Q&A with Bridget Engel, Psy.D., Clinical Psychologist
Q: Can you describe your current position?
I'm a clinical psychologist. I'm licensed in Colorado, and I have a very small private practice where I see primarily kids, adolescents, families and couples.
Q: What is Clinical Psychology?
Clinical psychology is the application of the theory of psychology, and you're applying it specifically to a patient population, people who might be struggling with severe mental disorders, behavioral problems, or just general struggles in life. It differs a little from research psychology or academia because you're primarily working with patients, and you're primarily working with patients in diagnosis and treatment. There are a lot of different areas of clinical psychology, but it generally doesn't include research or academia or some of those other areas that are more academic in nature.
Q: Can you describe the types of concerns you might encounter?
I have quite a few kids right now who are struggling with anxiety, specifically school anxiety. But, it also pops up in other areas as well. I'm not sure if I'm seeing more of this just because teachers and other professionals in schools have been a little more sophisticated in catching these kids or if parents are more motivated to get outside assistance. Maybe it's trickling down a little bit from the anxiety that adults are experiencing right now with the economic turnaround - unemployment, financial stress, things like that. You want to teach kids how to manage their anxiety so that when it pops up in other areas of life they're like, "Oh yeah, I know this feeling. I can use such-and-such tool - deep breathing, relaxation, going to my peaceful place - to manage my anxiety so that it doesn't become so overwhelming that I'm paralyzed, that I feel like I can't go anywhere or do anything."
Q: What kind of training/education is needed for this field?
Typically, for me as well, you earn a master's in counseling in clinical psychology or a doctorate in clinical psychology. That's typically a four-year program followed by an internship or a fellowship. Then, some states require ongoing clinical education, particularly in your field of study, so that you're up-to-date on new theories, techniques and strategies that are coming out in the field.
Q: Are there any specific skills that are important for a clinical psychologist to have?
Certainly in psychology in general, but especially in clinical psychology, you need to have good people skills. You can know the theories of psychology, the textbook, and the classic presentation of a specific syndrome, but if you don't have the people skills, the social skills to interact with people and help them get motivated to change their lives, then you're going to feel really stuck.
The other thing I would say is that you need to be a person who is good about setting boundaries with people so that you're not bringing your clinical work into your home environment, and you're also keeping yourself healthy.
Q: What kinds of careers are open to students who earn a PsyD?
The great thing about this is that there are so many things you can do with it. Certainly, I went the private-practice route, but prior to being in private practice I was a clinical major for a residential treatment center for children. Some psychologists choose to work in Community Mental Health, so they're working with patients that are underserved - economically underserved or struggling financially. Psychologists can work in hospitals and in schools. There's a field called industrial-organizational psychology in which a psychologist will work with a large organization or a large company to help them increase productivity and employee happiness or welfare. There are also a lot of new areas. In disaster psychology, for example, teams of psychologists will go out to disaster areas to help people manage stress and the acute trauma that they're experiencing as a result of the disaster.
Those are just a few examples, but the great thing about clinical psychology is you can make it what you want to make it. In my private practice right now we're starting to work with a lot of couples who are dealing with infertility and miscarriage. You can find a niche that works for you.
Q: What are the benefits of being a clinical psychologist?
There are a lot of great aspects of clinical psychology, but the one thing that I've really enjoyed, especially in private practice, is that I get to work with a wide variety of people. I work with kids. I work with adolescents. I have a sprinkling of adult clients in there - people of all socioeconomic, racial and ethnic backgrounds. My job is never boring. It's challenging and interesting at the same time.
Q: How can students decide if clinical psychology is right for them?
What I always suggest to students is to get a mentor in the field, somebody that you could be interested in working with at some point, somebody to mentor you and make sure that you're on the right path. There are so many options out there, between a master's degree and a doctorate degree and a social work degree, lot and lots of options. I think you have to research before you decide on a career path so that it's a good fit for you. It kind of depends on what you want to do at the end. If you want to work with severe disorder patients, then probably a doctorate would be the path you want to take, but that can mean a lot of different things.
Q: How can students find a mentor in the psychology community?
I've had a couple of students just contact me, just looking for people in the community that are psychologists or in the clinical fields and ask, "Can we spend some time having coffee and can I pick your brain about what clinical psychology is like and what you do?" I'm usually more than happy to help students do that. A lot of times, universities' doctorate and master's programs will connect students with professionals in the field as well.
Q: What kinds of changes have you seen in the field recently?
One of the bigger things I've noticed is a huge increase in anxiety, both in my adult population and my kid population. I think that probably is a result of things that are going on in our world [now] that are making people anxious and stressed out.
The other thing I've seen is a huge increase in technology that psychologists are using to market their businesses. There is also a huge push right now to have clinical psychologists use Skype and Internet resources to reach out to people in rural areas where there are very few psychologists and very few resources for individuals. I'm often using Skype in my practice as well, especially for people who have terminated or moved on to a different location and want to stay connected.
Q: What do you see for the future of the field?
Well one of the good things that's happening in psychology, especially clinical psychology, is a big push for evidence-based practice. What that means is using practices, technology and techniques in psychology that have been proven in research to be effective for people.
Q: Any other advice for aspiring clinical psychologists?
I've certainly enjoyed myself. I know a lot of other psychologists who feel that psychology is a great fit for them, especially if they're good at working with people. But, I would emphasize again - meet with a mentor, or someone in the community or in the field so that you can get your specific questions answered and make sure this is the field for you.
