OT - Anyone here a school psychologist?

[steph613]

I am looking into graduate programs and I'm seriously considering getting my degree in school psychology. I already have my B.S. in psychology. Is there anyone out there that could give me some insight into the field? I'm wanting to know things like how much you like your job -all the good and bad stuff. Also, how family friendly it would be for a mom of two (and maybe three by the time I graduate). Thanks so much!

 

[Nanu57v]

Not a school psychologist...but I too looked into it. Its all about helping kids to succeed in school (which I'm sure you knew already). Unfortunately, I was bored out of my mind when I had to sit in meetings with a school psychologist about one of our students. Its a lot of frequency charts, and graphs, and behavior plans and statistics. It didn't seem to be as interesting as some other fields in psychology. If you haven't yet, I'd try posting this on community and seeing if you get more hits.

 

[barkley]

not one myself but my best friends dh has been one for years. he enjoys it, but for years it was always a worry when the budget crunches hit if his job would be cut. he now has enough seniority that it's not much of an issue, but there were years when he kicked himself for not getting a teaching credential while he was doing his master's work (and he considered going back for it many times)-he felt like it could have been something to fall back on if his position had been cut.

don't know how family friendly it is-bf was a sahm largly because his schedual was never the same as his kids even when he worked at the same schools they went to. he had longer days than the teachers since he had to be around for parent meetings and such after school. commuting also took a big chunk of his time (around here one of the budget saving measures was to have roving counselors who were assigned to multiple schools-so he could have duties at as many as 3 locations in a single day).

i think a realy family friendly option for a psych grad would be in children's therapy. we live in the land of therapists but it's nearly impossible to find a good child ONLY one-and those that do treat kids only have waiting lists a mile long. ds's therapist is a mom and she spec. does her schedual around her kids school and such. while she does do after school appointments for clients, it's on the days her kids have set activities-and she does'nt do appointments during the holiday breaks. i know she worked for the state for a long time, but when she had kids she wanted to be able to make her own schedual so she set out on her own and joined a practice with some other therapists.

i almost went into an mfcc program when i went into college, but if i were going to do one now, i would be hot to look into one of the masters programs in neuropsychology. that is just a facinating field-and having been in the position of needing to find someone in this profession i can say it is next to impossible but wow, when you do and you can find someone who can understand how neurological issues can impact psych. issues it can be a life saver. i have to think this could be a very hot field in coming years-with so many more adults open to and attending therapy, it only goes to reason that as they age and encounter natural neurological changes it may impact and change what they need from a therapist. someone who is aware of these issues could reccognize and address these issues at a much more beneficial point in time.

good luck with whatever you go into.

 

[Keara'sMom]

Hi,
I am a school psychologist, although I'm not currently working in a school (I have in the past). At this time I am employed part time (26 hours/week) by a private, non-profit agency doing developmental evaluations with children ages birth to 5, and I love my job!! This is the age group I was hoping to work with when I pursued my PhD in school psychology at Penn State (I had an early childhood concentration), so things couldn't be much better. It's great knowing that you're helping to start kids off on perhaps a more successful path early.

As a school psychologist in the school system, my primary responsibility was to explore why children were having difficulty learning or frankly functioning in school and then to suggest strategies to help them succeed. It's a lot of testing and meetings, but there's also counseling, consulting with teachers and parents, etc... School psychologists are in a good position to assist with program evaluation, inservice training, behavioral support planning, and many other school related activities.

In terms of family-friendly, school psychology is a very family-friendly field. Typically, school psychologists who are employed by a school district work on a school calendar, which means having the same school vacations and snow days as your kids (including summers off!), and you often will end your day earlier than in 9-5 jobs. Currently, I'm on virtually the same schedule as my daughter, although I do work a couple weeks in the summer.

One suggestion: I would recommend spending some time in schools before deciding. A BS in psychology is a great accomplishment, but it helps to have some hands-on knowledge of schools, school systems, and kids/teachers in that environment. Perhaps you could volunteer in a classroom or trail the school psychologist (just a thought).

