Clinical Psychology: PsyD, Los Angeles

A Practitioner Program

The PsyD program in clinical psychology addresses the societal need for professionals who deliver or facilitate the delivery of psychological services to diverse populations and to underserved or poorly-served populations. This societal need is for practitioners and programs that are culturally aware, culturally sensitive, and responsive to human problems of developmental deprivation, dysfunction, trauma, and oppression.

The PsyD program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association (750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242; Phone: 202-336-5979; Email: apaaccred@apa.org; Web: www.apa.org/ed/accreditation).

An overview of the program is as follows. Students take scientific foundations courses in the first two years. From the first year, students begin a progression of increasingly more advanced courses in assessment and intervention: from Clinical Interviewing, Advanced Psychopathology, and Psychodiagnostic Assessment, to Intervention theory and skills, and ethics courses, to Practice Seminars, to the final level of Advanced Clinical Elective and clinical supervision within the Professional Roles course. At the end of the second year, a Research Comprehensive Exam is given covering the content of the Statistics course and Research & Test Design course. At the end of the third year, a written and oral examination is given in the areas of assessment and testing, case conceptualization, treatment planning and intervention strategy, legal and ethical issues, therapeutic relationships, self-examination, and multicultural competency. Professional training in field placements includes three years of practicum experience, starting in the first year,, and a full-time Internship in the fourth year or a half-time internship in the fourth and fifth years for students who are interested in that option.

Formal research training starts in the second year with courses in statistics and research and test design. The PsyD program trains practitioners to be critical reviewers and consumers of research. As mentioned above, a written comprehensive examination in statistics and research and test design is taken at the end of the second year. A Doctoral Project is conducted in the third year. These projects typically are a comprehensive literature review, a selective literature review plus the presentation of a talk to a professional audience, a selective literature review plus the design of a brochure for a professional target group, a selective literature review plus the design of an empirical research project, or a selective literature review plus a grant proposal. These projects involve mentoring by a project supervisor and an academic consultant and involve interaction with at least three field consultant-practitioners who are experts on the project topic.

Finally, 45 hours of individual psychotherapy with a psychologist licensed in California are required prior to graduation.

Program Goals, Objectives, Competencies, and Outcome Measurement

The PsyD Program goals:

GOAL 1: TO DEVELOP GRADUATES WHO HAVE MASTERED THE SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATIONS OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND WHO APPLY THIS KNOWLEDGE TO THEIR WORK.
Objectives for Goal 1: Students will:
1. Acquire knowledge of psychology as a scientific discipline that serves as the basis for professional practice.
2. Integrate, synthesize, and critique scientific knowledge from multiple sources, taking into account and weighing the significance of multiple determinants of human behavior.
3. Apply scientific knowledge to the practice of clinical psychology.

Competencies Expected for these Objectives: Students will demonstrate:

1. Mastery of the facts and principles central to scientific psychology, including the
biological, social, cognitive-affective origins of behavior, and knowledge of history and systems.
2. Accurate knowledge of theory and research concerning Lifespan Development.
3. Competent application of scientific foundations to assessment and case conceptualization.
4. Competent application of scientific foundations to treatment planning and evidence-based interventions.

GOAL 2: TO DEVELOP GRADUATES WHO UNDERSTAND RESEARCH METHODS AND SKILLFULLY APPLY THEM TO SIGNIFICANT HUMAN PROBLEMS.
Objectives for Goal 2: Students will:
1. Be knowledgeable about test construction and quantitative and qualitative research methods.
2. Be able to critically evaluate literature in terms of its scientific rigor and attention to diversity issues.
3. Understand that research informs effective practice and that useful research often arises from clinical work.
4. Master the scientific literature on a clinical topic, identify lacunae, and then design and create a scholarly product.
5. Communicate research findings at an appropriate level to both professional and non-professional audiences.

