Neuropsychology Central

[Degirl]

hi all! whats the reputation of argosy and the fielding insitute for getting into neuropsych? both ahve concentrations in it.

thanks in advance!

[Paendrag]

Ask them about their placement rates of people in their neuropsych tracks in division 40 certified internships. Don't accept APA certified internships as a proxy.

If you can avoid it, stay away from standalone professional schools.

[AlexB]

[jcpokes]

I am a third year student at the Argosy program in Dallas. I'm in my early 50's and have worked the past 20 years in the field of School Psychology with current licensure as a Licensed farmland in School Psycholoy and Licensed Professional Counselor. The Argosy program is very good to meet my needs of evening and weekend classes for the PsyD track. They do have two neuropsychology courses, introduction to neuropsychology and Introduction to neuropsychology assessment. They have a physiological psychology and psychopharmacology course as well.

The program is not APA approved and because of the changes recently in application for APA site-visit it appears that they may not apply for another 5 years, as the program is beginning it's fourth year with first graduating class this year.

What I am doing to get additional training in neuropsychology and psychopharmacology is certification in these areas. I am enrolled in two co-hort programs that meets on weekend periodically and has a heavy online components. The psychopharmacology program is through Texas A&M and the school-neuropsychology program is through Texas Women's Unversity. I am half way through the psychopharmacology program and beginning the school neuropsychology program in September of 2006.

My hope is that with these certification programs and once I complete the PsyD at Argosy that I may get a Hospital based internship with pediatric/adolescent mental health services and neurology/neuropsychology surpervision component.

From my review there are limited internship opportunities in these location where I want to complete my internship and possibly post-doctorate training. UT Southwestern Medical Center and OU Health Science Consortium appear to be the main facilities that specialize in pediatric/adolescent neuropsychology.

For me, at this point in my career, the Argosy program is meeting most of my training needs. However, for a younger individual that may get into one of the top programs, that would be my recommendation. Standalone professional programs are good for the working professional but extremely expensive, but for a younger individual without family, I would recommend a University based program where tuition waivers and assistantships are provided, plus more opportunities for mentorship with faculty.

Although the Argosy program is not APA approved here in Dallas, the first three students eligible for internships were able to obtain APA internships sites. The advantage of many of the students at Argosy is that a good deal of us have worked in the mental health field a number of years and have licensure at the master's degree level. So despite not being APA approved, the first group of graduates has a great deal of experience and this is why they were able to obtain APA approved internship sites. A student who has gone from B.S. to Ph.D. by the age of 25-27 does not have those valuable work experiences that older students have based on life and work experiences.

So, when looking at the "Big Picture" one size does not fit all, and this is why it is important to find what is right for you regarding doctoral programs.

[deniellej]

I am currently finishing up a Master's in General Psychology at Walden University, and for the most part, I've really liked it. They are an accredited institution, but not by the APA (I think Fielding is the only one that is), so it depends on where you are thinking of living and working. You'll need to check the requirements of the State Board in that state - there a couple of states that require you to have a degree from an APA accredited institution, or they won't grant you a license. Other than that, I'm finding that a mostly online format is working pretty well for me, although sometimes it does feel like you're a little isolated. However, it was really the only option for me. I'm in my 30's, I've been out of school for years, and there was no way I was going to be able to get in to the U of A's program - they only accept about 6 students a year into their PhD program!

Hope that helps a little! Feel free to contact me with any questions...
_________________
Denielle Johnson

[Paendrag]

Hmm. In general these seem like poor options and I don't really understand why the field allows it.