A Leap of Faith: Andreas' Academic Path Stateside

Inside Clinical: Introducing Andreas Dimopoulos

Inside Clinical: Episode 6

Meet Andreas

Meet Andreas and follow his journey from doing BA and MA in Ontario, to pursuing a PsyD in the USA

Our 6th guest in the Inside Clinical Series is Andreas Dimopoulos, a first-year PsyD candidate at the University of Indianapolis. Andreas has come a long way; from finishing his undergrad and masters in Ontario, to packing his life up and moving to the United States for his PsyD program. 

Andreas completed his undergrad at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), formerly known as Ryerson. In his fourth year of undergrad, he worked as a support worker in a group home. His experience there enables him to build meaningful connections with them. Being in a position where facilitating and creating change really deepened Andreas’s passion for clinical psychology. 

For his master's, Andreas ended up at an applied behavior analysis master's program at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario. 

After completing his master's, Andreas worked as a psychometrist for about a year before applying to PsyD programs. This solidified his passion in assessment and honed his skills while working alongside a clinical psychologist. 

He applied to about seven to eight PsyD programs across Canada and the USA. The University of Indianapolis offered him a spot, and that is where he is studying now. However, he adds that if a Canadian school were to offer him a spot, he would have stayed in Canada over moving to Indianapolis. Due to the competitive nature of Clinical Psychology programs, if you get an offer anywhere, Andreas would advise to just take the offer. 

Currently, Andreas expresses a deeper interest in the assessment route, but he added that this could possibly change as he gains more experience in therapeutic methods throughout his program. 

Finally, a fun fact about Andreas is that he is one of three triplets. 

The pros and cons of being a triplet? 

 

“I mean, the pro is you just have like a built-in best friend. Like we've done essentially everything growing up together. With my brother, specifically, we've had the same interests or hobbies. We were on the same sports teams. It was only since undergrad where we kind of changed paths.”

In fact, all three of them were admitted to the same accounting and finance program at TMU. Eventually, his brother switched to a denturist route, and Andreas switched to psychology. His sister is the only one of them who stayed in finance and accounting.

Although it's nice to have more space since moving away, being a triplet especially makes him miss his unconditional support system from back home.  

Words of advice

The biggest piece of advice Andreas had for prospective clinical psych students is that if you're interested in grad school, go to programs where the master's program isn't terminal. Meaning, it should have a subsequent doctoral clinical psychology program already embedded within the school. Having a subsequent doctorate program helps you network with professors so that completing a PsyD or PhD can offer a smoother transition, if you choose to do so. In some cases, there is a risk of losing master's credentials when the MA program is terminal. 

“The biggest thing that I realized is that because my master's program or school didn't [have a subsequent doctoral program], it was harder for me to then go back to a doctoral program, and because they're accredited, they require you to take their specific sequence. So even if I were to go back, let's say to school in Ontario, I would have to essentially redo my master's.”

Next, Andreas emphasises building a rapport and network with supervisors and faculty. 

"Yes, GPA and experiences are important, but many people tend to overlook the importance of networking within the field. Oftentimes, networking and connections are what set you above other applicants and can ultimately lead to new opportunities that you wouldn't otherwise have."

Considering Grad school in Canada vs the USA

Applying to clinical psychology programs is a very long and competitive process, and admittance can often be a game of luck. While the USA can have more options and opportunities for PsyD programs than Canada, is it worth relocating to a new country to expand your horizons or to strengthen your network at home? 

If you’re from Canada, it's important to consider how weak the Canadian Dollar is to the US Dollar at the moment. Based on Andreas’ experience, you can expect to pay around 1.5 times the amount you would in Ontario, for example. He also points out that it's worth keeping in mind that you could stay in the States for longer than four or five years. 

Though many PsyD programs are inherently funded due to the research component, there are still numerous programs that remain unfunded. Andreas also advises prospective students that if they don't have family support, know that they will probably graduate with a lot more debt than if they were to complete a program at home. Additionally, be prepared for salaries not to be as high as expected directly coming out of the program. It might take more time to get to a point where you're making the salary you're hoping to. 

Overall, do your research! Moving to the States is a huge investment, so it is especially important to be informed of what you're getting yourself into. 

As for culture shock, Andreas remarks that the funniest thing he noticed is that people think he has an accent. It’s usual to feel like you have an accent, and it usually is the most obvious to Americans when Canadians say certain words like “sorry”. 

“People look at me sideways like I have a sort of accent or even like we say bathroom back home. I said bathroom. People turn their heads, like it's a restroom.”

Though the culture shock is minimal when moving from Canada to the US or vice versa, there are still some small nuances that can take a bit of getting used to. 

PhD or PsyD: which is best for your interests?

When weighing PhD and PsyD programs, the distinction between the two can sometimes get confusing for prospective Clinical psychology students.  

“A PsyD is inherently clinically focused. There's more emphasis on the practical aspect of the profession”. 

In a PhD program, candidates have to advocate and show why research is a huge interest, along with being involved in multiple research projects. Ultimately, a PhD can lead to teaching positions and working more in research and academia. On the other hand, a PsyD has more of a hands-on and practical approach. A PsyD also usually has shorter requirements, therefore taking less time to complete than a PhD. 

What does research in PsyD vs PhD look like? 

In a PsyD, you’re still doing research. However, there's no push to publish work and be involved in multiple research projects that would be required in a PhD program. 

Cohort size matters too — For Andreas’ PsyD, his cohort is around 35 people, which is about three times the size of a PhD cohort.

The benefits of a larger cohort? There are more people to network with and make friends. A con would be that you're working less one-on-one, meaning that there can be less of an intimate and personalized experience. 

“You really have to do your best to stand out [in a larger cohort]”

Although attending conferences is less needed for a PsyD, Andreas still very much enjoys attending conferences and connecting with peers in the field. He has actually presented at a few conferences recently, and doesn't plan to stop attending even after getting licensure. 

“I love going to conferences. You can network. You can build those important public speaking skills.”

Andreas’ previous role as a psychometrist helped him decide to go down the PsyD route. Since he is more interested in the clinical aspect, it made more sense to him to pursue a PsyD. 

Looking forward; plans after graduation

If he were to redo his career, Andreas would further explore and research the different psych fields during his undergrad. Know that there's not one linear path to becoming a clinical psychologist, or any field of psychology for that matter. 

If he could go back to grad school, he would try to have as many different experiences as possible to explore the different avenues that are possible in his field, and advises current grad students to do the same while they have that chance. The way things are in grad school right now, is that you essentially have to ‘choose your lane’, so exploring different avenues before locking into one is something that he feels needs more emphasis to today's students.

After Andreas graduates from the University of Indianapolis, he plans to move back to Toronto. 

As of right now, he hopes to work on assessments. Currently, he has experience in eligibility assessments and is eager to expand more into the medical side, including neuropsych and forensic assessments. 

Final words of wisdom that Andreas offers psychology undergrads are to be proactive, do your research ahead of time, and know the long path this field entails.