A realistic guide to applying to Clinical Psychology PhD programs

My name is Cas and I am a clinical psychology hopeful. I currently have a B.A.H. in psychology and I work as a research coordinator. I have applied to psychology PhD programs three separate times! This podcast is all about the "secrets" of getting into clinical psychology--the things no one really tells you. My listeners are also clinical psychology hopefuls or those in the field who empathize with how hard it is to navigate.

I decided to start Clinically Psyched after a round of grad school rejections. I knew I was up against a 1-7% acceptance rate but so few people talk about getting rejected. The whole process of applying is ridiculous and complex, there was so much I wish I had known going into it. On a whim, I set up a Twitter page to gauge interest and within a week I had 300 followers. That's when I realized that there was a huge need for what I wanted to do: create a podcast that demystified the application process in an honest and relatable way while normalizing things like getting rejections and re-applying. The next week I scripted and recorded the first episode and it's just gotten bigger since then.

Funding? Not so much. I don't get paid to do it nor have I taken on sponsors. It's really a passion project and I do it to help people in my shoes. I fit writing and editing in after work and schedule weekly interviews to record when I can squeeze them into my schedule. It's a lot of work but I care so deeply about making sure no one has to go through it alone.

I don't do it for the money, I get amazing emails from people telling me that they feel less alone and that I've really helped them through rejections or applications. As someone who wants to go into a helpng profession, this is extremely rewarding to me. I do it anonymously so although some very impressive researchers from Harvard, Yale, etc. follow the pod, it was never about networking, Instead, I've made awesome friends and connections through the "Cas" identity.

I have a ridiculous set of gamer headphones with a mic attached. I bought a microphone but they ended up being of better quality. I record in my dining room and use Garageband to edit. I also conduct interviews via zoom. I script the episode in one to two days and ad-lib as much as I can while recording. I end up doing a ton of research and reading articles from all sources, but its a labour of love for me.

Most of my listeners find me on Academic Twitter where I am very active. Other than that, people had listed the podcast on resource lists for students and applicants have shared it via word of mouth. As far as marketing goes, there is no budget as of now but it has been amazing how much traction it has gotten without it.

The best podcast is a recorded podcast. Jump in and do it!

You can follow me at PodPsyched on twitter!