Psychology at Sweet Briar

 

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CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL GRADUATE STUDENTS IN CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
Descutner and Thelen (1989) asked 79 faculty members from nine APA-approved clinical psychology graduate programs to describe a successful clinical psychology graduate student by rating 25 characteristics and behaviors on a 6-point scale ranging from not important (1) to very important (6). These characteristics and behaviors (and their average ratings) are listed below in decreasing order of rated importance.

 

Working hard 5.60

Getting along with people 5.17

Writing ability 4.83

Clinical/counseling skills 4.81

Doing research 4.74

Handling stress 4.72

Discipline 4.64

Good grades 4.61

High intelligence 4.53

Empathy 4.48

Establishing a relationship with a mentor 4.39

Getting along with peers 4.00

Broad knowledge of psychology 4.00

Specialized knowledge in one or two areas of psychology 3.88

Reflecting program values 3.78

Being liked by faculty 3.69

Creativity 3.67

Obtaining as master's degree as quickly as possible 3.60

Visibility in the department 3.45

Competitiveness 3.29

Relating to professors on a personal level 3.24

Teaching 2.81

Attractive physical appearance 2.53

Serving on student committees 1.95

Serving on department and university committees 1.62

    It is no surprise that faculty in clinical psychology programs place a premium value on graduate students who work hard, possess good social skills, and write well. However, a surprise does occur with the fourth and fifth items. Most students preparing for graduate education in clinical psychology assume that clinical and counseling skills will be much more valuable to them in graduate school than their ability to perform research. NOT SO! Descutner and Thelen's data clearly indicate that potential clinicians should work equally as hard to develop their research skills--in courses such as experimental psychology, statistics, research in psychology, and independent study--as they do to develop their clinical and counseling skills. Another interesting finding from this survey is that the ability to handle stress and display discipline are rated as more important to graduate student success than either good grades or high intelligence. Apparently graduate faculty prefer to work with emotionally stable students who can produce consistently above average work and meet deadlines than with highly intelligent, straight A students who are personally and academically erratic, unorganized, or unpredictable. Undergraduate students who suffer from stress and who have a difficult time managing their academic and personal lives in a disciplined manner can develop the skills to overcome these deficiencies through classes or personal counseling.