Clinical Psychology: Graduate Student Profile

Profile of a Clinical Psychology Student

Deborah Kerr
Second-year PhD student of clinical psychology
Madison, Wisconsin

As a second-year student of clinical psychology, Deborah Kerr works long hours meeting class requirements, conducting research, and writing grants for her classes, but her excitement about her work is infectious.

“With neuroimaging technology we have insight into exactly what’s going on inside of brains. It’s amazing to see what’s happening in the brain of someone who’s snake-phobic when they’re viewing a video of a snake. We can compare that to the brain of someone who is not snake-phobic and examine the differences. When we help them to feel more in control of the situation, we can then observe that circuitry in their brains changing. It’s powerful: you can see how much you can do. It’s not just that they say ‘I feel better,’ but we can actually see the difference.”

Inspired Early on to Study Clinical Psychology

Kerr has been interested in psychology, especially the cognitive basis of mood and anxiety disorders, since high school. “I was the one that people came to when they wanted to talk, when they were really happy or really sad. And I was always interested in what was going on in their heads.” After completing her bachelor’s degree, she worked with medical school researchers and participated in neuroimaging studies. Now, her PhD research is focused on using these technologies to develop more effective therapeutic strategies.

Expectations for Studying for Clinical Psychology

As a strong candidate for PhD programs, Kerr investigated several and selected one with excellent resources for research and an open communication policy between students and faculty members. During the first 2 years of her studies, Kerr took core courses in areas like statistics, depression, and psychopathology. At the end of the second year she learned clinical strategies for working directly with patients, and began seeing patients professionally in the third year.

The time investment doesn’t faze Kerr. “I’m almost 3 years into a 6-year program, and I haven’t even noticed the time passing. The payoff is that I’m going to be able to do what I want for the rest of my life - helping people." Kerr is already getting job offers from universities and ultimately, she’d like to be involved in research that will lead to the treatment and prevention of mood and anxiety disorders.

Clinical Psychology Today & Looking Ahead

“What makes us uniquely human is the brain. Depression and anxiety are probably the most common problems we have in the world today – combining them, looking at what happens in the brain and how we can change that, is so interesting.” Looking to the future, Kerr anticipates that clinicians will make good use of new medical solutions to psychological problems.

“People are moving away from using medication on its own, toward combining medicine with therapy and a variety of other treatments. People are paying more attention to what’s going on in the body and the brain, medically, not just self-reporting from the patients but looking at empirical evidence as well. We are beginning to understand that the best ways to solve these problems is to approach them from multiple viewpoints.”

About a third of today’s graduates will go into academia, a third will focus on research, and a third will work with clients. In research-oriented programs, most students are paid for research and for teaching responsibilities, which helps to pay for their studies so they do not incur any debt. Kerr highly recommends that all students interested in studying clinical psychology go into their programs with a love of psychology and the drive to work hard to become a psychologist. If that’s you, then a program in clinical psychology will far exceed your expectations.

Learn about the Cost of a Clinical Psychology Education