[USA] Is volunteering for a crisis hotline as I persue grad school for social psych a good idea?

[u/Successful-Berry5715]

Im an undergrad going to finish my third year of college and wanting to persue social psychology by getting my masters first, ive been having issues getting internships but ive been hearing that crisis hotline could help my application along with me being in a research group at my university.

Would joining a volunteer crisis hotline over the summer be a good idea if i want to get into social psychology in grad school?

[u/poetris]

For social psyc, you'd be better off with research experience. Crisis lines are great for people intending to go into clinical/counselling psychology, but unless you intend to research mental health issues, it likely wouldn't be as useful as research work. Have you connected with all the labs in your university, to see if they have rook for volunteers?

[u/Successful-Berry5715 → u/poetris]

I did around the fall term and ended up in a research lab group, though I'm not sure if this will be enough given ive presented a research poster but I want to atleast have a headstart in making my application look good before starting it

[u/IkeRunner89]

I’d say definitely, but only if it’s actual phone calls.

I had an interview somewhere for a job where they seemed to look down on me for volunteering with chat-based services….