The PsyD program is committed to active learning and community service. It is attentive to social needs, particularly those of traditionally underserved populations, and is guided by a commitment to cultural and other forms of human diversity.
Field experience is a crucial part of the PsyD program. Field experience comprises three one-year, part-time practica (Practicum I, Practicum II, Practicum III) and either a one-year, full-time internship or a two-year, half-time internship (Pre-Doctoral Internship).
Consistent with guidelines promulgated by the Education Directorate of the American Psychological Association, practicum training in the PsyD program is designed to facilitate development of:
- An understanding of and commitment to professional and social responsibility as defined in the ethical code for psychologists.
- The ability to conceptualize human problems.
- An awareness of the full range of human variability.
- An understanding of the impact of one's own personality and biases upon others while acting in a professional capacity.
- Skill in systematic observation of behavior, interviewing, psychological testing, psychotherapy, counseling and consultation.
- The ability to contribute to current knowledge and practice in the field of clinical psychology.
Predoctoral Internship placements all conform to the Association of Psychology Post-Doctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) or California Psychology Internship Council (CAPIC) accreditation criteria.
Practicum I
Practicum I is an ethnographic placement experience. It lays the foundation for culture- and diversity-sensitivity training as well as practice in self-reflection and self-awareness. The ethnographic experience involves immersion in an unfamiliar culture/setting and establishes an understanding of the relationships between power, privilege and oppression in the practice of psychology.
For a minimum of eight hours per week, first-year trainees engage in a cultural immersion experience in this setting, specifically selected to expose trainees to a population with whom they have had little or no prior contact.
This ethnographic Practicum I is not a clinical placement, those occur in the following practica. Practicum I trainees are not permitted to engage in clinical work. Instead, Practicum I establishes the foundation necessary to work with the diversity of clients that trainees will encounter in their subsequent clinical placements, as well as in their future work as professionals.
Practicum I and its accompanying Integrated Professional Seminar (IPS-I) focus on diversity, one of the content areas recommended for doctoral training in clinical psychology by the American Psychological Association, as well as being endorsed as a required competency by the National Association of Schools of Professional Psychology (NCSPP).
There is a wide variety of activities in which trainees may engage at their Practicum I placement. Recommended activities include, but are not limited to:
- mentoring
- tutoring
- assisting with clerical work
- assisting with recreational activities
- assisting in a classroom
- co-facilitating groups
- shadowing professional and/or administrative staff or faculty
- assisting in answering hot-line calls
- making appropriate client referrals
Practicum II
Practicum II focuses on the supervised integration and application of knowledge gained from Practicum I placement experience and trainees' first-year and ongoing second-year doctoral coursework. In Practicum II, trainees develop clinical skills in accurate assessment, conceptualization, and formulation of client cases from a multicultural/diversity perspective. Students work at their practicum site from 16-24 hours per week.
Practicum III
Practicum III focuses on the supervised integration and application of knowledge gained from Practicum I and Practicum II placement experiences, trainees' first- and second-year doctoral coursework, and ongoing third-year doctoral coursework. Following Practicum II, trainees further develop their clinical skills in accurate assessment, conceptualization, and formulation of client cases from a multicultural/diversity perspective. However, Practicum III extends into advanced skills in the development of systematic and empirically-justifiable plans for intervention with individuals, groups, or communities within the larger context of human diversity and social justice. Students work at their practicum III sites from 16-24 hours per week.
Pre-Doctoral Internship
Trainees apply for pre-doctoral internship when they are in the third year of the full-time curriculum. Trainees need to be registered in the relevant number of internship units for each quarter in which they are accruing internship hours.
PsyD trainees may apply for full-time or part-time internship programs that are accredited by CAPIC or APPIC. To be considered full time, trainees must work a minimum of 35 hours per week. The internship is completed over 4 quarters at 9 units per quarter for a total of 36 units.
Some of the APPIC sites may also be approved by APA. An APA internship offers some career and post-doctoral advantages. An APPIC-accredited site may provide trainees with a stipend while an APA-approved site must provide trainees with a stipend.
