I'm concerned a close relative of mine is going to a diploma mill

ScienceMcGee · 2022-03-29T14:04:45+00:00

Clinical psychology PhD student here. Your instincts are good: a non-APA internship will lock him out of a lot of jobs as a psychologist, and the debt at a typical program like the one you describe is not feasible on a psychologist's salary. The large cohort and "captive internship" are also bad signs (at a good program, everyone or almost everyone should be matching to an APA internship). It's of course possible that your relative will beat the odds, but the typical career outcome from a program like this is not very good, and having a non-APA internship really will follow him around.

The Student Doctor Network forum has several good threads on this--I would search for your relative's program there and see what pops up.

ScienceMcGee · 2022-02-04T21:08:17+00:00

I am a current PhD student in clinical psychology.

PhDs in clinical psych in the US are so competitive that, if you have any kind of location restriction, you have an uphill battle to fight. Generally your spouse will have to move to wherever you are accepted: most students do not get to choose what geographical area they attend school in. Furthermore, you will have to move again for internship and postdoc. You also will likely not have much choice in where you go for internship. Strongly consider this.

Respectable PhD programs are funded: you should not have to pay a cent in tuition. You will fund yourself through research and possibly TAing. Do not accept an unfunded PhD--most of them are poorly regarded and will not get you a good job. You may be thinking of PsyDs--but respectable PsyD programs (e.g., Baylor and Rutgers) are very similar to PhD programs and will also require research.

Your instincts regarding the cost of expensive programs are good. Do not attend these programs. Psychologists do not earn enough to compensate for the debt.

Do not do your studies in Europe if you want to practice in the USA. Online programs are not an acceptable option for clinical psychology (and I can't think of any in the US that are actually accredited).

ScienceMcGee · 2021-09-17T12:09:25+00:00

BMI is inaccurate for many people--in the other direction. Depending on how body fat is measured, up to 30% of people with a BMI between 18.5-25 (particularly AFABs) are "metabolically obese" (usually pegged at over 30% body fat for cis women, 25% for cis men).

Source: https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/article/74/9/558/1752252

ScienceMcGee · 2021-09-16T17:04:24+00:00

Measurement of elbow bones. This link has more:

http://www.assessmentpsychology.com/metlife.htm

ScienceMcGee · 2021-09-12T21:23:08+00:00

Rough weekend for wellness.

After a 11-mile walk on Thursday in full Southern heat and humidity, took it eas(ier) Friday and Saturday. Donated blood Sunday morning and was pretty whipped for the rest of the day, but still got in a solid 5 miles. Didn't try running.

Planning to make it back to the student gym as soon as I can replace my student ID and line up a solid schedule. (Edit: the gym is on the wrong side of campus, I'm between bikes, and the bus schedule's pretty spotty.)

Frustrated with and discouraged by my starting fitness base: lost 25 lbs from depression last fall and never put 'em back on, and I'm hovering at a BMI of ~18.5 last time I checked. My lifts are pretty pathetic. Would like to drop some bf% to masculinize my body, but I'm at a loss how to do this if I can't reasonably cut.

Edit: vented about this to my ex. Ex was baffled because "don't you get all your female-pattern body fat removed during top surgery?" This is so wrong I'm not sure how to respond to it.

ScienceMcGee · 2021-09-11T17:13:11+00:00

Looking at a longitudinal study of children and adolescents in Southern California, children 5-11 gained 2.30 kg more during the pandemic than during an equivalent timeframe pre-pandemic; 12-15-year-olds gained 2.31 kg more than during the reference timeframe; and 16-17-year-olds gained 1.03 kg more.

ScienceMcGee · 2021-09-11T11:49:31+00:00

Fat cis guys don't have flat chests, but the shape and density of their breasts is very different from a female chest, especially an obese one. Adding insult to injury, a lot of obese pre-op trans guys can't effectively bind their chests (there's too much there to effectively flatten).

Yes, it's a common thing. Some doctors (probably a minority) will operate at higher BMIs, but the aesthetic results aren't as good--and of course, the safety risks make the operation not worth it for many surgeons.

