Catalog 2014-2015 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Clinical Psychology: PsyD, San Francisco
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The Clinical Psychology doctoral programs prepare students to function as multifaceted clinical psychologists through curricula based on an integration of psychological theory, research and practice. The Clinical Psychology PsyD program is a practitioner oriented program. The Clinical Psychology curricula have four major areas of study: foundations of psychology, clinical and professional theory and skills, applied clinical research and professional growth. Students can follow their own clinical interests and further their individual career goals by selecting a specialized series of courses, research and field placements related to a particular area.
The San Francisco 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)
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Goals and Objectives
Goal 1: To produce graduates who have mastered the scientific foundations of clinical psychology and who apply this knowledge to their work.
Objectives for Goal 1: Students will:
- Acquire knowledge of psychology as a scientific discipline that serves as the basis for professional practice.
- Integrate, synthesize, and critique scientific knowledge from multiple sources, taking into account and weighing the significance of multiple determinates of human behavior and cultural influences.
- Apply scientific knowledge to the practice of clinical psychology.
Goal 2: To develop graduates who understand research methods and skillfully apply them to significant human problems.
Objectives for Goal 2: Students will:
- Be knowledgeable about test construction, quantitative and qualitative research methods.
- Be able to critically evaluate literature in terms of its scientific rigor and attention to diversity issues.
- Understand that research informs effective practice and that useful research often arises from clinical work.
- Master the scientific literature on a clinical topic, identify lacunae and then design and execute a scholarly, applied empirical study.
- Communicate research findings to a professional audience.
- Be able to demonstrate in writing and orally the application of research findings to clinical phenomena and/or practice in helping individuals, families, groups, and local communities.
Goal 3: To produce 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:
- 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.
- Understand legal and state regulations pertaining to psychological practice and research.
- Apply ethical principles of practice in the various roles of a clinical psychologist (therapist, manager, consultant, educator, supervisor, and researcher).
- Take responsibility for their own professional behavior and actively seek supervision when appropriate.
- Be able to use supervision in a reciprocal fashion, evaluate supervisory feedback, and select an appropriate action.
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:
- Possess an in-depth and integrative understanding of clinical phenomena (i.e., psychopathology, therapeutic processes, and associated phenomena).
- Identify assessment tools appropriate to the clinical questions, be able to administer an assessment battery, interpret results, and complete a psychological report in an objective and accurate manner.
- Understand that assessment is not a discrete event but is an ongoing process informing practice and research.
- Be able to understand the effects of race, class, culture and gender on assessment procedures and outcomes.
- Understand the role of the psychologist in complex systems and the general principles of consultation, education, supervision, and management.
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:
- Achieve knowledge of the theoretical and research bases of interventions in professional psychology.
- Establish and maintain productive and respective working relationships with clients, colleagues, and supervisors from diverse social and cultural contexts.
- Understand the needs of clients on individual and system levels and within social and cultural contexts.
- 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.
- Evaluate the efficacy of their interventions and use this information to continuously assess the treatment plan and intervention methods.
Goal 6: To graduate students with the attitudes, knowledge, and skills to work professionally in a multicultural society.
Objectives for Goal 6: Students will:
- Understand the presuppositions of their own culture and attitudes towards diverse others as mediators of their worldview.
- Develop knowledge of themselves as cultural beings in assessment, treatment, consultation, and all other professional activities.
- Integrate knowledge, sensitivity and relevant skills regarding individual and cultural differences into all aspects of their work.
- 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.
Goal 7: To train students who engage in lifelong learning and Professional Development.
Objectives for Goal 7: Students will:
- Develop positive attitudes about lifelong, self-directed learning, and take responsibility for their ongoing development as professionals.
- Be able to identify challenges and problems in clinical practice and to undertake self-directed education to resolve these challenges and problems.
- Present the results of self-directed education in educational presentations both verbally and through written documents incorporating scholarly integration of practice, theory, and research findings.
- Inform clinical practice with the results of self-education and using both traditional tools and contemporary technologies.
