Psych related PhD...how can I do this without

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by jakeysnakey, Jan 22, 2020.

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  1. AsianStew

    AsianStew Moderator Staff Member

    Which province and school did you get your education from? Which state are you in now? What is your budget? Looking at RA or NA? Hmm, there are many many programs to choose from, either online or with minor residencies. For example, here's an online option for you, and if you're in BC, or IL, they have a campus for even more programs. https://www.adler.edu/
     
  2. BlueMason

    BlueMason Audaces fortuna juvat

    Right - most provinces won't accept Psychology degrees that are earned online to practice as psychologists - AB will, but it is the exception. So, regardless of whether it is a PhD or a PsyD, if not earned at B&M, it won't be recognized and a lot of time, money and effort will have been wasted.
     
  3. LearningAddict

    LearningAddict Well-Known Member

    I wonder how reciprocity works there. If someone got licensed in AB, would there be an exception for the online matter if the Psychologist is seeking to be licensed in a different province (due to a move)? And then I wonder what they would do with an U.S. licensed Psychologist in the same situation seeking a license?
     
  4. Garp

    Garp Well-Known Member

    Looks like British Columbia will not even accept programs like the University of the Cumberlands Psychology program that has distributed or hybrid learning.

    “Program in residence” means in-person participation in courses, seminars, practica and internships with face-to-face, in person, contact with faculty and other students at the degree granting institution and affiliated sites (See Schedule H). Distributed learning where students meet for blocks of time periodically during the year and other types of online training programs do not meet the College’s criteria for a program in residence, and the Registration Committee would not ordinarily consider such distributed learning or online training programs to be equivalent to a program in residence."
     
  5. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    I believe the OP wants to be recognized as a counselor and not a psychologist. "Counselor" in most provinces is not a protected title while psychologist is. Once can use the title "PhD (Psychology), Counselor" in a business card with no legal consequence even if the PhD is from DL school with no clinical component. The Canadian Certified Counselor certification is not a license but just a certification. The OP wants the PhD title for credibility purposes but he or she is more interested in doing executive coaching that does not require a license or certification but the PhD is more of a marketing tool for credibility purposes, the OP is not interested in becoming a licensed psychologist.

    You are right, a DL PhD in psychology is not useful to become a clinical psychologist in Canada. Even if the PhD is accepted as an academic credential, you would need to secure a residence to practice clinical psychology and this would be very hard to get if you don't have a traditional PhD. If I show up in a Toronto clinic with my PhD from Walden, Capella, etc, traditional psychologist are going to be skeptical about giving you a clinical residence because you completed this degree from your basement without clinical supervision.

    The DL PhD is a good option for those interested in holistic or non traditional psychology but for this you don't need a PhD. Once can become a naturotherapist, holistic counselor, transpersonal counselor, etc with some local training from a private school. Most psychotherapy licenses only require training from a private school with some supervision but not an accredited degree.
     
  6. BlueMason

    BlueMason Audaces fortuna juvat

    No problem - as long as all criteria are met by the degree at the AB board of psychologists sets forth, you're golden. There are a TON of Yorkville's CounPsy grads in Alberta who are able to register as provisional psychologists - after four or five years, they are fully registered psychologists and at that point can move anywhere in Canada and practice as psychologists.

    AB psychologists will recognize DL psych degrees, I don't believe any other province will - based on my research. If you're a licensed psychologist in the US, you can transfer to any Canadian Province and it doens't matter how the degree was earned, as long as full licensure has been achieved.
     
    LearningAddict likes this.

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