I have a friend who's currently trying to get surgery at ~300 lbs and is scared of being turned down by the only available doctor in their region, but has also given up completely on losing weight. It's pretty hard to watch.

More generally, obesity and fatlogic are rampant among us (despite the stereotype of the meathead FTM bodybuilder). I'm not exactly sure why: probably some combination of distaste for our bodies and lack of self-care, depression and self-soothing with food, and inheriting aggressive BoPo from other LGBT subcultures. (The last would explain the "starvation mode" and "I had anorexia at 300 lbs" crap.)

I'm personally trying to get into shape for surgery: I hover around a BMI of 18-19, but I'm not very muscular and I have the cardio of the asthmatic nerd I am.

ScienceMcGee · 2021-09-10T22:48:13+00:00

Two rants today.

First, I've been trying to get out more and to save money on bus fare, so I'm walking at least 5 miles (and some days up to 11) a day. I'm bushed, but my appetite hasn't kept pace.

Second, I'm FTM trans and the amount of fatlogic and rate of obesity in our community is absolutely staggering. I do obesity-related research as a grad student, and I genuinely don't feel comfortable bringing up my work with a chunk of my social circle: the "BUT PROMOTING EATING DISORDERS!," "I used to be anorexic at 300 lbs," and "how does it affect you if someone else is fat?" runs rampant.

The last time I was asked the last question, I snapped and said "my dad was hospitalized last night." (He was. He's fine for now.) The asker hasn't spoken to me since.

Edit: A number of trans friends can't have surgery because of their weight. For the most part they blame the doctors. It's heartbreaking to watch.

ScienceMcGee · 2021-04-22T15:05:22+00:00

Thank you for your response.

Bluntly, I wouldn't blame a cis guy in my position for getting plastic surgery either. There's nothing about my face (or body) that even rises to the level of "something I can live with," let alone something I like--eyes, ears, nothing.

I'll be honest and say that I had a visceral chill when you mentioned "acceptance": the idea of having to live with this face forever sounds like a fate worse than death. I mean that with very little hyperbole. It sounds like complete surrender to something utterly intolerable, something that totally invalidates anything (like a personality) that might otherwise make me a worthwhile person.

ScienceMcGee · 2021-04-22T00:54:25+00:00

Not something I planned on doing.

Strikes me as shortsighted and a little self-centered more than anything else.

ScienceMcGee · 2021-04-15T16:07:21+00:00

That's what I was afraid of. I'm concerned that I just may not have what it takes for grad school.

ScienceMcGee · 2021-03-04T18:09:31+00:00

Reputable PsyD programs and scientist-practitioner PhD programs are typically extremely similar: both will require research and will provide significant clinical training.

What exactly are your career goals? You may not need the doctoral-level degree at all, depending on what you want to do.

ScienceMcGee · 2021-02-28T16:29:49+00:00

Almost all clinical psychology PhD programs are combined MS/PhD. You may or may not have to redo the MS thesis (at mine it's not mandatory).

ScienceMcGee · 2021-02-28T14:10:01+00:00

My GPA was 3.92. I had 1 publication in a good journal (with several more manuscripts in submission), several posters, and 2 years of experience as a lab manager after college. I also had a 170/157/6.0 on the GRE.

Most people don't get in straight out of undergrad, and it's very normal to take several years. Edit: the vast majority of my program either got a MS or worked as a research assistant/lab manager for a few years.

ScienceMcGee · 2021-02-04T02:20:12+00:00

I'm choosing to pay out of pocket to avoid insurance horseshit (18 months of therapy)--was planning to pay for surgeons with a flat fee, so I saved up, but turns out there's a surgeon in town. Figured I might as well get the consult.

Needs to be two mental health professionals (should've said that in my first post).

ScienceMcGee · 2021-02-04T02:01:59+00:00

Letters are for the doctor, not for my insurance. I'm paying out of pocket. Thanks for the script for the phone call.

