After doing a DclinPsy (Doctorate) are you a doctor?
Please forgive my naivity on this but a few of us in our post graduate course have some confusion over this. After we have studied our post graduate diploma in psychology we are all going to be enrolling on the Clinical psychology doctorate, some of us in the group think that we would then be able to use the title ‘Dr’ in front of our name and some of us think this is wrong as you can only be given the title ‘Dr’ after doing a medical degree or Phd. Does anyone know?
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5 Responses to “After doing a DclinPsy (Doctorate) are you a doctor?”
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After you complete a doctorate degree of any kind, it is acceptable to use the title of Doctor. This applies to every type of doctorate degree, from PsyD’s to engineering PhDs. Some people choose not to insist on it, but the proper formal address of anyone with a doctorate degree is Doctor.
You’re in post graduate courses and you don’t know this. After earning a Phd you are a doctor. My web programming teacher has the title ‘Dr”
Doctors of Psychology are not considered DOCTORS.
You are not an MD, you are a PhD (=Doctorate degree). In a field like engineering, there is nothing harmful or misleading about putting Dr Abbot N Costello, Engineer. It sounds a little pompous, but ok that is his choice.
In your field it goes beyond pompous and could be downright misleading. A person may seek out your assistance under the assumption that you are an MD, Because you will be dealing with ill people, not with bridges.
So IMHO you shoulod not call yourself DR. You should say Abbott N Costello, PHD Clinical Psychology. That recognizes your educational level and does not confuse the issue.
Certainly, you have earned your doctorate and, especially professionally, should expect to be addressed as such. You will not have the same legal rights as physicians, ie, you cannot prescribe drugs.
I would suggest that socially, you be a bit lax on insisting that others use your title.
Horrifying however, to be reminded that someone at the doctorate level does not know the proper spelling of the word naiveté.
Yes if you obtain a Ph.D degree then you can use the title Dr. It is very common practice.