Best of luck with your decision!
Leslie

 

[IcePrincess467]

I currently have a BA in Psychology as well as a BEd in Elementary Education with a concentration in early literacy education and have looked into school pschology many times. I decided against it and am going to go back to school to get my masters in learning disabilities. I am a substitute currently and have had a lot of opportunities to work in an LD enviroment and really enjoy the 1 on 1 setting. I have also thought about reading recovery as well...right now I just really want a FT job

 

[steph613]

Thanks to everyone for their replies. This is so helpful for me!

 

[DawnM]

You might also want to look into school counseling.

I am a school counselor and love it! I had to do some school psych hours for my credential/MA and honestly, I didn't like it. It was a lot of the same thing over and over again all day (IEPs). I preferred actually discussing problems and such with students and parents.

Dawn

 

[Keara'sMom]

It's so interesting to me how different school psychology can be from state to state! In PA where I got my training, most of my time was spent doing evaluations and participating in meetings. Once we moved to NY, most of my time in the schools was spent doing counseling (along with testing and consulting)--not nearly as many meetings or as much testing! Here in our community in NY, the school psychologist is seen as a mental health "expert" of sorts. I guess the thing to do is explore what it's like to be a school psychologist in your particular state and then evaluate whether or not that type of work would be of interest to you.

Steph613, I'd be happy to answer any specific questions you might have! Either post or pm...

 

[belle&beast]

I'm a school SLP so I work very closely with the psychologists. In our corporation they asssist with intervention teams, complete evaluations and conduct case conferences following evaluations. Many have been in our corporation for a long time, and they all seem to like their jobs. The hours are longer than a typical school day due to meetings before and after school, but they still have the summers and scheduled breaks.

 

[barkley]

if you are planning on staying in the region you are now but pursing this type of career you might want to find out what kind of scheduals school psychologists work for the area districts. i know bf's dh originaly got the same days/months off as the teachers, but as the district he worked for started to have elementary schools on different operating scheduals (some are traditional, some are year round-with some on different year round scheduals than the others) he no longer gets any set vacations with the exception of the 2 weeks in december all the schools are closed. the rest of his time off is allocated to him and he can use only so much at a time (can't use all the time during the summer for example)-and he has set black out dates when he can't take vacation (like the periods of time right before each of the schools start back, period right around different assessments, and right before each school starts doing the final crunch of stuff before the end of their individual school year).

bf works in the speech therapy field with the same school district as her hubby works and their ds attends-i think she said that this school year the only time all 3 will have the same time off is december break, one week in spring and the legal holidays. she gets about a month of set time off during the summer but it does'nt fall in the acceptable period of time for her dh to take much off so the best they will be able to do is have him take 2 weeks off with her and their ds.

 

[CampbellScot]

School Social Worker might be an option as well...which is what i do...it is much more about the behavior management and behavioral plans necessary to help children succeed socially as well as academically. I had initially looked in to School psychology, but as someone said above...it can be mind numbingly boring if you are not interested in testing and charting and statistics and such. (no offense whatsoever to the School psychologist who posted earlier...I just flat out did not have the brain power for that stuff!)

Also, having your masters in social work makes you extremely versatile and hire-able. An MSW with a concentration in school social work makes you attractive to schools, but you can work in really any area of social services if you wish. Also, once you have your MSW you can get your lisenced clinical social work certification...then you can put out a shingle and treat just like a psychologist! It all depends on what you are interested in and what sort of versatility you want. Once you have that MSW you can pursue all sorts of certifications...keep adding letters to your name!!!

And I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong here, but I think you have to get your PhD in psychology to treat patients...I'm not sure if it's the same for schools but I think so...it's a lot more schooling...and a big ol dissertation...YIKES.

good luck!!

