Our Philosophy of Training is built on integrating science, practice, and social responsiveness. We strive to ensure students have the knowledge, skills and attitudes to become a responsible agent of change. The program content is delivered through collaboration, mindfulness of power dynamics, respect for students’ unique individual intersecting identities, and with student centered supports at the core. Good relationship skills, self-reflection and awareness, openness and a willingness to grow and learn, and a commitment to the highest ethical standards are values that inform the climate and expectations of our program. We are inclusive, compassionate, intentional, and collaborative.
We believe that critically consuming scientific research to inform clinical practice (and using clinical experiences to form research questions) is imperative to being a psychologist and an agent of change. Thus, we use the Scholar-Practitioner Model to train students as local clinical scientists (Stricker & Trierweiler, 1995). A local clinical scientist is: “… a critical investigator who uses scientific research and methods, general scholarship, and personal and professional experience to develop plausible and communicable formulations of local phenomena. This investigator draws on scientific theory and research, general world knowledge, acute observational skills, and an open, skeptical stance toward the problem to conduct this inquiry” (p. 24- 25). This model is taught under the larger umbrella of Evidence Based Practice, relying on research evidence, client values and preferences, and clinical judgment to make the best clinical decisions for each unique client. We also believe that no client can be truly understood or assisted in therapy if their context is not understood and valued. Thus, we also infuse a Biopsychosociocultural approach in how we teach conceptualization and intervention.
As scholar-practitioners/local clinical scientists, we must critically and openly question what we know, how we know it, and what biases might be implicit in what we know, if we are to positively and meaningfully contribute to our ever-changing field, whether in clinical service, research, teaching, outreach, and/or advocacy. Our clinical work must always sit upon a scholarly foundation, and our scholarly pursuits, at their best, are informed by our work with clients.
Program Goals and Objectives
Goal 1: To train graduate students in a sequential, cumulative, increasingly complex manner, so as to prepare them to practice as Clinical Psychologists/Health Service Psychologists who demonstrate mastery of the relevant competencies, and who can conceptualize human behavior as a Scholar-Practitioner/Local Clinical Scientist using Evidence-based practice principles and a biopsychosociocultural perspective.
Objective 1: Students will demonstrate the requisite knowledge, skills, and attitudes across the following competency areas: Intervention; Assessment; Individual and Cultural Diversity; Research; Communication and Interpersonal Skills; Professional Values, Attitudes, and Behaviors; Supervision; Ethical and Legal Standards; and Consultation and Interprofessional/Interdisciplinary Skills.
Objective 2: Students will demonstrate through coursework, practicum and dissertation their understanding of the integration of research and practice as reciprocal activities that each informs the other.
Goal 2: To train local clinical scientists who demonstrate the ability to understand and utilize evidence based research in a manner that best serves each individual client, taking into account each client’s contextual variables and ideographic differences; and who can also contribute to the body of research evidence.
Objective 1: Students demonstrate sophisticated critical thinking, which includes understanding, analyzing, applying, and integrating theory and evidence-based practices to inform their individually responsive approach to unique client problems.
Objective 2: Students demonstrate an understanding of and appreciation for individual and cultural differences in their work with clients.
Objective 3: Students demonstrate competency in conducting independent research.
Goal 3: To train ethical clinical psychologists who demonstrate a high level of professional integrity, adherence to the law, cultural humility, and who embody professional values, attitudes and behaviors.
Objective 1: Students demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the APA Ethics Code and its aspirational nature to the highest levels of professional integrity, as well as an understanding of and adherence to the Kentucky laws and regulations related to Health Service Psychology and federal privacy laws.
Objective 2: Students demonstrate a commitment to promoting social justice in our complex, diverse society with an emphasis on underserved or minoritized populations.
Objective 3: Students demonstrate professional values, attitudes and behaviors at all times, where relevant to their role as Clinical Psychologists in training.
Objective 4: Students develop and utilize self-reflective practices to strive to be anti-discriminatory and culturally humble in their provision of professional services, and to ensure their own ongoing well-being.
Accreditation
Our Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology program has been continuously accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) since 1989. The program most recently received the maximum of 10 years of reaccreditation in 2017. For further information about the accreditation status of this or any other psychology doctoral program, please contact: APA Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation, American Psychological Association, 750 First Street NE, Washington DC 20002-4242, (202) 336-5979; apaaccred@apa.org; accreditation.apa.org/.
