Fresno/Sacramento Clinical PsyD: A Practitioner-Scholar Program

The clinical program offered in both Fresno and its Sacramento satellite are designed to:

• introduce students to the ethical values and orientation of the professional psychologist;
• provide a background in the psychological, biological and sociocultural factors that influence human behavior;
• develop students' research competencies; and,
• establish a foundation in the necessary technical skills required to function in clinical settings for working with diverse populations.

APA Education & Training Outcomes

The CSPP Fresno/Sacramento Clinical Psychology PsyD program is accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA), which requires that we provide student outcome data, including time to completion, program costs, internships, attrition and licensure. Please follow the link below for that information. We hope this information will help you to make an informed decision regarding your graduate study. Student Outcome Data

APA Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation: 750 First Street, NE; Washington, DC 20002-4242  Phone: 202-336-5979

Further, the clinical program is ecosystemically oriented in that it trains students to consider the role of diverse systems in creating and/or remedying individual and social problems. For example, in just one course the role of individual, family, ethnicity, religion, dominant culture, the legal and medical systems as well as historical time are all considered when reviewing the causes and potential interventions for child abuse.

While students receive an exceptional grounding in traditional clinical assessment and intervention, they are also taught to consider the potential value of advocacy, consultation or public policy work in helping both individuals and whole groups of clients with similar problems. For example, psychotherapy can be of great value to gay or lesbian clients struggling with the social pressures of the coming out process but the need for such treatment might be greatly reduced by applying clinical knowledge and skills in changing social mores and the plethora of discriminatory laws that create the hostile environment with which these clients struggle.

One of the unique aspects of the PsyD program is the class format in which the dissertation is completed. During their second and third years in the program students complete their dissertation while taking the Dissertation Proposal and PsyD Dissertation course series. This intensive structure has proved extremely successful in facilitating students completing the program on time. The PsyD program takes 4 years to complete, with the 4th year being spent in a full-time internship.

Fresno Location

At the Fresno location all clinical psychology students have the opportunity to select one or more programs of emphasis in order to develop areas of focused study and clinical expertise in addition to their basic education in clinical psychology. These emphasis areas are ecosystemic child, clinical forensics, and health. Because of the smaller class sizes at the Sacramento site, all of the courses required for a given emphasis area may not be offered there during a student's course of study. As a result, Sacramento students wishing to complete an emphasis area may need to travel to Fresno for some courses. Alliant students may elect to be trained as generalists sampling from any of the emphasis area courses.

Special features of the clinical programs in Fresno include the campus-based practica in the Psychological Services Center under the supervision of the clinic supervisors and/or faculty. The proximity of the Fresno campus to national parks and lakes offers a wide variety of opportunities for sight seeing, hiking, kayaking, skiing and other recreational activities, to offset the intensive pace of doctoral training. The amenities combine with a relatively low cost of living to make the strong Fresno programs especially attractive.

Sacramento Location

Most of the students who apply to the Sacramento satellite location do so because they wish to remain close to their work and family already in the Sacramento area. As a satellite Sacramento is completely integrated with the Fresno campus. Sacramento students have access to both local staff and faculty as well as full access to the Fresno services, staff and faculty. Approximately, 2-4 courses per semester are taught via videoconference from Fresno to Sacramento. And, at least one course is taught via videoconference from Sacramento to Fresno. Students are welcome to travel between sites to attend courses. Sacramento is California's capital providing many great cultural and recreational opportunities and activities.

Accreditation

The Fresno/Sacramento Clinical PsyD Program is a practitioner-scholar program fully accredited by the Committee on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association. The Fresno/Sacramento Clinical PsyD Program is designed primarily for students interested in clinical practice, the application of clinical knowledge to work in diverse settings and program administration. The program emphasizes clinical skills and the application of research knowledge. While the clinical PsyD program includes a research component, that component does not have the same emphasis as in the PhD program.

American Psychological Association office of Program Consultation and Accreditation:
750 First Street, N.E.
Washington DC 20002-4242
Phone: 202-336-5979