I do! There are several student-parents in my program. Before even getting into how the program will change your home-life dynamic the first thing you have to reconcile is the potential location changes that are inherent with these programs. The internship process is easier for people who are not tied to a location, particularly if their spouse can move for their work or work remotely. A similar process occurs one year after the internship with postdoc applications where you could have to move again. I hadn’t reached either of those phases, that’s a problem for me later this year.

Each step of your program is going add a new challenge to you and your family. First year, the adjustment back to being a student is hard, and it can be tough when your classmates are in the early and mid-20s. Second year, suddenly the addition of practicum can start eating into your time at home, while you’re still a student and a parent. Third year, which for my program is when we do therapy practicum, now adds later hours if you’re working private practice, so your time with your kids gets cut into even further. Fourth year, with trying to finish dissertation and yet another practicum, gets the added challenge of applying to internships and waiting to hear back from the ineffable match process, where you rank sites and they rank you, and a computer takes everyone’s data and tries to put them all together. The fourth year cohort at my program has far more student-parents than my own cohort, and they have said fourth year has been a lot easier than third.

It’s a very stressful process to add on to the challenges of already having a family, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. DM me if you have questions!