So You Want to be a Forensic Psychologist or Therapist

What is involved in becoming a forensic psychologist and/or psychotherapist and what do I need to know and do to become one? For starters, the only difference between a “forensic psychologist” and a “psychologist” is what kinds of clients you treat and where you work.  The title of “forensic psychologist” is not regulated or official, so theoretically anyone can call themselves a “forensic psychologist” that is a licensed psychologist. Generally, what this title refers to is experience and training that someone received either in their program or in clinical work post-graduation. The same applies to forensic counselor/therapist/psychotherapist/clinician.

Ph.D. vs. Psy.D.

A psychologist is someone who has a doctorate degree in the following areas: clinical psychology, counseling psychology, school psychology, community psychology, and health psychology. The main programs you will see are Ph.D. programs in clinical and counseling psychology. You will also see Psy.D. programs in clinical or sometimes even “forensic” psychology. What is the difference between a Ph.D. and Psy.D.? A Psy.D. can do all the same things a Ph.D. can do. The difference is in prestige and cost. Psy.D. programs will still award you with a doctorate degree and the ability to get licensed with the added inconvenience that the vast majority are infinitely more expensive and there are rare opportunities for funding. Due to lack of funding, they are much less competitive than Ph.D. programs; a cohort in a Pys.D. program may include 100 students whereas a Ph.D. cohort will average about 5. Two exceptions (and they are still pricy) are Rutgers University and Baylor University; both are renown Psy.D. programs. To the contrary, most clinical Ph.D. programs are fully funded and offer teachers assistantships to doctoral students. While you certainly will still have to live off a measly stipend, you also won’t be forced to take on hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loan debt.

Psy.D. programs emphasize clinical training over research. If you want to work as a professor or publish research in the field of forensic psychology or criminology, a Ph.D. makes more sense to pursue. Contrarily, if you want to work as a prison psychologist, pursuing a Psy.D. may be the more prudent option.  With both degrees you can still become a licensed psychologist as long as you attend an APA accredited program. It is possible to get licensed after attending a program that is not APA accredited, but it will be more difficult.

Counseling Psychology vs. Clinical Psychology

Within the PhD. world, you can opt between clinical and counseling psychology.  Counseling psychology Ph.D. programs are newer and generally there tends to be more emphasis on environmental factors and social justice. They are mostly fully funded and can be equally as competitive as clinical programs, though some counseling Ph.D. programs may be slightly less competitive. Many counseling Ph.D. programs are school/education focused. Some schools offer both degrees. For example, Teachers College at Columbia University offers both counseling Ph.D. and clinical psychology Ph.D. tracks.

A Ph.D. in clinical psychology is generally considered the most rigorous trajectory and they are extremely competitive (7% or less acceptance rates in most programs). Many people with Ph.Ds. in clinical psychology work as psychologists, researchers, and academics.

Working as a Forensic Psychologist with a Ph.D. or Psy.D.

Forensic psychologists can work as psychologists or clinical directors in jails and prisons. Many work in private practice and complete evaluations for the court. These evaluations include psychosexual evaluations which are generally used to determine risk for sex offenders, competency evaluations (to determine if someone is mentally fit or competent to stand trial/take a plea), or custody evaluations to determine suitable guardianship. Many forensic psychologists testify in court and are hired by either the defense or the prosecution. Sometimes they are subpoenaed by the judge directly if, for example, one of their clients re-offends while in treatment. Other forensic psychologists solely publish research. It is important to note the distinction between forensic psychologists and “psychological profilers.” The vast majority of profilers start out as FBI agents to my knowledge, and it is a vastly different career trajectory with different requirements.

Forensic Counselor/Psychotherapist

You don’t need a Ph.D. or a Psy.D. to work with offenders but if you want to testify in court and/or work in evaluation/assessment, it is better to have a Ph.D. or Psy.D. (Texas has an exception to this with what is called a Licensed Psychological Associate license). If you want to do clinical work with offenders in a jail, prison, or clinic, your best option is pursue a master’s degree and subsequently licensure. There are many options here. You could pursue a social work degree and get licensed as a LMSW/LCSW or you could pursue a master’s in counseling degree and get licensed as a licensed professional mental health counselor. What can you expect from working as a ‘forensic counselor’? There are many different career trajectories or jobs available. One benefit is that you will always be in demand. At least for the foreseeable near future, there will always be jobs available in prisons, jails, and with mandated clients in community mental health settings. It is important to consider that working in this field (as a psychologist or a therapist) means that 90% of your clients will be mandated. They will be required to go to therapy by a judge, lawyer, or even warden if they want to stay on a certain prison unit in a correctional facility. A lot of your job will be spent exploring why someone does not want to be there and demonstrating how and why treatment is helpful. A good deal of your time will be spent facilitating group therapy. Groups have been shown to be more clinically effective for mandated clients than individual work, and make up the bulk of treatment in most clinics, agencies, jails and prisons.  Some groups will be manualized unfortunately, but if you find the right clinic or agency, you will have the opportunity to provide more “process” oriented group therapy (wherein there is no manual and you’re working more clinically than didactically). You can also work in an agency or clinic that specializes in sex offender treatment, domestic violence treatment, or criminal rehabilitation. 90% of the therapists will be masters-level and you may work with one or two psychologists and/or psychiatrists on a treatment team. The clinical directors are more likely to have doctorate degrees, though this is not a requirement necessarily and there are clinical directors with masters degrees. As a masters level ‘forensic’ counselor, you will likely get to administer some evaluations or assessments, but not many, and most of them will be under the supervision of a licensed psychologist. You will not be able to make a living (for the most part, there may be rare exceptions) as an expert witness. You will have the option, once you’re licensed, to open your own private practice, where you can see mandated clients if they’re approved by their lawyer, probation officer, or whoever is overseeing their mandated therapy requirement.

I worked for 3 years in an agency treating and, in some cases, performed assessments with people who have committed sexual offenses. Prior to my work with sex offenders, I worked as a mental health liaison and advocate to a criminal court and prior to that I worked as an intern at Rikers Island Correctional Facility. I still work with people who have committed offenses in private practice though it is no longer the bulk of my clinical practice. If you have any questions about my experience and training, or just general questions about this kind of work, please feel free to reach out to info@isoldesundet.com .

 Isolde Sundet is a psychotherapist and aspiring writer/decent human. Find her here.