What field of psychology is right for me?

I’m having trouble deciding what field of psychology to go into for grad school. I want to be able to counsel people, give career advice, help with family and relationship troubles, etc. The typical example of a psychologist who has the patient lie on a couch and listens to their problems :)

What kind of field would be right for this? I’ve heard that clinical psychology and counseling psychology are very similar, but that there are more schools that offer clinical psych grad programs than counseling ones. If I did clinical, would I still be able to do the things I listed above?

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4 Responses to “What field of psychology is right for me?”

  1. hOnEyChiLd says:

    Dont put major life decisions in total Internet strangers hands. You take your time

  2. Re-o says:

    Family psychology, marriage counseling, social psychology

  3. Bonnie says:

    Counseling Psychology would fit you more. Clinical Psychology focuses on people with more serious mental conditions like ADHD, OCD, etc….

  4. monique says:

    If you are not interested in the research aspect, the PsyD may be more for you. However, it you plan on in the future trying to get a position as faculty at a University….the PhD in Psychology will be more marketable in the world of academia because you would have had that research background. It would really come down to which curriculum is more interesting to you and what your career goals are. You can do “counseling” with the clinical in psychology degree. You would still be a licensed psychologist. The type of work you decide to do (counseling, therapy, testing, etc) is up to you once you are licensed as a psychologist.

    “PhD programs comprise approximately 75 percent of all doctoral degrees in psychology.”
    “In a nutshell, some psychology schools offer a Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) degree in lieu of the traditional research doctoral degree, the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).
    Students enrolled in typical PhD programs are generally expected to complete a Master’s degree research project as well as their doctoral dissertation, while PsyD students will focus on actual clinical training.”
    http://www.allpsychologyschools.com/psychology-careers/clinical-psychology/clinical-psychology-phd-psyd

    Here is an example of a job for a counseling psychologist. The job is seeking either a counseling psychologist or clinical psychologist: http://psy.wa.associationcareernetwork.com/JobSeeker/JobDetail.aspx?abbr=PSY.WA&jobid=4c9ae693-6786-429c-9044-78e5c0defc37&stats=y