Emphasis Areas for Fresno PhD Program

In order to obtain an emphasis in any one of the following areas, students must complete 12 units of coursework as designated by the emphasis area, complete the requirements for clinical training as defined by the emphasis area and complete a dissertation with a topic that focuses on that emphasis area. It is possible to complete more than one emphasis area because of the overlap between the areas. In addition to formal emphasis areas, students may create a program of study that emphasizes their own area(s) of interest. For example, a student might create a program emphasizing "Family Advocacy" by combining topics such as family therapy, play therapy, juvenile justice, education law as it applies to the rights of emotionally disturbed children, pediatric psychology, child custody evaluation, divorce mediation and so forth. The ecosystemic focus of the PhD program lends itself particularly well to the creation of such individualized programs of study.

Ecosystemic Child Emphasis

The Ecosystemic Child Emphasis refers to the integration of biological, developmental, intrapsychic, systemic, sociocultural and historical variables that must be taken into account when addressing a child or adolescent's functioning in the world, both at the conceptualization and the intervention levels. Psychological interventions are planned within the context of the client's familial, peer, educational, medical, legal, cultural and historical systems, as well as the intrapsychic perceptions and developmental level of the client. The Ecosystemic Child Emphasis has a close working relationship with the Association for Play Therapy (APT), an international organization that promotes play therapy training and clinical work. The clinical psychology program in Fresno is one of the few graduate programs in the country offering all the coursework required by APT to become a Registered Play Therapist (RPT).

All students must take Ecosystemic Clinical Child Theory and Treatment Planning (2 units). Elective course offerings may consist of some of the following: Pediatric Neuropsychology, Family Therapy, Cross-Cultural Families, Family Therapy, Play Therapy I: Treatment Planning, Play Therapy II: Interventions, Play Diagnosis, Attachment Play Therapy, Teaching Parents Parenting Skills, Custody Evaluations, Life Span Development, California Licensing Laws, and Interventions in the Schools.

All students must complete 1000 hours of clinical training with children, adolescents and families and a dissertation on a topic with a child or adolescent focus.

Health Psychology Emphasis

Health Psychology is a rapidly expanding field with many specialty areas. The Health Psychology Emphasis provides students with an exposure to health psychology. Students who complete the emphasis will be prepared to function in health care environments including hospices, hospitals and clinics and to handle medical issues that arise in a general practice setting.

All students will take Introduction to Health Psychology in Multiple Settings (2 units) and Interventions in Health Psychology (2 units) as well as 8 additional elective units to be selected from the following courses: Consultation and Liaison in Behavioral Medicine, Psychology of Women's Health, Hypnotherapy, Pediatric Psychology, Pediatric Neuropsychology, Eating Disorders, Alternative Approaches to Health, HIV-AIDS, Medicine and Psychology, Clinical Seminar in Health, Clinical Case Conference in Health, Family Therapy and Group Psychotherapy.

Students must complete a practicum (500 hours) in a health psychology setting; a full pre-doctoral internship in a health psychology setting is strongly recommended as well. Dissertations must be completed in a health psychology related area.

Infant-Preschooler Mental Health Certificates

The first five years of a child’s life are critical for future functioning, but too often the needs of at-risk children go unmet because mental health professionals are not trained to work with these young children and families. CSPP  offers two certificates that provide an in-depth, systematic and integrated curriculum in infant and preschooler mental health. The Fundamentals in Infant-Preschooler Mental Health Certificate includes four courses that provide the fundamental bases of infant and preschooler mental health from an ecosystemic theoretical perspective. These courses are Fundamentals of Infant Mental Health, Fundamentals of Preschooler Mental Health, Diagnostic Systems in Infant-Preschooler Mental Health, and Parent-Child Relationship Assessment.

Three additional courses are required to complete the Certification in Infant-Preschooler Mental Health which satisfies the Birth to Five coursework standards proposed by the California Infant Mental Health Work Group (K. M. Finello & M. K. Poulsen (2005). Developing standards for training in infant and preschool mental health. In The Handbook of Training and Practice in Infant and Preschool Mental Health.) These courses are Biopsychosocial Factors in Infant-Preschooler Mental Health, Risk and Resiliency, and Advanced Infant-Preschooler Mental Health. The courses are offered as electives on the Fresno, Sacramento and San Diego campuses and can be taken individually or as part of the Certificates. All courses can be applied toward completion of the Ecosystemic Child Emphasis.

These courses are also offered as Continuing Education courses for mental health practitioners not enrolled as students. The combination of both clinical students and mental health practitioners creates an interesting and valuable mix of experience, perspective and knowledge.

In addition to the primary emphases, the Fresno PhD faculty members are committed to offering a broad array of elective courses reflecting theory, assessment and intervention across a variety of systems. Two systems that receive particular attention are the individual and cultural systems. Work with individuals is emphasized in the analytic courses that examine the relationship between conscious and unconscious processes. Using the work of C.G. Jung as the overarching theoretical structure, these courses help students understand clinical situations from a psychoanalytic, object-relations, and ego psychological perspective. The importance of the cultural system is emphasized throughout students' academic and clinical training. In addition to regular coursework in this area, many of the faculty members have extensive experience teaching and working outside the United States. This experience enriches every course they teach. The focus on cultural issues ensures students will be prepared for professional practice in a pluralistic society