Competencies Expected for these Objectives: Students will:

1. Critically evaluate and effectively communicate the research literature in terms of its clinical merit and contribution to professional practice.
2. Identify research methods most likely to shed light on clinical questions posed.
3. Demonstrate the competent use of databases and skill in acquiring and integrating psychological literature.
4. Successfully complete a doctoral project, including project design, review and critique of research literature, and integration of research literature with project goals and objectives.

GOAL 3: TO DEVELOP GRADUATES WHO IDENTIFY AS CLINICAL PRACTITIONERS AND WHO USE ETHICAL AND LEGAL PRINCIPLES TO GUIDE PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE, SELF-EVALUATION, AND PROFESSIONAL GROWTH.
Objectives for Goal 3: Students will:
1. Acquire knowledge of and adopt values and ethical principles of professional practices as outlined in the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct.
2. Understand legal and state regulations pertaining to psychological practice and research.
3. Apply ethical principles of practice in the various roles of a clinical psychologist (therapist, manager, consultant, educator, supervisor, researcher).
4. Take responsibility for their own professional behavior and actively seek supervision when appropriate.

Competencies Expected for these Objectives: Students will:

1. Have an understanding of the ethical principles in the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, and ethical decision making models based on these principles.
2. Abide by ethical principles and standards in their professional work.
3. Comply with state and federal laws and regulations pertaining to the practice of professional psychology.
4. Identify, reflect on, and address ethical dilemmas that arise in psychological practice and research.
5. Recognize boundaries of competence and the need to refer, consult, or seek supervision as appropriate.

GOAL 4: TO TRAIN STUDENTS TO UNDERSTAND CLINICAL PHENOMENA WITHIN SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXTS IN ORDER TO APPLY THIS UNDERSTANDING IN EVALUATION/ASSESSMENT, CONSULTATION/EDUCATION, AND SUPERVISION/MANAGEMENT.
Objectives for Goal 4: Students will:
1. Possess an in-depth understanding of clinical phenomena that integrates social and cultural considerations (e.g., psychopathology, therapeutic processes, and associated phenomena).
2. Identify assessment tools appropriate to the clinical questions, and be able to administer an assessment battery, interpret results, and complete a psychological report in an objective, accurate manner.
3. Understand that assessment is not a discrete event but is an ongoing process informing practice and research.
4. Understand the role of the psychologist in complex systems and the general principles of consultation, education, supervision, and management.

Competencies Expected for these Objectives: Students will:

1. Demonstrate proficient culturally sensitive interviewing, test administration, and scoring skills.
2. Integrate assessment results into comprehensive oral and written reports using taxonomies such as the DSM-IV, as culturally appropriate.
3. Demonstrate self-reflective behavior in the evaluation of their role in professional relationships and in work with supervisors.
4. Provide appropriate, ethical, and effective supervision to supervisees.

GOAL 5: TO DEVELOP GRADUATES WHO ARE ABLE TO INTERVENE USING MULTIPLE METHODS, WITH DIVERSE POPULATIONS, ACROSS MANY SETTINGS AND IN CHANGING AND EVOLVING CONTEXTS. Objectives for Goal 5: Students will:
1. Demonstrate knowledge of the theoretical and research bases of interventions in professional psychology.
2. Establish and maintain productive and respectful working relationships with clients, colleagues, and supervisors from diverse social and cultural contexts.
3. Understand the needs of clients on individual and systems levels and within social and cultural contexts.
4. Demonstrate the ability to create treatment plans that are culturally appropriate and informed by current clinical research and utilize multiple intervention strategies consistent with these treatment plans and with standards of practice.
5. Evaluate the efficacy of their interventions and use this information to continuously assess the treatment plan and intervention methods.

Competencies Expected for These Objectives: Students will demonstrate:

1. Comprehension of specific models of intervention.
2. Independent intervention planning (orally and in writing), including conceptualization and intervention plan specific to the case and context of the client’s life, including diversity issues.
3. Working relationships and therapeutic rapport with clients, co-workers, and staff, including mastery of the following elements: establishing a safe environment; obtaining background information; handling intense emotion; facilitating communications with diverse populations; assessing and managing emotional crises.
4. Effective performance of a broad array of evidence-based intervention strategies appropriate to the needs of culturally diverse clients and to the practice setting.
5. Engagement in evaluation of treatment progress, own performance in the treatment role, awareness of need for consultation, and use of feedback to guide subsequent intervention.