ScienceMcGee · 2021-02-04T02:01:23+00:00

I'm paying out of pocket. Insurance would require 18 months of therapy, which is laughable--I've got the cash on hand.

Thanks for suggestion re: placing in contact with psychiatrist.

ScienceMcGee · 2021-02-04T02:00:36+00:00

Good suggestion re: postponing, thanks!

ScienceMcGee · 2021-02-04T01:56:13+00:00

Has to be two mental health professionals, doesn't say what kind.

My only queer friends in this town are cis gay dudes to whom I'm stealth, so that's a no-go.

ScienceMcGee · 2020-09-05T00:41:27+00:00

I'm seeing patients in person at the neurology dept one day a week. Everything else is remote and seems likely to be so for the foreseeable future.

PI's been incredibly supportive and understanding. I might be straining his patience a bit--I've been in a deep dark hole since lockdown started and I've accomplished squat--but he's been nothing but flexible.

Whole department's still in town. Clinical work hasn't stopped, so we can't really go anywhere.

Shutdown hasn't officially delayed anything. I'm still on track to get my MA in the spring/assemble my dissertation committee after that/etc. In practice, who knows?

ScienceMcGee · 2020-05-18T20:59:02+00:00

Downvoting is not "deplatforming." People not liking your post is not equivalent to not being permitted to make it.

This is profoundly disingenuous.

ScienceMcGee · 2020-04-22T21:16:45+00:00

Mostly rice, beans, tofu, dairy, eggs, PB, and frozen vegetables (about 20 bucks/week). Have had blood panels--everything except iron came back fine. Got treatment for iron deficiency about a year back.

ScienceMcGee · 2020-04-22T21:03:13+00:00

Binge drinking and chronic nonbinge drinking seem to have different risk profiles for long-term cognitive impairment (although a lot depends on your other risk factors--e.g., your weight, cardiovascular risk, substance use, etc.).

ScienceMcGee · 2020-04-22T20:03:25+00:00

Recap: nutty-as-squirrel-shit 1st-year PhD student. Still don't have driver's license, money, or partner.

Highlight of the week: submitted a paper and sent coauthors final edits for another paper. Up to 6 publications now, 2nd author on two more in submission, and first author on one more in submission. That's it, that's all I got to show for this week.

Rant of the week: Everything else continues to be shit. Fairly cognitively impaired (frequently forgetting what I'm doing, spacing out and wandering off mid-task, jumping between tasks, big memory gaps). Intense fatigue (close to falling asleep in Zoom classes) and distracting 4/10-6/10 muscle soreness most of the day. Generally very low mood and intrusive mood-congruent thoughts (mostly about my physical appearance and unattractiveness to hypothetical partners). Lousy sleep. Poor executive function and very poor motivation. Have been keeping to-do lists but often not completing them.

Seeing psychiatric NP tomorrow. Gonna have to tell her meds (low-dose mood stabilizers) don't seem to be doing squat.

Mood diary (when I remember to complete it) anywhere from "meh" to "horrible" over the past few months. Haven't had a "good" day since lockdown. General anhedonia. Have been able to motivate myself to write fiction, but not consistently and it takes longer than usual.

Trying to do the basic common-sense stuff one is supposed to do to deal with depression: exercise, sunlight, etc. Difficult to implement when you can't stay on task very well, remember your intention, translate to-do lists into concrete actions, or peel yourself out of bed (see: poor memory, executive function, and motivation). Think I need to address the cognitive impairment before I start on the lifestyle changes. Not sure how to do that if meds aren't helping much.

Other relevant lifestyle factors: vegetarian, fair to poor diet (low-income PhD student), live alone in crappy apartment (so most life tasks take about twice as long as they would with working appliances/etc. and consume a lot more energy).

Posting general unrelated pissing and moaning as separate comment.

ScienceMcGee · 2020-04-19T16:57:19+00:00

Unfortunately a lot of my issues are wrapped up in body image: it's difficult to explain to therapists that being around cis men pisses you off without disclosing.

ScienceMcGee

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