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.
For more information about clinical training, view the Clinical Training Brochure.