Training Model: A Practitioner Program
The PsyD program is a Local Clinical Scientist Practitioner program and was initiated at the San Francisco campus Fall 1991. The goal of the program is to educate professional clinical psychologists who bring critical thinking and active problem solving skills to bear on human problems. They use their familiarity with local communities and cultural groups to guide culturally appropriate practice, assessment and research. Students are educated and trained to be able to intervene effectively using multiple methods of assessment and intervention, working with diverse populations, across many settings, and in changing and evolving contexts. We are a practitioner program that follows the Local Clinical Scientist Model that focuses on applying empirically derived knowledge to work with individuals, families, groups, and local communities. The model also utilizes practice based evidence to enhance assessments and interventions.
The PsyD program subscribes to the belief that effective professional psychologists must be aware of and responsive to the broader social and cultural contexts in which they function. Thus, students must attain proficiency in providing services to individuals of diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. To achieve this goal, we infuse multiculturalism throughout our entire curriculum, offer courses focusing on diverse populations, and provide clinical training experiences that provide exposure to a range of populations. Effects of oppression and discrimination on individuals, families, and communities are part of our culturally-informed training.
The standard PsyD curriculum is four years, but students may extend their time to take additional courses, complete research work, or spread their internship over two years.
Field Training
Beginning in the first year, field training placements are required in order to integrate classroom learning with practical experience. The selection of professional training (practicum) placements for each student is guided by:
- CSPP’s requirement for a broad range of diverse and rigorous professional training experiences;
- CSPP’s commitment to education and training in multicultural competence;
- The rules and regulations of the California Board of Psychology, the body charged with the licensing of psychologists in the State of California; and
- The American Psychological Association’s criteria for practicum and internship training.
The primary criteria used in selection and approval of placements are the quality and rigor of the training experience and the supervision provided for the student.
Students from the San Francisco campus are placed in agencies throughout Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Solano counties and programs serving diverse populations including people with disabilities, African American, Asian American, Latino, European Americans and LGBT populations. Additional placements are located in some counties outside the immediate Bay Area, including Napa, Sacramento, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, San Benito, and Yolo counties.
After three years of practica placements, students typically begin the required pre-doctoral internship in the fourth year. Full-time (40 hours per week for 9-12 months) internship options include APA-accredited or APPIC-member training programs, pursued through the national selection process. We require students to prepare for and apply to APA accredited internships. Students may petition for an exception to this policy; exceptions are granted only for significant and compelling reasons. If the petition is granted students may apply for California-based internship programs that are members of the California Psychology Internship Council (CAPIC) and approved by the CSPP faculty. Note that there are a few half-time APA-accredited internships, and students may complete two half-time internships in lieu of one full-time internship.
Research Training
In the second year, PsyD students begin work on their clinical dissertations and are expected to complete their dissertation proposal by the end of their second year. Work on the PsyD clinical dissertation proceeds in the third year. The program is designed to allow students to work toward completion of the dissertation in the third year prior to beginning the fourth year internship.
The PsyD dissertation is meant to demonstrate the student’s ability to think critically about clinical and social issues and to make appropriate use of scientific knowledge and psychological research in professional practice. Several features of the dissertation are required for all students. They must include a synthesis and analysis of existing literature relevant to a psychological topic; the development of the student’s own ideas, and research questions or hypotheses. We require an empirical protion i.e., there must be data collected and analyzed. However, the types of clinical dissertations that are acceptable have a wider range than the typical PhD disseration. A PsyD student might focus on a case study for the dissertation; develop a videotape; design an intervention program for a specific population; conduct a survey, program evaluation or interviews; field test new diagnostic criteria, compare results of assessments in two languages; write a children’s book focusing on skill (e.g. mindfulness) or situation (e.g., a parent with bipolar disorder); do a content analysis of a biography.Dissertations may be quantitative or qualitative studies. Thus there is a wide range of possible types of dissertations. What unites them is the focus of furthering practice, inclusion of empirical data, and cultural awareness and sensitivity in all aspects of the dissertation from literature review to discussion of implications.
