Department of Psychology

Clinical Psychology Program 2007-2008

Purpose

The Clinical Psychology Training Program at The Pennsylvania State University is one of the oldest in the country. It was one of the first accredited programs in the 1940s, and consistently ranks within the top 10-15 programs according to various rankings (e.g. Gourman Reports, the National Research Council, and U.S. News and World Report). We are one of the founding members of the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science, a 42 member organization of highly selective clinical science doctoral programs whose broad mission is the advancement of clinical science. Throughout its history, the stated goal of the program has been to integrate clinical science and professional development as later articulated by the Boulder Conference. The current APA-approved program1 emphasizes the study of both adult and child clinical psychology. Our clinic is one of the largest in the country, and it also contains the Center for the Treatment of Anxiety and Depression, an important clinical research center, and the Families and Schools Together (FAST Track) Program, an NIMH-funded community-based prevention research program.

The major overall goal of the program is to train graduate students for future careers, which involve both research and professional activities performed in an integrated fashion. Thus, it is our primary goal to train students for research-oriented careers including universities, medical schools, and settings which integrate research and evaluation along with professional services. Consequently, there is a strong emphasis on the clinical science of psychology in our program. It is the strong belief of the faculty that excellence in this domain is best provided by superior training in both the scientific methods and clinical assessment and intervention. It should be noted that those students whose career goal is full-time private practice without a significant research commitment will find our program inappropriate for their needs.

Our program is largely competence-based with a strong emphasis in research methodologies and procedures as well as training in treatment and assessment procedures. We expect an individual at the completion of the Ph.D. program to be able to embark on a research-oriented career as well as successfully complete state licensure in psychology.

Clinical training at Penn State takes place in the Department of Psychology. Thus, clinical students are fully integrated into the department and receive their Ph.D. in psychology. The Department of Psychology operates the Psychological Clinic, which (a) is the principal practicum training center for students, (b) has a research infrastructure that facilitates the conduct of research within the clinic, and (c) serves as a community mental health center for the general population in the surrounding tri-county area. All clinical supervision is provided by the faculty, which fosters the integration of classroom didactics and clinical skills developed through clinical practicums.

The Clinical Program requires that its graduate students complete a minimum of three full-time academic years of graduate study, that at least two of those three years be at Penn State University, that at least one year be in full-time residence, and that the student completes an internship before receiving the Ph. D. degree. It is, however, normally expected that students will spend nearly all of their training time in residence and will complete all program requirements and acquire requisite scholarly and clinical skills in a timely fashion. The majority of students complete their academic work during the first five years and complete their internship in their sixth year.

Undergraduate Preparation

The graduate program in the Department of Psychology presumes a background in psychology equivalent to our undergraduate major. This includes courses in psychopathology, personality theory, research methods, and statistics. Entering students lacking this background may be required to gain such competencies through additional course work.

Clinical Psychology Program: Sequence and Requirements

The Clinical Psychology program emphasizes flexibility in attaining student academic and professional goals. A student's program of courses is individually established in consultation with his or her adviser. This flexible orientation, however, does not preclude a limited number of requirements. Each student must complete a master's thesis and a doctoral dissertation (with Psychology 600 scheduled for credit), and (s)he must pass a comprehensive examination. The examination, which usually occurs at the end of a student's third year, is based upon and follows the completion of the clinical major, breadth courses, and minor requirement. The general procedure of the comprehensive examination is based on questions that have been provided to the students in advance.

Other requirements include 6 credits in statistics, a 1-credit introductory departmental seminar in general psychology, required courses in assessment, psychopathology, personality, Cultural Psychology, and psychotherapy, several semesters of clinic practicum, and 3 credits in each of the following fundamental areas of psychology: biological, cognitive-affective, social, and developmental.

There is no foreign language requirement in the Department of Psychology, but adequate use of English must be demonstrated.

Clinical Major

The courses of the clinical program are listed below. Certain core courses are required, and they are noted in this list. Overall, a minimum of 20 academic course credits (23 in child clinical) must be completed for the clinical major, although most students choose to take more than the minimum number of courses. The 20-23 credits must be chosen from this list.

II. THE CLINICAL MAJOR CURRICULUM

Note. (1) These courses are required for Adult-Clinical students. (2) These courses are required for Child-Clinical students.

In addition to meeting the 20-23 credit major requirement, each clinical student enrolls for practicum experience each semester for most of the semesters during which they are in the program. The procedure for scheduling these practica is described under "The Psychological Clinic."

Emphasis in Adult and Child Clinical Psychology

Although all students in the clinical program are expected to develop competence in both adult and child orientations, it is required that one specialize in either adult or child clinical psychology. It is important to note that applications to these two tracks are considered separately. Prospective students must indicate on their application an interest in one of these two tracks, although students within both tracks interact together within the larger clinical training program. Additionally, training within either specialty is not limited to that age group alone and both research and clinical experiences with additional populations are available and encouraged.

