The Clinical Training Program is designed to expose students to a variety of empirically-supported approaches to assessment, intervention and research. Training in clinical skills begins in the first year, when students participate in clinical practica designed to begin development of basic listening, communication, assessment and conceptualization skills, It continues during the second year when students receive supervised clinical experience in the Psychological Clinic. During the third and fourth years students are involved in advanced practica in the Psychological Clinic and in part-time clinical placements in community agencies.
The Psychological Clinic is maintained within the department as a training facility where students receive clinical experience under the supervision of clinical psychology faculty. The department also works closely with clinical facilities in the area (e.g., adult and child community mental health centers, forensic facilities, health centers, and hospitals and medical centers) in providing supervised clinical placement venues for students. In addition to departmental practica and community training experiences, clinical students are required to complete a one-year APA-accredited clinical internship before receiving the Ph.D. Our students have been successful in obtaining high-quality internships. Internship sites have been widely dispersed geographically, ranging from the Palo Alto V.A. in California to the Yale University School of Medicine. Internship sites have included medical schools, V.A. centers, community mental health clinics, and forensic institutions.