Specialized Admissions Requirements: Credit for Previous Graduate Work
Entering students may be eligible to receive transfer credit for previous graduate work up to a maximum of 30 units.
1. To be considered for transfer credits in our program students’ graduate coursework:
a. Must have been taken in a regionally-accredited master’s or doctorate program
b. Must have been completed prior to entering our doctoral degree program.
c. Must have resulted in grades of B or better and have been completed within the last seven years
2. The following PsyD program requirements will be considered for credit for previous work: Social Bases of Behavior; Cognitive and Affective Aspects of Behavior; Biological Bases of Behavior and Psychopharmacology; Human Development; History and Systems; Advanced Psychopathology; Observation and Interviewing; Theory & Technique of Clinical Practice (3 units); Cognitive Assessment (I) and Personality Assessment (II); Intercultural Awareness Development; Sociocultural Diversity.
3. In addition, students who have met the following requirements may be able to receive 2 units of transfer credits for the required first year practicum. To do so, they must submit proof of their master’s degree and supervised practicum hours. For those who receive this credit, the zero-unit Introduction to Professional Psychology course will be waived.
a. Either have completed a master’s degree in psychology or a closely related field or be currently enrolled in an APA-accredited doctoral program. (Examples of closely related fields include counseling, social work, school psychology, educational psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology, or experimental psychology).
b. Have completed and be able to verify 300 hours of supervised practicum or professional experience of a psychological nature.
Curriculum and Degree Requirements
The PsyD program requires a minimum of 120 units total: 60 units (first and second requirements) in the first and second years; 30 units in the third year; and 30 units of internship in the fourth year (either one full-time or two half-time APA-accredited internship rotations over two years).
Other requirements:
- Preliminary Examinations - Assessment Preliminary Examination taken in August at the end of the first year, following completion of Psychological Assessment III: Clinical and Ethical Preliminary Examination taken at end of second year (June). Passing both preliminary examinations is required for Advancement to Candidacy.
- Dissertation Proposal Orals - Must be passed prior to Advancement to Candidacy. Students are required to complete clinical dissertation proposal orals by October of the third year, failure to do so will result in additional unit requirements and may delay completion of the program.
- Advancement to Candidacy is required before applying to internship.
- Clinical Proficiency Progress Review (CPPR), taken at the end of the third year, must be passed before graduation.
- Personal growth and professional training psychotherapy requirement: 30 hours of personal psychotherapy with a doctoral level licensed clinician is required before graduation.
- The clinical Dissertation must be completed before graduation.
Note:
PSY 7504 - Theory and Technique of Clinical Practice in the first and second years have different theoretical orientations. Child & Family Track and Forensic Family/Child Track students must take “Family Systems” in the first year and “Child Treatment” in the second year (this may be reversed if course offerings do not allow this sequence).
Note:
PSY 7504 - Theory and Technique of Clinical Practice in the first and second years have different theoretical orientations. Child & Family Track and Forensic Family/Child Track students must take “Family Systems” in the first year and “Child Treatment” in the second year (this may be reversed if course offerings do not allow this sequence).
Note:
Please note that two years of half-time internship rotations, taken in fourth and fifth years, may be substituted.
Note
Please note that similarly numbered courses with the same course title (e.g., PSY 6011 and PSY 6012 or PSY 6121 and PSY 6122) represent year-long courses (Fall/Spring).
