Question 1

What qualifications do Real Talk psychologists have?

Accepted Answer

Psychologists and postdoctoral fellows at Real Talk hold a doctorate in psychology, Ph.D. or Psy.D. This includes our postdoctoral fellows, who have completed the doctorate and a supervised internship and are accruing the supervised hours Texas requires for independent licensure. Doctoral training takes five to seven years of graduate coursework, more than two thousand hours of supervised clinical work, a full-time predoctoral internship, a dissertation, licensing examinations, and one to two years of supervised postdoctoral practice. That is three to four years of formal training beyond a master's degree. The difference shows up most in complex diagnostic presentations, in conditions that have not responded to prior treatment, and in the capacity to read and use the research literature rather than to rely on what was taught.

Question 2

How do you decide which clinician I see?

Accepted Answer

The clinical director personally reviews every inquiry and matches each person with the clinician best suited to what they have described, weighing the nature of the concern, the language they want to work in, the clinical specialization required, and availability. Matching is a clinical judgment made by a psychologist, not an algorithm or a scheduling coordinator assigning the next open slot.

Question 3

Can I change clinicians after I have started?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Raise it with your clinician first if you can, because difficulty in the therapeutic relationship is very common, and leaving quickly can repeat a pattern rather than resolve it. If you still want to transfer after that conversation, we arrange it without friction and with full support.

Question 4

What if my preferred therapist is full or on a waitlist?

Accepted Answer

If the clinician you asked for is unavailable, you have two options: you can wait for their availability, or you can be matched by our clinical director and meet with another clinician who has openings now. That first appointment is a full clinical session, not a screening call. If it fits, you continue. If you would still rather wait for your original choice, you can. And if what you have described in your first session points somewhere else, whether to a different clinician at Real Talk or to a practice better suited to it, you will leave that session with a specific direction.

Question 5

Can I keep seeing my Real Talk psychologist if I move out of Texas?

Accepted Answer

In many cases, yes. Several of our clinicians hold PSYPACT authorization, an interstate agreement that allows a psychologist licensed in one participating state to provide telehealth in the others. More than forty states participate and the current list is maintained at psypact.gov. Whether the work can continue depends on which state you are moving to and which clinician you see. Tell us before the move rather than after, since arranging continuity in advance is straightforward and reconstructing it afterward is not. Where PSYPACT does not reach, your clinician will help you find someone who can take the work on.

Question 6

Will I be seen by a postdoctoral fellow?

Accepted Answer

Some clients are, and you will be told before your first appointment if that is the case. Fellows are already clinicians who hold a doctorate in psychology and have completed a full-time supervised internship, and they are now completing the supervised hours Texas requires for independent licensure. Every case a fellow carries is also followed in supervision by a licensed senior psychologist, which means more than one experienced clinician is thinking about your treatment.

Our Clinical Team

Multicultural, PhD-Level Psychologists in Houston. Depth-Oriented Care for Complex Presentations.

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