Psychology Department at CMU

Clinical Program

Philosophy of Training 

The philosophy of training that guides the APA¹ accredited Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology has evolved over the past 30 years. The program is different from traditional Ph.D. programs that solely prepare students for research and academic positions.  The academic, clinical, and research experiences at CMU maintain a balance between training in science and practice.  Throughout their academic, clinical, and research experiences students are provided with feedback, modeling, and mentoring that fosters the integration current theory, research, and practice. Upon graduation, students are prepared to pursue clinical or research careers.

The program follows a scientist-practitioner training model.  The Clinical Psychology Program faculty believe that clinical training is a complex process that cannot be readily condensed or easily simplified.  The optimal practice of Clinical Psychology rests on the integration of theory, research, and practice. Clinical learning involves instruction, feedback, self-monitoring, and modeling the behavior of experts.  Training is sequential, graded in complexity, and designed to prepare students for further training. The integration of theory, research, and practice is expected to evolve out of numerous exposures to this process.  This integration not only deepens scholarly learning, but also develops effective clinical skills. The Clinical Psychology Program faculty further believe that training should expose students to a variety of testable formulations, as opposed to a single theoretical model. Integration of theory, research, and practice is essential. The program seeks to attain this goal by modeling a scientific approach in both didactic and experiential coursework.

¹Committee on Accreditation, American Psychological Association, 750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242.
Telephone: 800-374-2721; 202-336-5500. TDD/TTY: 202-336-6123

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