Other Requirements
- PSY 6514 - Writing Workshop (2 units)
or
- GEN 1004 - Writing Workshop (online course through Continuing Education Division)
or
- passage of Diagnostic Writing Exam - required in the first year
Note(s):
See section below for modifications of the requirements shown above for students in Child and Family Track and Forensic Family/Child Track. Tracks
The PsyD program requires a solid foundation in the theory and practice of clinical psychology for all students. Much of the initial phases of the curriculum address the basic areas of clinical psychology consistent with the guidelines of the American Psychological Association. Building upon this strong foundation, students in a Track select special sections of courses to begin preparation for their future professional roles. Tracks focus on one or more of the following variables: special populations, specific problems, identified theories and techniques, and specific settings. As described below, Tracks require students to enter the Track at the beginning of their program, and remain in the Track for the duration of the program (or petition to transfer out of the Track). There are a maximum number of students who can be in any one Track (approximately 13), so it is important to indicate your wish to be in a Track during the application process, either on the application form, or after your interview when you have had a chance to learn more about the Tracks.
The San Francisco campus offers three full Tracks within the Clinical PsyD program (Child and Family Psychology; Forensic Family; Social Justice), and one Track in development (Integrated Health Psychology).
Child and Family Psychology Track
The Child and Family Track is designed for PsyD students who want to apply systems theory to their work, and who intend to dedicate their careers to working primarily or exclusively with children, adolescents, families, and systems. In the Child and Family Track, about 50 percent of the student’s coursework and field training focuses on child and family issues, with the remainder focusing on adult-clinical and general psychology. This focus is achieved by having C/FT students together in special sections of already required courses.
Applicants interested in being considered for the PsyD Child and Family Track will indicate their interest at the time of application. Those unable to be accommodated in the track due to space limitations may still take courses in the C/FT, if space permits after accommodating the Track students.
Family/Child Track students will be in special sections of these courses: Observation & Interviewing, Assessment I & II, Advanced Psychopathology. Forensic Family Track students will be in special sections of Observation & Interviewing. Social Justice Track students will be in special sections of Assessment I & II and Introduction to Professional Psychology.
Students in this track have the same graduation requirements as those for the clinical PsyD program with the following modifications. In the first year, Track students take designated sections with an enhanced focus on child and adolescent issues in Observation and Interviewing, Cognitive Assessment, Personality Assessment, Advanced Psychopathology. Also, they must complete the first-year Practicum in a designated Child/Family setting. In the second year, Track students take designated sections of Clinical and Ethical Issues. To meet the requirement for two Theory and Technique of Clinical Practice courses, Track students take a family systems theory and therapy course in year one and a child therapy course in year two.
In the third year, track students complete at least three units of the six Advanced Clinical Skills requirement and at least two of the four units of the Supervision/Consultation requirement from Child/Family selections. In the third year, if possible Track students should take a specified section of Advanced Clinical Seminar. Either the second or third year practicum must be in a Child/Family setting involving families, children, or adolescents. It is recommended that the internship for Child/Family Track students be in a setting where at 50 percent of clients served are children, adolescents, or families. Also, the student’s clinical dissertation must focus on a Child/Family topic.
Students start in the track during the first semester and commit to being in the track for their entire graduate program. If students’ career goals change, they must formally petition to transfer out of the track.
Forensic Family/Child Psychology Track
The Forensic Family/Child Track is designed for PsyD students whose career goals are to specialize in forensic and clinical work with children, adolescents, and their families. A substantial portion of the students’ training will focus on psychological services to families and children and on the legal contexts in which these clients are involved, with the remainder focusing on adult-clinical and general psychology.
Applicants must indicate their interest in the PsyD Forensic Family/Child Track at the time of application. Space is limited, but those not in the Track may still take courses in the FFT, if space permits after accommodating the Track students.
Family/Child Track students will be in special sections of these courses: Observation & Interviewing, Assessment I & II, Advanced Psychopathology. Forensic Family Track students will be in special sections of Observation & Interviewing. Social Justice Track students will be in special sections of Assessment I & II and Introduction to Professional Psychology.
Students in this track have the same graduation requirements as other clinical PsyD students, with the following modifications. In the first two years, track students take designated sections in Observation and Interviewing, Cognitive Assessment, Personality Assessment, Advanced Psychopathology, and Clinical and Ethical Issues. These designated sections offer track students an enhanced focus on forensic and family/child issues. Track students complete the first-year practicum in a child-related setting. Track students must take a family systems theory and therapy course in the first year and a child therapy course in the second year to meet the two Theory and Technique of Clinical Intervention requirements. Track students also take a two-unit course entitled “Clinical Psychology and Law,” which counts as an elective towards the degree.
