Thank you so much Louis this is most informative! What I have found is that in countries such as England, Australia and South Africa(I am not sure about other countries) is that they only accept national accreditations from other countries and often people are not aware of this. In cases such as England, Australia and South Africa they insist upon practical experience as well. Foreign students such as myself have asked the question as to whether one can do practical experience in blocks, so that you fly out to the country you are doing your studies through at specific times, rather than having to leave your home country for 3-4 years. I will most certainly go and have a look at the website, it sounds very interesting!

Dear Cheryl,

The web site www.geteducated.com is devoted to online education.  They provide an abundance of resources about distance education.  They are keen on making sure online degrees are legitimate and properly accredited.  If you can't find the specific information you're seeking you can write them and I'm sure they will quickly respond with useful resources.  They have done so with my questions.  Hope this helps.

Best regards,

John 

Hello John,

Thank you that is very helpful. I have come across many sites, but not that particular one. Many offer online education which I believe is going to blur national boundaries, but few seem to offer nationally accredited degrees at a high level, ie., Masters and PhD's due to the need for the practical elements of courses. It is going to be interesting to see how education is going to go forward with this in mind and the differentials between national boards across countries.

Thank you Kamal, do you know of any specifically or where one can find this information as after many many hours of researching I have not been able to locate many. Your input is much appreciated!

Thanks so much Kamal,if you can that would be wonderful, if you cannot, it is not a problem!

Hi Cheryl,

I suggest you get in touch with Bob Moss (Robert Moss PhD on RG - you are following him). If I remember correctly he was on the faculty of the Forest Institute some time ago.

http://www.forest.edu/ab-top.aspx

I might be wrong about this - I have not read the stuff on the website - but Bob will be able to tell you. He is now heading psychotherapy at the Washington Group in Washington DC (he is not in Greenville, South Carolina anymore).

Hope this helps. Let me know how you go with this. When I was working for the University of Queensland (Australia) the PhD programs were all research-based. Things might have changed since I left. Many US programs are (I think) coursework-based.

Cheers

John

PS Do you have my UQ Alumni email address? If not then send me an email via RG. 

Thanks so much John, this is great information, I will definitely ask Robert, that is a great idea. Since you left Australia, there is now only one long distance PhD accredited by the APA and it is only in Research, I would have thought that it would have changed as well, but it has not, which is a pity! I will send you my email address so you can contact me. Thank you so much John!

Dear Louis, there are definite differences in language and you have clarified quite a few misconceptions, thank you for such a fantastic answer! When it comes to the States, there so many different institutions that it becomes difficult to sort through them. As a foreigner I would see practicum as the practical component of the course, whilst residency would be more akin to the internship phase. In South Africa there is only one board and that is that and you have to have licensure to practice, which is given by them. A few years back there were a total of 4000 Psychologists listed with the board, with on average 10-14 places at each university for Clinical Psychology. The structure is quite flat whereas in the States you can gain a regional accreditation and from what I understand, you are then able to practice in a particular state or region. However, to be able to practice anywhere in the states you would need APA licensure which is the overriding body. I could be wrong on this, but I think there is a similar structure in Australia for instance, however though you are regionally qualified, you still have to be licensed by the overall body. I know the APA keeps a list of accredited programs and where they stand with regards to assessments, status of prgram etc, and not all regionally accredited programs are listed with the APA. It is very interesting and the tiered structures of different countries could cause complications in streamlining online courses. Ideally for long distance education there should perhaps be an international body that sets a constitution for licensure worldwide, so that students are able to be licensed at an international level. This would create more of a free flow of people around the world skills wise. Just an idea...once again thank you for an excellent response!

Louis referred to schools that are both accredited and also approved by the American Psychological Association to grant PhDs in clinical psychology through instruction that is mostly online.  There is a  list of nine schools meeting that criteria here: 

http://education-portal.com/search/find.html?c1=240&c2=249&c3=242&q=ALL&schoolType=online&zip=&state=ALL&clk=artb

Clinical Psych is one of the hardest programs to consider doing mostly online because it is hard to pick up clinical skills without practicing them.  It would seem that Skype and other services allowing face to face contact would be necessary for you to learn and demonstrate clinical skills in diagnosis and treatment.  I don't know if any places have really integrated such technology to allow more of the practicum to be done remotely, but now you have a list of nine places to ask.

Remember to consider doing not just the PhD but also the PsyD and MSW; given your interest in research, though, Cheryl, I would guess the PhD would be best for you.

Good luck!

Thank you so much James - this is super information. I am looking not only for myself, but numerous students who I have come across that have no knowledge of what can be done without permanently leaving the country, or leaving for long periods. I am gathering as much information as possible and will be sending it on to them in different forms.

Cheryl,  James Foley brings up a very good discussion.  I wish I had pursued at MSW rather than going the psychology route because even with a Ph.D. my opportunities are VERY limited here in the U.S. for what I want to do.  I can practice and do more where I live with a MSW than I can a Ph.D. any day.  Wish someone had told me that before I spent years, money, tears, sweat and just plain ole hard work to get where I am today.  Please consider the MSW depending on what your life goals are, how you will be using your degree and where you want to be in the next 5-10 years.  Unless I go back to school now for my MSW I am trapped in my career.  I wish you well in your search and future!

Dear Carla, I think you and James have given me pearls of wisdom, I have never heard of an MSW, I am still going to go and look at it, but if anyone can tell me more about it I would appreciate it! I take advice very seriously as it is not easily experienced or attained. Thank you so much everyone  your personal experiences, and knowledge make a major difference to those of us who are searching for paths, avenues to follow a career.