Those who have PhDs

ricksang · January 2011

Did you get your Masters and PhD in the same discipline? I am thinking of going for Psychology after I am done with my Masters b/c I think it would be good to have since I want to work with people who have eating disorders. Is that doable( My masters in nutrition and then the PhD in psycho) ?

ricksang · January 2011

This is why I hate TN. I can see who looks at my thread. Rejected ouch!

tshott · January 2011

I don't know if you can do it, but it's a smart idea. I thought about majoring in psych when I graduated high school because it's an area that really interested me. When I found out that you had to have at least a Masters to get a job anywhere, I quickly ditched that idea. I knew I didn't want to go to school for that long. I think you would just have to get another Masters in psych, right? I don't think you can get a doctrine in an area where you don't have other degrees. I could be totally wrong though.

KathyGee · January 2011

I didn't think we HAD any PhD's on the board... sorry if i've forgotten anyone!

I'm not sure what the best career path is for working with people with eating disorders. I would have guessed perhaps a masters in counseling, rather than a PhD in the academics of psychology, but maybe I'm wrong?

tshott · January 2011

Didn't Stacey become a Doctor?

mrsbaecker101108 · January 2011

I I'm sure you can. If DH had ended up with his PhD he would have just bypassed his masters and gotten a PhD. Technically he would have had both if he had submitted for the masters. But at that point no need to do so. Since he ended up getting cut down in the last min., he had all the qualifications to get his masters. So that's what he did. I've known others that have done this as well.

So to answer your question to my knowledge you don't have to have a masters in the field you want to do your PhD in. I do think that what you want to do with those degrees would be a great idea. I would totally suggest someone with your qualifications over someone with just a PhD in psych.

pila78 · January 2011

I don't have my PhD, but I do have my Master's in Social Work. First thing, I'm almost certain you can get a PhD in a different degree than your bachelors or masters, but you may need to take some prereqs prior to admittance. I don't think you would necessarily need a PhD in psychology...you could just get another master's degree, in counseling. I do individual counseling with children and adolescents, but there are so many different fields that a masters in Social Work or Counseling would be sufficient. The psychiatric facility that I do contract work for has an eating disorder unit and all the counselors have masters in Social Work or Counseling, except for the psychiatrist, of course. And 2 years, post graduate school, you can get your license and have so many more opportunities. I hope this helps=)

Mitzzi23 · January 2011

I was going to suggest a MAsters in counseling or social work like Stacey said. I have a Masters in school counseling, and I really enjoyed the classes.

oreille · January 2011

Mel has a Ph.D. Jen got one and then promptly moved to Switzerland or wherever.

Your question to yourself is going to be what you want to do with yourself. Most of the time, a Ph.D. is for research and university-level teaching. Not for clinical work. There are a few exceptions. I have one (Au.D. in audiology, a doctorate but not a research docorate). Other examples of clinical doctorates incude dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, physical therapy. . . and psychology.

You can get a Ph.D. in psychology and do research or teach. But a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology also allows you to do counseling types of things. There are many different areas of psychology.

You will not need a Ph.D. in psych to do what you describe, unless you want one. A second masters in counseling would work, or I might do what previous poster suggested and get an MSW in social work because it gives you more options.

My DH is in his last semester of an MSW program. He says, "after I get my certifications, I'll be able to do everything a clinical psych Ph.D. can do." The phrase "after certifications" is key. Yes, DH will graduate with an MSW in May. Then he needs to take an exam to get a low-level certificate (LGSW, in our state). Then, he needs to work for two years and some large number of hours (2k or 3k?) under fully licensed clinical social worker in order to get his full certifications (LCSW-C, in our state). So he's still got a ton of work ahead of him until he's got all of the certifications he would need to be a fully independent counselor.

The difference between a doctorate in clinical psych taking four or five years and an LCSW-C in social work a total of four years is that the actual degree program for social work is only 2 years, so you're working and earning money during those last two certification years.

On a side note, I'd recommend not doing a master's in counseling/clinical psych if you later plan to do a Ph.D in clinical psych. I had friends in grad school who did that, and their master's was not helpful. They had to start at the beginning of the 5 years Ph.D. program, at the same level as their classmates with a B.S./B.A in psych.

Don't go for a Ph.D. unless you are really sure. There is such a thing as overeducated/overqualified. Many times Ph.D. programs offer tuition waivers, but you are still really poor for a really long time while completing them.

/novel over.

melanief07 · January 2011

I have my MS and PhD in the same field (sort of - my dept changed names while I was a student). I know nothing about psych. I will say these things though:

1. I don't see any reason why you can't get your PhD in psych even though you have your MS in another field. You may be forced to take more coursework, but that's about it.

2. I agree 100% with oreille. Find out if you need a PhD to do the job you want before you decide to do it. It's a huge investment in terms of money and time. I got mine b/c if I didn't have one, I would have had a tough time finding a research job where I was more than a glorified computer programmer. Since I have my PhD, I can come up with and run my own research projects, and eventually have my own employees.

Those who have PhDs

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