Educational Philosophy and Training Model

The University of Southern Mississippi's Ph.D. program in clinical psychology is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association.  Our traditional Boulder Model clinical training program is based on scientist-practitioner training model in which the scientific and professional components of clinical psychology are complementary and fully integrated throughout training.  We prepare our students first as scientists in psychology, and then as practicing clinical psychologists.  Although the program does not actively direct students toward particular career tracks, we agree with the Boulder Model premise that clinicians must be capable of making contributions to the science of psychology through research and consultation as well as through practice.  Therefore our program is not geared to students who are interested only in clinical training.  Graduates are prepared to pursue careers in academia, research, mental health care delivery, or practice in public and private settings. All graduates should have an understanding of the way in which empirical findings inform the clinical work they undertake. Similarly, it is expected that students who work primarily as researchers will have an appreciation for the application of their work to clinical issues. The clinical training program emphasizes evidenced-based approaches to assessment and treatment. To model the scientist-practitioner role, our faculty supervisors emphasize the importance of consulting the empirical literature when developing an assessment or treatment plan.  Students are encouraged to conduct thesis, dissertation, and other research on clinically-relevant topics.  The program sees itself as theoretically integrative, with an emphasis on cognitive and behavioral approaches.  Overall, the program aims to expose graduates to a broad spectrum of theoretical and empirical approaches to clinical research and practice.

We strongly subscribe to a generalist approach to training, but includes concentrations in adult and child clinical psychology.  Regardless of concentration, all students take courses in both adult and child psychopathology, adult and child psychotherapy, and complete both adult and child practica.  The primary differences between the two concentrations is in the assignment of research mentors and the sequencing of courses (adult concentration students generally take their adult coursework prior to their child coursework and begin the practicum sequence with an adult practica, and vice versa for the child concentration students).  The program is designed as a five-year program, including four years on campus and an offsite internship year.  A full-year internship is required of all students prior to the awarding of the Ph.D. In recent years, the average time to completion has been about 6 years.

The program’s three broad goals are to train scientist-practitioners who will (a) have broad knowledge of scientific psychology and psychological research methods, (b) be capable of contributing to current knowledge in clinical psychology, and (c) provide evidence-based clinical services that are consistent with ethical and professional standards.