Clinical Psychology: PsyD, San Francisco

Field Training

By the end of the program students will have a minimum of one year of clerkship (year 1), two years of practicum (years two and three) and one full-time or two half-time internships (final years). Students may elect to do an additional year of supplemental practicum prior to internship. Beginning in the first year and throughout the program, field training placements are paired with a required course, to integrate classroom learning with practical experience (Introduction to Professional Psychology in year 1, Clinical & Ethical Issues in year 2, and Advanced Clinical Seminar in year 3). 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 in 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 on the four-year plan 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.

Students on the five-year moderated plan may take a supplemental practicum in their fourth year and an internship in their fifth year. Since supplemental practicum is not a requirement, it is not eligible for financial aid. Therefore students receiving financial aid who elect this option are advised to plan their course sequence to hold over some required courses for the fourth year. The requirements for the internship are the same as in the paragraph above.

Research Training

All students complete a clinical dissertation, which includes an empirical portion (i.e., data collection). 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 portion 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 skills (e.g. mindfulness) or situations (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 on furthering practice, inclusion of empirical data, and cultural awareness and sensitivity in all aspects of the dissertation from literature review to discussion of implications.

In the four-year plan, PsyD students begin work on their clinical dissertations in the second year in a small cohort with their instructor, who generally will be the dissertation chair. The dissertation committee comprises the chair (a core faculty member) and two additional members. There are milestones in the dissertation process. The first milestone is development of a proposal and passing proposal orals. The proposal is an introduction to the topic, an integrated literature review, and a methods section. Passing proposal orals is required for students to be allowed to apply for internship. The second milestone is the dissertation defense. This comes after completion of the proposed project, the addition of a written results and discussion chapters, and the dissertation defense with the committee. To graduate in four years, students begin the dissertation in the second year, pass proposal orals in the spring of the second year, complete the dissertation in the third year, and go to internship in the fourth year. Many students are still working on the dissertation in the fourth year, but completion by the end of the internship still allows graduation at the end of the fourth year. However, once students start the dissertation they must remain enrolled in dissertation units until they complete the dissertation. Note that twelve units of dissertation are required (six units in the G2 year, six units in the G3 year). Any units beyond the twelve units is extra, not part of the standard program, and thus not eligible for financial aid.

In a five-year moderated plan in which a student elects to do a supplemental practicum, the student may still begin the dissertation in the second year and continue to work on it in the third (and potentially fourth) year. However, some students are not ready to select a topic and begin the kind of in-depth synthesis and conceptualization by the beginning of their second year, and such students may elect to wait until their third year to begin the dissertation process.

Professional Training

Students are held to the standards of the American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (www.apa.org/ethics/code/) from the time of acceptance of admission

First Year

• PSY 6011 - PsyD Psychometrics, Statistics and Research Design
• PSY 6012 - PsyD Psychometrics, Statistics and Research Design
• PSY 6109 - Human Development (2 units)
• PSY 6121 - Intercultural Awareness Development (1.5 units)
• PSY 6122 - Intercultural Awareness Development (1.5 units)
• PSY 6512 - Psychological Assessment I: Cognitive Personality
• PSY 6512a - Psychological Assessment II: Personality
• PSY 6523 - Advanced Psychopathology
• PSY 6528 - Observation and Interviewing
• PSY 6541 - Practicum I (8 hrs/wk, concurrent enrollment with PSY6543/6544, 1 unit)
• PSY 6542 - PsyD Practicum (8 hrs/wk, concurrent enrollment with PSY6543/6544, 1 unit)
• PSY 6543 - Introduction to Professional Psychology (concurrent enrollment with PSY6541/6542, 0 units)
• PSY 6544 - Introduction to Professional Psychology (concurrent enrollment with PSY6541/6542, 0 units)
• PSY 7112 - History and Systems of Psychology (2 units)
• PSY 7504 - Theory and Technique of Clinical Practice
• PSY 7521 - Psychological Assessment III: Integration

Second Year

• PSY 7003 - PsyD Research Proposal Design
• PSY 7004 - PsyD Research Proposal Design
• PSY 7502 - Sociocultural Diversity
• PSY 7504 - Theory and Technique of Clinical Practice
• PSY 7505 - Clinical and Ethical Issues (2 units)
• PSY 7506 - Clinical and Ethical Issues (2 units)
• PSY 7527 - PsyD Practicum II
• PSY 7528 - PsyD Practicum II