GOAL 6: TO DEVELOP GRADUATE STUDENTS WITH THE ATTITUDES, KNOWLEDGE, AND SKILLS TO WORK PROFESSIONALLY IN A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
Objectives for Goal 6: Students will:
1. Understand the presuppositions of their own culture and attitudes towards diverse others as mediators of their worldview.
2. Develop knowledge of themselves as cultural beings in assessment, treatment, consultation, and all other professional activities.
3. Integrate knowledge, sensitivity, and relevant skills regarding individual and cultural differences into all aspects of their work.
4. Possess the ability to articulate an integrative conceptualization of diversity as it impacts self, clients, colleagues, and larger systems, and an ability to engage in effective dialogue about multicultural issues.

Competencies Expected for These Objectives: Students will demonstrate:

1. An understanding and monitoring of their own cultural identity in relation to work with others with awareness and sensitivity to specific populations and problems.
2. An understanding of clinical phenomena within social and cultural contexts, and the ability to plan and carry out a course of treatment or consultation that is socially and culturally appropriate to the client.
3. An adaptation of their professional behavior in a culturally sensitive manner, as appropriate to the needs of the client, that improves client outcomes and avoids harm, and that demonstrates an ability to communicate effectively across cultures.
4. An ongoing interest in learning about people different than themselves and a willingness and ability to seek out culturally specific knowledge as needed.

GOAL 7: TO TRAIN STUDENTS WHO ENGAGE IN LIFELONG LEARNING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
Objectives for Goal 7: Students will:
1. Develop positive attitudes about life-long, self-directed learning, and take responsibility for their ongoing development as professionals.
2. Be able to identify challenges and problems in clinical practice and to undertake self-directed education to resolve these challenges and problems.
3. Present the results of self-directed education in educational presentations verbally and/or through written documents incorporating scholarly integration of practice, theory, and/or research findings.
4. Inform clinical practice with the results of self-education and using both traditional tools and contemporary technologies.

Competencies Expected for These Objectives: Students will demonstrate:

1. Self-reflection and self-evaluation and ability to modify their behavior accordingly.
2. Active and effective use of supervision and other resources to reflect on their professional and interpersonal skills and to non-defensively accept feedback.
3. Professional skills in presenting results of self-directed learning both verbally and/or in writing.
4. Attainment of relevant professional goals such as licensure in a timely fashion.
5. Commitment to advanced education through attendance at continuing education workshops.

Emphasis Areas

The PsyD program includes three emphasis areas: Clinical Health Psychology (CH); Family and Couple Emphasis (FACE); and Multicultural Community-Clinical Psychology (MCCP). A fourth option open to students is the Multi-interest Option (MIO). Applicants to the PsyD program must specify one of the above, to which the applicant seeks admission.

Multicultural Competence Training

The PsyD program includes multicultural training to address issues of diversity in regard to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, social class, inherent-psychometric- intelligence variances, and religion. This is reflected in the required course, Intercultural Processes and Human Diversity, as well as through the integration of multicultural perspectives in several core and elective courses.

Special features of this program include a national reputation for excellence in multiculturally relevant education and training, a wealth of diverse clinical placements available in the Los Angeles region, and a mentoring model firmly integrated with the academic experience.

The diversity of the campus community provides students with the opportunity to interact with faculty, staff, administrators, and other students from many different cultural backgrounds.

The primary goals of the two-semester course, Intercultural Processes and Human Diversity, are to increase self-awareness relevant to multicultural issues, to increase awareness of multicultural dynamics in the larger society, and to thoughtfully examine multicultural issues in service delivery.

Students are asked to look at their own multicultural identities, as well as at their values, stereotypes, prejudices, and potential “blind spots.”

In addition, Intercultural Processes and Human Diversity focuses on increasing multicultural knowledge by gaining familiarity with theory, research, and clinical applications relevant to diverse populations.

