request for assistance: HES/clinical psych programs in Boston area?

[rax]

Hi again y'all!

A friend of mine just moved to Boston and is considering various clinical psych MA programs in the area, particularly through Harvard Extension School's digital program. Does anyone have suggestions, advice, or resources to pass on regarding either of those things? I don't know anything personally but I know some folks here have experience with both clinical psych and HES. :)

Thanks!

-r.

Comments

[eponis.livejournal.com]

Hi!

So a friend of mine went through the clinical psych MA program at Lesley (in Somerville), so if your friend is considering that program, she said that she'd be happy to talk about her experiences.

She also comments that she'd advise against any online program, just because so much of the learning involves sitting in a room and interacting with other people, but she doesn't have any direct experience with HES.

Good luck to your friend!

[rax.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I've pointed them here, and they're reading through the Lesley documentation now. :) They or I will probably get in touch.

[jessiehl.livejournal.com]

From a brief look, the HES clinical psych master's isn't online. The general psych master's is, but the clinical psych one is in person, or at least most of it is.

With HES degrees in general, it's worth noting that they are not MA degrees in Foo. They are Master's of Liberal Arts (ALM) degrees in Extension Studies with a Concentration in Foo. Also, the clinical psych ALM alone doesn't qualify you for licensure, if that's something your friend cares about, though you could probably qualify with a few extra classes from somewhere else - I think it's meant more as a stepping stone to a clinical psych PhD or PsyD (which are really tough to get into, as in more competitive than most med schools). The quality of classes at HES is in general pretty good.

Lesley has several psych master's programs and graduate certificates, and the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology has several as well. BC has the Graduate School of Social Work - I don't know if that's within your friend's areas of interest at all.

[hi yes this is dog (from livejournal.com)]

Thanks for the response! :O I knew that HES's clinical psych master's is mostly on campus, which is all good with me since I just moved to the area.

I was actually wondering about the licensure bit, since I think I do want to pursue that. It's good to know that it's more of a stepping stone towards licensure, which may work? I'm not sure--I'm signed up to take a class starting this week at the graduate level, so we'll see how it goes. I had a rough time in undergrad (I graduated December 2013), and am not so comfortable with my record. Part of the appeal to HES was that the application process and curriculum are aimed more towards non-traditional students, which I feel like might be good for me, since full-time undergrad was agonizing for me (mostly for mental health/disability reasons, and also the school was traumatizing :/). I'm not confident in my ability to do the GRE adequately as a result of MH/disability stuff, too, so I'm a bit nervous about applying to "regular" grad schools. I realize that a lot of what would matter would be my personal statement and letters of rec, both of which I can cover pretty well. I'm just debilitated by the anxiety re: my GPA and the GRE :C And I'm worried about whether I can keep up with grad school full time...

tl;dr HES probably isn't a bad idea, and I plan on keeping up with it for the time being if all goes well. I just wanted more info about the application process if anyone knew about it, what the classes were like, and how it would prepare me for clinical psych licensure o:

I am currently corresponding with Lesley as per y'all's suggestions, though, and requested info from MSPP! I was considering social work for a bit, but sadly my undergrad didn't offer sociology so I'm not as comfortable going for that. I figure sticking with psych is better for me, since most of my background is in social and clinical psych.

Thank you for your input!!

[gaudior.livejournal.com]

I would be very happy to talk to you about MSPP, if that would be useful, having graduated from there six years ago! Have Rax give you my email if they haven't already.

Also, welcome to Boston!

[hi yes this is dog (from livejournal.com)]

\o/ fantastic!! i will definitely ask them! c: And thank you!

[twitch124.livejournal.com]

HES has an alternate entry program for most of their advanced degrees. You make an appointment and go into the office to talk to them and you get an advisor and a set of courses that you must get certain grades in in a certain timeframe. You put together an admission portfolio with your advisor and instructors or TAs. At the end of the timeframe, you're automatically admitted if you meet the grade criteria or have a solid enough portfolio.

I took classes there in their pre-med post-bac series, but ended up deciding I hated the field of medicine from my volunteer experience at MGH and stopped.

[hi yes this is dog (from livejournal.com)]

this is really great to know!!! thank you so much for the info! c: (sorry pre-med didn't work out, though. i hear it's pretty intense.)

[twitch124.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm happier not doing it. Good luck with your studies!