Additional Courses to be Taken in the First Two Years and Prior to Advancement to Candidacy

• PSY 6101 - Cognitive and Affective Bases of Behavior (2 units)
• PSY 6105 - Biological Aspects of Behavior
• PSY 6112 - Social Basis of Behavior (2 units)

Third Year

• PSY 8531 - Advanced Clinical Seminar
• PSY 8532 - Advanced Clinical Seminar
• PSY 8537 - PsyD Practicum III
• PSY 8538 - PsyD Practicum III
• PSY 8553 - PSY 8559 - Advanced Clinical Skills (Choice of topics, total of 6 units required)
• PSY 8561 - PSY 8566 - Supervision (Choice of topics, 2 units)
• PSY 8561 - PSY 8566 - Consultation/Management (Choice of topics, 2 units)*

*Note: Social Justice Track students have a specific requirement for program evaluation

• PSY 8913 - PsyD Clinical Dissertation
• PSY 8914 - PsyD Clinical Dissertation

Fourth Year

• PSY 9531 - Full-Time Predoctoral Internship in Clinical Psychology - Fall (11 units)
• PSY 9532 - Full-Time Predoctoral Internship in Clinical Psychology - Spring (11 units)
• PSY 9533 - Full-Time Pre-Doctoral Internship in Clinical Psychology - Summer (8 units)

Fourth Year (Half-Time)

• PSY 9561 - Half-Time Predoctoral Internship - Fall (5 units)
• PSY 9562 - Half-Time Predoctoral Internship - Spring (5 units)
• PSY 9563 - Half-Time Predoctoral Internship - Summer (5 units)

Fifth Year (Half-Time)

• PSY 9564 - Half-Time Predoctoral Internship - Fall (5 units)
• PSY 9565 - Half-Time Predoctoral Internship - Spring (5 units)
• PSY 9566 - Half-Time Predoctoral Internship - Summer (5 units)

Note:

Students who would like to extend their time in the program to five years are on a moderated schedule (8-11 units/semester). Students may elect to go slower at any time in the first two years, and such students should meet with their advisor to work out a plan that works for them and doesn’t jeopardize financial aid.

See section below for modifications of the requirements shown above for students in either the Child and Family Track (C/FT) and Forensic Family/Child Track (FFT).

Child and Family Psychology Track (C/FT)

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. Ability to work with diverse family constellations and demographics is emphasized.

Applicants interested in being considered for the PsyD Child and Family Track will indicate their interest at the time of application or shortly thereafter, and will be asked to write a brief statement of interest. 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, Advanced Clinical Skills (Child Therapy, 3 units).

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 for one of the options and the second option may be in either CBT or Psychodynamic theory.  

In the third year, track students complete three units of the six required in Advanced Clinical Skills in a Child Therapy course. If offered, at least two of the four units of the Supervision and Consultation requirement should be 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 (which meets one of the breadth requirements for practica). 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 topic relevant to children, adolescents, couples, or families.

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 Psychology Track (FFT)

The Forensic Family 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 Track at the time of application or shortly thereafter, and will be asked to write a brief statement of interest. Space is limited, but those not in the Track may still take courses in the FFT, if space permits after accommodating the Track students.

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, Assessment I (Cognitive) and Assessment II (Personality), 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 Technique course to meet one of the two Theory and Technique of Clinical Intervention requirements.  They must take a Child Therapy course as one of the selectives for Advanced Clinical Skills. 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 and 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 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, Consultation, Supervision, and Advanced Clinical Skills, (in 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 Certificate (in Development)

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 factors impact health and illness. Additional factors related to health, illness, and/or disability include the health care system, health care policy, and access to and quality of health care providers. Students in this area may want to work in settings that are interdisciplinary, primary care settings, behavioral health, pain management clinics, agencies serving specific populations with chronic illnesses or disabilities. Some courses beyond the 120 units required may be necessary to develop knowledge and skills in this applied area.

The PsyD 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 chronic illnesses or disabilities; 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 may offer special sections of several core requirements, including Observation and Interviewing, and Advanced Psychopathology.