Finally, elective courses and the availability of field training sites that provide experience with diverse groups offer opportunities to develop skills that enhance work with culturally diverse clients. 

Professional Training 

The development of appropriate professional knowledge, skills, and attitudes is a process that begins with the student’s doctoral program and continues through the individual’s professional career via practice, consultation with colleagues, and formal continuing education. At the predoctoral stage, students’ professional development occurs within the context of both formal coursework and clinical training experiences supervised by faculty and professionals in the field. Students develop and acquire clinical skills through professional training experiences in a variety of mental health service settings in the community. Such supervised professional training experiences are called “practicum” during the first three years, while students are taking their course work, and “internship” during the fourth and fifth (if taken half-time) years.

Each student is assigned a professional field training advisor who meets regularly with the student to develop and implement an individualized training plan designed to assure (1) that the student receives a broad base of clinical experiences with a variety of clientele and professional role models and (2) that professional training experiences are well-matched to the student’s level of skill and longer-term professional goals.

In the first year of the PsyD program, students take their first practicum through the Alliant’s Professional Service Center (PSC). The goals of this experience are to introduce students to the role of the professional psychologist, provide students with exposure to problems and populations served through community mental health services, provide didactic training that supports the attainment of foundational knowledge related to core competencies necessary to the practice of professional psychology, and introduce students to evidenced-informed and evidenced-based practices.

PsyD students in the second and third year are required to have a 15 to 20-hour per week practicum experience in diverse mental health setting. Students assume a greater degree of clinical responsibility for assessment and intervention while being closely supervised at a level appropriate to the students’ training and abilities. These clinical professional training experiences vary with respect to the nature of clients served and the mental health setting in which the student serves as well as upon individual students’ skill levels, professional interests, and training needs.

Students are encouraged to pursue a full-time internship in their fourth year. The internship is a culminating experience that integrates the student’s academic and clinical experiences and prepares them for their professional role as a psychologist. As an alternative, students can pursue a half-time internship in the fourth and fifth years.

Students should be aware that various postdoctoral training positions and some employers (e.g., the Veterans Administration) require that successful applicants have APA-accredited internships. Students have extensive opportunities to discuss with their assigned clinical field training advisors the various internship options available and develop a training plan that assures students’ needs and goals are met.

In their second and third year practica, the Los Angeles campus students are placed for professional training in agencies that are formally affiliated with the school. All professional training programs are carefully reviewed and continually monitored by the Los Angeles campus clinical faculty to assure consistent and high quality training. The Los Angeles campus clinical faculty members are also responsible for evaluating students’ training performance. The types of settings in which students might train include university and college counseling centers, inpatient psychiatric hospitals, public and private community mental health agencies, medical hospitals or outpatient clinics, physical rehabilitation programs, day treatment programs, substance abuse programs, and residential treatment centers. With over 100 agencies in its training network, the Los Angeles campus offers students exceptional professional training opportunities reflecting the wide range of interests and training needs of the students.

The majority of affiliated professional training sites exist within a 40-mile radius of the campus. Students can generally anticipate driving some distance in at least one of their professional training years. Currently, some students receive a stipend from their professional training agency. The majority of half-time internships and virtually all practica do not offer stipends, and students should not count on training stipends as a means of financing their education.

The predoctoral training requirements in the clinical programs at Los Angeles sufficiently qualify a graduate of the clinical programs to pursue licensure in the State of California after acquiring an additional 1500 hours of post-doctoral experience. Students who may be considering licensure in other states should check the requirements for licensure in those states carefully; considerable variation exists among states in regard to necessary qualifications. State licensing requirements can be obtained from Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards, 555 South Perry Street, Suite 112, PO Box 4389, Montgomery, Alabama 36103.

Credit for Previous Graduate Work

Students may submit requests for transfer credit for previous graduate work. The maximum allowed for transfer credit is 30 semester units of graduate level courses. Transfer credit is allowed only for master’s level courses with a B or better grade from accredited institutions. Contact the program director for a list of courses that are eligible for transfer credit.