 

[Keara'sMom]

Hi again,
I did get a PhD, but you don't need one to work in the schools--a master's is typically fine. As for boring, I guess it depends on what your district asks of school psychologists! I've never been asked to do any statistical analysis (aside from my doctoral program/dissertation, and yes, that was really boring! ), nor have I done any "charting," except when tracking behavior problems to try to determine the root of the problems. What I have done is a lot of testing (which I guess can be boring for some but not typically for me, as I find each kid brings something new to the table) and a lot of report writing (again, sometimes really boring and sometimes not). I also have done a lot of counseling, particularly with children who have mental health diagnoses.

I certainly agree that an MSW (or LCSW) can offer a wider range of options than a PhD/PsyD/MS in school psychology. It just depends on your interests and the needs of your community. A PhD school psychologist is eligible to sit for the psychology licensing exam, which enables you to open a private practice as a Psychologist (FYI). This broadens your options, too! Lots to think about, huh?!

 

[belle&beast]

Check your state requirements. Our school psychologists are all PhDs and an MSW overqualifies a person for school social worker, so they have BAs. It's strange how every state/district differs.

 

[steph613]

Thanks once again everyone! We are in North Carolina right now but we will be moving back to Georgia at some point and that is were I plan to go to school and work. I know that in Georgia you need a specialist degree to be licensed as a school psychologist. The program I am researching should take me about 4 years to complete if I don't go full time. I didn't realize that job responsibilities varied so much from state to state. I'm definitely going to need to talk to some people in the districts around where we plan on moving. As far as testing, charts and statistics go, that's actually right up my alley. I'm just a big ole' nerd when it comes to that stuff.

I started a masters program in community counseling a few years ago but that got derailed when we were pleasantly surprised to find out I was pregnant. Before that, I did some work in social services, etc. It was just as well, as I had realized that straight up counseling/therapy was not right for me. I enjoy consulting and evaluating more, which is what lead me to think about school psych. The other option I'm considering is a MPA (public administration) with a concentration in non-profit management which would take me totally out of the counseling field and more into the "business" side of helping others. I'm just a little torn with how hands-on I want to be, I guess.

Anyway, thanks again so much to everyone for taking the time to give such well thought replies! This has been so very helpful.

 

[Keara'sMom]

Steph, it sounds like we're a lot alike! I really enjoy doing evaluations, and consulting has always been an enjoyable part of my work. Actually, I didn't enjoy the counseling part of the school position, which is one of the reasons (albeit a small reason) that I made the jump from public schools to early childhood. An aspect of the job I enjoy now is being able to work with kids and families one-on-one but then leaving the direct "intervening" to someone else!

Yes, do some research for the district in which you'll be living as to what they expect of school psychologists, and also look at the program to which you'll be applying for your specialist degree to see what they emphasize.

Again, Good Luck! Keep us posted!

 

[WDWAurora]

steph, seriously PM me. I'm currently completing my internship. All my training and my internship have been in NC, so I may have a little more insight into your area (and we're almost exactly the same as GA-one of the girls in my program is doing her internship there and was from there). I know the state's programs well.

I will say this-if you are not a very strong person, in terms of being able to stand up for the law and and stick by decisions, in terms of whether or not a child is eligible, etc. this career is not a good fit. I know nothing about you, so please don't take that personally at all. I just came across a lot of people who wanted to be a school psychologist, but when it came down to it, they were too easily influenced by others, and we have to do what is best for the child while following the law.

What part of NC are you in? How long have you been out of undergrad? Anyway, PM me, I'll be happy to help with location-specific info!

 

[CampbellScot]

Check your state requirements. Our school psychologists are all PhDs and an MSW overqualifies a person for school social worker, so they have BAs. It's strange how every state/district differs.

Wow, that's really interesting about MSW's overqualifying you for a school social worker job. Where are you located? In New Jersey it is ALL ABOUT the MSW...I don't think I've ever met a Bachelor's degree school social worker here. I'm sure there must BSW's out there...but it's not something I've ever encountered...We have A LOT of specialized schools here in New Jersey though...a lot of kids with Autism in specialized programs...I imagine the more educated the staff is the better districts feel about paying for our services. They want that bang for their buck!

It's interesting though that education requirements vary so much from state to state.