/public forum/any relevant space) is an essential component.
Thinking about it, on the lighter side, a PhD would be more advantageous because you can also claim to know the philosophy of psychology (whatever that means) :D
I think as Carolinagal pointed out, everyone is getting confused with my idea of a Ph.D. I would like to clarify again that I am only talking about a Ph.D in psychology. I have NO IDEA about what Ph.Ds in other fields entail. As far as a Ph.D in psychology goes, students do more research (even though it may be on live human subjects) than spend time in the therapy room.
or u can always lie to the patient and make them come back over and over again! :D thats 60k triple idea. :P
lmao... u r a sidey!! glad u made fun of it though.. else i would ve :D
Okay, this might be completely off the topic,
But is $60,000 p.a. really measly in the U.S?
I mean, converted to Rupees, that amounts to about Rs.2,00,000 per month!
Most students here at IIT get jobs at around Rs. 6 to 8 lakhs per year...
Do explain about this, as I have no idea in this regard and I really want to know.
You do what you think is good..
PHD.. and PSyD..well it looks same to me ;)
little pay? look at my pay package and I always think i could get a lil xtra for all the efforts and the niceness and all ;)
pshycoanalysis!
my fav pass-time.. but I have no idea.. what yu mean ;)
ok dnt smack me.. i m joking :D
Why would you compare a PhD to a PsyD? :S A PhD in psychology is about research i.e. there is no experience in a therapeutic setting because the goal is not to become a psychologist (in the sense of therapist), it is to continue to do research.
This is like me saying 'PsyD students are at a disadvantage compared to PhD students when they go on to do research'. Again, the comparison makes no sense because it is not your goal to become a competent researcher, in the same way that it is not the goal of the PhD student to become a clinical psychologist.
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