North Carolina Psychological Association (NCPA)/24th Psychology Undergraduate Conference (Fall 2017)/Neuropsychology

Leader: Sarah Cook from Duke University

• Day to day
  • She works at Duke at an outpatient clinic
  • 3 patients/day 3 days/week
  • Supervises training: has practicum students, postdoc program
  • Talking with families and individuals about diagnosis, prognosis, and setting a plan going forward
• Difference between cognitive psychology and neuropsychology
  • Cognitive psych is more experimental rather than clinical/applied
    • Conducts research on things like language, speech, decision making, learning, memory
    • No patients seen
  • Neuropsychology focuses on assessment and diagnostics
    • Referrals come from neurology dept.
    • However they also do research
    • Can balance research and clinical experience depending on the job they are in
  • Becoming a neuropsychology technicians
    • Also referred to as "psychometrists"
    • Do nothing but standard administration
    • Have positions at Duke
    • Excellent use of time between undergraduate and graduate school
    • Most hospitals and private practices use technicians (more than 2/3 of neuropsychologists use them)
    • Programs will provide all of the training, so you don't need experience beforehand
    • Generally very good to take a year off (or more) between your undergraduate experience and going to graduate school.
      • Will help your maturity and general experience, also getting into better schools that appeal to you, finding out your interests and exploring them
• Depends on setting with how much money you will make
  • In university setting with research starting is 60,000
  • In clinical setting, the starting salary is about 80,000-90,000
  • You typically incur more student loans if you take the PsyD. route as opposed to the Ph.D route
• For the most part, the path to neuropsychology is a Ph.D in clinical psychology with a specialization in neuropsychology
  • After acquiring your Ph.D, you spend a year doing an internship and then another two years for post-doc
• Most master's programs will not allow you to have a job during education
• Most neuropsychologists do not do therapy, but some do
  • Refer to other people that do that kind of work
• Neuropsychologists work in industry, like pharmaceuticals
  • Other ways to make money: forensic work, consultation
  • Consultation with AI?
• Lots of research continuing with substance abuse