Adult Clinical as an Emphasis

The adult track provides integrative training in clinical research, assessment, and intervention in adults. The adult clinic is a major research center for clinically relevant empirical work in psychopathology and psychotherapy process and outcome, providing an ideal environment for further integration of science and practice for both our students and our faculty. Moreover, specific areas of expertise within the adult track faculty include psychotherapy process and outcome research, anxiety and affective disorders, emotion regulation, couples violence, personality disorders, neuroscience, and neuropsychological assessment. Adult track students acquire knowledge in the breadth of areas related to the study of scientific psychology, and develop core competencies in research methods and statistics, ethical and legal issues, as well as competence in and knowledge of sensitivity to individual and cultural diversity. As part of their training, adult track students are required to complete at least three independent research projects during their graduate career: master’s thesis, a 2nd research (or minor) project, and a dissertation. Students may also choose to complete the Specialization in Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (SCAN).

Child Clinical as an Area of Emphasis

The child clinical track lies at the interface of developmental and clinical psychology with emphasizes intervention and research with individuals ranging in age from infancy to young adulthood. Students in this track obtain specialized training in: (1) therapeutic services to children and families, including school-based consultation and comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation, and (2) research in developmental psychopathology, that includes an understanding of the effects of biological, cognitive, social, emotional, family, and community contexts of childhood mental health. Specific areas of expertise in the child track faculty include infant and toddler emotional development, anxiety disorders, neuropsychology, child abuse, and prevention programs. In addition to the general clinical requirements, a specific three-course sequence in clinical child psychology is required (these replace other electives): Child Psychopathology, Clinical Child Intervention, and Clinical Child Assessment. As part of their training, students also choose to complete either a minor in Developmental Psychology or the Specialization in Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (SCAN).

The Psychological Clinic

All of the practicum training takes place in our Psychological Clinic, and all of the supervision in that Clinic is provided by our core faculty, creating an ideal circumstance for the modeling of, and education in, the integration of theory, empiricism, and practice. To train students in the integration of science and practice, a research infrastructure exists within the clinic to allow for considerable student- and faculty-initiated scientific research on clinically meaningful questions in a naturalistic setting. All of our faculty represent the scientist-practitioner model in their daily professional lives and thus serve as both excellent role models and as sources of knowledge and training that reflect that integration.

Moreover, as one of the two major service providers for the county, the Clinic exposes our students to training in a wide range of psychological problems and a diversity of clientele. The varied psychological services rendered by the clinic include adult and child psychological and neuropsychological assessment, individual and group therapy for children and adults, marital and family counseling, behavioral parent management training, community mental health consultation, and consultation with schools and public officials.

The course work designated Psychology 560 (Adult) and Psychology 561 (Child) represents graduate student experience in the Psychological Clinic. All clinical students take an active part in all of the clinic functions and sign up for a clinic team nearly every semester. Each team, under a faculty supervisor, consists of students from various year levels. Most training services offered by the clinic are provided through these teams in a series of graded experiences ranging in degree of difficulty of the cases and progressing from observation through interviewing, assessment, and treatment. The clinic maintains a contract for services with the Centre County Office of Mental Health/Mental Retardation. This provides clinical assistantships for several advanced students. Ample and comfortable space is available in the clinic for all scheduled activities, and the learning experiences and close faculty supervision are aided by such facilities as closed-circuit TV and audio and videotape recorders. The clinic’s staff is made up of three full-time psychologists and a psychiatrist.

Internship

All clinical students are required, typically during their fifth or sixth year, to complete a year's internship at an approved center away from Penn State. Each student is expected to select an internship that best fits his or her developing professional interests. Generally, students are placed in psychiatric hospitals, medical school centers, child guidance centers, and community clinics--some with very general comprehensive programs and others with programs tending to emphasize some particular aspect of clinical psychology.

Research Activities

Two fundamental beliefs on which the clinical program rests are that clinical students must be well trained as researchers and that they should develop their research interests in graduate school as soon as they can. The student is expected to become involved in a research apprenticeship with some faculty member during each semester. Although most clinical students work with a member of the clinical faculty, they may do their research in any substantive area over the interest range of the entire faculty. In fact, students are required to conduct research with at least two faculty members over the course of their three required research projects (masters thesis, breadth or minor project, and dissertation).

As part of the introductory psychology course, informal meetings between first-year graduate students and the faculty are scheduled. These meetings allow the individual faculty member to describe his or her current research interests and provide the first-year student with an opportunity to learn which faculty member has interests most compatible with his or her own.

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(1) American Psychological Association
Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
750 First Street, NE • Washington, DC • 20002-4242
Phone: 202-336-5979 • TDD/TTY: 202-336-6123

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This page was last updated 11-20-07