Search this site »

Psychology Degrees – Is a Psy D Necessary?

Posted by Helping Psychology in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX on Oct 22, 2008

While getting your Psy D can be very beneficial, by no means is it necessary. It all depends on where you'd like to take your career in the vast field of psychology. A Psy D is a Doctorate of Psychology, and a Ph.D is a Doctorate of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology. The difference between the two is that a Psy D program is specialized, whereas a Psy Dprogram is more broad. To put this into practical terms, if you want to do treatment and counseling with patients, the specialized Psy D is the better choice for you. However, if research and development, teaching, and/or even practicing psychology are more along the lines of what you're considering, then the PhD in Psychology is what you should work towards.

It is important to note that people who have earned their Psy D are in fact doctors, just as those with a PhD. But because a PhD is more familiar and recognizable, a lot of people choose to go for their Ph.D. Fortunately, this is changing more and more with time. Psychology students are now much less likely to choose a Ph.D as a knee jerk reaction than 10 years ago. Some students feel discouraged about getting their Psy.D because it is a lessor known degree. The Psy D is a younger degree, only coming about in the past 30 years or so. In spite of it's age, the Ph.D and the Psy.D are separate, but most definitely equal degrees. Both have similarities as well. They both take roughly the same amount of school which is between 4-7 years if you go full time. They both require you to complete a doctoral dissertation, as well as internship hours. And they both qualify you for a large variety of positions in the mental health field. The differences are relevant to what you want to accomplish in your career.

The PhD of psychology is more generalized than than that of a Psy D. They are more holistic in the sense that they don't just focus on clinical training. If you seek out a PhD in psychology, you will have a background that qualifies you to do research, become an educator, and also practice clinical counseling. This is best suited to people who are maybe not sure exactly what they want to do, but know that they enjoy research and would like a wide variety of work to choose from in the field. The Psy.D on the other hand, is a specialized degree. This means you will still be qualified to do what a PhD is qualified for, but you curriculum is focused on the interactions between you and your potential clients. They are mainly focused on the "hands on" counseling aspect of the mental health profession. So if you love research, you should get your PhD and if you prefer to work with patients, the Psy D might be the best choice for you.

There are so many different paths that you can take to get the same results. In the end, it all comes down to what you want to accomplish and which road is the easiest route for your particular situation. Feel comfortable in knowing that there are no wrong answers. It is not absolutely necessary to get a Psy D to do counseling.