In the third year, track students take designated sections of Advanced Clinical Seminar. They complete the advanced clinical skills and the supervision/management/consultation requirements through the following specific courses: Court Consultation and Expert Witnessing; Disability, Law and Families; Legal Competencies; Families and Violence; and Child Custody Evaluation and Mediation. Either the second or third year practicum must be in a forensic setting involving families, children, or adolescents. It is recommended that the fourth year internship for Forensic Family/Child Track students be in a setting where at least 25 percent of the work is in a forensic context with families, children, or adolescents. The student’s clinical dissertation must focus on a forensic family/child topic.
The track begins in the first semester and students are committed to remain in it until completion of the program. If students’ career goals change, they must formally petition to transfer out of the track.
Social Justice Psychology Track
The Social Justice Track is designed for students who wish to have a concentrated area of study in the provision of mental health services to historically underserved and culturally diverse populations. In the Social Justice Track a substantial portion of the student’s training will focus on understanding concepts of power, privilege, and oppression, and their application on micro (individual)-and macro-systemic levels of intervention. Faculty affiliated with the track have expertise in working with racial-ethnic minorities, in gender studies and LGBT issues, in disability, and in community based interventions and research. Students in the SJT are expected to disseminate their dissertation results to the community in which they conducted their research.
Applicants interested in being considered for the PsyD Social Justice Track will indicate their interest at the time of application and submit a one paragraph statement of interest. Students take selected sections of required courses. Space in the Track is limited, but those interested students unable to be accommodated may still take courses in the SJT, as space allows after SJT students are accommodated. The track begins in the first semester, and students are committed to remain in it until completion of the program. If students’ career goals or interest change, they must formally petition to transfer out of the track.
Students in the track have the same graduation requirements as other clinical PsyD students with the following modifications. Track students take designated sections of required courses with an enhanced focus on issues of social justice and service delivery to historically underserved populations. In the first year Track students take designated sections of the PsyD Practicum, Introduction to Professional Psychology course, Cognitive Assessment and Personality Assessment. In the second year, Track students take designated sections of Clinical and Ethical Issues. In the third year of the program students take designated sections of the Advanced Clinical Seminar, Advanced Clinical Skills, and Consultation/ Supervision. One of the Advanced Clinical Skills courses required of track students is a two-weekend course on Program Evaluation.
Either the second or third year practicum must be in a community setting serving a historically underserved population. The students’ clinical dissertation must focus on a historically underserved or oppressed population and must include a plan for the dissemination of results to local relevant community groups or agencies.
The track begins in the first semester and students are committed to remain in it until completion of the program. If students’ career goals change, they must formally petition to transfer out of the track.
Integrative Health Psychology Track
Integrated Health Psychology is focused on the psychological and behavioral aspects of physical and mental health, specifically how biological, environmental, cultural, social, cognitive, emotional and behavioral faculty impact health and illness. Additional factors related to health, illness, and/or disability include the health care system, health care policy, and health care providers. The Psy.D. Program has certain requirements for an area to be designated as a Track. These include sufficient expertise in at least three of the faculty, placement opportunities for practica, and enough student interest so that Track classes fill with at least ten students. For this Track we have been adding a new feature each year, but are still short on being able to declare it a full Track. Nonetheless several features of a track on in place.
Students interested in Integrative Health Psychology are introduced to this emerging field which deals with the important psychological, behavioral, and social concomitants of physical symptoms, chronic and life threatening illness, and rehabilitation as well as speaks to the mid-body connection in mental illness Faculty have interests in health across the lifespan; ethical issues in medical and mental health care and policy; positive aging; health care disparities; the impact of exercise on health; stress management; mindfulness; substance abuse; children, parents and families with disabilities; collaboration with medical professionals; models of disability; telehealth provision in primary care settings; complex trauma and neurophysiologically informed interventions for complex trauma; risky health behaviors of adolescents; increasing diversity in the health workforce; clients with Multiple Sclerosis; cultural-specific health and health care access issues.
