Welcome!

The Clinical Psychology PhD program at Notre Dame provides excellent research and clinical training that prepares students for research and academic careers. In addition to specialty training in clinical psychology, students acquire expertise in statistics, research design and methodology, and they gain a broad and general knowledge of the field of psychology. The program trains academically-oriented psychologists who appreciate how science and practice mutually inform one another to advance the discipline and to enhance human functioning.

Faculty research interests include cognitive vulnerability to depression, eating pathology, the perception and impact of social stigma and discrimination, cultural influences on emotion regulation, psychotherapy process and outcome, secrecy and self-disclosure, stress and depression, coping with chronic illness, cross cultural and multicultural clinical competencies, marital discord and depression, and clinical research methodology.

Research training begins in the first year when students prepare first-year projects to present to the program and to the department. Students continue to develop their programs of research throughout their graduate careers. Following the first-year project, students conduct master's degree research, undertake doctoral qualifying examination projects, and continue to expand and deepen their research credentials -- often through collaborative efforts with scholars in different research laboratories. Research training culminates in the production of a comprehensive doctoral dissertation project, the purpose of which is to demonstrate students' ability to function as independent scientists. Clinical training begins with basic skills courses in the first year and then proceeds to an initial practicum at the University Counseling Center during the third year, followed by an advanced practicum at one of a variety of community agencies in the 4th and 5th years. Students also undertake a one-year full-time clinical internship before graduating. Clinical training emphasizes accurate diagnosis, reliable and valid assessment, and empirically-supported treatments.

All students in good standing are completely funded for at least five years, including tuition and stipends.

Training Model: Integrating Science and Practice

The Notre Dame PhD program in Clinical Psychology is built on a scientist-practitioner ("Boulder") model of training. The program focuses on understanding the processes and mechanisms underlying psychopathology in children, adolescents, and adults. The program provides students with expertise necessary to conduct research on risk and resilience factors for psychopathology as well as assess the efficacy of interventions for preventing and treating psychopathology. Training also emphasizes empirically supported assessment and diagnosis. In addition, the program provides skill in the rigorous development of research paradigms through the application of clinical research methods and advanced statistical methods as well as in the thoughtful dissemination of research findings to the broader psychological and lay communities. In short, the Notre Dame program in Clinical Psychology prepares psychologists whose professional influence is rooted in the broad integration of science and practice. We anticipate that graduates of the Clinical Program will contribute to the discipline and to society through commitment to research and scholarship.

Training in Research

Research training is based on a faculty mentorship model according to which students and faculty work together in faculty research laboratories pursuing shared research interests. In addition, the Program draws on the research strengths of the Department of Psychology in order to provide students with experiences in a broad range of methodological approaches and statistical procedures necessary for studying psychopathology in children, adolescents, and adults in multiple settings. Working closely with a faculty advisor, students complete a minimum of three research projects. In support of later pursuit of academic careers, students are expected to disseminate their research findings in professional and community settings and are supported fully in their efforts to publish, lecture, and teach.

Training in Practice

Clinical experiences are available through the University Counseling Center and through various community agencies, including Madison Center, the Notre Dame Legal Aid Clinic, the Michiana Employee Assistance Program and Oaklawn. Students' third year training experiences at the University Counseling Center focus on such issues as social relations, alcohol abuse, family conflict, and performance enhancement. Under extensive professional supervision, students treat clients suffering from depression, anxiety, and other psychological problems. During subsequent years, students train at community agencies that afford opportunities for clinical assessment, access to diverse clinical populations, and the chance to address a wide range of psychological problems. In both the campus counseling center and the community, students may assist in the development and evaluation of outreach and prevention programs. The Program emphasizes the research foundations of clinical practice in both its curriculum and its various practicum opportunities.

Accreditation

The Clinical Psychology Program is NOT presently accredited by the American Psychological Association, although we intend to apply for accreditation soon. Students completing their degree requirements prior to the program receiving APA accreditation will receive written verfication of their status to enable them to sit for licensing examinations. Alternatively, students may apply for transfer consideration into Notre Dame's APA accredited Counseling Psychology Program if Clinical accreditation is not achieved before degree completion.

Information concerning accreditation in clinical and counseling psychology is available from:

Commission on Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242.
Telephone: (202) 336-5979
http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/

Commitment to Multiculturalism & Diversity

The Clinical Psychology PhD program is committed to multiculturalism in the research and clinical training we provide students, in the atmosphere in which that training takes place, and in the composition of our program. We seek to recruit students who share a perspective of inclusiveness and interpersonal respect who wish to become culturally-informed, research-oriented professionals. We endorse the Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists, which not only recognize that the United States is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse but also provide clear guidelines for culturally-informed research and practice. We encourage our students to seek membership in divisions of the American Psychological Association that concern themselves with issues of social justice and inclusiveness, we require enrollment in Multicultural Psychology (PSY 60340), and we infuse multiculturalism into clinical and research training and throughout the curriculum.

Modified: October 8, 2009