Training & Practica, PsyD Program in Los Angeles

The development of appropriate professional knowledge, skills and attitudes is a process that begins with the student's doctoral program and continues through the individual's professional career via practice, consultation with colleagues and formal continuing education. At the predoctoral stage, students' professional development occurs within the context of both formal coursework and clinical training experiences supervised by faculty and professionals in the field. Students develop and acquire clinical skills through professional training experiences in a variety of mental health service settings in the community. Such supervised professional training experiences are called "clerkship" and "practicum" at the premaster's level and "internship" at the predoctoral level.

Each student is assigned a professional field training advisor who meets regularly with the student to develop and implement an individualized training plan designed to assure (1) that the student receives a broad base of clinical experiences with a variety of clientele and professional role models and (2) that professional training experiences are well-matched to the student's level of skill and longer-term professional goals.

In the first year of the PsyD program, students may take a clerkship. The emphasis in both is on assessment via interviewing and testing. Clerkships include experience at a field site. Clerkship is optional at this time.

PsyD students in the second year are required to have a 15-hour per week practicum experience at another mental health setting. Students begin to assume a greater degree of clinical responsibility for assessment and intervention while closely supervised at a level appropriate to the student's training and abilities. This clinical professional training experience will vary with respect to the nature of clients served and the mental health setting the student serves in, as well as upon individual students' skill levels, professional interests and training needs.

Program Offers Two Different Internship Options

Plan 1 for students who did not receive a clinical masters degree before entering the PsyD Program: Students without a previous clinical masters degree take a half-time internship in the third year and a half-time internship in the fourth year. Students typically finish the PsyD Program in four years. As an alternative, some students want to pursue a full-time APA internship. For students without a clinical masters degree before entering CSPP, the only avenue for a full-time APA internship is to do that in the fifth year.

Students who did earn a clinical masters degree (clinical or counseling psychology, or clinical social work) before coming to CSPP can choose Plan 1 or Plan 2.

Plan 2 for students who did earn a clinical masters degree (clinical or counseling psychology, or clinical social work) before coming to CSPP: Eligible students can choose Plan 2, which is a Modified Program that allows the student to participate in a full-time APA internship in the fourth year.

Students should be aware that various postdoctoral training positions and some employers (e.g., the Veterans Administration) require that successful applicants have APA-accredited internships. Students have extensive opportunities to discuss with their assigned clinical field training advisors the various internship options available and the development of a training plan which assures students' needs and goals are met.

The predoctoral internship involves a systematic and intensive program which includes assessment, intervention, supervision and training under the auspices of clinical faculty and administrative staff of the Division of Professional Field Training and the Director of Field Training at the Los Angeles campus. During the internship, the student has a considerable degree of the responsibility for providing a variety of psychological services under the direct supervision of licensed clinical psychologists and in contexts that offer a variety of additional training opportunities, for example, case conferences, in-service training, quality assurance reviews and individual and group supervision.

Placement Process

At both the practicum and internship levels, the Los Angeles campus students are placed for professional training in agencies which are formally affiliated with the school. All professional training programs are carefully reviewed and continually monitored by the Los Angeles campus clinical faculty to assure consistent and high quality training. The Los Angeles campus clinical faculty members are also responsible for evaluating students' training performance. The types of settings in which students might train include: university and college counseling centers; inpatient psychiatric hospitals; public and private community mental health agencies; medical hospitals or outpatient clinics; physical rehabilitation programs; day treatment programs; substance abuse programs; and residential treatment centers. With over 100 agencies in its training network, the Los Angeles campus offers students exceptional professional training opportunities reflecting the wide range of interests and training needs of the students in the clinical emphasis areas (multicultural community-clinical; family and couple; and clinical health psychology).

The majority of affiliated professional training sites exist within a 40-mile radius of the campus. Students can generally anticipate driving some distance in at least one of their professional training years. Students who wish to pursue full-time internships are encouraged to make applications throughout the country. Currently, some students receive a stipend from their professional training agency. The majority of half-time internships and virtually all clerkships and practica do not offer stipends and students should not count on training stipends as a means of financing their education.

Licensure

The predoctoral training requirements in the clinical programs at Los Angeles sufficiently qualify a graduate of the clinical programs to pursue licensure in the State of California after acquiring an additional 1500 hours of post-doctoral experience. Students who may be considering licensure in other states should check the requirements for licensure in those states carefully, since considerable variation exists among states in regard to necessary qualifications.

State licensing requirements can be obtained from:

Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards
     555 South Perry Street, Suite 112
     PO Box 4389
     Montgomery, Alabama 36103