Students combine relevant core or elective coursework, professional training placements, and research that develop knowledge, attitudes and skills in preparation for advanced specialized education and training in postdoctoral programs and/or entry level positions in health psychology. Examples of health psychology courses include primary care psychology, complex trauma’s impact on the brain, body and health; chronic pain; health at every size; pediatric and infant psychology; and disability studies. There also are courses in substance abuse, biological aspects of behavior, neuropsychology, and psychopharmacology. Finally, we offer special sections of several core requirements, including Observation and Interviewing, and Advanced Psychopathology.
Clinical PsyD Program Faculty: San Francisco
Core faculty for the San Francisco PsyD program are listed below:
Diane Adams, PhD, Associate Professor
Tai Chang, PhD, Associate Professor
Eddie Yu-Wai Chiu, PhD, Assistant Professor
Michael Connor, PhD, Professor
Harriet Curtis-Boles, PhD, Professor
Samuel Gerson, PhD, Professor
Frederick Heide, PhD, Associate Professor
Valata Jenkins-Monroe, PhD, Professor
Gerald Michaels, PhD, Associate Professor
Valory Mitchell, PhD, Distinguished Professor
Yuki Okubo, PhD, Assistant Professor
Rhoda Olkin, PhD, Distinguished Professor and Program Director
Elena Padrón, PhD, Associate Professor
Patrick Petti, PhD, Assistant Professor
Stefanie Smith, PhD, Associate Professor
Alan Swope, PhD, Professor
Daniel Taube, PhD, JD, Professor
Randall Wyatt, PhD, Associate Professor and Director of Professional Training
For a detailed description of program faculty background and research interests, please see the alphabetical listing of faculty for the California School of Professional Psychology.
Licensure
All psychologists who offer direct services to the public for a fee must be licensed or certified by the state in which they practice. Applicants for licensure in the state of California must hold an earned doctoral degree in psychology, educational psychology, education with a specialization in counseling psychology, or education with a specialization in educational psychology from an approved or accredited educational institution. They also must have completed 3,000 hours of supervised professional experience (of which at least 1,500 must be postdoctoral) and have taken and passed the national Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP) and the California Psychology Supplemental Examination (CPSE). In addition, they must submit evidence of having completed coursework in human sexuality, child abuse, substance abuse, spousal abuse, and aging and long-term care. Continuing education is required to maintain the license. CSPP doctoral course requirements are designed to fulfill the programmatic requirements for licensure in California, and in some cases they exceed the requirements.
Every state has its own requirements for licensure. Therefore, it is essential that all CSPP Clinical PsyD and PhD students who plan to apply for licensure in states other than California contact the licensing board in those states for information on state requirements (e.g., coursework, practicum and internship hours, supervision, or nature of the doctoral project or dissertation). Students seeking licensure in other states should plan ahead to ensure they meet all of those states’ requirements.
For further information on licensure in California or other states contact:
Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards
PO Box 241245
Montgomery, AL 36124-1245
(334) 832-4580, asppb@asppb.org
or
California Board of Psychology
2005 Evergreen Street, Suite 1400
Sacramento, CA 95815
(916) 263-2699, bopmail@dca.ca.gov
or
Practice Directorate American Psychological Association
750 First Street NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242
(202) 336-5979, apaaccred@apa.org
APA Education and Training Outcomes
The CSPP San Francisco Clinical Psychology PsyD program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association (APA) and publishes the following outcome data as required by APA:
- Time to Completion
- Program Costs
- Internship Placement Rates
- Attrition
- Licensure
Please visit the “About CSPP Programs” section of our website to view these data.
Questions related to the program’s accredited status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation:
Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 1st Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002
Phone: (202)336-5979
Email: apaaccred@apa.org
Web: www.apa.org/ed/accreditation
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